Liverpool Discussion posts 5

01 Mar 2026 18:13:25
The club have a weak midfield and we've two midfielders looking massive contracts which will probably be given to them. Dominik and gravenberch.
Dom you'd obviously want him to remain and play his best years with us. Let's see what the club throws at him.
Gravenberch has never been a starter for me in an "ideal" midfield. By that, he can be improved upon. I'd want a top 6 coming into that midfield. We actually need two top midfielders. Maccas on his way out apparently but apart from Dom, those other two positions in midfield can most certainly be improved upon. It lacks physicality, real pace and honestly more quality.
We've a lot of players earning massive numbers and imo they're not warranted, Hughes and Edwards have been terrible appointments.
Slots football isn't great but this season we witnessed basically a team transitioning without virg and salah. Virg has been just OK this season with a good few poor performances.

Salah is on the other side now.
Konate should never been a offered another contract. It'll be justified if he's sold but I highly doubt he's signing a new contract to leave in the summer.
I look at our team now and away from the distraction of "it's down to slot".
Where's the top top players in that first 11? Who's our future core and aretthey top class and long term?
Allison's maybe one season more. How blessed we were. The other keeper is nowhere near him in quality. So?
The entire back 4, you could write an essay on each position and it's issue. Midfield I've highlighted.
Up front we have some very good players. One or two could become worldclass. A fit isak and an improved wirtz but we'll see. Ettike I really like. Left side, gakpos been found out and right side we have to address.
Alot of money reinvested but that squad needs a hell of a lot of money again.

01 Mar 2026 19:11:34
If we're talking until the end of the '27 season, the core is Alison, VVD, Szoboszlai and Ekitike, as things stand in my opinion. Ekitike over Isak this season alone. If Macallister and Salah are sold, they will be replaced; Wharton and Diomande have been mentioned. Add to that Isak and Wirtz, who are both on long contracts.

Jacquet, Leoni, Bradley, Kerkez, Frimpong and Rio are all of a good age. Beyond '27, who knows, but I can't see us not acting at the risk of not being competitive. Older guys in the squad, such as Robertson and Endo, can be replaced by youth.

01 Mar 2026 21:31:34
I'm really confused with Gravenberch. He was the best 6 in the league last season and I was really looking forward to him improving in the position and becoming one of the best DMs in the world. Although he was brilliant last season, he needed to work on the defensive side, but I thought they'd be drilling him on this, and in the next few years he could develop into something really special in that position.



Then we've decided to play him higher up the pitch where he is totally ineffective. It's baffling and extremely frustrating.

01 Mar 2026 21:54:42
Ron, an Optimist and a Pessimist, are walking down the road. The Pessimist says, "Things are awful, they couldn't possibly get worse." The Optimist says, "I believe they can."

These last few months have been difficult, but posters seem to find new ways of thinking things can only get worse.

Grav is still young. He was a revelation at 6 last year, but is being asked to get more forward this year, presumably because Slot is more concerned about finding openings against packed defences than he is about protecting the back 5. We can only hope that changes next season with either new players, a new manager, or both. He could be there for years; he is only 23 after all.
Kerkez is improving every game. I think he will nail down the LB position for the foreseeable. Wirtz has had a difficult first season. I hope he will be the orchestrator of our attack in the DeBreyne mould for the next 5 years.

Leoni/Jacquet look to have high potential levels. If either one or both develops as expected, they could be there for years. Ali has many years at the top if he remains relatively injury free. Ekiteke is 23, Isak is 26, and, with Salah, Gakpo, Mac surely leaving, there will, no doubt, be young, well-researched, quality replacements.

As anyone who has seen my posts knows, I am not a fan of Konate, but I am less of a fan of seeing a saleable asset leave for free. So I think it is good business to at least offer Konate a contract, not, of course, what he thinks he should be paid. I'm certain that is not a reflection of his talent.

So, to sum it up, there are top players, there is a strong core, the young players signed last season were the best available in their positions, and the age profile is excellent for the long term if you take Salah/Virg out.

Be good, optimistic Ron.

02 Mar 2026 00:47:09
Grav is definitely an interesting one to see what happens with him next season.

I wonder if he gets asked to play, like last season, in the deeper 6 role, or if we buy someone for that position, and Grav rotates with another player to cover the Macca position.

02 Mar 2026 09:50:40
I think I read on here a while back that Grav wasn't happy being asked to always sit so deep, and wanted to be able to get forward and score more goals. Presumably the club is trying to give him what he wants, but the problem is that Macca is usually his midfield partner and, instead of covering when Grav goes forward, he tends to be on the floor clutching his face or just jogging back in a half-hearted gesture.

It's quite common (and often effective) for a player like Grav to get forward when the opportunity arises.

You just need the setup, and players to accommodate it. As it stands, we don't, so, in my opinion, we either need to replace Grav with a proper DM who is happy to sit (unlikely whilst Slot is manager, but this would allow Grav to play further forward in the Macca role) or Macca with somebody more willing and able to provide cover when Grav goes forward.

03 Mar 2026 01:34:18
Shipley, Grav did say he spoke to his dad, and his dad told him he wants him to score more goals, so he's obviously said he wants to play further up, which is fine.

But, when it clearly weakens the team, you just tell him, "Look, mate, we've tried it and your best position is the 6, so we're putting you back there because it's best for the team."

You certainly don't let players dictate where they want to play if it weakens the team.

The manager's job is to play the players in the best positions to get the best outcome for the team.

01 Mar 2026 09:13:49
I don't want to start a conspiracy theory or something, but jokes apart, does Gakpo have a problem playing with Kerkez? Seriously, does he? Maybe Ed001 can comment on this when he has a minute to do his review [stay safe, Ed, as others have commented]; perhaps Ed025 as well as other Reds here have seen this as well.
Yesterday, there were several instances of this "blind alley" drive from Gakpo, especially one around the 60th minute (can't remember; haven't watched it back) when Kerkez was perfectly positioned and Gakpo had drifted in-field and should absolutely have laid it on a platter for Kerkez, who was screaming for the ball and pointing relentlessly for it to be laid on, but Gakpo simply chose to keep driving forward and passed the ball to someone else in the opposite direction, and I couldn't believe he did that.

I mean, shouldn't the coaching staff has got to be aware of this by now?
Even Van Dijk didn't seem to click or care for the kid earlier on in the season, and you could just sense the negative aura around them on that left side of our defense, plus the yelling and arms flailing and just outright passive-aggressiveness towards the kid, who's still so young and just recently joined us from a smaller club.
I think the relationship with Van Dijk has improved a great deal to be fair, but my goodness, Gakpo's stifling of that side of the field especially when Wirtz isn't playing is so obvious the coaching team should have spotted and sorted it out by now.
Happy to hear y'alls thought about this. Hope we can keep winning and nick a Champions league spot!
YNWA.

01 Mar 2026 12:57:50
Gakpo just doesn't have the awareness, or football brain, to realise what is going on around him whilst still controlling the football. Could be my least favourite player in a long time. The way he celebrated his horrible goal yesterday shows he is just trying to cling on to his stint as a footballer at the moment.

We have all found out he should be in another line of work. Fingers crossed, someone like Forest Green Rovers will still be interested in signing him come the summer.

01 Mar 2026 14:56:01
Gakpo is just not very good at link up play. I don't think it's a personal issue with Kerkez or tactics; it's just footballing awareness. Gakpo receives the ball and does his trademark dart inside to try to get the ball on his right foot. I genuinely don't think he even sees anywhere other than his direct line of vision.

He can be very frustrating, and I think he gets a lot of criticism because of his demeanour. He kind of ambles around the pitch, very low intensity, and, for his size, can appear quite weak in his challenges.

01 Mar 2026 14:59:54
FFS - Can we not have a moment when we're not slating these players!
Were you giving Gakpo pelters last season when he was instrumental in us romping to a title?!

Sure, he's had a poor season, but so have 75-80% of the set up, and we're still very much in the hunt for CL & 2 trophies!

I bet you were giving Konate dogs abuse without knowing the bloke's personal predicament in the months before!

Ten games to go - get behind them for the rest of the season & let's see how things pan out.

All the negativity after a 5-2! Sure, performance-wise, it wasn't top notch, but I'll take 3 points every day atm! Do you reckon Pep & Arteta are worrying about pretty football and horrible goals?

01 Mar 2026 15:22:40
No, they're just incompatible. Through no fault of Kerkez's, Gakpo simply doesn't have the situational awareness to play effectively with someone like Kerkez. I've always been critical of Gakpo's decision making and link up play. I find him incredibly frustrating to watch.

01 Mar 2026 21:16:06
Gakpo did pass on an overlap to Kerkez yesterday. Took me about 10 minutes to get the coffee stain off my shirt lol. Gakpo gets that tunnel vision, and it's over for his teammates at that point.



He's doing one thing, and one thing only, once his head goes down. Someone could be more open than a politician to a bribe, but Gakpo only has eyes for row z.

02 Mar 2026 00:56:24
I've seen him pass to an overlapping Kerkez/Robbo before, but nowhere near as much as he should.

Like other posters have said, I think he's just stuck in his habit to cut inside.

He seems to be the type of player who's constantly looking to shoot/score, so his priority is always to cut inside, and once he does, he looks to shoot or will revert to passing infield, since that's what he can see in front of him.



He is a very one-dimensional type of player, without much vision, who was very effective last season, but not so much anymore.

01 Mar 2026 07:42:25
Sorry but I can't accept an 'elite' management/ coaching team cannot make the necessary changes to improve our midfield. And that's why Slot and the 'team' need replacing. In addition to the lack of passion, personality or willingness to embrace risk.

The shape and positioning of the midfield is so fluid and erratic, we're a dream to play against.

Macca looks like he has lead weights in his boots so doesn't offer any insurance when the opposition breaks. He isn't physically dominant, so if he does win a 50/ 50 you're kinda surprised. Could be played in the Wirtz role until Flo is back, otherwise must be sacrificed for greater mobility eg: Curtis.

Grav is prone to glaring errors when we play out. Has a good engine but again isn't physically dominant in tackling or heading. Looks like he has a go because it's a requirement - not like he's born to do it. The only player we had who loved that stuff was Endo - and they never played him.

Dom is quality, probably gets in any team in the league. Pretty safe receiver of the out ball but could maybe improve on winning the ball back. However, with his pace and tenacity he makes up for it, and should be the deep lying playmaker - the main man, the anchor.

So Dom stays deeper to give some control with Curtis left, Grav on the right. That gives us shape, increased physicality and legs.

Macca to play the Wirtz role until he's back with 2 up top - Hugo plus 1 of Cody or Mo. Kerkez and Frimpong providing the width.

There, I solved it. Someone please send onto Arne.

01 Mar 2026 09:15:57
I stopped reading when you wrote "Curtis". I also had to check BBC scores to make sure we had won 5-2 and not lost 2-5.

01 Mar 2026 10:57:22
Shows what a good job Arne has done to win the league with them, doesn't it?

01 Mar 2026 11:16:24
The midfield has rarely functioned well this season - and for the last 2 games we've been without Wirtz - so you've got to adjust and play with the cards in your hand, Florian. Yes, they're essentially the same personnel as last season, but they're a year older, form dependent, playing with different players around them & in a different setup.

01 Mar 2026 12:59:27
Tbh if you can win a League with Gakpo then anything is possible.

01 Mar 2026 13:01:41
I can't see Arne changing too much at this point. Hopefully, we keep this momentum going, get the top 4 secured and see how we do in the FA Cup and Champions League. Wolves then Spurs should be another 6 points. We have Man Utd, Chelsea and Villa one after another, which will no doubt be decisive.

02 Mar 2026 01:02:20
"Yes, they're essentially the same personnel as last season, but they're a year older, form dependent, playing with different players around them & in a different setup."

"And waaaay more unfit," I'd add to that paragraph, as I think this has been one of our biggest issues this season.



If our players were as fit as they were last season, I think we'd have at least 6-10 more points by now and would feel much more confident with a top 5 finish.

28 Feb 2026 22:59:30
West Ham need to sell. Somerville is our man.

01 Mar 2026 15:33:45
I was impressed by his ability on the ball. Nice turn of pace and quick feet. He likes to take on his man, he's confident and capable, but seems to lack an end product. Could it be that he's just at the wrong club? Maybe. 10 GA for a team facing relegation isn't bad.

For the right price I wouldn't say no, but I believe the club will be looking for somebody with better stats. He'd be great off the bench against tired legs, but I don't see the club bringing in the likes of a Diomande and a backup when we have Rio there.

01 Mar 2026 23:47:10
He had a very good game. Between him and Gordon, no contest. Unless there is a diving board and a 12 foot pool below it.

02 Mar 2026 01:08:27
I think he's decent, but not a starter for me. He'd be more of a rotation player, and I don't think he'd be cheap enough for that purpose. Just a guess.

Similar with Fernandes and Diouf from West Ham, if they go down, decent players who wouldn't be bad as squad/rotation players, but they'd all be too expensive, probably.

02 Mar 2026 02:52:51
Not sure, Gregarious. Maybe they have relegation release clauses.

28 Feb 2026 09:20:53
After Villa's defeat a win today puts us in a decent position heading into the last 10 games. If I were to predict the top 5 i'd say City or Arsenal 1 and 2 us or Man United 3 or 4, Chelsea or Villa for 5th.

{Ed025's Note - Mystic Ernie....i actually agree mate.. :)

28 Feb 2026 10:12:44
Our games away to Villa, United, and home to Chelsea will be pivotal to our CL qualification. I think we'll need to win all three? But they all still have to play each other as well. Villa have lost form at a crucial time & I still think United are capable of losing a couple on the bounce.

28 Feb 2026 10:25:57
I said weeks ago that we'd finish above Villa. Folk said I was deluded, which I am! I still think we will, which should be good enough for CL qualification. However, we're winning the CL anyway, so it's immaterial!

28 Feb 2026 11:41:41
Fair play for your optimism, Rome!

28 Feb 2026 11:59:29
1. Arsenal. 2. City. 3. Utd. 4. Liverpool. 5. ChelseaThat's what I reckon.

28 Feb 2026 12:00:35
Thanks, Bristol. I'm sat here with 2 pencils up my nose, so I'm not to be taken seriously!

28 Feb 2026 13:05:05
I know a lot of people hate xG, but for me it is a good indicator of where a team realistically should be in the table. Villa's results in the first half of the season were massively outperforming their xG.

For me, we are now seeing Villa's true level, and I think they will be lucky to finish higher than 6th as it stands. If we get 5 CL spots, as seems likely, I think they will be filled by the "big 5".

27 Feb 2026 13:28:28
I have a question around the racial incident with Vinicius and Prestianni

My question is not about what was said, but more about the possible outcome for Prestianni

So last season, 3 Valencia FC supporters were found guilty of racially abusing Vinicius, and were handed some jail time and a stadium ban.

Now here we are, and a player has been accused of the same crime, yet everyone is talking about a few games ban as a punishment.

That's all very strange to me.

Why isn't anyone mentioning that Prestianni should also face some jail time if he is found guilty?

Why are the 2 punishments different for the same crime?

27 Feb 2026 14:11:19
Jail time for a racist comment?

27 Feb 2026 14:39:24
8 months according to online reports.

27 Feb 2026 14:39:59
I can't comment on that without reading the full law and how it's applied, but apparently that was the first time anyone was convicted under that law, so I'd imagine there to be a much higher bar than what happened between Prestianni and Vini.

27 Feb 2026 18:32:29
It's also two different countries. Spanish law doesn't apply in Portugal, that would be insane.

27 Feb 2026 18:34:28
My two P worth on this topic. I'm a tad cynical here and there. The player admits to homophobia while denying racism. The LGBTQ+ community, as a general rule, make up 2% of the population. Israel has a higher %. The non-white population is generally far, far, far higher than 2% globally.

So my point - by coughing up to homophobia, I suggest a less harmful global brand issue than admitting he's a racist. I'm purely speculating, but it makes sense to me, at least.

28 Feb 2026 03:55:03
The first incident was in Spain, and I'm pretty sure that was the first case of racist slurs resulting in jail time, so currently it would take something extraordinarily significant to see the same sentence handed out to professional players. Not to mention the fact that this incident happened in Portugal, so, obviously, the laws and how they're enforced are different.

Kew17, 100%. He knew he couldn't get away with claiming he was just coughing into his shirt. Claiming homophobic comments was simply damage control, no doubt about it.

28 Feb 2026 16:54:26
The evidence in both cases will be entirely different. He covered his mouth. It would be impossible to "prove beyond reasonable doubt" that he is guilty. The burden of proof in sport, with sporting decisions, is very different from a court of law. Nothing will happen in terms of criminal proceedings. That doesn't mean he won't get a sporting suspension.

27 Feb 2026 11:58:59
So that's Liverpool out then

And a smooth pathway for Arsenal to reach this cup final.

27 Feb 2026 12:29:52
Yep, wouldn't even bother sending a team over.

27 Feb 2026 12:42:37
Might as well just quit football.

27 Feb 2026 13:23:38
We are going to beat A******* in the final.

28 Feb 2026 03:59:11
Arsenal will lose to Barca.

26 Feb 2026 20:18:17
Another press conference more excuses. Just get on with the job you're paid to do instead of moaning.

27 Feb 2026 07:09:33
A wild suggestion, I know, but if they're winding you up so much, maybe give them a miss moving forward?

27 Feb 2026 10:54:27
Can't listen to him either, mate. Takes the fans for mugs - just makes things up and outright lies.

27 Feb 2026 15:39:28
There is a reason why a lot of managers hate pressers, and why journalists don't go. They have to ask/answer questions, which are mostly nonsense. If they upset you, there is a simple solution.

26 Feb 2026 14:17:31
Just wondered what most people preference is with regards to CL draw. Madrid or gala

Think i would prefer gala unless llorente is injured than would do Madrid.

26 Feb 2026 15:27:35
Madrid, for me, is easily doable over 2 legs.

26 Feb 2026 16:03:10
We should be beating either of them quite comfortably over 2 legs. I don't know if it was just the TV coverage, but when we played Gala at their place earlier this season, it felt like another level of crowd intimidation compared to any other European ground.

I've witnessed hostile atmospheres, but they seemed to keep up that intense level of hostility for 90 mins! For that reason, I'd maybe lean towards Madrid.

26 Feb 2026 16:06:19
Galatasaray for me. Turkish teams drop off in second half of the season, whereas a Diego Simeone team in the knockouts would be a trickier prospect than the one we played earlier this season.

26 Feb 2026 19:55:00
100% Gala for me. I've no doubt we would beat them comfortably over 2 legs, especially 2nd leg at Anfield. Wouldn't fancy Atletico at all, not what they were, and I wouldn't be too confident of beating them.

26 Feb 2026 19:55:18
Who's more likely to play the low block? There's your answer.