Liverpool banter 9

15 Oct 2026 00:41:03
Going to risk an unpopular opinion, but I think we're only a defensive midfielder and a bit of patience away from a really solid squad that can compete for multiple trophies.
I know people want a full back or two, but I actually think Frimpong/Bradley/Araujo and Kerkez/Kostas are nowhere near as bad options as some are making out, and once we get some players back from injury we're pretty strong across the park.


Might need this season to fully implement AI's tactics, plus a transfer window or two, but I have full confidence we'll be right back up there by next season at the latest.

15 Oct 2026 01:12:21
Love it RedChester!
Positivity abound.

15 Oct 2026 01:24:15
Your positivity seems endless Chester
Unfortunately we live in a world we're reality often comes to put us in our place and the truth is, only Araujo is anywhere near good enough for the Liverpool first team.
Progressive playing all action midfielder is what we need, Stevie G would light up this team.

15 Oct 2026 06:19:07
Surely Ali is worth a start?

15 Oct 2026 07:23:46
I agree Chester that a top midfielder with defensive nous would bring us on leaps and bounds as a team. Although I do think we need to strengthen at full back. Better Competition for kerkez on left and a starter at rb. Our forward players I think need to be let settle now and hopefully they start to gel.

15 Oct 2026 07:59:46
If fit Bradley is well good enough.

15 Oct 2026 08:04:46
Did anyone make out that Araujo was a bad option? Personally I reckon he's been pretty decent so far and would be more than happy take him permanently.

15 Oct 2026 08:22:44
I agree to an extent. That extent is when you compare our squad to Arsenals options. Currently after first 11 not even close.

I'd say 3-4 top class squad players away but not impossible in two windows.

15 Oct 2026 09:26:02
I like the positivity, and you're right in part but we still need a few players to be capable of competing consistently on all fronts. Iraola's a very good manager, but I can't see him working miracles the way Klopp did.

Fully agree on the patience part, though. The squad has had to do immense work to increase their fitness and adapt to Iraola's style. We have seen the early signs of those improvements, but it will still take time and of course once Ekitike, Leoni and Bradley are back, we'll be in a much stronger position.

15 Oct 2026 10:13:16
I do agree flo bradley is good enough to be our 1st choice rb but I think ' if fit' is the problem. Before his big injury he already struggled to put 4/5 games in a row, after such a long lay off generally players pick up niggles when they come back. It's hard to see him being able to put a run of games together.

15 Oct 2026 10:25:50
Indeed, Chester. We have a pretty talented squad in the defence and in attack (even tho, the comms. and understanding among the attackers still needs work), we just need to sort the midfield out with a player who can go both ways offensively and defensively, as Digger said. That would really help this team.

I know Wirtz and Barcola are trying to keep their heads above water and both (esp. Wirtz) need to really up their game and show improvements but they are very talented players BUT really need to start showing it esp. again, Wirtz.

Iraola is doing a fine job with the hand he was dealt and getting good performances out of a decent amount of the squad. We just have to keep working hard and trying to improve individually, collectively and even, coaching wise.

It's going to be a slow burner of a season, as I have said in the past.

14 Oct 2026 21:49:51
Referee has been fantastic in the PSG game. Side note how does Aly mcmoist get work? He's awful and doesn't know the game at all.

15 Oct 2026 00:33:49
You answered your own question there Jerry.

15 Oct 2026 05:48:34
It's just gibberesh.

15 Oct 2026 06:43:17
I actually don't mind McCoist but do think too much of any pundit isn't a good thing. Can get tedious listening to the same voice on everything.

You would think after over 700 professional appearances he would know the game at all.

15 Oct 2026 07:58:48
I think McCoist is pretty good personally. The irony is the OP saying he doesn't know the game at all when he's played it at a good level for 20 years, meanwhile the OP is typing his thoughts on a forum.

15 Oct 2026 08:03:17
Don't mind McCoist usually but McCoist getting his ego fed by that unbearable cabbage fletch is unbearable. doesn't help they seem to be on the wind up towards Pool fans as well every game.

15 Oct 2026 08:36:52
With you there regards Fletch, Florian!

Oh for the days of a Coleman or Moore.

15 Oct 2026 10:28:54
Sailor, that ref 's perf. put the PL refs to shame at every level. The guy ran a clinic on how to officiate a game of the highest level without having to do too much or make himself be the star with hand movements and gestures.

He just reffed the game, applied the rules based on his discretion and the game flowed swimmingly.

The PL refs could lean a thing or two from these CL refs. But we all know they won't.

15 Oct 2026 11:21:00
To be fair @Bristol, Coleman talked complete gibberish most of the time, although he was unintentionally very funny (Coleman balls and the like).

14 Oct 2026 20:14:22
Good performance from Wirtz this evening. Just played the simple passes and his touch was better so he could carry the ball to create a chance or two.
Regardless of how the rest of the team is playing if he can just look after his own performance and do the basics of passing and controlling the ball he'll create chances for the rest of the team. Just keep it simple like David Sliva used to do and pick the right option will lead to more goals for the team.


Araujo and Jacqet look a really solid pairing but the full backs are still an issue and really need to be sorted in January. Just shows how good Araujo and Jacqet were playing and covering the fullbacks that once they went off the replacement CB's got completely exposed.
Good to see Nyoni and Nguhmoa get a game with Chambers coming on as well.

14 Oct 2026 20:25:41
Andoni started with a team tonight that none of the starting eleven have scored a goal in any competition this season?

YNWA Andoni.

14 Oct 2026 20:50:57
I thought Tsimikas was good today. Gives us a good set piece option. Frimpong was awful.

14 Oct 2026 20:59:43
Played awfully, but managed a goal and assist? We looked really good today despite some instability when JG and VVD came on. I can see why AI changed the CBs, but both at once was always asking for trouble. Took the whole defence time to settle.

14 Oct 2026 21:18:38
Disastrous from the back line after the change, terrible decision, I would have taken off Frimpong and Tsimikas not the other 2, it all fell apart after that, VVD was useless, they completely switched off.

Hopefully that's the confidence booster a few of them need to start delivering in bigger games, particularly Barcola. disappointed Wirtz didn't get on the score sheet he could have done with it. Absolutely delighted for Koumas.

14 Oct 2026 21:24:14
Only beat what's in front of you. Good performance and good result. 100% record in the CL where realistically dropping points isn't really that big of a deal at this stage.

Back to the league this weekend where 3 points is a must having already dropped 50% of the available points this season and being closer to the bottom of the league than the top.

14 Oct 2026 21:24:38
Frimpong and Tsimikas are not the ones who need to have their game time managed chewy. Jacquet missed the last game with France due to load/hamstring and Araujo is playing a lot of football at RB.

14 Oct 2026 21:42:50
It wasn't a terrible decision because we still won the game and gave Araujo and Jacquet a rest.

14 Oct 2026 22:27:31
Never thought I'd be saying this

Jeremy Jacquet is our best player.

14 Oct 2026 22:39:10
I'm a bit obtuse and failed my advanced UEFA Badges, so I apologies in advance to all the lads who have them and particularly those who specialise in spotting deficiencies but I thought it was an enjoyable game of football.

15 Oct 2026 00:41:12
Like dropping the Computer difficulty level on a video game. but you still have to turn up and do the job. So many times we've not been clinical against lighter opponents in Europe, so was good to bang away 6 goals.

Yes, good from Wirtz and just hoping he takes some of that confidence into the Prem.

15 Oct 2026 08:06:09
Thought Wirtz did well. People will say only LASK but you can only beat who's in front of ye. Hopefully now he can repeat that on Saturday.

{Ed078's Note - I said toward the end of last season that I wasn't worried about Wirtz. I was worried that his talents would be wasted by the system and his teammates inability to know how to make the most of what he brings.

15 Oct 2026 08:29:31
I've been a critic Ed. But more performances like that I'll be more than happy with him. Good confidence booster for him.

{Ed078's Note - I hope so. I also hope those around him know how to accommodate his obvious talents.

15 Oct 2026 09:13:46
There was a good analysis on YouTube ed078 (can't remember who) but basically saying a big reason for Wirtz failings is his teammates. Players running into his space or making runs that stifle his passing opportunities and they did comparisons to his time at Leverkusen, which highlighted at Bayern how his teammates would make unselfish runs to give him space.


Having said that he does also need to do better but it is hard for him when his team mates occupy his space or run into blind allays.

{Ed078's Note - sounds about right.

15 Oct 2026 09:44:40
There is a clear and obvious disconnect Ed, I hope Iraola can shine some light on it. In fairness to Wirtz, it's almost as if he's joined the team again this season, as he's basically playing with a whole new front line, Barcola and Munoz are only in the door, and he hardly played with Isak last season.

I feel like Ekitike is actually the most intelligent, well-rounded footballer out of our forward options and best suited to linking up with Wirtz, real shame abt the injury. I also think Barcola and Wirtz will begin to link up well, as he does provide dangerous runs in behind and is that bit more dynamic than Isak.

{Ed078's Note - agree

15 Oct 2026 10:37:06
"Regardless of how the rest of the team is playing if he can just look after his own performance and do the basics of passing and controlling the ball he'll create chances for the rest of the team."

Preaching to the choir on this one, @Mayo (and I put you on my fries each time, man). This is all I want Wirtz to do now. Focus on himself and the things he can control. Do the basics, get those right and the rest will come. That is how you build confidence and hopefully, get your mojo back because the kid is just too talented to just fade away. I ain't having it.

Hopefully, this perf. can help him.


Ed78, I was like you and wasn't worried about Wirtz after last season. Now in the last couple of games, I really started to worry because he seemed like his confidence was shot to bits and was having a hard time doing even the basics right. The City game rang the alarm even louder for me.

Hopefully, he can take some confidence from this game and go back to just getting the things he can control as well as the basics right in the next game.

{Ed078's Note - fair points. I think the focus on misplaced passes needs to take into account the type of passes he's trying to play, where on the field he attempts them, and the role the receiver also plays.

14 Oct 2026 19:17:44
Made up for Koumas. Great confidence boost for the whole team. You can only beat what's put in front of you. Just need PSG to destroy City.

14 Oct 2026 19:29:39
Really enjoyed seeing how the other players have reacted when the goals went in, look delighted for each other getting their first goals.

Especially enjoyed Barcola when Koumas scored.

14 Oct 2026 20:46:08
I don't rate koumas at all but he absolutely deserved his goal tonight and for his contributions to the squad this season, I was very pleased for him, the guy tries hard and keeps going and kudos for that.

14 Oct 2026 21:12:29
If Koumas can maintain this energy and enthusiasm then I think he could be an asset to this team for many years to come. I'm not sure if he can become a truly special player technically, but he has shows so much fight every time he pulls on the shirt.

It's like one of us fans contributing on the pitch, something that is a common feature of virtually all successful Liverpool teams.

14 Oct 2026 21:51:30
Koumas reminds me a bit of Dirk Kuyt but I think he's better.
Hard worker, never gives up.
You need players like that in the squad.

14 Oct 2026 21:59:34
I mean it with the utmost respect, but there's something of Jota about him. He's a proper fighter.

14 Oct 2026 22:24:40
Koumas is not as good as Kuyt, Ron. Even playing as right midfield, Kuyt got more goals than Koumas will ever get playing as a striker. Both are / were hard workers, but I think Kuyt was more technical.

14 Oct 2026 22:46:52
Yo beat me to it @Ron, there's some5hing about the young lad that reminds me of Kurt. Same work ethic and I think he has a bright future ahead of him at the club - AI certainly seems to have faith in him.

I think the difference between Kuyt and Koumas is that Dirk was 26 when he joined us and was a seasoned international. Lewis is 21 and is still developing. It will be interesting to compare them when Lewis is 26 and has had, hopefully, five good years playing for us in 5he PL and CL.

14 Oct 2026 23:27:07
Koumas technically had a hat trick *wink*

ps I though Nyoni was solid as well.

14 Oct 2026 23:50:09
Koumas, who has scored 13 professional goals is better than Kuyt, who scored over 300 goals? Incredible.

14 Oct 2026 22:54:18
Kemlyn, how do know the amount of goals Koumas will have at the end his LFC career? Just curious, you seem to know something.

15 Oct 2026 00:38:07
5th element, Koumas is 21 years old.
Better as in I think he has better ball skills.
Will he score as many goals? No-one knows, but that doesn't mean he's not as good a player.

15 Oct 2026 00:42:04
The Welsh Kuyt?

15 Oct 2026 04:13:18
Why is it necessary to slag the kid off? He has played a handful of games for us and has shown up well. The point made was that he has similarities to Kuyt. Not that he is better or worse. Let the lad develop.

15 Oct 2026 08:03:21
Personally I don't think Koumas will get a look in when all our forwards are fit. Actually I think he will be loaned out, maybe even sold. We shall see ?‍♂️.

{Ed078's Note - I'd be shocked if he was loaned out in January.

15 Oct 2026 08:14:25
Kurt Kurt was an established 26/27 year old in his Prime when he joined us. Koumas is a kid just turned 21 learning the game. May or may never make it with us but he is helping us at the moment and doing a fine job.

At the very least what he is doing at the moment will get him a decent move to a good club and probably bring us in £30m. I'd much prefer him to carve out a long term career with us though, as hard as that will be.

15 Oct 2026 10:40:28
Why are we comparing a youngster who is living his dream in real time to a proven international player and cult hero at LFC?

These comparisons are just insane.

Do people know that there is a world where Koumas can live his dream playing for the club he supports without having to compare him to anyone, let alone a huge cult hero like Dirk Kuyt (don't know who Kurt is, btw)?

15 Oct 2026 11:27:17
@Oli, Kurt is the product of that damn nuisance 'autocorrect'. It caught me out too ??.

15 Oct 2026 14:36:48
If you think I was slagging Koumas off then you don't know what slagging off means.

14 Oct 2026 19:10:42
Barcola, 3 goals in his first 7 games. Brilliant start to his Liverpool career ;)

14 Oct 2026 19:59:26
That is his first ever hat trick in competitive football, more match balls to come hopefully.

Bayern conceded 3 goals to the Vikings with their first team, yet I suppose we will be vilified for conceding 3 with our B team!

YNWA Andoni.

15 Oct 2026 10:40:57
Mr. Bond, that has already happened.

14 Oct 2026
New image uploaded to the
Liverpool Player Sightings page entitled,

Click picture for larger image

14 Oct 2026 18:50:53
. and your point is??

14 Oct 2026 19:10:52
I was going to ask that delves.

14 Oct 2026 20:12:28
Florians foot did not make any contact with the city player, it landed on the pitch, that is a picture that has been well manipulated/frame enhanced to make it look like a red card, that would have been on Sky before the match finished, was not even shown, not even in one newspaper yesterday you have been scammed Suarez by the cheats!

Fancy falling for the old one-two?

YNWA Andoni.

14 Oct 2026 20:26:17
The frame above was captured by me from a recording of the full match. There has been zero manipulation.

My point, Delecs, is that, much like my father, Wirtz never (really) pulled out.

14 Oct 2026 20:47:36
@suarez,

you need to be Gary Neville's Sky partner, still not shown by Sky on the day, or this week because of "zero" contact with hans christian anderson!

I would not reveal anything that shows my LFC team in a bad way ever, and more to the point supports a load of cheats instead!

YNWA Andoni.

14 Oct 2026 21:32:54
I can see what you're saying Chewy, but I'm just looking at the body language Wirtz is not all in on that duel. He's not trying to get over or around the ball, he knows Anderson is coming in hot and he knows it's going to hurt.

I desperately want the lad to succeed, but I that 50/50 really left a sour taste in my mouth. Not necessarily because of the outcome, but more the attitude. We need to be winning those 50/50s, ideally at a rate higher than 50%. I applaud the running he does for the team, and he really does do create more opportunities than people credit him for, I just worry that we're at a point in the Premier League where it is necessary, not just a bonus, that your players are fully committed, and generally able to winning these marginal duels.

14 Oct 2026 21:40:34
007, you've got it all wrong, pal. It's my fault, though; I didn't give context earlier, as I was distracted with the football. It's not intended to show Wirtz in a bad light at all, the kid made a fair attempt to win the ball. I saw a fair few people whinging that he pulled out of the tackle, calling him a disgrace, saying he should be sold off the back of that alone etc. So I just thought I'd post it in reponse.

Wirtz challenged for the ball, but not in the way some would have liked him to, he tried to knick it as opposed to commit to a crunching tackle that might have seen him injured. And looking at the picture above, if you put Wirtz's ankle between Anderson's foot and the ball, he's not coming away unscathed. The manner in which Wirtz has tried to win the ball is exactly the type of tackle you would expect him to make, he's not the next Mascherano.

Last season, Wirtz won 95% of his tackles, compared to 85% this season and a 60% success rate in ground duels. In contrast, Anderson's tackle success rate was just 65% last season, though he still led the league with 297 duels won. It doesn't mean Wirtz is a better tackler, it means he's intelligent about when and where he tries to win the ball, he knows his limits and doesn't overcommit. Anderson on the other hand, doesn't mind overcommitting at all. Florian knows that, and he'd rather keep his ankles in one piece.

My point being, it's stupid for people to be expecting Wirtz to win a 50/50 against an aggressive high-volume tackler who's literally the best in the league at winning duels. Never judge a fish by how it climbs a tree. Shoutout Einstein.

14 Oct 2026 21:48:43
Chewy where you getting Wirtz tackle stats from mate?

Those stats put Wirtz as the top tackle winner percentage wise by a country mile.

Apparently James Tarkowski (Everton): 81.8% is the leading tackle percentage winner this season in the PL.

Any player that wins 95% of their tackles would be a unicorn.

15 Oct 2026 11:04:13
Good shout JK, I googled it and it said last season he made 26 out of 28 tackles, I never trust Google, but it cited FBRef so I took a quick look at Florians page and confirmed that it does list 26 tackles won, so I wrongly assumed it was the correct %, turns out FBRef doesn't list attempted tackles for Wirtz, a little more digging tells me Google used an OddAlerts listing that shows Wirtz in the top 6% (94th percentile) for career ball recoveries and just decided that this was the same as winning 94% of tackles last season, which seems to be where it got 28 attempted tackles from.

His actual tackles won in the PL last season was about 75%, apparently 26 of 34, but I had to check numbers from multiple sites, some conflicting, some not listing attempts at all, and now I don't trust any of them tbh!

The only thing I can confirm for certain is that Wirtz is not a unicorn, but I don't have the credentials to certify that!

15 Oct 2026 11:30:52
Chewy i wasn't trying to be awkward with my reply mate but i'm actually a little bit of a geek when it comes to stats and was actually wondering if you had unearthed a site i was unnaware of mate.

14 Oct 2026 18:40:29
Who's the sexiest Liverpool's player of all time? Patrick Burger or Dominic Szobosli?

14 Oct 2026 18:52:20
John Barnes.

14 Oct 2026 19:00:28
John Stones was hottt.

14 Oct 2026 19:42:35
Oops. I've somehow stumbled onto the lustpool page.

14 Oct 2026 19:44:09
Dirk kuyt.

14 Oct 2026 20:13:24
Peter Beardsley ?.

14 Oct 2026 20:26:50
Barry is correct.

14 Oct 2026 21:50:08
I think when we're talking about the sexiest player we need to start by defining what sexy is. That is difficult as it's completely, but I like robust intelligence to complement devastating good looks. First impressions also count massively.

With all that said, and ruling out Alisson as it is just not fair on anyone else, I'll go for Simon Mignolet.

14 Oct 2026 21:54:22
A lass I was going out with back in the good ole days had a thing for Jamie Redknapp. Always going on about his hair??

14 Oct 2026 22:49:11
Beat me to it @Barrt, Peter Beardsley all day long. Great footballer btw.

14 Oct 2026 23:17:45
I've never watched the ladies game but it would be one of the LFC Women's side.

15 Oct 2026 10:42:53
Igor biscan.

14 Oct 2026 17:43:43
Why is Tsimikas captain? That makes no sense at all!

14 Oct 2026 18:29:01
Flo is running this game tonight. Playing really well.
I've got no problem with Tsimi being Captain for the night.

14 Oct 2026 18:29:07
A lot of European teams / coaches just give it to the most experienced player.

14 Oct 2026 18:34:22
Who should be captain?

14 Oct 2026 18:37:54
I was shocked it wasn't Alisson to be fair.

Doesn't bother me in the slightest though ?.

14 Oct 2026 18:40:56
He's there to toss a coin Jonny not set a field for a fast bowler. Makes no difference in these sort of games without Vyrgil on the pitch & it should be a collective responsibility anyway.

14 Oct 2026 18:42:53
Why not?

14 Oct 2026 18:43:04
To be fair, he can be captain every week if we play like this!

14 Oct 2026 19:32:44
Seriously, who cares?

14 Oct 2026 19:52:04
Couldn't give a flying fish. Apparently Iraola doesn't like goalkeepers as captain.

14 Oct 2026 20:07:56
Iraola already explained that teams with the GK as captain are at a disadvantage, because only the captains can speak to the ref.

14 Oct 2026 20:28:22
Good spot Fornax I hadn't seen that.

14 Oct 2026 20:32:52
Greek scouser was immense, putting through balls in from midfield and amazing over the top passes from left back. Was up and down the pitch with every, amazing corners and brilliant defensively. Never let's anyone down and is great in the dressing room. Best reserve left back we've ever had. Give the guy some credit for a change on here.

14 Oct 2026 20:41:03
FORNAX is a public information service maintained by the Swedish Government. Please consider buying Swedish where possible.

14 Oct 2026 16:37:49
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Matchday 6 - Quick Round Up

14 Oct 2026 18:37:47
Hahaha. Ed1, nice one. Love how the ref is both the starman and the flop in your analysis of the game against Man City.

{Ed001's Note - thanks!

14 Oct 2026 18:52:20
Cheers as always Ed.
I can't get over that refereeing performance.
Ruined a game and gave it to City of all people.
I also feel the build up helped city more than us.

14 Oct 2026 20:01:36
Ed on the United vs Spurs game, never have I seen that many flops from one team in any of your Matchday reviews.

14 Oct 2026 17:52:53
Brilliant read up Ed, summed up the Liverpool game perfectly and loved the starman and flop, proper made me laugh ?.

{Ed001's Note - thank you so much Tim.}

14 Oct 2026 20:46:02
Thanks for this, Ed01. Will we get a review of the game against city?

{Ed001's Note - yes mate, that is what I am planning to do tomorrow.}

14 Oct 2026 21:21:07
Thanks Ed.
Great read as always.

Just 1 bad point from me. you forgot to mention how useless Wirtz is, and should leave our club immediately.

{Ed001's Note - why would I mention that? It is simply not true.}

15 Oct 2026 00:54:46
I think JLC was firmly tongue in cheek when he said or Ed. It was a great write-up regardless. Looking forward to your match review for us against city too :)