We’ve lost a couple of incredibly hard away games by the odd goal, so not concerned yet, and fully expect an improved performance vs Chelsea. They bottled it under that atmosphere imo though, hesitant in the pass and hurried on the ball.

The balance isn’t there at all at the minute though.

Wirtz needs to do more, but he clearly has so much quality. Reminds me of Szob first arriving a little. He was a bit hesitant last night though, which means confidence.

Needs a goal and he’ll be okay I reckon. I’m a huge fan of him, but do wonder whether we should have bought an athletic DM, and let AMA and Szob fight it out for the 10 position.

I said it after Palace, and I’m going to say it again, putting Grav, AMA, Wirtz and Szob in the same side will not work, and certainly won’t work with Salah too. Id like to see Ekitike tried at LWF at some point, but none of these set up lead to partnerships, and that’s the problem with our rhythm.

Slot tinkered again last night, and again it didn’t work. It’s time to go back to basics vs Chelsea.

Other than that, Connor became the best (and in fact only) actual RB in the squad. We miss Trent massively and as predicted, there’s been too much change. We even changed our assistant manager, so comparisons to last seasons set up, or Klopp, are pretty pointless.

I keep thinking about the stadium announcer

The subs sounded like something happening in Star Wars.

"Slot tinkered again last night, and again it didn’t work. It’s time to go back to basics vs Chelsea."

Oh yeah this again. Seems to be over thinking things.

That Pep influence is coming out a bit too strong for my liking

We just seem to have a bit of an identity crisis at the moment. We need to go back to what worked last season. Defence needs more protection.

trent is a miss.

Yeah deep progressions at the moment is all Van Dijk.

Probably why we wanted Guehi as well

Decent piece on Wirtz I feel:

“ I spent the summer watching Florian Wirtz with the sort of certainty that only hindsight can now ridicule. Frame after frame convinced me he’d light a fuse in this Liverpool team from his first touch. He hasn’t. And that truth should humble anyone who thinks they truly understand this game.

Wirtz hasn’t failed, but he hasn’t exploded either. He’s felt his way in, rather than announced himself. The touches are there. The movement is intelligent. He works. But too often he looks like he’s playing to someone else’s tune, and not yet writing his own. In this brutal league, full of midfielders who maul and press like pit bulls, being tentative costs you the second you blink.

There’s a temptation to measure players by fee, by hype, by what we wanted them to be. But Wirtz is learning on the fly in a system still knitting itself together. He’s not playing with a fully functional Salah or Isak yet. He’s not surrounded by rhythm or certainty. Liverpool have reinvented themselves again and are asking a 21-year-old, adapting to a new country, to find clarity in a storm.

He will. It might not be this month. Might not even be before Christmas. But it’s coming. You can see it in flashes, in the way he holds space, in how defenders begin to backtrack before he even moves. Confidence will come. Partnerships will settle. And when they do, this lad will go from stoppable to unstoppable in the blink of an eye.

If you think you know exactly how and when that happens, then, just like me, you don’t understand elite football. The great players aren’t microwave-ready. Some need time to simmer. And when they do, they last. Wirtz is one of them. You can feel it. The rest is noise.”

comment by Michael Edwards FC 2.0 loading…I am you... (U2720)
posted 8 minutes ago
Yeah deep progressions at the moment is all Van Dijk.

Probably why we wanted Guehi as well
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The over reliance on VVD to break the lines with his passing is a bit of a joke. He already has 99 problems. One of the midfielders has to drop deep and make the play too. That should have been Mac but he is out of form.

What annoys me about Wirtz is the fact he keeps being shoehorned into the team when it isn’t working. Give him some time to work from the bench as players tire, meaning we can go back to what worked last season and ease him in the way Klopp used to.

Same goes for Frimpong, Kerkez, and Isak.

Slot has got a bit overexcited with te new players tbh.

Don't get the point of playing Szob at right back when both first choice rightbacks are fit and then playing Frimpong on the rightwing.

we looked better once bradley was on the pitch.

Connor has to start vs Chelsea, and Id drop Konate now too.

I mean, it's pretty clear he's still figuring things out. I just feel like he shouldn't have to feel like he has to make all the new signings click immediately.

And to be fair he's been managing Isak well. It's only Wirtz, Ekitike and Kerkez who he has thrown into the deep end.

Thought Kerkez was good last night.

Kerkez is getting better, but for some reason, Slot is playing him as a 3 with Virg and Konate. Makes no sense when his strength at Bournemouth was bombing down that left side getting crosses in. He’s not that great in possession, so let him use his power in overlaps.

Slot will never not have that extra man in the last line. That's the Guardiola in him

comment by (K̇ash) - 20+6 - Free Palestine 🇵🇸 Resistance is Existence (U1108)
posted 43 minutes ago
comment by Michael Edwards FC 2.0 loading…I am you... (U2720)
posted 8 minutes ago
Yeah deep progressions at the moment is all Van Dijk.

Probably why we wanted Guehi as well
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The over reliance on VVD to break the lines with his passing is a bit of a joke. He already has 99 problems. One of the midfielders has to drop deep and make the play too. That should have been Mac but he is out of form.
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We don’t have anyone who can play those deep penetrating passes though, that’s the problem. Mac is better higher up in between the lines as a 10 like he was at Brighton. Grav is best turning with the ball and driving forward and Szobo is also better as the 10 in his pressing and athleticism.

We sorely lack a Wharton type how Trent has gone. Which is why Wirtz is struggling because he drops so deep to get on the ball. Needs quick passes into feet so he can get at back fours before they set in a low block.

comment by Mo Salahhhhh 7-0 Egyptian King 👑 (U8829)
posted 13 seconds ago
Kerkez is getting better, but for some reason, Slot is playing him as a 3 with Virg and Konate. Makes no sense when his strength at Bournemouth was bombing down that left side getting crosses in. He’s not that great in possession, so let him use his power in overlaps.
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Yep, not enjoying the three at the back in possession at all. It murders Konate are too, he’s no idea where to stand.

comment by Robbing Hoody - Dad, why is my name ‘202... (U6374)
posted 35 minutes ago
Connor has to start vs Chelsea, and Id drop Konate now too.
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I can't defend Konate anymore. He is playing like Lovren and is a liability. Best to start Gomez again even with the ticking time bomb injury.

Back when Utd were good, I always enjoyed it when they were playing Gala (or Fenerbahce actually) because they would give them a hell of a game. And if they kicked the crap out of them a bit, so much the better.

Yesterday was always going to be a difficult game and an intimidating atmosphere. Would have been tricky for an experienced and well functioning team, and we're neither of those things right now. So I'm not overly down about the result.

I think it's too easy to point at Wirtz. As many people have already said, we miss Trent and we miss Diaz. We've lost the ball playing from the back and middle thirds that Trent gave, and in Diaz we've lost width and ball carrying ability. Any right back playing us must just be waiting for Gakpo to cut in. And when he does, he's getting into Wirtz's space.

Looking at how the team is shaping up, I do wonder whether Slot is planning for Salah's exit and wants 4-3-2-1; with width from FB and Wirtz and Ekitike behind Isak. But we obviously can't drop Salah because he's our best player and right now, our biggest goal threat and chance creator.

Fwiw I would like Slot to:

1) Pick a RB. Don't care if it's CB or JF right now, but pick one. And then get them to act like a standard attacking RB, i.e they work with Kerkez or Robbo to attack and defend. So there's variety. It's can't just be RB attacks and LB defends.

2) Pick a midfield. Stop trying to cram all 4 players into the 11. You have Grav, AMA, Szobo and Wirtz. Pick 3 of them for each game.

3) Start Chiesa and tell him to operate as a winger. I know not everyone will agree with this but atm we have Gakpo, Wirtz and Ekitike all wanting to be in the same spaces. I want width, I want ball carrying ability and I want defenders who don't know if the LF will cut in or try to get to the line.

4) Rotate Isak and Ekitike, at least until Isak is fully match fit, and ask them to lead the press and not drop too far too often. Need a box presence.

5) Give Konate the bollocking of his life. And then tell him he's still first choice. We need consistency but ffs, he needs to improve.

Konate has looked horrible last two games, and the funny thing is apparently we're making progress towards extending him just as he has a bad spell, it was reported last night

If he stops messing about and we play Bradley at RB, I think we'll be OK. Szob and Grav behind Wirtz. Isak has looked sharp and Wirtz is still getting into fantastic positions and now getting good shots off so it's just a matter of games for him now and I'm not panicking about either.

Funny how when one cog is being subpar, the rest falls down so quickly. I don't really remember us being like that recently at least, besides the injury seasons like 22/23.

Really is frustrating Leoni is out for the season.

Granted it was only Southampton but in those 70 odd minutes he won all his duels and looked like he had decent passing.

Could quite easily have got a run of games with Konate's form.

Konate basically has no competition so he’s gunna be having these stinkers for a while yet. Should have just swapped Guehi for Gomez.

I would play Gravenberch in a back three build up and play Kerkez and Frimpong as wingbacks. Mac Alister and Szoboslai in the double pivot. A 4231 with the current players isn't working. There is a lack of explosive pace on the wings to carry the ball and we don't have the players at the back to progress the ball into the midfield when the likes of Konate and Kerkez are
pressurized.

For both Leverkusen and Germany Wirtz had a left wingback making overlapping runs to create space and options for him. We have Gakpo on the lw who wants to cut in and move into the left half space where Wirtz wants to operate in. It's a different dynamic when your left winger is receiving the ball in the wide areas compared to Wirtz receiving the ball in the inside channel and Kerkez bombing forward.

comment by The Welsh Xavi (U15412)
posted 14 minutes ago
Really is frustrating Leoni is out for the season.

Granted it was only Southampton but in those 70 odd minutes he won all his duels and looked like he had decent passing.

Could quite easily have got a run of games with Konate's form.
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From what I read about Leoni he was very highly rated and what I saw there I could see why so that is a frustrating injury especially with Konate being a bit off it

https://x.com/OptaJoe/status/1973332093833998806?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

Food for thought, and entirely believable.

Once Isak is up to speed and I do think it's close, we're laughing