comment by Terminator1 (U1863)
posted 7 seconds ago
You have to wonder if us doing so well is not what he was expecting and is something of an inconvenience? It would have far easier for him to leave on a free if we’d had the transitional season most were expecting and were looking at finishing lower down.
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100%

@JamesPearceLFC

Liverpool relaxed about Alexander Arnold story, Conor Bradley is seen as a natural replacement and James Milner can also cover there too.

I'd say Madrid need a right back and they've put a bid in for a very good right back who's in the last year of his contract. Seems the logical thing to do and why you should allow your top players to get to this point, unless you've had assurances he's going to sign and you're still in negotiations.

comment by TheresOnlyOne7-0Reds (U1721)
posted 3 minutes ago
I'd say Madrid need a right back and they've put a bid in for a very good right back who's in the last year of his contract. Seems the logical thing to do and why you should allow your top players to get to this point, unless you've had assurances he's going to sign and you're still in negotiations.
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Youve been pretty confident all the way through this, as far back as the summer that hed resign. Do you still feel that way?

comment by Mellor, Lovely Cushioned Header, FOR GERRARD, ... (U1859)
posted 4 minutes ago
comment by TheresOnlyOne7-0Reds (U1721)
posted 3 minutes ago
I'd say Madrid need a right back and they've put a bid in for a very good right back who's in the last year of his contract. Seems the logical thing to do and why you should allow your top players to get to this point, unless you've had assurances he's going to sign and you're still in negotiations.
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Youve been pretty confident all the way through this, as far back as the summer that hed resign. Do you still feel that way?
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Absolutely. He made the comment at the start of the season that none of his contracts have been played out in public and neither will this one and he's said nothing since. The media have made a lot of it and many have formed an opinion on what they are saying, rather on what he said.

Ive said as far back as last summer hed leave and gave my reasons, most of which arent even football related. He strikes me as being someone in the beckham mould, appears to like the finer things, attends fashion shows, does shoots. Status feels like it is important to him in my opinion. All things that will just elevate playing for madrid.

I dont want him to leave. Dont buy into the we'll be better without him you hear some throw around but ive had very little confidence hed resign and am now at a point I have zero confidence.

If im wrong I'll be the 1st to hold my hands up

Also he's an intelligent lad. He will not be able to do what he does at Liverpool somewhere else. No way. He's allowed absolute freedom of the pitch, from right back! He excels within that freedom.

He would never have lasted at right back without it as he'd want more action in midfield. I have flip-flopped several times in the past year or so with my opinion that he should go into midfield but then he does things like his last couple of games where the space and freedom allows him to play a pass i don't think anybody else would be capable of and I mean anybody.

The team is perfect for him and if he's also competiting for all the major trophies and next in line for the captaincy at his boyhood club, who in their right mind would leave? It just doesn't make any sense to me.

So yeah I'm extremely confident despite what the media are saying.

comment by Mellor, Lovely Cushioned Header, FOR GERRARD, ... (U1859)
posted 6 minutes ago
Ive said as far back as last summer hed leave and gave my reasons, most of which arent even football related. He strikes me as being someone in the beckham mould, appears to like the finer things, attends fashion shows, does shoots. Status feels like it is important to him in my opinion. All things that will just elevate playing for madrid.

I dont want him to leave. Dont buy into the we'll be better without him you hear some throw around but ive had very little confidence hed resign and am now at a point I have zero confidence.

If im wrong I'll be the 1st to hold my hands up
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Never knew all that about fashion shows etc. I never read about footballers outside of football, just doesn't interest me but fair point if that's the case. Although I dont think that is enough reason to want to leave against the reason I gave for staying.

comment by TheresOnlyOne7-0Reds (U1721)
posted 3 minutes ago
Also he's an intelligent lad. He will not be able to do what he does at Liverpool somewhere else. No way. He's allowed absolute freedom of the pitch, from right back! He excels within that freedom.

He would never have lasted at right back without it as he'd want more action in midfield. I have flip-flopped several times in the past year or so with my opinion that he should go into midfield but then he does things like his last couple of games where the space and freedom allows him to play a pass i don't think anybody else would be capable of and I mean anybody.

The team is perfect for him and if he's also competiting for all the major trophies and next in line for the captaincy at his boyhood club, who in their right mind would leave? It just doesn't make any sense to me.

So yeah I'm extremely confident despite what the media are saying.
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"The team is perfect for him and if he's also competiting for all the major trophies and next in line for the captaincy at his boyhood club, who in their right mind would leave? It just doesn't make any sense to me"


My thoughts exactly. See what the next couple of weeks bring. Ive a feeling we'll know 1 way or other by then.

Yeah I i think we'll know by the end of January as if clubs think any of the three will be leaving, they'll be putting bids in now as they won't want to risk other clubs going in for them at the end of their contracts.

Not one bit concerned about Virgil and Salah but they'll want years, not about money and it will be whether the club or the players will compromise or not.

Only reason I'm slightly concerned about Trent is the amount of Liverpool fans who are completely decided that he's gone.

And for the people who like the Twitter rumour kings - Romano has stated that Trent and Liverpool are in negotiations and Trent has never told Liverpool he wants to join Madrid. You'd think that would be something he would have mentioned by now, if those rumours are true.

comment by TheresOnlyOne7-0Reds (U1721)
posted 18 minutes ago
And for the people who like the Twitter rumour kings - Romano has stated that Trent and Liverpool are in negotiations and Trent has never told Liverpool he wants to join Madrid. You'd think that would be something he would have mentioned by now, if those rumours are true.
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The obvious question is how would Romano know anything, more than the likes of Joyce?

If trents leaving the least he owes the club and fans is to tell them. As far as ive read hes told neither? All i saw him say was hes never done contracts publicly and never will?

part of me is worried he wants madrid ofc but id be disappointed if hes not told the club that if he does. I wouldnt blame him for it though, its not on him entirely its got to this if he leaves for free.

comment by Neo (U9135)
posted 1 hour, 23 minutes ago
@JamesPearceLFC

Liverpool relaxed about Alexander Arnold story, Conor Bradley is seen as a natural replacement and James Milner can also cover there too.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

comment by Terminator1 (U1863)
posted 4 minutes ago
comment by TheresOnlyOne7-0Reds (U1721)
posted 18 minutes ago
And for the people who like the Twitter rumour kings - Romano has stated that Trent and Liverpool are in negotiations and Trent has never told Liverpool he wants to join Madrid. You'd think that would be something he would have mentioned by now, if those rumours are true.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The obvious question is how would Romano know anything, more than the likes of Joyce?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't think any of them would know anything. They will make claims, which may change several times over months, like they all do and then they'll somehow have been right all along when it has concluded.

comment by Neo (U9135)
posted 1 hour, 23 minutes ago
@JamesPearceLFC

Liverpool relaxed about Alexander Arnold story, Conor Bradley is seen as a natural replacement and James Milner can also cover there too.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Why is this so believable?

comment by FieldsofAnfieldRd (U18971)
posted 19 hours, 43 minutes ago
Never understand the contempt and suspicion of the owners from fans. In isolation they've been decent owners, not saying there hasn't been mistakes. Compared to other owners of PL clubs they've been more than decent.

We've conducted our contract talks quietly, without leaks, briefings and counter briefings in the press, under FSG. I like that personally. Same with transfers.
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I noticed a change in some people back when we almost got Arab owners, but the DCI deal fell through, allowing FSG to swoop in.

January is here then! Expecting contracts to be our only focus as I don’t think slot wants any additional players in the squad, he said as much after the West Ham game.

Think not bringing in a DM is a mistake but Slot clearly thinks Endo can deputise there.

comment by Fred Slot (U3979)
posted 12 minutes ago
January is here then! Expecting contracts to be our only focus as I don’t think slot wants any additional players in the squad, he said as much after the West Ham game.

Think not bringing in a DM is a mistake but Slot clearly thinks Endo can deputise there.
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CB would be my main focus, with Gomez and Konate out we’re screwed if anyone else picks up an injury.

comment by Fred Slot (U3979)
posted 11 minutes ago
January is here then! Expecting contracts to be our only focus as I don’t think slot wants any additional players in the squad, he said as much after the West Ham game.

Think not bringing in a DM is a mistake but Slot clearly thinks Endo can deputise there.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Think that’s just a standard response from most managers when asked that question. I wouldn’t be surprised if we brought a DM in, but obviously picking from a small field of players as he seems to be very specific on what he wants. Wouldn’t be a big surprise if we signed no one.

Long post, but thought this was a great article in the Athletic. Obviously not everyone can read it on there, so I’ll copy and paste it. Well worth a read…..

What turns a team into champions is their ceiling and their floor. League winners come out on top not through occasional exceptional performances but rather because their ‘average’ performance is good enough to collect points consistently. A high floor matters more than a high ceiling.

Liverpool’s perspective on what it takes to be title winners is skewed by 2018-19 and 2021-22, when they produced the two best runners-up seasons in English top-flight history, finishing on 97 and 92 points respectively. On both occasions, Manchester City collected just one point more and won the league.

But realistically, Liverpool won’t even need to break 90 points to win the league this season, even if they are currently on track to surpass that. Halfway through 2024-25, nobody else has reached 40 points, and the other main contenders all have glaring weaknesses.

Arsenal are reliant on corners, lack cutting edge in open play and are without Bukayo Saka for the foreseeable future. Manchester City are leaking goals because they can’t defend crosses or transition. Chelsea, to apply the Liverpool analogy, have a high ceiling but a lower floor, packed with talent and depth, however they lack title-winning experience.

Those three teams account for third through to fifth, with second-placed Nottingham Forest deserving to be part of the title conversation as much for their remarkable first half of the season as the drop-off from others.

All of this is to say that Arne Slot hasn’t made Liverpool perfect but he has made them almost faultless. Their 5-0 win away to West Ham on Sunday means Liverpool have scored five-plus goals in consecutive Premier League away games for the first time since October 2021, having won 6-3 against Tottenham Hotspur just before Christmas.

Those big-hitting wins haven’t been what Liverpool have been doing all season, though. Ten of their 14 league victories have been by one or two goals. Shutting out West Ham was their eighth clean sheet, the most in the league, and the 15th time in 28 games across all competitions that they have limited opponents to chances worth less than one expected goal (xG).

Slot inherited stable foundations from his predecessor Jurgen Klopp — the average player in Liverpool’s starting lineups has been at the club for 4.5 years, the longest in the Premier League — and his approach has been to improve weaknesses rather than maximise strengths.
“
You know just as well as I know because I’ve won the league once (with Feyenoord), how hard it is to win it,” Slot said in the post-match press conference after Liverpool’s victory against Tottenham. “Every three days you have to be on top of your game, every minute of the game. That’s why it is so hard to win it because it’s not always easy to show up every three or four days.”

Their numbers are slightly down on last season, although Liverpool rank third for possession (57 per cent) and second for field tilt (61.8 per cent), the latter a reflection of territorial dominance through measuring the proportion of total final-third passes a team plays in a match. Slot has countered Klopp’s desire for Liverpool to play in behind often and create an open game. Last season, Klopp’s side played 102 through balls, the third-most in the league. But under Slot, they only rank eighth (36 in 18 games).

Slot’s Liverpool aren’t like Pep Guardiola’s City were in smashing (attacking) records to bits, they’ve got much more of a chameleon-like feel. Liverpool have the third-most final-third regains (95) as well as the most shots (29) and second-most goals (nine) from fast breaks — evidence of a team that can press to force turnovers or sit in a deeper block or counter-attack.

If their approach under Klopp was to play harder than everyone else, Slot’s focus is on being smarter.

Liverpool’s take-on frequency has dropped by four per game from 2023-24, with Liverpool attempting the second-fewest take-ons in the Premier League but ranking first for success rate (48.2 per cent). Slot has continued to build attacks through switches of play, though rather than playing from one full-back to another (with the latter moving upfield), Liverpool are keeping wingers high and wide and hitting them early to create more one-v-ones.

It’s the same squad but a different team, less reliant on aggression and intensity. Liverpool are more boring now — and for good reason. Slot’s side are wrapping up games by half-time in a style that’s reminiscent of Liverpool in 2019-20, winning all 10 matches from winning positions at the break. There have been fewer comebacks than last season, and while the defensive transition issues that plagued them in 2022-23 still haven’t been completely ironed out, their counter-pressure is much more cohesive.

Their five goals away to West Ham came from five different scorers, a reflection of the success of a strikerless system that deploys Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah as wide forwards, leaving nominal No 9 Luis Diaz to roam and connect, and creating space for midfielders Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai to make runs beyond the ball.

Three goals in a flurry of 14 first-half minutes in east London was the latest example of Liverpool putting games to bed by scoring in quick succession. It’s the seventh time in 14 away games they’ve done so and shows how cohesive their attack is.

Tellingly, while Slot spends plenty of time in his technical area, he doesn’t frequently coach from the sidelines: the players have ownership to implement his tweaks and find solutions. Liverpool have grown into games this season rather than flying out the blocks, being outscored 4-3 in the opening 15 minutes but scoring 17 and only conceding four between the 16th minute and half-time.

Liverpool’s head coach described the West Ham win as “the way I would like to see us play in an away game. Especially in the Premier League, the (home) fans come with a lot — a lot of fans in every stadium. The stadium is always sold out if Liverpool comes. They don’t need much to cheer for if Liverpool comes — if they have an attack or a corner kick, the fans are already cheering”.
Slot elaborated on the importance of preventing games from becoming occasions, which has happened before at West Ham, when Liverpool lost 3-2 in 2021-22 (and subsequently missed the title by a point) and drew 2-2 there in April.

“You have to kill that momentum as much as you can, and not give away anything. I think there was only two, three or four minutes where Curtis (Jones) lost the ball, Mo (Salah) lost the ball and then we conceded a corner, where the fans were a bit behind West Ham. For the rest, because we were so dominant, we could manage West Ham but also the crowds”.

Liverpool’s home form is typically outstanding. They have been the best home team in three of the last five seasons but have not topped the away ‘table’ since 2019-20. Last season, they took the most home points (48), winning 15 of 19 at Anfield, but came third overall — nine points behind City, who took 10 more points than Liverpool on the road.

Relatively, Liverpool make few mistakes. They are fifth for big chance conversion (42 per cent) from the most big chances in the league (81), and boast the division’s best tackle and aerial duel success rates. In fact, isolating it to just the defensive third, their 69.1 per cent aerial duel and 65.1 per cent ground duel success is the highest by a team in any Premier League season since 2018-19.

Slot emphasised the importance of duels and individual success underpinning a team performance right from matchday one, and he’s building this team on solid defensive foundations. They are adaptable even with injuries to first-choice centre-back Ibrahima Konate, while backup Joe Gomez went off early on versus West Ham and No 2 Caoimhin Kelleher filled in for Alisson for eight games when he had a hamstring injury.

As it stands, there are only two real critiques of Liverpool. One is some reliance on Salah for goals — though 15 of his 17 have come in the second halves with Liverpool already winning, after Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz have broken games open. Secondly, Slot’s team have only scored twice from set pieces, the joint-fewest in the league (with Fulham). The team are seemingly a long way from the dead-ball quality they consistently showed under Klopp.

Those aren’t weaknesses, though. Liverpool passed acid tests in Milan and Manchester, and are perfect from six Champions League games, only conceding once.

There is the ignominy of only winning the Premier League once from seven instances of being top at Christmas, but they are surely not going to be glorious losers this time. Not now Slot has made them all but flawless.

comment by Terminator1 (U1863)
posted 1 hour, 22 minutes ago
Long post, but thought this was a great article in the Athletic. Obviously not everyone can read it on there, so I’ll copy and paste it. Well worth a read…..

What turns a team into champions is their ceiling and their floor. League winners come out on top not through occasional exceptional performances but rather because their ‘average’ performance is good enough to collect points consistently. A high floor matters more than a high ceiling.

Liverpool’s perspective on what it takes to be title winners is skewed by 2018-19 and 2021-22, when they produced the two best runners-up seasons in English top-flight history, finishing on 97 and 92 points respectively. On both occasions, Manchester City collected just one point more and won the league.

But realistically, Liverpool won’t even need to break 90 points to win the league this season, even if they are currently on track to surpass that. Halfway through 2024-25, nobody else has reached 40 points, and the other main contenders all have glaring weaknesses.

Arsenal are reliant on corners, lack cutting edge in open play and are without Bukayo Saka for the foreseeable future. Manchester City are leaking goals because they can’t defend crosses or transition. Chelsea, to apply the Liverpool analogy, have a high ceiling but a lower floor, packed with talent and depth, however they lack title-winning experience.

Those three teams account for third through to fifth, with second-placed Nottingham Forest deserving to be part of the title conversation as much for their remarkable first half of the season as the drop-off from others.

All of this is to say that Arne Slot hasn’t made Liverpool perfect but he has made them almost faultless. Their 5-0 win away to West Ham on Sunday means Liverpool have scored five-plus goals in consecutive Premier League away games for the first time since October 2021, having won 6-3 against Tottenham Hotspur just before Christmas.

Those big-hitting wins haven’t been what Liverpool have been doing all season, though. Ten of their 14 league victories have been by one or two goals. Shutting out West Ham was their eighth clean sheet, the most in the league, and the 15th time in 28 games across all competitions that they have limited opponents to chances worth less than one expected goal (xG).

Slot inherited stable foundations from his predecessor Jurgen Klopp — the average player in Liverpool’s starting lineups has been at the club for 4.5 years, the longest in the Premier League — and his approach has been to improve weaknesses rather than maximise strengths.
“
You know just as well as I know because I’ve won the league once (with Feyenoord), how hard it is to win it,” Slot said in the post-match press conference after Liverpool’s victory against Tottenham. “Every three days you have to be on top of your game, every minute of the game. That’s why it is so hard to win it because it’s not always easy to show up every three or four days.”

Their numbers are slightly down on last season, although Liverpool rank third for possession (57 per cent) and second for field tilt (61.8 per cent), the latter a reflection of territorial dominance through measuring the proportion of total final-third passes a team plays in a match. Slot has countered Klopp’s desire for Liverpool to play in behind often and create an open game. Last season, Klopp’s side played 102 through balls, the third-most in the league. But under Slot, they only rank eighth (36 in 18 games).

Slot’s Liverpool aren’t like Pep Guardiola’s City were in smashing (attacking) records to bits, they’ve got much more of a chameleon-like feel. Liverpool have the third-most final-third regains (95) as well as the most shots (29) and second-most goals (nine) from fast breaks — evidence of a team that can press to force turnovers or sit in a deeper block or counter-attack.

If their approach under Klopp was to play harder than everyone else, Slot’s focus is on being smarter.

Liverpool’s take-on frequency has dropped by four per game from 2023-24, with Liverpool attempting the second-fewest take-ons in the Premier League but ranking first for success rate (48.2 per cent). Slot has continued to build attacks through switches of play, though rather than playing from one full-back to another (with the latter moving upfield), Liverpool are keeping wingers high and wide and hitting them early to create more one-v-ones.

It’s the same squad but a different team, less reliant on aggression and intensity. Liverpool are more boring now — and for good reason. Slot’s side are wrapping up games by half-time in a style that’s reminiscent of Liverpool in 2019-20, winning all 10 matches from winning positions at the break. There have been fewer comebacks than last season, and while the defensive transition issues that plagued them in 2022-23 still haven’t been completely ironed out, their counter-pressure is much more cohesive.

Their five goals away to West Ham came from five different scorers, a reflection of the success of a strikerless system that deploys Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah as wide forwards, leaving nominal No 9 Luis Diaz to roam and connect, and creating space for midfielders Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai to make runs beyond the ball.

Three goals in a flurry of 14 first-half minutes in east London was the latest example of Liverpool putting games to bed by scoring in quick succession. It’s the seventh time in 14 away games they’ve done so and shows how cohesive their attack is.

Tellingly, while Slot spends plenty of time in his technical area, he doesn’t frequently coach from the sidelines: the players have ownership to implement his tweaks and find solutions. Liverpool have grown into games this season rather than flying out the blocks, being outscored 4-3 in the opening 15 minutes but scoring 17 and only conceding four between the 16th minute and half-time.

Liverpool’s head coach described the West Ham win as “the way I would like to see us play in an away game. Especially in the Premier League, the (home) fans come with a lot — a lot of fans in every stadium. The stadium is always sold out if Liverpool comes. They don’t need much to cheer for if Liverpool comes — if they have an attack or a corner kick, the fans are already cheering”.
Slot elaborated on the importance of preventing games from becoming occasions, which has happened before at West Ham, when Liverpool lost 3-2 in 2021-22 (and subsequently missed the title by a point) and drew 2-2 there in April.

“You have to kill that momentum as much as you can, and not give away anything. I think there was only two, three or four minutes where Curtis (Jones) lost the ball, Mo (Salah) lost the ball and then we conceded a corner, where the fans were a bit behind West Ham. For the rest, because we were so dominant, we could manage West Ham but also the crowds”.

Liverpool’s home form is typically outstanding. They have been the best home team in three of the last five seasons but have not topped the away ‘table’ since 2019-20. Last season, they took the most home points (48), winning 15 of 19 at Anfield, but came third overall — nine points behind City, who took 10 more points than Liverpool on the road.

Relatively, Liverpool make few mistakes. They are fifth for big chance conversion (42 per cent) from the most big chances in the league (81), and boast the division’s best tackle and aerial duel success rates. In fact, isolating it to just the defensive third, their 69.1 per cent aerial duel and 65.1 per cent ground duel success is the highest by a team in any Premier League season since 2018-19.

Slot emphasised the importance of duels and individual success underpinning a team performance right from matchday one, and he’s building this team on solid defensive foundations. They are adaptable even with injuries to first-choice centre-back Ibrahima Konate, while backup Joe Gomez went off early on versus West Ham and No 2 Caoimhin Kelleher filled in for Alisson for eight games when he had a hamstring injury.

As it stands, there are only two real critiques of Liverpool. One is some reliance on Salah for goals — though 15 of his 17 have come in the second halves with Liverpool already winning, after Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz have broken games open. Secondly, Slot’s team have only scored twice from set pieces, the joint-fewest in the league (with Fulham). The team are seemingly a long way from the dead-ball quality they consistently showed under Klopp.

Those aren’t weaknesses, though. Liverpool passed acid tests in Milan and Manchester, and are perfect from six Champions League games, only conceding once.

There is the ignominy of only winning the Premier League once from seven instances of being top at Christmas, but they are surely not going to be glorious losers this time. Not now Slot has made them all but flawless.
————————————————————————————————————-
Interesting

Happy new year gents

Happy new year gents.

Bit of a shame there’s only one game today. New Year’s Day tradition always used to be a full list of premier league fixtures.

Think the break between games being longer will help us more than most teams but definitely feels like they’ve been more spaced out this festive period than they normally would.

Nice read term, maybe we should get our own set piece coach in? I remember saying on here I fear our set pieces under Slot after seeing them pre season, but that was more defensively. I felt we'd be penalised for what we were tryna do but seems pgmol have reverted on cracking down on that you can practically rugby tackle players at set pieces especially if Ur arsenal