Liverpool Banter 2

20 Jun 2026 22:33:57
BBC Football Gossip suggesting Chelsea are going to go for Wirtz. As if.

20 Jun 2026 23:00:08
He's had another good game tonight. I am excited to see him under Iraola. No chance we sell.

20 Jun 2026 23:03:06
£100m and Palmer.

20 Jun 2026 23:07:50
Totally agree MK, he is quality, I could see why they would want him, any top team would easily accommodate him, he is gonna be a top baller. ✊🏻

20 Jun 2026 23:28:57
Intel design, it feels like there's a social media agenda to mock Wirtz every game, but when you actually watch him he is class. He made an extremely selfless run to take two defenders away and create a chance for Amiri late on (reminiscent of the runs Firmino would make for Mane/Salah), he also played a perfect first time volleyed cross into Havertz who just took a donkey touch, his first time cushioned pass for Brown nearly ended up in a goal as well, earlier in the game his line breaking pass through both midfield and defence to Nmecha should've ended up with a goal but he took a heavy touch etc.

Wirtz himself was also unlucky with a stabbed finish that he just didn't catch right but his touch and composure to work the space was very good, just lacked that final execution.

That's just the end product moments to his game tonight as well. If you then include his overall play initiating attacks, turning first time passes around the corner, pressing hard etc. He was fantastic. I was also really impressed with the CM for Ivory Coast though. Inao, his name was. He was like a little Modric/Kante. Absolutely everywhere and damn near impossible to dispossess.

20 Jun 2026 23:56:06
Spot on @MK, the boy has an excellent football brain and a brilliant eye and touch for a pass. His best days for us are still ahead of him.

21 Jun 2026 01:47:35
100m and Palmer? I'd rather have just 100m, but he's NFS. Wirtz gets treated like Ozil on here and there are comparisons - but the kid has so much potential still. Would be insane to let him go.

{Ed001's Note - if he was like Ozil, you wouldn't be complaining as he would be smashing assist records and working hard, despite the bull in the media. Ozil was a fantastic player.}

21 Jun 2026 08:44:35
I still just think he doesn't finish well enough. Like I've seen him just smash a ball before, but so many times this season I just want him to f***ing ping it from edge of the box or first time as ball is played to him towards channel inside box.

And I know in some of these he was doing what he was told and to try walk it in.

And on some of those he probably did the right thing, and was the person he passed to, the messed it up.

But, yeah, I want a bit of F*** it, I'll do it myself from him this season and moving forward.

21 Jun 2026 09:04:38
I like Wirtz, but at the moment he's a very good player in certain games and when the style of football suits him, but not great. He's rarely had great games for us, maybe a couple in a season.

Next year is the acid test. For me the biggest issue is where to play him. In the prem he's ineffective off the left, so he needs to play more centrally.

If he goes central he's competing with Szob for a place, and at the moment Szob is producing better numbers which leaves Wirtz on the bench.

Unless Szob leaves, I think Wirtz may struggle to establish himself, and could be let go at the end of next season.

20 Jun 2026 22:22:58
Maybe he just had a bad game, but Schlotterback is neither half as good a passer as VVD, nor half as good a defender. People who have watched him more would be better placed to comment. But on today's game I would not want us to sign him.

20 Jun 2026 23:09:09
Youre seriously delusional if you think that we can buy a player who’s going to be what Van Dijk has been. Its not possible. Its like saying Diomande doesnt look as good as Salah, yeah no s*** Sherlock. When we replace Alisson, the replacement will not be as good. When you have players who are considered absolutely best in class, whoever you replace them with, when the time comes, is almost always a downgrade when taken without context, but when you remove a part and add a new part, you may get other unexpected benefits which make a difference to the team.

He only has to be a solid link in the chain. 17 solid links will get you a long way. The team makes the star, not the star the team.

20 Jun 2026 23:59:26
Virgil had a rubbish game, tbh, even though they won, typical, throwing his hands in the air and looking elsewhere when he got things wrong. Pi**es me right off that, just not captain behaviour.

21 Jun 2026 08:46:30
If you watched how many times VVD got done by simple channel balls today for a while, you may have a debate here. In fairness, the Dutch did seem all over the place, system-wise at the back for a while.



But yeah, we are not going to replace the peak VVD who is arguably the best CB to grace a football pitch. But the version of VVD now is becoming more and more replaceable (naturally).

21 Jun 2026 08:53:25
Maybe that's why he's a crap captain.

20 Jun 2026 21:57:38
Hi Eds, quick question, where do you think Iraola will play Wirtz?

Am watching Germany vs Ivory Coast and Wirtz started by hugging the left wing and is now in the centre and it feels like Nagelsman isn't sure where to play him.
Surely he is more affective in the middle?

Also, saw Diomande make three awful touches and then wow, skinned the defender and great cross in with left foot (and he's right-footed).

{Ed001's Note - I think he will play him across the 3, sometimes left, sometimes centre, sometimes right, depending on what he needs for that game. Iraola likes flexibility.}

20 Jun 2026 23:06:25
Germany, he's always as a left 10 and drifts outside or in the middle.

20 Jun 2026 23:10:31
Barakdee, Wirtz played on the 'left' the entire game. He floats though and ends up drifting central, deeper or even over to the right but you saw every time he eventually ended up back out on the left as his main position. It's the complete opposite to Nagelsman not knowing how to use him in fact; he knows the best way to use him is to just give him a free role. Wirtz is tactically intelligent enough to react to the game in front of him and move to the area where he can hurt the opposition. By starting him on the left though he can drift around creating overloads and leave space on that left side for Brown to burst forward and retain the width. Wirtz should've had 2 or 3 assists tonight, the clearest of which actually fell for Brown on the under lap. I hope we also just give Wirtz a free role under Iraola as Slot was far too obsessed with control that he wasted Wirtz in rigid tactics. However we make that work next year, well that's down to Iraola. Germany make it work by his starting position being from the left but Leverkusen also made it work behind a striker, off the right and even as a false 9 on occasions. As Ed says, Iraola will probably move him around and rotate the attack given we have so many options and are still looking to add more.

Iraola plays a 4-2-3-1 and in those 4 forward positions it looks like our intention is to have Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Isak, Diomande, Munoz, Rio, Ekitike, Barcola and maybe even Elliott. An absolutely obscene level of depth but a necessity if we want to play Iraola's high octane press and compete on 4 fronts. Wirtz is going to really benefit from having so many runners ahead of him next season.

21 Jun 2026 00:20:26
He'll float.

21 Jun 2026 03:52:33
Wirtz looked great for us when he started on the left and was given a free role to roam around. He popped up all around the pitch, linking play and playing passes in behind.

20 Jun 2026 21:23:07
Totally understand the comments about Gakpo on here tonight!
Just proves he as much as anyone was a victim of Slots turgid football philosophy!

20 Jun 2026 23:12:39
Slot's tactics didn't make Gakpo ignore Kerkez every time and constantly smash shots against defenders.

In the same way one good game at a WC should not make you sign someone, it also shouldn't make you keep them.



Gakpo was awful last season and hopefully a good WC will boost his transfer fee a little bit. Keep in mind he was playing against Championship level players down the Sweden right side!

21 Jun 2026 00:21:19
F*** me, Slot is gone. Move on, bro.

There are multitudes of reasons why a player does well for their national team versus club or vice versa.

21 Jun 2026 03:59:08
I'm not sure I agree with that, MK. Both Rio and Gakpo played the same way last season, always choosing to cut inside instead of playing in the overlapping fullback. That feels to me that it was under Slot's instructions, unless they both have very similar playing styles.



We'll never know, though, whether it was a choice or if it was under instructions. But, personally for me, I don't think Gakpo is that poor a player. Him, and the rest of the squad, starts on a clean slate this coming season for me.

20 Jun 2026 21:14:35
Schlotterbeck giving his best audition for Liverpool tonight by getting injured, which is one key attitude to being a new Liverpool signing.

21 Jun 2026 08:55:24
🤣🤣🤣 Exactly what I thought.

20 Jun 2026 20:13:10
Is it just me, or are all the Liverpool players playing out of their skin at the World Cup? You know, call the ones that were absolutely awful all season. I am so glad we ditched Slot and so excited about next season.

20 Jun 2026 21:14:48
Thanks to Ruben Peeters' periodisation programme, our team is now fully match fit and rearing to go.

20 Jun 2026 21:34:07
Kimmich can't handle Diomande.

20 Jun 2026 22:32:58
Isak was pants.

21 Jun 2026 00:05:29
He assisted the Sweden goal.

20 Jun 2026 19:33:09
Can we sign this Gakpo to replace the one we've got please?

20 Jun 2026 19:58:44
Haha, we're all thinking the same by the looks of it.

20 Jun 2026 20:06:17
Every time the ball is played direct and quick, amazing how good he looks.

Slotball was killing these players.

I very much suspect others that receive a lot of criticism to be far better this season also. Namely, dare I say it, Frimpong.

20 Jun 2026 20:34:33
Mate, Slot ball was the worst thing ever. People were being harsh on Gakpo, but it was clear the players were being advised to play the dull, drab borefest we were seeing every week. I am so so so glad he is gone.

Our players were great before him and will be great again. Hopefully, MacAllister gets good again, but I don't really care about him too much cos I know he wants to leave.

20 Jun 2026 19:27:44
Who's that Gakpo fella? He looks half decent!

And the Gravyberg not bad.

Just sayn!

20 Jun 2026 22:22:30
I think that Virgin's Vanny's Dyke seems tasty too, especially for his age. Could be worth a punt!

20 Jun 2026 19:18:06
That Gakpo is a right player, Liverpool should sign him up to play with his twin brother.