Liverpool banter 7

06 Jun 2026 17:26:20
Hi Ed01 - hope your well

What's your view on Alex Scott with the obvious links to Iraola?

I watched him down at Ashton gate a few times when he was younger and he had obvious potential but seemed quite lightweight in a sometimes brutally physical league.

He does seem to have bulked up over recent seasons and is putting good runs of games together - do you think he's a good fit for us over someone like Wharton

Thanks mate

{Ed001's Note - much much better than Wharton, who has regressed under Glasner. Scott has become all action, gets stuck in, works hard and has become a decent option with potential. Wharton just looks too much like Mac Allister slightly improved, with that horrible lack of mobility and defensive nous. Scott is much more mobile.}

06 Jun 2026 18:00:29
Thanks Ed 👍

{Ed001's Note - very welcome.}

06 Jun 2026 19:13:55
Agree Wharton is very very overrated.

06 Jun 2026 20:40:23
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that, Ed.

06 Jun 2026 16:39:32
There seems to be a mixed reaction on here to our interest in Diomande. Other than the clips I've watched since we were linked with him, I honestly haven't seen enough of him to judge whether he's worth £10 million or £100 million.

If I'm being honest, with any player coming from outside England, I tend to put my faith in the club's scouting system because I simply haven't seen enough of them to form a strong opinion.

Some people must have a lot of free time to watch all of Leipzig's games on top of following the Premier League. Fair play to them if they do!

06 Jun 2026 18:24:37
I'm sure people just watch the good bits on YouTube, then make an instant judgement. Even if he does look great in most games, it's so hard to judge when he's playing against terrible defenders in Germany.

The ones who make instant judgements will also claim he's a flop after not banging 20 goals in his first season.

Others will also talk about having a certain ceiling.

I've still got no idea how anyone can know what their ceiling is over another player, as everyone progresses at different rates.

All I know is that he's rapid, looks like he can dribble, but is always going to be a huge risk, like most other players. The fee spoken about is quite scary, so we'd need to assess if the risk is worth taking.

06 Jun 2026 15:33:50
Michael Kayode vs Top 5 League U21 Fullbacks

◉ Defensive duels won – 1st
◉ Interceptions – 1st
◉ Shots blocked – 1st
◉ Possessions won – 1st
◉ Shot assists – 1st
◎ Duels won – 2nd
◎ Accelerations – 2nd
◎ Successful dribbles – 2nd
◎ Fouls suffered – 2nd
◎ Offensive duels won – 2nd
◎ Successful attacking actions – 2nd
◎ Expected assists – 2nd.

06 Jun 2026 16:03:19
Under 21 cuts out a big sub section.

What does Under 25 look like?

Not dissing Kayode. I like him. Just genuinely interested how he fares in that bracket.

06 Jun 2026 16:05:26
He's a beast of a right back. If you sign Wharton, then Kayode makes a lot of sense, so Wharton doesn't have to get dragged into the channels.

If you sign a more physical no6 that is capable of defending channels, then you might be better off with Palestra who is a bit better on the ball with both feet.

06 Jun 2026 16:15:00
Good stats them.

How many under 21 full backs are in the league though?

06 Jun 2026 17:19:38
Why have you shown these stats? Is he being considered, or is this just a good player you hope that he comes?

06 Jun 2026 17:51:28
It's worth mentioning he will also come with a hefty price tag of say 50-60 million. Palaestra is half that fee.

06 Jun 2026 19:06:12
Is there any other right fullback in the Premier League, for example 21 or under?

06 Jun 2026 19:41:52
Fm Curtis Jones possibly?

I'm sure he still qualifies for under 21s.

06 Jun 2026 15:30:23
Just heard Rio could get some game time tonight, Tuchel has been very impressed by him…

06 Jun 2026 15:36:42
Great opportunity for the kid, although a shame he can't actually play in the cup.

06 Jun 2026 15:43:17
Seen reports the pitch is horrendous, and Tuchel is changing the starting team because of it.

If true, and he's that concerned, the game should be called off, not gambling with fringe players.

06 Jun 2026 16:55:00
Tuchel has said that he will put out a different 11 second half.

06 Jun 2026 16:59:54
Tuchel has had the whole season to look at Rio closely... if he is giving these 'extras' game time, because of the pitch, and he's worried about injuries, what happens if Rio gets seriously injured?

That's negligence in my book.



They should just refuse to play.
It's the World Cup. Standards should be set.
If pitches aren't up to scratch, then don't play. Not worth taking the risk.

06 Jun 2026 19:07:48
Will become the 4th youngest England debutant I believe.

06 Jun 2026 21:47:07
Barnes, Redknapp and Gomes. 3 Liverpool players who had careers that were seriously affected by injuries suffered while playing for England.

06 Jun 2026 22:36:09
Sturridge too.

06 Jun 2026 14:02:47
I'll start this by saying I think Diomande is a good player with lots of potential but...

If we are gonna have to spend upwards of 100m, it makes more sense to me to spend that on someone like Olise.

Already world class. Prem league experience, fits the position we need and could fit in immediately with no adaption time.

06 Jun 2026 14:16:52
I don't disagree, Nevada, but one of the ITKs has asserted that the deal for Diomande would be less than we expect.

If Olise is near £150m (possibly £130m+) Diomande could come in at almost half that (just guessing).

To me that would represent value worth a little risk.

06 Jun 2026 14:18:45
Going to be honest, I really don't think he's a good player.

06 Jun 2026 14:35:17
Would Olise leave Bayern to come to Liverpool at this point in time?

Agree Diomande is a risk after 1 good season in the Bundesliga though.

I know it's said Iraola doesn't get involved much in transfers, but I'd imagine he isn't going to be given anyone he doesn't want, especially at that price, so if it does happen then in him I trust.

06 Jun 2026 14:41:15
Diomande will be a great signing who will develop a lot under AI.

06 Jun 2026 14:48:05
Interested to read Diomande was on trial at Bournemouth whilst Iraola was there, wanted to go all in for him but they couldn't get a deal done and ended up at RB. I expect he's looking forward to working with him if we can get the deal over the line.

06 Jun 2026 15:07:09
There's a player in Diomande for sure, but it's a tonne of money for a player after one good season in German league.

I haven't placed all my hopes in dreams in getting him, and can understand if club go in different direction if it gets too expensive.

If we get him though, I'll be very happy also.

We just need quality wingers.

06 Jun 2026 15:32:00
Why would we spend 150+ on Olise when we can get Diomande & Barcola for same price.

06 Jun 2026 15:44:49
Diomande and his price are the modern equivalent of Mane. Those raw materials are seen as the strongest to shape into a player who can be as good as Sadio.
Iraola is clearly the man to do that.

06 Jun 2026 15:45:29
I think so much work has been put into securing Diomande that it would be surprising if they just gave up now. We have a good relationship with Red Bull, so all parties must think there must be a deal to be done, else they wouldn't even bother as they know each other so well.



I can't say I have watched enough of him to justify the mooted fee, but his data must be pretty good for both RBL and Liverpool to value him at what they do!

As for Olise, I don't think he's a Liverpool player. Amazing skills. But we desperately need to add grafters this summer.

06 Jun 2026 15:55:17
You might say that Olise would probably only cost 40 mill more than Diomande, but Olise would also cost three or four times the wages. We could triple Diomande's current wages and he'd still only make less than Chiesa. Olise is also not a touchline winger, which is pretty much what we need right now.

06 Jun 2026 16:18:35
Just seen something like Diomande is only the 3rd teenager to score 12 Bundesliga goals alongside Haaland and Sancho.

One worked in PL, the other didn't.



Can't really think off the top of my head, but what other Bundesliga success stories have there been in the PL (KDB), and what other league would we say has the highest success rate at a guess for players moving to the PL?

{Ed001's Note - Bobby!! How could you forget we got Bobby <3 from the Bundesliga?}

06 Jun 2026 16:19:06
PB, I've always seen Olise as more of a wide playmaker than an actual wide forward/winger.

06 Jun 2026 16:32:55
He pretty much is a right sided 10 rather than a pure winger, it's true.

Plenty of Bundesliga success stories in the prem, surely, JK? Dom is one, Gundogan, Son, Bobby, Aubameyang, Matip, Kompany....

06 Jun 2026 16:36:19
It's funny seeing people banding around figures like £150m for Olise when we have no idea what he's valued at. I'm sure it would be a high fee regardless, especially for us, as I'm not sure Bayern have a great relationship with us atm, but that could just be rumours. I don't think it would be that high unless he's not for sale in the same way Isak was and we want to purchase no matter the cost, which is dumb.

I do agree that we need to be a lot more shrewd with our business this summer. These 100m+ transfers haven't worked out great for us so far, and I don't think it's in our best interest long term to engage in a lot more of them. There are players as good for better value out there, although I know the market of top talent is drying up a bit. People saying 100m+ for good talent is just how the market is today are a bit naive imo. 100mill today isn't the same as 34mill for Mane in 2016, that's a bit of an overstatement to make 100m look normal like 30m players were normal back then. 100m is still an extortionate amount for a player now and has been for a while.

This might however be a different conversation in 5 years time. Back then in 2016 we could probably afford 3-4 £30m+ players quite easily and it wouldn't have been so abnormal. Are we saying we could quite easily afford 3-4 £100m+ players now? The answer is no, unless the owners have completely lost the plot and forgotten how to run a sustainable business. Last season was a complete anomaly and shouldn't be repeated again for talent that might come good for us, Isak and Wirtz weren't guarantees.

I do think we need up to 5 or even 6 players in this off season whilst getting rid of a few that clearly don't want to be here anymore. We just need to be smart with our business and get a mixture of experienced pros and young talent that is playing at a high level but do not cost double what they're worth. Some will obviously be high fees and I'm all for it, but anywhere near 100m for Diamonde is robbery, same way the fee for Isak was. It also sets us back and means we do less business in other pressing areas.

06 Jun 2026 17:04:01
Havertz, Firmino, Matip, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Sane, Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Kompany, Ballack, Okazaki, Dzeko and Haaland are all examples of players who came from the Bundesliga and went on to be successes, including winning the Premier League as key players in their respective title-winning sides.

Many of them also won the Champions League and 3 of them won the treble with Man City, Gundogan actually being the captain that lifted all 3 trophies. That is just off the top of my head, so I'm sure there are a few more.

06 Jun 2026 17:09:59
Mk cheers mate.

Possibly answers both my questions then. For any farmers out there looking to play, they can't go far wrong from joining the Bundesliga.

06 Jun 2026 17:24:24
No worries JK, a fair question. The Bundesliga has a bad rap because of players like Karius, Werner and Sancho.

He never won the league, but Andre Schurrle was also a good player in the Premier League for Chelsea and Fulham. However, the best example of an individual success from the Bundesliga who never won the league is Son Heung-Min, who, through no fault of his own, walked away without a winner's medal, but is arguably one of the top 10 wingers in Prem history in my opinion.

06 Jun 2026 17:17:47
Get that Davey but the money is irrelevant I wouldn't get into the values as they are never correct anyway.

Ed2 always told us to ignore the finances.

Today's 100million player is yesterday's 50 million player such is the stupid world of football finance.

Baseball is used to these numbers

06 Jun 2026 16:58:38
Ed001 of course Bobby 🤦🏻‍♂️

Pat when I asked I meant was having a rain fart at that moment in time. I wasn't implying there wasn't success stories. Agree on all your shouts.

06 Jun 2026 17:40:30
Mk, not sure why but my original reply posted after my reply to you.

Wasn't me downplaying the Bundesliga. Just genuinely couldn't think of what players came from there off the top of my head as I was commenting. But, as you and Pat have proven, there's plenty of evidence there.

What a player Son was. One of my favourites outside of Liverpool.

07 Jun 2026 06:32:46
The club can pay whatever it wants to pay - transfer fees, players' wages, agents' fees etc, etc. As long as the player does the job that the Head Coach wants, that's all that really matters to me. Equating how good a player is with how much a club were prepared to spend buying him is pointless, not only for us but for all clubs.

06 Jun 2026 13:51:43
Some debate over Slot v Rodgers atm so I'm keen to know how people think Slot would have done if he had to take over a team in the same state that Rodgers did?

Slot benefited massively from walking into a side that was ready to challenge for a title, whereas Rodgers took on a team struggling to stay in the top half of the table.

So, does Slot take Dalglish's side from 8th to a close 2nd, playing the football we saw this year?

06 Jun 2026 14:29:35
It's a good question, Chewy. My take on it is, it was Suarez who took us from 8th to 2nd. He almost single handedly won us the title.

06 Jun 2026 14:39:21
I view Chewy, if Slot was up against that City side, we don't win the league, and if Rodgers was up against the teams from last season and this season, we win it easy and look good doing it.


But, personally, I did not like Rodgers; professionally, I did not like Slot.
So, am just glad to move on and finally start looking forward to the games again after 18 months of terrible football.

06 Jun 2026 14:44:45
Then did Mo single handedly win us the title last year with the epic season he had?

06 Jun 2026 14:52:40
imo:

Slot might get the Rodgers team into the top 4 because of Suarez, but doesn't win the league.

Rodgers doesn't win the league with Slot's 24/25 team. The man had no concept of how to set up a defence.

06 Jun 2026 14:54:40
Good question, that McGoveb.

In my opinion, Salah last season was the tip of the spear in what was a very good team that complimented each other.

Suarez, despite his flaws, was unbelievable for us on the pitch. The guy could nut meg a mermaid.

You put Suarez's Liverpool up against last season's a 100 times, I reckon last season's wins 90% of the time.

06 Jun 2026 14:56:37
He certainly played a huge part, Mcgov. Pity his form went down the hill this last season.

06 Jun 2026 14:59:29
Or, if Rodgers won the league, would he now be classed as a great manager? He wasn't too far away, but he is now ridiculed on here regularly.

06 Jun 2026 15:02:35
I see your point, McGoverb, it's a team effort, but without Mo there's no way Slot wins the league. I know that much, but we're getting slightly off topic here. Do you think Slot takes Rodgers' side from 8th to 2nd, considering what we've seen this year?

06 Jun 2026 15:14:32
What about what we've seen last year? It must be a really slow news day.

06 Jun 2026 15:25:17
No one can possibly say whether Rodgers would have managed it. The only definite is Slot won a title (on his own merit) and Rodgers didn't. By everyone's admission, Klopp had the same team Slot did the season before and failed to win the title.



Again. Move on, people. Say thanks for only our 2nd league title in 30 odd years, and then say thank feck we've got a new exciting coach in (which was what we all craved).

06 Jun 2026 15:25:58
Florian, my question is based on the fact that Slot walked into a much better situation, he was smart enough not to mess with Klopp's formula at the beginning. If he inherited Dallish's team, there's none of Klopp's influence, which was a massive factor in our success last season.

This season was the one for Slot to really prove himself, to implement his own ideas and show that it wasn't 'Klopp's team', yet he failed to do so.

06 Jun 2026 15:39:22
Suarez is incredible and for me the predominant reason we nearly won it under Brendan. But we had a world class Sturridge that season, a top quality Sterling, Gerrard, Coutinho and Hendo. It wasn't solely on Suarez.

06 Jun 2026 16:24:01
Have you considered that the Prem was much less competitive back then? Yes games against the big teams were always hard, but there were definitely games that were pretty much bankers for us and the bigger teams. Suarez looked like he could score 10 against the likes of Norwich every time he faced them, I suspect that as good as he was he wouldn't find it anywhere near as easy against the supposedly 'worst' teams in today's Prem. He would still come up with incredible numbers and make the difference in tight games with quality, but he wouldn't be steamrolling over teams like a one man dynamo nutmegging every defender in sight.

Of course you could say that we could scale for the amount of money that has been poured into the Prem, which has meant that every single Prem team has at least two players of top quality in their squad to punish whichever team they play when they can exploit an opening, but it's not just a matter of quality, what makes the biggest difference in today's Premier League is the fitness of the players and their ability to sustain man to man marking all over the pitch to deny space. Arteta himself said that (and you can take or leave what he says or consider it an excuse) it's this aspect of the game that has made him chase marginal gains and set pieces as a reliable path to goal rather than open play.

Anybody's argument about Slot's unsuitability for the Prem only stands if you believe that the way Slot set the team up last year is really the way that he wanted us to play. To me, the abomination that was last season was him desperately scrambling to make something of the season after his original vision, for various reasons- some not of his own making- failed to correspond to reality. But who's to say that the flaws of that vision would still be flaws in the Prem of Brendan's time? I'd wager that those flaws wouldn't have been exposed in such a cruel way back then, because the gulf in quality between teams would be so much vaster.

Jurgen himself found the Prem to be a culture shock the first two years he was here, and it hadn't even evolved to the point of nastiness that it has now. Brendan's defensive structure was, in my opinion, arguably worse than Slot's last year, but goals papered over the cracks, if Salah and Gakpo hit the numbers they did the previous year, then I'm sure goals would have papered over (some of) the cracks last season too.

You could say Slot walked into a much better situation, but it's only in hindsight that anybody could plausibly argue that this team was poised to win the title. I personally can't abide folks suggesting that Klopp had primed this team to win a title and that he could have handed it to anybody half competent to finish the job. That would be to ignore all the points Slot won with in game management and clever tweaks across 90 minutes. Brendan, on the other hand, has never really shown anything to suggest that he's a semi-decent tactical mind, and the less said about his preferences when it came to buying players the better. If you gave Brendan a say in spending 500 million pounds, I'd shudder to think what we would have ended up with.

06 Jun 2026 16:36:18
Changing, comparing players, teams, tactics and managers is a huge part of discussing football, so as you said, 'move on'.

I haven't seen anybody admit on here that Klopp failed anything, so don't push your nonsense opinions on anyone else.

Klopp didn't win with the same squad because he was rebuilding. By the time he handed the reins to Slot there had been major changes to the squad, with only 5 remaining title winners in the starting 11, and only 3 squad players.

So just 8 players from Klopp's Premier League-winning squad were still there when he left. And he managed to leave one hell of a team. They had shown excellent progression, both as a team and as individuals, moving from 5th to 3rd, and there's no doubt that Jurgen would have won the 24/25 season. The fact that Klopp signed a brand new midfield (Dom, Macca, Endo & Grav) in his final season, and still improved from 5th to 3rd, shows his immense quality.

06 Jun 2026 16:37:04
Oh sweet Jesus who let Patrik in? 🤣

06 Jun 2026 16:54:48
Let me know which opinion I gave that is nonsense? I'm pretty sure I spoke facts.

Slot won a title.

Brendan didn't.

Slot and Klopp had the same squad of players and Klopp didn't win the title with them.

Slot and Klopp have the same no of Premier League titles.

Tell which part of any of that isn't true, Chewy?

06 Jun 2026 16:55:33
I took the time to think about and articulate an answer to your question. Maybe next time I'll just step aside because I'm not welcome to reply to your posts, Chewy.

06 Jun 2026 17:06:03
It's just a joke, Patrik, remember it says banter at the top of the page, all opinions are appreciated, mate.

06 Jun 2026 17:07:40
I notice you completely sidestepped 99% of my response, Changing, care to comment on any of it, no?

06 Jun 2026 19:13:44
One manager wins big leagues. The other doesn't.

07 Jun 2026 06:38:53
I think you were, as always, @Chewy, spot on. Is that regular answer you wanted?

Ironic that you pointed out that is all about opinions.

06 Jun 2026 13:43:36
Long time supporter of this page from the back of the stand.

Seems some plonker @whelandavey has decided to start sharing screenshots of comments on X for clout.

Weird behaviour added to that Wilson Cox fella passing off info from here as if he is ITK.

We see you gents.

06 Jun 2026 13:29:05
Is it not tapping up if true that Bayern have agreed terms with Rio? If he's not for sale.

06 Jun 2026 14:42:26
Rio is going nowhere, it's nonsense, don't worry, just move on.

06 Jun 2026 15:16:01
It is when we do it match. Totally immoral. But grand when it's one of our players getting approached.

06 Jun 2026 16:21:08
BeKind, I've been saying it. Whoever put this info out into the ether is getting exactly what they asked for: Unnecessary attention, which he/she/they craved from the off.

Rio is going to be here next season. Enjoy the WC, lads.

06 Jun 2026 17:23:40
Wouldn't you consider selling him, if he has already agreed terms? Yes, we need to take it with a pinch a salt, but if there is any truth in it, I would say Auf wiedersehen, lad.

07 Jun 2026 06:40:22
Why is it immoral? What's morality got to do with it?

06 Jun 2026 12:58:37
The level of criticism of the current crop of players makes me wonder where the fan base is at. There is always a difficulty between the team and criticising individual players but the current crop going from hero to zero in one season in their entirety feels like something those from the other end of the M62 would engage in.
The general view on here seems to be -
Not good enough/always injured/past it - Alli, Marma, Bradley, Frimpong, Vvd, Gomez, Macca, Jones, Elliot, Isak
Limited ability/one trick pony -
Gakpo, Grav, Endo, Chiesa
Unproven at our level/in our system -
Ngumoha, Wirtz, Kerkez, Leoni, Nyoni, Jacquet
Good but likely to leave -
Sobozlai
Decent but unavailable -
Ekitike

In the past a couple of players would be singled out, not it's everyone.


Apparently you can end up walking alone.

06 Jun 2026 14:37:32
You can't tarnish everyone with the same brush. Everyone has different opinions.

Some even believe Liverpool fans are better than every other fan worldwide. But it's just opinions.

06 Jun 2026 14:52:02
What's wrong with saying Grav, Macca, Mo etc were excellent last season and crap this season? Seems like common sense.

06 Jun 2026 15:04:34
Why should we not criticise them, we pay to go to the games, we know when players are playing well or putting a shift in. If they don't do these things, they need criticising. All this nonsense of blindly supporting players is ridiculous, at the end of the day, 90% of them couldn't give a shiny big one for the fans.

07 Jun 2026 06:55:24
I've loved that sentiment for literally decades.... "I've paid my money, so I'm entitled to...." It's myopic.

Step back and take a look around - anybody and everybody can offer an opinion about Liverpool or any other team for that matter, and do you know what - the vast majority don't go to the match or buy overpriced merchandise.



The entitled often don't see that their opinion carries as much weight as everybody else in the world who wants to put forward their opinion.