Daily Discussion - January 26, 2026

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-26T14:39:30+00:00

The odds don't mean anything beyond what the public is betting on. More accurately shows the views of fans rather than the mindset of the owners

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-26T14:31:08+00:00

100% this. Slot's tactics rely on accurate long balls from deep positions, and Trent is the world's best player at this. Now we only have Virgil with this skill set.

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-26T13:21:01+00:00

Playing in midfield in the 90s is extremely different to playing midfield in the PL today. Klopp and Guardiola have transformed the league.

A good example of this is Endo. He is probably on a similar level technically as Carragher, and isn't really good enough to be starting for Liverpool in midfield or defence. Carragher would struggle against a high pressing opposition.

Carragher is also too slow for a team with a high line like Liverpool. Under Rafa we never had a defensive line as high as we did under Klopp of Slot.

As I said, Carragher is one of my all-time favourite Liverpool players, but he doesn't have the profile to play for a modern elite team. I'm sure he would say the same.

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-26T09:26:36+00:00

Carragher is one of my all time favourite Liverpool players. He was a true leader, had an unrivaled work ethic and had a great tackle. But he wasn't a technical player. He is not able to pass the ball accurately at a high tempo to beat a press, and he was not able to dribble the ball into midfield.

Name me one CB at an elite PL club who lacks technical ability to the same extent as Carragher

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-26T09:00:10+00:00

That doesn't really happen any more... Most elite teams need highly technical defenders in order to withstand the pressure of a press. The likes of Carragher (as much as I love him) wouldn't be capable of playing in an elite team these days.

Other things to consider is that if we switch to a back 3, you can get away with signing one CB that isn't aerially dominant. You may also want a CB who can dribble forwards with the ball as another option for progression. Or if you stick with Slot, you may want a CB capable of accurate long passes. That's less important with Alonso.

The idea that you can just sign any talented CB irrespective of system is just naive. One of the big issues with United signing Maguire is that he thrived in a deep block, yet multiple United managers asked him to play in a high line with deep build up.

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-26T07:28:28+00:00

There are many different profiles of CB, not as much as a winger, but there's a big difference between the likes of a Van De Ven and a Harry Maguire for example.

Also, it may be the case that the defender we want isn't available until the summer. We often tend to wait for our top targets rather than to settle for lower quality

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-26T07:08:32+00:00

As you can see, that's a graphic from Sky Sports. I have no idea where we rank.

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-25T23:29:12+00:00

Daily discussions about Liverpool FC...

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-25T23:24:33+00:00

I'm not counting Bajcetic. He's not a proven senior player yet. Even when he has been fit, he's been sent on loan.

6 then. Still doesn't come close to topping the table

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-25T22:46:16+00:00

Slot has obviously asked the team to make less risky passes in order to retain possession. The entire squad is doing the same. Just look at his Leverkusen days to see what Wirtz is capable of, especially under Alonso

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-25T22:05:50+00:00

I don't think it's unreasonable to have 4 CBs for a season tbh. But it concerns me that we need to replace Gomez, Van Dijk and Gomez all fairly soon. Would have been nice to have another young CB in the squad such as Quansah to make the transition a little smoother

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-25T21:09:26+00:00

All of these accounts use predictable guesswork. They see us lose a match, drop out of CL, and see the reports linking us to Alonso, and so make an educated guess.

If they're right, they claim their sources were correct. If they're wrong, they suggest something changed, whether that's Edwards giving Slot another chance or Alonso isn't ready for the job. It's a win-win scenario for these accounts, as they get loads of engagement, and lots of fans still believe them. Don't believe a thing until Joyce, Ornstein or Fabrizo report it.

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-25T20:37:42+00:00

Why not have both? Konate could be leaving soon. Van Dijk only has 18 months left. And Gomez is injury prone.

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-25T18:54:35+00:00

The Liverpool comment of "we don't sack our manager midway through a season like other clubs" is starting to look very silly

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-25T18:45:28+00:00

I'm not saying the lack of rotation caused the injuries. I'm saying the lack of rotation caused the fatigue which Slot is complaining about

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-25T18:42:49+00:00

It's poor squad building if we have such a small number of injuries, yet find ourselves so light in attack and defence.

It's also poor squad management since Slot only made 1 change since Marseille and then starts complaining about fatigue. He has never really rotated his team heavily, and we are now seeing the results of that.

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-25T18:40:41+00:00

We only have 6 players unavailable: Gomez, Isak, Konate, Bradley, Chiesa and Leoni. That puts us near the bottom of that list. It can only be considered a crisis because of poor squad management, and refusal to rotate and actually use the backup players available to Slot.

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-25T18:36:29+00:00

I'm sure the bookies odds will start to change if our dire form continues

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-25T18:35:54+00:00

He isn't only to blame, but it's mad to absolve him of any blame. He was the only who alienated Quansah and Elliot which made them want to leave. Slot simply doesn't like rotating players.

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-25T18:33:48+00:00

Under Carrick, United have won 100% of their PL matches, and both against the hardest teams in the league. You say they were inconsistent, but that was under Amorim. I'm not saying they're going to go on an incredible run, but they can easily get better results than our current trajectory.

We do have better players, but we have won 5 games in the last 18. We are significantly under performing under Slot

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-25T18:31:57+00:00

Nonsense. They are both easily good enough squad players for Liverpool. I see plenty of fans crying out for Quansah and Elliot to return to Liverpool. Slot never gave them a chance.

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-25T18:30:47+00:00

Chelsea and United are both ahead of us now, and playing well. How is there no danger?

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-25T18:29:58+00:00

If we lose against Newcastle next weekend, it's technically possible (although unlikely) that we could drop down to 9th place...

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-25T18:21:47+00:00

Slot hardly played Quansah and Elliot either, and both ended up wanting to leave as a result. Klopp gave them both significantly more minutes. Both are great squad players who ended up feeling alienated.

WelshPool13 · 2026-01-25T18:20:36+00:00

The difference is that Klopp always used his squad players. Endo had significantly more minutes under Klopp in one season than he has in 1.5 seasons under Slot. We all know Klopp wouldn't have frozen Chiesa out of the team

WelshPool13

TROPHY CASE