The Winds of Change

[CCTV]

If Slot goes will macca stay? Or will he go anyway? If he shines at the WC we get a better fee but we'll also know he's still got top class form in him......

Good questions....

I think MacA wants out to Real. In the 2nd half of last season there was a story about Real wanting MacA, and his dad and himself commented on it and were flattered. Talked about seeing out the contract like, but not talking about extending at LFC.
He looks like he might have reduced his transfer fee over the season.

[Insidious]

Agree Sid. Got your eye on any No6 in particular?

A few not all of them necessarily naturally lads you'd describe as a 6, but certainly there's a number of players I'd look at. Bear in mind I do prefer younger players - if they don't work out you often have some resale value, wages are often more manageable and if they do work out you are buying yourself time before you have to address that position again.

A few of them would be -

Anderson at Forest - 23 and Home-grown and excellent. He seems a great solution. The problem? They (Forest) allegedly want upwards of £100m for him, so watch him go to Man City for £70m with Forest getting some back-handers I don't see anyone but Man City being able to get him.

Mateus Fernandes at West Ham (just 21 I think) seems an obvious shout if they go down, but expect competition.

Alex Scott at Bournemouth is probably a less natural 6 but seems to be doing really well and has the look of an "all purpose" mid who could do a very capable job at 6 or 8 depending on the day, which appeals a lot - as does him being just 22 still.

Another 22-year old is Lamine Camara. His height might put people off but he has a quality I often describe as "waspish" and gets involved in a lot of duels which I am all for. We badly need that in our side. Anyone willing to set that sort of example in midfield and compliment Szoboszlai's work-rate would get my vote.

A "wild card" option for me (and not remotely ready yet, one for the future) would have been a really promising talent at Ajax called Jorthy Mokio. Seems to have his head screwed on, though potentially family issues. He's just 18 and had a huge falling out with his Dad, who was pushing for him to make a big-money move (I think PSG were scouting him which says plenty if true) but the son has ended up negotiating an extension of his contract with Ajax as he wishes to further his development. I like that sort of grounded maturity in a player. If he hadn't his heart set on staying with Ajax for now and if we had enough of a budget after buying what we needed, I'd have been getting him in, or trying to.

Of the slightly older players, the two I'd look at would be 25 and 26. If either came in, they have to hit the ground running.

Stiller (at Stuttgart) is 25 and I think he has a release clause which kicks in this Summer, which is £31.6m. For me that is an absolute no-brainer. He does "decent" work off the ball, but is more ab Alonso than a Masch - and I'd rather a Masch profile, but that's subjective. That is a "nothing" fee in the current market and we should be all over that.

Ederson (at Atalanta) is another that makes a lot of sense to me. His contract is running down - I think once this Summer hits he has one year left - and allegedly could be available for £40m or so. At 26 he is right on the outer cusp of the age profile I'd normally want us to look at, but there should still be 3-5 good years there, all being well, which would bring in immediate quality and buy us some time.

There are others (Wharton for example) that merit consideration, though I do feel Wharton is a tad slower than what I'd want here, just now. I'd rather create a midfield unit that are like wasps at a picnic than I would a group of pianists, but we don't know what Slot (or his replacement) and Edwards/Hughes might want.

If we speculate that Ederson and Stiller could be brought in for a combined £75m and if I thought we could get £50m or so for Mac Allister (is that too optimistic?) before the World realises he is showing early signs of having already passed his peak, then I'd be all over it.

I'd love to be able to bring those guys in AND someone like Alex Scott but budget will be an issue, given that we badly need forwards. People might think "three mids Sid? Seriously lad, this isn't Footie Manager" and I get that, but do bear in mind that Jones looks like he might leave and Endo certainly will - combine this with how lethargic Gravenberch has looked at times from having to play so many minutes and I don't think it's a bad thing to aim for, if we are able to do it.

In a perfect World I probably look at Scott and Camara as ideal due to the age profile aspect, but affordability you have to say that having a potentially affordable combo in Ederson and Stiller looks really tempting.

I'd certainly want two in, ideally three - depends a lot on the other positions we have to work at and on our budget. Amortised deals could be useful - if we got Ederson for £40m or so and it was four £10m instalments over the next 4 years, that's hardly crippling - and certainly enables a release fee for Stiller.

I can't see us going for two of the "older" players though.

If we pick one young and one old, then one of Scott/Camara and one of Stiller/Ederson is arguably the way to go.

If we had our forward problems sorted (we are miles off it there) I'd probably buy 3 of them.

[redebreck]

It is inevitable that with our fall from grace the focus for many shifts … but for me the root cause has always remained. While people are arguing over Slot’s tactics or his failure to motivate the squad - they’re missing the woods for the trees. Slot is just a yes man being asked to bake a cake without the ingredients. And while he tries the owners count up the record £703m in revenues.

This "money is tight" narrative is a total joke … it’s actually insulting to the intelligence of the fanbase. People need to wake up and see the FSG model for what it really is - pure venture capitalism. They aren't "custodians" of a 130-year-old institution … they’re asset managers using the club as a high-yield investment vehicle. If Slot has "failed" this season - it’s because he was set up to fail by a board that for years had stiffed Klopp and refused to refresh a stagnating squad despite the coffers being full.

The reality is that we - the fans - are essentially paying for the infrastructure upgrades…. upgrades that only benefit FSG at the point of sale. Every extra seat in the Anfield Road stand and every brick at the AXA was funded by our ticket money and TV revenue … yet when the owners eventually flip the club for a 1,500% profit … we won't see a penny of that.

They are using our pockets to build up their own business valuation and status - while at the same time - crying poverty- as every transfer window approaches.

It’s a corporate cancer that’s eating the soul out of the English game. At least the state-owned clubs or the old-school oligarchs actually inject their own capital to see the team succeed on the pitch - F$G just sucks the blood out of the club’s earnings to ensure the balance sheet looks good for their eventual exit.

They’ve turned this club into a self-sustaining spreadsheet where "success" is defined by a profit margin… not a trophy cabinet - a sodding profit margin. We caught lightning in a bottle because of the genius of Klopp … but long-term they are doing irrevocable damage by treating a community institution like a franchise in what they hope to make a closed-shop league.

It's the worst type of ownership in football history because it’s entirely extractive … it's just blood-sucking business dressed up in a red scarf.

At some point - as with the fact that last season's title was the creation of a man already departed - people will realise that no manager can overcome this level of institutional greed. It’s not just the manager that needs changing … it’s the parasite at the top..

Don’t forget, it’s 2026 - summer approaching and to date it’s just the 1 (one) “senior” (France u21) CB signed since 1st January 20 effing 18!!!!

THINK… 🤔

Spot on

[fiordearg]

Slot himself has changed. He was confident and assured. He turned Gravenberch into a CDM and got the best out of Salah. The older players appreciated the possession based control after blitzing teams.
At the end of matches his interviews were filled with tactical wisdom and humour.
Now we run the least and lose from winning positions. There's no press and the balance is gone. A new broom is needed.

[jozza800]

Slot himself has changed. He was confident and assured. He turned Gravenberch into a CDM and got the best out of Salah. The older players appreciated the possession based control after blitzing teams.
At the end of matches his interviews were filled with tactical wisdom and humour.
Now we run the least and lose from winning positions. There's no press and the balance is gone. A new broom is needed.

Easy to be cool, calm and collected when you're winning games.

He's progressively got more and more irrate as the season has worn on. He looked absoloutely exacerbated with it all on Saturday.

[darrenpotter]

A few not all of them necessarily naturally lads you'd describe as a 6, but certainly there's a number of players I'd look at. Bear in mind I do prefer younger players - if they don't work out you often have some resale value, wages are often more manageable and if they do work out you are buying yourself time before you have to address that position again.

A few of them would be -

Anderson at Forest - 23 and Home-grown and excellent. He seems a great solution. The problem? They (Forest) allegedly want upwards of £100m for him, so watch him go to Man City for £70m with Forest getting some back-handers I don't see anyone but Man City being able to get him.

Mateus Fernandes at West Ham (just 21 I think) seems an obvious shout if they go down, but expect competition.

Alex Scott at Bournemouth is probably a less natural 6 but seems to be doing really well and has the look of an "all purpose" mid who could do a very capable job at 6 or 8 depending on the day, which appeals a lot - as does him being just 22 still.

Another 22-year old is Lamine Camara. His height might put people off but he has a quality I often describe as "waspish" and gets involved in a lot of duels which I am all for. We badly need that in our side. Anyone willing to set that sort of example in midfield and compliment Szoboszlai's work-rate would get my vote.

A "wild card" option for me (and not remotely ready yet, one for the future) would have been a really promising talent at Ajax called Jorthy Mokio. Seems to have his head screwed on, though potentially family issues. He's just 18 and had a huge falling out with his Dad, who was pushing for him to make a big-money move (I think PSG were scouting him which says plenty if true) but the son has ended up negotiating an extension of his contract with Ajax as he wishes to further his development. I like that sort of grounded maturity in a player. If he hadn't his heart set on staying with Ajax for now and if we had enough of a budget after buying what we needed, I'd have been getting him in, or trying to.

Of the slightly older players, the two I'd look at would be 25 and 26. If either came in, they have to hit the ground running.

Stiller (at Stuttgart) is 25 and I think he has a release clause which kicks in this Summer, which is £31.6m. For me that is an absolute no-brainer. He does "decent" work off the ball, but is more ab Alonso than a Masch - and I'd rather a Masch profile, but that's subjective. That is a "nothing" fee in the current market and we should be all over that.

Ederson (at Atalanta) is another that makes a lot of sense to me. His contract is running down - I think once this Summer hits he has one year left - and allegedly could be available for £40m or so. At 26 he is right on the outer cusp of the age profile I'd normally want us to look at, but there should still be 3-5 good years there, all being well, which would bring in immediate quality and buy us some time.

There are others (Wharton for example) that merit consideration, though I do feel Wharton is a tad slower than what I'd want here, just now. I'd rather create a midfield unit that are like wasps at a picnic than I would a group of pianists, but we don't know what Slot (or his replacement) and Edwards/Hughes might want.

If we speculate that Ederson and Stiller could be brought in for a combined £75m and if I thought we could get £50m or so for Mac Allister (is that too optimistic?) before the World realises he is showing early signs of having already passed his peak, then I'd be all over it.

I'd love to be able to bring those guys in AND someone like Alex Scott but budget will be an issue, given that we badly need forwards. People might think "three mids Sid? Seriously lad, this isn't Footie Manager" and I get that, but do bear in mind that Jones looks like he might leave and Endo certainly will - combine this with how lethargic Gravenberch has looked at times from having to play so many minutes and I don't think it's a bad thing to aim for, if we are able to do it.

In a perfect World I probably look at Scott and Camara as ideal due to the age profile aspect, but affordability you have to say that having a potentially affordable combo in Ederson and Stiller looks really tempting.

I'd certainly want two in, ideally three - depends a lot on the other positions we have to work at and on our budget. Amortised deals could be useful - if we got Ederson for £40m or so and it was four £10m instalments over the next 4 years, that's hardly crippling - and certainly enables a release fee for Stiller.

I can't see us going for two of the "older" players though.

If we pick one young and one old, then one of Scott/Camara and one of Stiller/Ederson is arguably the way to go.

If we had our forward problems sorted (we are miles off it there) I'd probably buy 3 of them.

Great stuff sid