Match thread v Manchester City

[Steveo]

Except he LITERALLY said he wanted to leave and seek a new challenge with Bayern.

I asked you before whether you're calling him a liar for stating this as you seem to know his intentions better than him, or his stated opinon, but oddly you've declined to answer that.



That may all be true, but none of it undercuts the stated FACT and position - as I've pointed out from the beginning,....

.....that he wanted leave,.....based on his own comments and what he's literally said about his departure.

Both things may be true, by the way.

It could be that the club didn't think he was worth what he and his agent were demanding in contract negotiations, and either as a result of that, or as a result of that and the fact that Bayern then came in with what he and his agent thought was better for him, he then decided his time here was done and made the decision to leave himself.
(i.e. not being forced out).

And why wouldn't he?
The Bundesliga is a less demanding league for someone that plays the way he does. Kane is the main man there, so there would be less pressure on him to carry the team as an attacking threat, and if he's being offered close to what he wanted,...why not?
Plus, two of his closest mates here weren't going to be here in this season with Darwin also leaving for Saudi, and the tragedy of Jota's passing.

He's still making the decision to leave, either way.

His decision.
Not "being forcecd out".

It's simple - see millers comment for the cutting brutal reality of the situation... if you want more:

Framing Luis Diaz's actions as pure greed rather than a pursuit of parity fundamentally misrepresents the financial context of his departure. The indisputable fact is that Diaz, a consistent starter and critical component of Liverpool's attack, was criminally underpaid relative to his direct peers in the squad. He was reportedly earning a base salary significantly lower than forwards like Diogo Jota and Darwin Núñez, despite often matching or exceeding their contributions. His demand was not for Mohamed Salah money, but for a contract that simply reflected his indispensable status in the starting 11. When Liverpool's management, citing his age or wage structure constraints, refused to offer this necessary raise and correct the disparity, the power lay entirely with the player to seek fair market value.

This was not a sentimental drama but a cold, hard business decision on his part. When Bayern Munich immediately offered him a deal reported to be three times his base Liverpool salary, securing the financial parity and recognition he was seeking, Diaz chose to accept. His exit was the logical consequence of a club refusing to adequately reward one of its star performers when his contract leverage was highest. To suggest he was a mercenary is to ignore that he was simply operating as a professional in a global marketplace, choosing the employer who was willing to meet his objectively reasonable valuation - a valuation Liverpool chose to ignore.

[eggy81]

A few of our players look like that. For me it's too much of a coincidence for there not to be an identifiable reason as to why our players have dropped off a cliff in terms of effort, composure, fight, unity etc. The one thing that connects them all is Slot.

Jota too.

[teesred]

I still don't agree that we've recruited poorly. They haven't all worked (yet) but that's a different argument.

Nunez and Jota had to be replaced and were.
Eliiot was replaced by Wirtz
Robbo absolutely had to be replaced and was.
Kelleher and was Quansah was relpaced
Trent was replaced.

The only one that wasn't was Diaz, but as mentioned, him not being replaced isn't the reason we're in the situation we are.

I don't think any manager would turn his nose up at that squad, the complete opposite really.
Ask Iraola if he'd like it. He'd snap anyone's hand off for it.

[CCTV]

He wanted better wages and went and got them. I don’t blame Diaz I blame the decision makers who thought we would be better off letting him go and risk £100m on a lad who’s never played in England and give him the level of wages Diaz was looking for.

Diaz had never played in England when we signed him, and he got his move to Bayern rather than seeing out his time at LFC.

The club didn't let him go, he sought a move for bigger wages and got them at Bayern, ahead of his boyhood club Barca and his current club. I dont blame Diaz for taking the biggest offer on the table, but it does seem a few people have difficulty in accepting thats what he did. In the end we got a decent fee for him.

"Public anger flared after it was revealed that Díaz attended an influencer event in Colombia on July 6 — the same day as Jota’s funeral. Videos showing Díaz laughing, dancing, and posing at the event quickly circulated online, drawing widespread criticism.

Marca harshly criticized the winger, “While nearly all of Liverpool’s players mourned the death of a teammate, Díaz chose to attend a promotional event in Colombia as part of a sponsorship deal. Videos even showed him dancing. He should remember that Jota was one of the people who supported him the most when he joined Liverpool.” Facing growing backlash, Díaz deleted the videos but has not issued a formal apology or explanation."

Thats about the only bad thing I have to say about Diaz.

[Steveo]

Absolutely. I said after Real that the difference between that and Brentford was night and day. Today was an eclipse again.
City were not even that great, we were incredibly poor and did not compete.
The lack of pace and guile in the final third is ensuring we're not getting results when we play badly, there was plenty of that last season. It's dried up right now.
5/6 defeats in the league is shameful from every one of them because we've 100% deserved to lose every one. No "we were unlucky", we've been fucking shocking and it's not just a "spell".

It's far easier for us at home under the lights with the L4 crowd in full voice. That atmosphere was immense on the Tuesday.

[teesred]

It's far easier for us at home under the lights with the L4 crowd in full voice. That atmosphere was immense on the Tuesday.

Easy to pick and choose games. That's what separates good teams from average.ones.
Right now this team looks like the Roy Evans era. Turn up when they fancy it.

[RedMagic]

Jota too.

The after effects of Jota's death shouldn't apply to the likes of Wirtz, Isak, Kirkez and Frimpong.

[Steveo]

Easy to pick and choose games. That's what separates good teams from average.ones.
Right now this team looks like the Roy Evans era. Turn up when they fancy it.

Sadly - very true.. This is what Jurgen brought. Even with a bang average squad he got that commitment at 110%.. that's more often than not what makes the biggest difference. Obviously you need enough quality .. but the work rate HAS to out perform the rival

[eggy81]

The after effects of Jota's death shouldn't apply to the likes of Wirtz, Isak, Kirkez and Frimpong.

True. Just saying it’s a possible mitigating factor in our overall performance levels. I don’t really believe it’s the main thing though tbh.

[jr81]

Sadly - very true.. This is what Jurgen brought. Even with a bang average squad he got that commitment at 110%.. that's more often than not what makes the biggest difference. Obviously you need enough quality .. but the work rate HAS to out perform the rival

The first 2 goals, city didn't even have to work for them.
Konate misses a simple header. Just kisses it. That's a lack of concentration, that's a lack of urgency or worry about making a mistake.
The 2nd, Virgil stands there and let's it hit him. Again, lack of concentration or worrying about the consequences.
The work rate is gone. Why is anyone's guess, but slot isn't helping by letting the senior players away with these regular mistakes.