2025/26 Season

[BigChief]

I think we are also up game on game from last season also. The desperation to build a narrative is absolutely mental.

Three losses on the bounce, and all deserved, are a cause for concern understandably. But I'd rather they are bunched together in a bad a patch of form like this than win-two-lose-one 3 times in a row.

[Kenneth]

If they were three isolated poor performances then I don't think there would be major reaction, same as if they we had lost but had played well, or even well-ish. Our malaise goes beyond these three games and focusing solely on them is disingenuous.

[Exiled_red]

People are going way over the top with the criticism as you might expect. But even in the games we have won performances haven't been great, you would expect that at the start of the season when trying to integrate so many new players into the side, what we have shown is character in getting those wins, in the last 2 PL games we have been on the receiving end of something similar when conceding those late goals. Our performances have been poor (going back to much of the second half of last season), and the team clearly hasn't clicked yet and likely needs some tweaks either in terms of personnel or tactics or both, but we have shown that we are capable of getting wins when not playing well, so can have confidence that when we get things sorted out we will be in a strong position. I think people are traumatised by the title battles with City where we finished with 97 points but still finished second, so a handful of bad results over the season can cost you. I could be wrong but I don't think this season will be like that.

[Buzzo]

"full on meltdown"

I did qualify by saying not on here :crackoff”

It’s kicking off online to a fairly embarrassing level.

[Buzzo]

If they were three isolated poor performances then I don't think there would be major reaction, same as if they we had lost but had played well, or even well-ish. Our malaise goes beyond these three games and focusing solely on them is disingenuous.

It was the same last season tho - maybe in a slightly different way. Maybe it will continue this timeÂ… maybe the coach will sort it out. I donÂ’t disagree with what people are pointing out at all - but IÂ’m nowhere near meltdown!

There is also the Jota factor

A. How the players are coping

B. We donÂ’t half miss his specific skills set as a player

[Doc_Piptorious]

People are going way over the top with the criticism as you might expect. But even in the games we have won performances haven't been great, you would expect that at the start of the season when trying to integrate so many new players into the side, what we have shown is character in getting those wins, in the last 2 PL games we have been on the receiving end of something similar when conceding those late goals. Our performances have been poor (going back to much of the second half of last season), and the team clearly hasn't clicked yet and likely needs some tweaks either in terms of personnel or tactics or both, but we have shown that we are capable of getting wins when not playing well, so can have confidence that when we get things sorted out we will be in a strong position. I think people are traumatised by the title battles with City where we finished with 97 points but still finished second, so a handful of bad results over the season can cost you. I could be wrong but I don't think this season will be like that.

Last season was not like it either. Ignoring the games where our form fell off a cliff at the end of the season when the title was won (which was two losses and two draws from the last four games) we still dropped points in nine games last season whilst the title chase was still active.

We also never had a run of consecutive wins in the league greater than four games last season.

I think now, in the aftermath of the Klopp/ peak Guardiola era, more "normal" title races are back to being a thing again. It is just that maybe we have, as you said, become used to the hyper elevated levels the afore mentioned era and still carry a lot of the wariness that came with it.

That's not to say that good points are not being made when fingers are being pointed at performances, however I do think this is a season that is more emotionally charged than others. Is only a short few months since Diogo Jota passed away, is a summer that saw maybe our greatest ever level of change in first team options in one go and is a season where we have to go defend a title whilst not quite on level footing as a club, as a team and as a fanbase for any combination of those reasons.


We can say it is up to the professional players and managers and so on to fix it, and we would be right to say so, but if they are to do that, then they need time to let the attempts to mend and rebuild be found and take hold.

Think right now there are lots of things that we could point at and say "that" is the problem. Might be a perceived lack of intensity, might be what looks like very disjointed pressed in each third (Diaz leaving would be part of that as he was the player charged with triggering our presses in our final third so whomever is meant to be doing it now will need time to get used to the task or be replaced) or might be that when we play we look like three separate units that when looked at in isolation are taken up good positions and doing their jobs but when we then pushed the defensive, midfield and forward units together we noticed we forgot to put in the nobbly tops to allow our lego bricks to click together.

[Irishnev]

I think the international break should offer an escape from football, read a book as someone said recently

If we lose to United after the break then full on meltdown will commence

[kingfunk]

I think the international break should offer an escape from football, read a book as someone said recently

If we lose to United after the break then full on meltdown will commence

I think international football should be banished.

[danperkins]

"full on meltdown"

Apparently being concerned about not having one good 90 mins & a complete lack of identity in 10 games is full on meltdown

[Norbs]

I think international football should be banished.

Participants should come from the amateur side of the game. Taking professionals in to an environment that could damage them as a participant and affect their club financially makes no sense at all

[vlahka]

Apparently being concerned about not having one good 90 mins & a complete lack of identity in 10 games is full on meltdown

I think some people only believe two states of mind in supporters, Optimistic or full meltdown.

[Buzzo]

As mentioned (3 times now class) I did say not on here, it’s a relative oasis of calm and tranquility vs. the rest of the www.

[danperkins]

I think some people only believe two states of mind in supporters, Optimistic or full meltdown.

it does seem that way sometimes, **** the grey area

[red g]

Update on our loanees.

Harvey Davies
Position: Goalkeeper
Club: Crawley Town
Appearances: 11
Goals conceded: 20
After signing a new contract with Liverpool on the back of a loan spell with Crewe Alexandra, Davies is back in League Two with Crawley Town this season.

He’s played 11 times for Crawley so far but missed the weekend loss to Cambridge United after suffering a finger injury in training.

He did impress in the Carabao Cup defeat to Swansea City, with Crawley boss Scott Lindsey summarising: “I thought he was excellent. He’s a very good goalkeeper and he made some good saves. I thought he was very good with his kicking and his distribution.”

Davies is being encouraged by Lindsey to help bring the ball out from the back and build possession, which remains a work in progress.

Vitezslav Jaros
Position: Goalkeeper
Club: Ajax
Appearances: 10
Goals conceded: 16
Like fellow goalkeeper Davies, Jaros signed a new contract with Liverpool before heading out on loan for the season.

Having taken the no.1 shirt at Ajax upon his loan move, which has seen him follow former Liverpool assistant coach John Heitinga, Jaros started their Eredivisie opener against Telstar and kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 win.

He conceded twice in their next game, a draw with Go Ahead Eagles, but was still described as making a ‘strong impression’ by Dutch paper De Telegraaf and duly got another clean sheet on his third appearance against Heracles.

Jaros conceded once each in the next two games but was unable to keep Inter Milan at bay in Ajax’s Champions League opener, with the Serie A side winning 2-0. He also conceded twice in a 2-2 league draw with bitter rivals PSV and once to NAC Breda.

The last two outings for Jaros have also seen him concede seven times, including a 4-0 Champions League loss to Marseille and a 3-3 draw with NAC Breda in the league.

Kostas Tsimikas
Position: Left-back
Club: Roma
Appearances: 5
Goals: 0
Pushed down the pecking order by the arrival of Milos Kerkez, coupled with Andy Robertson staying at the club, Tsimikas left Liverpool to join Roma in late August.

The Greece international made his debut for the club off the bench in the 1-0 derby win over Lazio, coming on with nine minutes remaining, before gaining his first start in the Europa League against Nice and providing an assist.

Tsimikas has started Roma’s last two games, although he was taken off at half-time of the Champions League defeat to Lille.

Owen Beck
Position: Left-back
Club: Derby County
Appearances: 0
Goals: 0
Beck was on the bench for Derby’s first friendly after completing his loan move, but didn’t come on and hasn’t yet been able to feature since the season began due to a minor muscle strain.

“It’s important that we don’t rush them because we don’t want them to break down any further,” Derby boss John Eustace said about Beck and new teammate Matt Clarke ahead of their Championship opener.

Isaac Mabaya
Position: Right-back
Club: Wigan Athletic
Appearances: 3
Goals: 0
Mabaya came on as a substitute in both of Wigan’s first League One matches of the season. He started as a wing-back in their EFL Cup game against Notts County next, but was taken off on a stretcher after getting injured in the first half.

“We’ll speak to Liverpool in the morning and we’ll see what’s best for him,” Wigan boss Ryan Lowe said after the game.

“But I’m just gutted for the kid, he’s a fantastic lad, he’s a great human being. I’ve monitored him for many years now, when I was at Preston; he’s had his ups and downs with injuries.

“We thought this might be the year he can kick on, us and Liverpool thought that.

“I don’t really know what it is at the moment, to be honest, I know it’s to do with his lower limb.

“I’m just gutted for him, he’s come here wanting to work hard, get in the team, I gave him an opportunity tonight and lo and behold after 20-odd minutes it’s not worked out.

“He’s been coming on the pitch for that type of time, so we just felt it was the right time to get maybe 45 minutes, maybe 60, but just disappointed for him.

“We’ll be there with him through thick and thin and I’m sure everyone at Liverpool will. We’ll see how he is, but it’s probably not looking good.”

Mabaya will undergo his recuperation with Liverpool and Lowe has been asked if his loan spell could be terminated to free up another loan slot for the Latics.

“Well he can’t remain our loan player if he’s not going to be able to play,” he said.

“I’ll leave all that to Gregor (Rioch, sporting director) who will sort that out with Liverpool, they’ll have that conversation and fix the nitty gritty bits.

“But for me as a head coach, he’s obviously not going to be available to me any time soon, if any this season, for anyone.”

Luca Stephenson
Position: Midfielder
Club: Dundee United
Appearances: 6
Goals: 2
After featuring for Liverpool in pre-season, Stephenson signed a new contract before setting out on a second loan spell with Dundee United.

He spent last season in the Scottish Premiership with them too and his manager Jim Goodwin said: “He’s come back stronger, fully fit, and hungry to pick up where he left off.

“He’s had a brilliant summer working under Arne Slot and alongside some of the best players in the world – that experience will serve him and us incredibly well this season.”

Stephenson’s second debut for Dundee United came on August 17, as he played the entirety of their Scottish League Cup defeat to Kilmarnock as a right wing-back.

Since then, he has been impactful in the league from the same position, notching an assist in the Dundee derby and then scoring a brace against Hibernian.

“Luca deserves a huge amount of credit for the goals he scored, and he was really unlucky at the end there [not to get a third],” said Goodwin.

Stephenson’s latest appearance saw him play the full 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw with Livingston.

James McConnell
Position: Midfielder
Club: Ajax
Appearances: 3
Goals: 0
McConnell followed Jaros to Ajax to work with Heitinga throughout the 2025/26 season after signing a long-term new deal with Liverpool in late August.

The midfielder made his debut by coming on for the last 23 minutes of Ajax’s 3-1 win over PEC Zwolle upon their return from the international break in September.

The 21-year-old made his Champions League debut when he came off with 27 minutes to go in the 2-0 defeat to Inter Milan.

McConnell returned from injury to come on as a late substitute in a 3-3 draw with Sparta Rotterdam on October 4.

James Balagizi
Position: Midfielder
Club: Forest Green Rovers
Appearances: 7
Goals: 1
Dropping into the National League with Forest Green, Balagizi has only featured as a substitute so far but scored on his second appearance off the bench, grabbing a 98th-minute equaliser against Scunthorpe United on September 13.

Balagizi started the 0-0 draw with Boston at the start of October before coming on as a late substitute in a 1-0 loss to Rochdale on October 4.

Harvey Elliott
Position: Attacking midfielder
Club: Aston Villa
Appearances: 5
Goals: 1
Elliott, whose loan move will become permanent depending on an appearance threshold, made his Villa debut upon the return from the international break.

He came on for the last 20 minutes or so of Villa’s goalless draw on Merseyside against Everton and was used from the bench again as Unai Emery’s strugglers drew 1-1 at Sunderland on September 21.

In between, he scored his first goal for Villa in an EFL Cup match against Brentford.

Elliott made a late cameo off the bench in the Europa League win at Feyenoord but was an unused substitute as Villa beat Burnley in the Premier League on October 5.

Lewis Koumas
Position: Winger
Club: Birmingham City
Appearances: 7
Goals: 0
Koumas completed a loan move to Birmingham City on August 22, not in time to feature in their next Championship match against Oxford United.

“Lewis is obviously coming from a great club, a great education development he’s had there,” manager Chris Davies said after the game.

His debut followed on August 29 against Leicester City, playing as part of a strike partnership and lasting 77 minutes.

He had to make do with a spot on the bench after the international break, though, coming on for the last half an hour of a loss to his former loan club Stoke City.

Koumas was handed a start, however, in the 1-0 win over Swansea, playing 67 minutes before being withdrawn. He is getting game time on the left wing now and his most recent appearance came off the bench in the 1-1 draw against Wrexham on October 3.

[peterbread]

Footballs a funny thing. You can be calm and controlled in every situation in life but 11 guys v another 11 guys kicking a little ball and you can go through every emotion in 90 minutes and blame the one guy on the pitch not kicking the ball. It’s a weird thing but you’ve got to love it and think of some of those games like the Istanbul final, the FA cup against West Ham, the Barcelona comeback and so many more and the emotions you go through. And then you come here and talk absolute crap, well I do anyway