2025/26 Season

[Kenneth]

Can anybody tell be what McAllisters injury was, he came back this summer looking 2 stone overweight and has need **** since then?

The best explanation of it was from the player himself, and it provides no real clarity:

It's hard to explain [the injury] because it's not just one spot that you say, 'OK, we have to focus on this'," he continued.

"It's like two or three different things that I've been struggling [with] for a couple of months.

"At the end, we found the solution; we have been working a lot in the gym, on my structure.

"It's hard to explain it but as I said, now I'm feeling good and for me that's the most important thing."

And that was from the end of July. It's all quite odd.

[Slinky Skills]

I'm not surprised he's in chronic pain considering how much he had the **** kicked out of him last season. Was literally booted the hell out of in every single game.

[Norbs]

I'm not surprised he's in chronic pain considering how much he had the **** kicked out of him last season. Was literally booted the hell out of in every single game.

[Doc_Piptorious]

4 defeats on the bounce. ****ing hell.

Echoes of Klopp's season after he won the title. We dropped points in 18 games that season, 9 of them being losses, and four of those losses came in a row. Finished on 69 points after having gotten 99 points the season before.

Even had Villa put seven past us.

We lost in the Charity shield that season too.

[BobTheCharmer]

We spent nearly 500m in the summer. You could argue we need and 1 billion spent to address the short Fallings in the squad. An Ali replacement, 1 maybe 2 centre backs, a number 6, a left winger, a right winger. We laugh at how much utd have spent to fail. Early signs aren't good that the first 500m have been wasted or invested poorly. We are in real danger of spiralling out of control.

It's pretty similar results to our last title defence and of city last year. Maybe it just took too much from the tank. I think slot needs more character and charisma to get this working. I think the players are starting to not believe what he's saying.

[Irishnev]

Echoes of Klopp's season after he won the title. We dropped points in 18 games that season, 9 of them being losses, and four of those losses came in a row. Finished on 69 points after having gotten 99 points the season before.

Even had Villa put seven past us.

We lost in the Charity shield that season too.

Come on Jaco, that was the season from hell with no CBs, we had Hendo playing at CB for periods of that season after VVD, Matip & Joe all got season ending injuries. Plus we rallied in the second half to get top 4 with Thiago, Fab & Naby being brilliant in the middle and Nat + Rhys playing as CBs.

[Mark79]

Echoes of Klopp's season after he won the title. We dropped points in 18 games that season, 9 of them being losses, and four of those losses came in a row. Finished on 69 points after having gotten 99 points the season before.

Even had Villa put seven past us.

We lost in the Charity shield that season too.

Although that season, we were top of the league on New Years.
And from mid March to end of May we were on title winning form again.

It was the period of 7 weeks or so in between where the wheels came off. And that was due to a historic amount of 1st team injuries and the front 3 collectively going cold in front of goal at the same time.

[Doc_Piptorious]

We spent nearly 500m in the summer. You could argue we need and 1 billion spent to address the short Fallings in the squad. An Ali replacement, 1 maybe 2 centre backs, a number 6, a left winger, a right winger. We laugh at how much utd have spent to fail. Early signs aren't good that the first 500m have been wasted or invested poorly. We are in real danger of spiralling out of control.

It's pretty similar results to our last title defence and of city last year. Maybe it just took too much from the tank. I think slot needs more character and charisma to get this working. I think the players are starting to not believe what he's saying.

I think it does take from us as a collective unit and that is without even factoring in the possible Jota impact on some players.

Even under Klopp we would have a season or two of almost superhuman effort followed by a season where we crashed hard only to bounce back again the following season.

That is not to say that we cannot be over complicating things tactically at the same time and further contributing to the crach effect.

For me it is a mix of burn out, maybe grief, and trying to change the on pitch set up whilst at the same time trying to integrate a number of new players.


Though to be fair to Slot, last summer we were mostly buzzing at the transfers we brought in and saying that they were addressing a number of our "problem" positions and that save for a second CB it was close to a perfect transfer window.


We had a title winning midfield that most were calling world class that we then added to by buying Wirtz.

We had a back four that had two full backs that people complained about so we brought in two new full backs and promoted a promising young player. We also added one of the most highly rated young CBs in Europe to that back line and we in for Guehi (and that only fell apart thanks to a hissy fit from Glasnar)

Up front we had Nunez that most wanted out and we complained that Salah alone cannot keep shouldering the responsibility of being the goal getter plus the tragedy of what happened to Jota, so we brought in two quality attackers. One who was being called one of the best strikers in the game at present and one who was seen as one of the most promising young attackers in the game.


Personally I think we bought well in the summer but that a mix of burn out and too much change tactically (along with a run of injuries) has screwed us thus far.

I still do think we have the right players for a new set up, but that Slot needs to be more ruthless with who he uses as his starting XI if he wants to create a set up that best suits the players he brought in along with those he already has.

What we seem to be doing, again only imo of course, is falling between two posts tactically.

Gakpo and Salah are trying to play like they are in a Klopp team (with the latter not having the pace for that anymore), the midfield looks like it is badly suffering from a lack of cohesion (which it probably is as we are chopping and changing it on a regular basis either due to injury or form) and the back line has something badly off in it (again imo) as Konate, who once was the glue that held the right side together, now seems to be playing a different game to the other three and he moves up when he should go back and vice versa. He also seems to have given up on working with the RB, which is almost funny as last season we had a RB that seemed to have stopped working with Konate.

VVD is below his usual high standards and we have four full backs that for one reason or another are not getting settled runs to gain form.


A few people on here have said that in the short term that simplfying things might be the way to go and I would tend to agree.


A settled four at the back, a settled three in the middle (and that sees one of the three sit a little deeper) and up front we can still have three but that three should not have to be the Klopp LW-ST/CF - RW set up as we just do not have the pace for a Klopp esque forward line.

Go with two strikers and an AM, go with two CFs and a ST ahead of them, but playing wingers when we do not have pace just means no outlets for the midfielders/back line and more slow recycling of the ball.

In Ekitike, Isak, Chiesa, Salah, Wirtz and even Rio we have six guys that can play more centrally (Rio is the only exception as he looks like he can be comfortabale out wide) up front so we should be playing to their strengths.

Let full backs create width and the midfielder that sits deep can drop back more to cover when a full back goes forward.

[Kenneth]

I would say that, with Ali available, we may well have picked up a point or two in these games, it might not look as bad, but the issues would remain.

[Doc_Piptorious]

Although that season, we were top of the league on New Years.
And from mid March to end of May we were on title winning form again.

It was the period of 7 weeks or so in between where the wheels came off. And that was due to a historic amount of 1st team injuries and the front 3 collectively going cold in front of goal at the same time.

We were still struggling in league games and dropping points far more often in the first half of that season compared to the season before it.

By the time we hit the halfway mark that season we had dropped points in 10 out of 19 games.

3 losses and six draws.

Then we went and lost 6 from the next 9 games.

We looked leggy and teams seemed to cut through our midfield at will at times.

Yes we went on a good run to finish that season, but we were well out of the title race at that point.

[Mark79]

We were still struggling in league games and dropping points far more often in the first half of that season compared to the season before it.

By the time we hit the halfway mark that season we had dropped points in 10 out of 19 games.

3 losses and six draws.

Then we went and lost 6 from the next 9 games.

We looked leggy and teams seemed to cut through our midfield at will at times.

Yes we went on a good run to finish that season, but we were well out of the title race at that point.

Yeah we weren’t as imperious as the season before, but that’s explained by the long term injuries to Virg, Gomez, Matip, Fabinho, Thiago etc.

The group of loses you mention there are the same period that I’m taking about.

That season we had a middle third where the wheels came off, but that was easily explainable by a mass of injuries and randomly our front 3 all hitting LFC career worst chance conversion at the same time.

Either side of that we were on title contending/winning form.

This season the issues feel more ingrained or systemic.

[vlahka]

https://twitter.com/markrstats/statu...20952353681463

Theres no surprise here. If I was a rival manager I'd be licking my lips facing us. We could see the big issues from long ago which slot refuses to change. Extreme high line, midfield gone as they sit along the opponents penalty areas in one stupid line, so when they break theres nothing in the middle to stop them and 2 slow defenders who cant catch anyone. They are breezing passed konate. You shouldnt have a high line with him and vvd. Its suicide and its proving suicide every game. Leoni probably would have stopped plenty of balls since hes fast and his brain actually works. But still, midfield moved out of midfield, slow defenders, we're going to lose every game if he sticks with this tactic.

[baitman]

Theres no surprise here. If I was a rival manager I'd be licking my lips facing us. We could see the big issues from long ago which slot refuses to change. Extreme high line, midfield gone as they sit along the opponents penalty areas in one stupid line, so when they break theres nothing in the middle to stop them and 2 slow defenders who cant catch anyone. They are breezing passed konate. You shouldnt have a high line with him and vvd. Its suicide and its proving suicide every game. Leoni probably would have stopped plenty of balls since hes fast and his brain actually works. But still, midfield moved out of midfield, slow defenders, we're going to lose every game if he sticks with this tactic.

Just trying to be too clever, ooh look at us, we play so high, oh, but we dont press anymore!

[BobTheCharmer]

I think PSG showed up our deficiencies. We were unable to keep the ball and our lack of pace was painful.

500m spent and zero pace added. We were linked to Barcola, exactly where the isak money should have gone. Or someone similar. Raw ****ing pace to give us an option to stretch play, break quickly and occupy the opponents defence.

We have bought in a lot of small players. Small in physique. We are being bullied in every game.

[red g]

I think PSG showed up our deficiencies. We were unable to keep the ball and our lack of pace was painful.

500m spent and zero pace added. We were linked to Barcola, exactly where the isak money should have gone. Or someone similar. Raw ****ing pace to give us an option to stretch play, break quickly and occupy the opponents defence.

We have bought in a lot of small players. Small in physique. We are being bullied in every game.

Zero pace? I frimpong and kerkez are some of the the fastest players in the world.