Liverpool FC - Talk /Gossip/Rumours 25/25

One of the big sticks that was used to beat Slot with, was the amount of days off the players received midweek. The general intensity of the play was low last season, and by all accounts so was the intensity of training sessions, when they actually took place.

There were so many weeks where the players were pictured off around Europe on a Tuesday or Wednesday when there was a game at the weekend. This painted a bad picture, especially when following a defeat or proceeding one. It gave the impression that the players didn't really care and/or weren't putting the effort in on the training pitch in the lead up to games.

These days off stemmed from Slot himself wanting days off as he wanted to be at home in Holland with his family. And look I understand the reasons why the family didn't move, settled in Holland in schools etc, and I can also understand why Slot wanted to be at home as much as possible. And because he wanted to be at home as much as possible, he couldn't exactly not show up to training 2 days a week and expect the players to be there putting in maximum effort when the manager is not there to see it.

The thing is, players & managers already get a lot of days off. A club manager already gets a long period of time off during the summer, and there is nothing stopping the managers family going to the tour locations at the same time as the club either, or on any school holidays. The international breaks are also quite common. He could have gone back to Holland every 2 weeks for an extra day or something similar.

The family not moving should have been a red flag from the start. It will be now moving forwards for any potential other new managers.

The thing that somewhat worries me now with Iraola is that there is some talk that one of the reasons that he only signs 2 year deals at a time is because he wants flexibility to be able to move easily once his family wants him to move. It doesn't give long term vibes.

I just read some quotes on the BBC earlier today supposedly from Iraola talking about the sacrifice his family makes in following him from country to country as he pursues his career. If those were fake I give up. 🤷

Fair enough, I actually wasn't sure. I was only going off a podcast who stated that he was hoping to move his family from Spain to Merseyside.

I listened to a few podcasts throughout the day, and the general prediction seems to be that it's going to be a big summer, with a squad being assembled for the new Iraola era.

He appears to be the opposite of Slot in that he prefers a deeper squad, with multiple options in every position to cope with the extremely high-intensity style he likes to adopt.

Some interesting names were mentioned, but what stood out to me was how some of the players we already have fit into that system.

I think there are going to be big question marks over Isak and McAllister going forward. Isak, in particular, strikes me as almost the most anti-Iraola forward imaginable. Hopefully I'm proven wrong on that, and there's a genuine plan to make both him and Wirtz work cohesively within the side.

That's something Slot seemed to struggle with massively.

Despite a dreadful season I think we can all agree we had to watch too many of our games a week. One a week was more than enough!

I find it weird that we question what will Iraola do with Wirtz, Isak, Ekitike, as these players don't run, or press. NO ONE was running or pressing before Klopp arrived. Nothing to do with players, if they have legs they can run and do what they're asked to do

You know, Toby, it hasn't happened much this season but I completely agree with you!

Particularly from those who have left / will leave the club this Summer. I'd say it's very hard to talk publicly about it while being in the middle of it with your teammates. Doubly so when trying to focus on matches. I hope Slot goes on to do great things, he may have got a lot wrong this season but mentality in the club (all the way through) must have just been shattered before a ball was even kicked. Then it was set back after set back, kicking them when they were down. Over the years, the stories will be shared (as they already have started to be) and I think we'll look back and feel Slot was hard done by. Not necessarily that he was absolutely the right man to take us forward but that the club and the squad in particular were not the same after Jota's death.

Wirtz can absolutely press well, he did it at Leverkusen. Really hope Iraola can help him kick on.

Elliot Anderson lined up for city it seems, probably would have been good for us from what I've seen of him

Replacement for Bernardo Silva. Huge shoes to fill there.

Would prefer Wharton as he is more of a DM