I think that's the case. If Alonso was FSGs first choice initially, and he told them no he wanted one more year at Leverkusen and had eyes on the Madrid job, then you have to absolutely be working back channels trying to gage his interest and see where his head is at. This is a pretty special circumstance that I think the probably need to be seriously monitoring.

I don't want to absolve the players though today. Some of them were complete dog crap. Szbo missing a pen, Gakpo can't figure his right foot from his left, Konate is still a whirlwind, and Ekitike was a ghost. That performance was as much players not getting it done as it was Slot.

The two best players on the pitch today were Wirtz and Ekitike. Wirtz continues to grow into the Liverpool shirt an will continue to make good on the investment LFC have made in him. Ekitike is the type of attacker we need. He is a willing runner whose movement created the first goal. He was also almost able to connect on the Jones shot-cross in the second half.

The first 60 mins though were very good. We were really pushing that low block. At multiple points, Burnley had all 10 outfield players in their own box such was the pressure Liverpool were applying. All of our outfield players were within 35 yards of their box. And then they had one moment to get their goal. Our heads dropped, the intensity withered, and we faded as the game went on. And that's the story of this team. Klopp's mentality monsters are gone. They have been replaced with Slot's boring bunch.

We are going to have to finish turning this roster over this summer. Konate will likely be gone and, honestly, whatever on him. If he signs, great. If he doesn't, I won't spend another second thinking of him. Robbo should get more mins and should sign an extension. If he wants to leave in chase of more guaranteed minutes, he's earned that right. We need a new RB, 2-3 new CBs (depending on Konate), and a LB (if Robbo leaves).

In midfield, we continue to need a true CDM. We've seen our previous targets Caicedo excel at Chelsea and Zubimendi excel at Arsenal, respectively. Rodri continues to do well for Citeh. And we continue to play a No. 8 as a No. 6. Gravenberch is a great footballer and intelligent to hold his own. But a true No. 6 is needed for like the 4th or 5th summer in a row. Macca has his moments but if Jones is outplaying you, maybe it's time to move him on. We need a CDM and a CM, at minimum.

Up front, I think there will be a Salah sized hole to fill as I expect us to finally move him on. Gakpo is not an elite footballer, let alone LW. And I am so tired of him doing the exact same move over and over while simultaneously always ignoring the overlapping Kerkez. Move him on. I think Isak is world class but he is in the same mold as Ekitike. Once we signed the Frenchman, we should have moved on from the Swede. But hindsight is 20/20 and we obviously keep them both. So I think we will need 3 wingers too.

So that's, what, 2-3 CBs, 1 RB, potentially 1 LB, 1 CDM, 1 CM, 3 wingers for a total of 8-10 players. Move a few of the current players on (Endo, Konate, Macca, Salah, Chiesa, Gakpo, Robbo) and finish the roster revolution. Get some high level 22-25 year olds so that the roster can all leak to the same time. And bring in the coach that can tie it all together. We were so spoiled with Klopp. I have never once seen Slot get fired up in the sideline. His calm demeanor is what was needed last season so cooler heads could prevail. This season this team needs someone to light a fire up their asses and Slot just claps them on… He is making it harder and harder to stay off the "Fire Slot" train. Draws at home to newly promoted sides is unacceptable for Liverpool Football Club.

Just some late night Saturday thoughts. Maybe I'll completely change my mind on Monday, but I doubt it.

I don't disagree at all with anything you said, especially regarding players/positions. I still believe a decent chunk of the results this season are down to an incomplete squad. I also don't even care that much what it looks like on the pitch from a tactical perspective. We could be 2019 Liverpool and if we were losing games or getting results like what we have been, I'd be disappointed and everyone would still be talking about the managers job. Yesterday we played as well offensively as we had in months. The problem is and has been we only scored one goal and absolutely crumbled when we faced some adversity, and that part is what I cannot look past.

Any time we face adversity at all we crumble like a dry oatmeal cookie. Yesterday I was watching us play pretty well for large parts of that game. We had something like 11 shots on goal, created enough etc. but in the back of my mind I was saying to myself "We need this second goal because if they get level with us we aren't winning this game." And that is exactly what happened. Their levels of play fall so far off a mountain as soon as something bad or negative happens and that simply cannot happen, and that I think comes a lot from the man at the helm. It should be "hey we let in a bad goal, but we're going to get two more and still absolutely batter you" and it just isn't.

Another part of it in my opinion is the fact that we are so, so inept in transition. I don't think we have the best transition players anymore, but also think that it has been almost completely coached out of us.

We have a lot of problems, but the mentality of this team when adversity hits is the one that I think is the most concerning and the one that I think will probably get Slot sacked and/or he will resign at the end of the season.

Klopp didn't have "mentality monsters"...he was the Mentality Monster.

Always positive, energetic and passionate. He was our driving force. When the team's performance started to dip, he would amp up his energy.

During the Burnley game, there was a clear indicator our energy levels had dropped before the goal. Ibou almost turned the ball in our own net and everyone just jogged around. If Klopp was our manager he would have come unglued. First he would have shouted at the players, then he would have turned around and had a go at the crowd.

Arne is not that guy. In the toughest moments he likes to show a calm facade. I don't think that can work in the EPL. It's too physical of a league, with too many good teams. The best recent managers in the EPL (Klopp, Pep, Arteta) all have excitable personalities. In smaller leagues where the talent and physical disparity is large, you can use a calm approach to settle your team and reestablish dominate possession. In the EPL, the opposition will punish you if you don't immediately match their energy.

Arne will have to learn this for his next job.

I don't think that is necessarily the case in all situations. I think you need a manager and/or players that bring the energy and passion (aka I don't think you have to have it from your manager). Liverpool was dead before Klopp arrived, then he came in and brought that passion and energy to the club. After he did that he found a handful of players that bought into it and lead the charge. My point is that he had players carry it forward/demanded it from themselves. Henderson, Firmino, Gini and Robo to name a few, were always there to bring and demand the positivity, urgency and passion on the field. Klopp didn't need to be Mr. Crazy pills on the sideline all that often, although he was.

I don't mind that Slot is more calm, reserved and even-keel. What I mind so-to-speak is that Slot is those things AND we don't have enough players who demand or bring the energy, passion and urgency like we even had last year, let alone when we had Henderson, Robo, Firmino, Gini etc. I do think we can blame Slot a bit because he needs to recognize that the players don't have it and find some way to get it out of them. But on the other hand, if you just don't have players that have a real fire and urgency, you just don't have them. Our captain isn't that way. None of our midfielders are really that way outside of Szbo on occasion. None of our attackers really are. Tbh the two guys I think are the most passionate and fiery and determined are Bradley and Kerkez, but they're both 21 and 22 and not leaders of the team.

You have to find it somewhere, whether that's a manager and/or players, and we have neither at the moment.

I was thinking today about our roster going into next season, so here is my Monday Morning Musings for your perusing.

PL rules state that you can register a max of 25 players, provided that at least 8 qualify as Homegrown (HG), meaning you can have a max of 17 non-HG players. Players born after Jan 1, 2005 will qualify as U21 players for the 2026-27 and do not count towards the twenty-five roster limit.

CURRENT ROSTER WITH 2026-27 DESIGNATIONS
Goalkeepers
1. Allison
25. Mamardashvili
28. Woodman (HG)
41. Pecsi (HG)

Defenders
2. Gomez (HG)
4. VvD
5. Konate
6. Kerkez
12. Bradley (HG)
15. Leoni (U21)
26. Robertson
30. Frimpong (HG)
46. Williams (HG)
47. Ramsay

Midfielders
3. Endo
7. Wirtz
8. Szobozlai
10. Mac Allister
17. Jones (HG)
38. Gravenberch
42. Nyoni (U21)
43. Bajcetic (HG)

Forwards/Wingers
9. Isak
11. Salah
14. Chiesa
18. Gakpo
22. Ekitike
73. Ngumoha (U21)

That's the 25 "senior player" + 3 U21 players. Bajcetic would qualify as HG starting next season as he will now be over 21.

This is why getting Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo would have been so critical for us as both would qualify as homegrown. Carrying 4 GKs is not great but we currently have to in order to get to the 8 HG players. In an ideal world, you bring in a HG player to replace Pecsi on the roster.

---

POTENTIAL SUMMER 2026 TARGETS

Elliot Anderson (Age 23)
The current Forest midfielder would fit in seamlessly into our side and has the bonus of being homegrown. We'd probably overpay for him bc of a "Premier League tax" (PL players prices are always inflated bc clubs overvalue PL experience) but we need someone with his work ethic and energy. I would sell Mac Allister to help generate funds. He is number 1 on my wishlist.
Estimated Price = 85M GBP

Adam Wharton (Age 21)
I am not as high on the Palace midfielder as many seem to be. But he is a homegrown No. 6 that would fill a huge hole we currently have on our roster. He would be extremely pricey.
Estimated Price = 90-100 GBP

Eduardo Camavinga (Age 23)
This was the player I wanted that summer we lost out in the Tchouameni sweepstakes. I think he a great CDM that has the bonus perk of being capable to play LB a la James Milner. If I can only have one of him or Wharton, I want him.
Estimated Price = 70M GBP

Nico Schlotterbeck (Age 26)
At 26, he would be older than the typical age profile that Edwards and co. like to target but I don;t think we have that luxury now given our current CB situation. Realistically, he has ~5 years left as an elite centre-half. Worth it. He can have Konate's place.
Estimated Price = 40-55M GBP

Alesandro Bastoni (Age 26)
I think he is one of the elite defenders in not only Italy, but all of Europe. I think his style of playe would translate very well to the English game. Not many Italian defenders have found success in England, but I think Bastoni is that good.
Estimated Price = 80M GBP

Yan Diomande (Age 19)
An exciting young winger that is lighting up the Bundesliga for RB Leipzig. He would be a great LW for us. Sell Gakpo to generate funds.
Estimated Price = 60M GBP

Michael Olise (Age 24)
This is the most unrealistic transfer, but the player is the type that Liverpool love to invest in. He is left-footed and would fill the Salah size hole on the right wing. He has wonderful pace, unselfish vision, and would refresh our attack. He is the one we should have broken the bank once we had Ekitike and not Isak.
Estimated Price = 120M GBP

Lutsharel Geertruida (Age 24)
Another Liverpool type player in terms of age and high ceiling. He is a RB that can also play CB and has actually played for Slot before at Feyenoord. I am usually not a fan of signing a player just bc he played for a coach before (see Man United for how terrible of an idea this is), but, in this case, it's just a coincidence. He would be relatively inexpensive and would help with the fragility of Conor Bradley.
Estimated Fee = 30M GBP

Tino Livramento (Age 23)
A fantastic, PL-proven fullback that can play on right or left and is homegrown. Not sure how Newcastle's finances are, but if they are forced or willing to sell (unlikely to sell to a PL rival), we should pounce.
Estimated Fee = 60M GBP

So that is NINE potential targets. Not all of them are realistic or even feasible, but these are the players I would be looking at. I mean, the above alone would total 650M+ GBP so yes, very unrealistic. But you would obviously try to offset some of the cost by offloading some of the current crop.

POTENTIAL SUMMER 2026 DEPARTURES
Wataru Endo (Age 32) - 10M GBP
Ibrahima Konate (Age 26) - Free
Alexis Mac Allister (Age 27) - 30M GBP
Mo Salah (Age 33) - 70M GBP (Surely Saudi would pay this, right?)
Federico Chiesa (Age 28) - 15M GBP
Cody Gakpo (Age 26) - 40M GBP
Freddie Woodman (Age 28) - 3M GBP
Rhys Williams (Age 24) - 5M GBP
Calvin Ramsay (Age 22) - 5M GBP

That's like 180M GBP that could potentially be raised in departures.

---

So what could our roster look like next season?

POTENTIAL 2026-27 ROSTER
Goalkeepers
1. Allison
25. Mamardashvili
41. Pecsi (HG)

Defenders
2. Gomez (HG)
3. Kerkez
4. VvD
5. Schlotterbeck (50M GBP)
12. Bradley (HG)
15. Leoni (U21)
26. Robertson
30. Frimpong (HG)
95. Bastoni (80M GBP)

Midfielders
6. Camavinga (70M GBP)
7. Wirtz
8. Szobozlai
10. Anderson (HG) (85M GBP)
17. Jones (HG)
19. Harvey Elliott (HG)
38. Gravenberch
42. Nyoni (U21)
43. Bajcetic (HG)

Forwards/Wingers
9. Isak
11. Olise (120M)
14. Chiesa
22. Ekitike
23. Diomande (60M)
73. Ngumoha (U21)

So a 460M GBP spend minus 165M GBP in departures would mean ~295M GBP net spend which I think is very well within Liverpool's financial power. The above is 24 senior player (8 of which are HG) and 3 U21. It would leave room to sign someone in January if needed.

---

Most of this is just wishful thinking, but I had some (or a lot of) time this morning and with my Texans crashing out last night and Aggie Basketball finally picking up, this is what has been on my sports mind.

Champions League returns Wednesday when we travel to Marseille. It may be too soon for Salah who played 90 minutes on Saturday (and missed a pen).

Quansah's buy-back clause cannot be activated until Summer 2027

Hell of a post. Bravo sir, and one of the best reasons to Texags.

I am glad you brought up the HG player issue or conundrum, because we are undoubtedly going to run into big time this summer and going to have to shop within the EPL more (spend more/EPL tax).

You hit the nail on the head with Anderson. We need another world class No. 6 and he's the guy for me right now. I also like Wharton, but Anderson does more imo and can play box-to-box better than Wharton. On top of that he could probably be had for 75-85M GBP like you said, and Wharton will likely run you closer to 100M GBP. Last thing I'll add...F CRYSTAL PALACE. Don't help those losers whatsoever. Let them rot.

At CB Bastoni is option No 1a, 1b and 1c. He's a top five CB on the planet in my books, and I think would be a similar buy like VVD was in 2018. He's of that caliber of CB imo, and would lead us into the foreseeable future and be able to bring of a guy like Leoni. After that Schlotterbeck would be fine as well, but Bastoni is the guy I wouldn't let walk away from the table. I still think they would need one other CB after they signed a guy.

In attack I have no clue what they do. I agree that it's time to move off of Gakpo, Chiesa and maybe Salah if they can get a decent number, but that leaves you with three forwards on the team. Two are No. 9's and one is 17. You would need to add two pure, out and out wingers at MINIMUM, unless they are legitimately going to commit to playing Isak and Ekitike together. If they do that it throws everything out the window. Olise would be the guy but he's going to cost 120M+, so for that reason alone I don't see it happening. They'll probably sniff around Bradley Barcola more but again don't see that happening. Diomande is a great shout at RB Leipzig, and tbh I personally love Kevin Schade at Brentford. Thinks he's amazingly talented, the only drawback would be coming from Brentford and then also that fact that he's 24, so a bit older than what FSG prefer to purchase.

Rebuilding the forward group is going to take some serious stones, money and time I think. But if they do go out and get Anderson and Bastoni, who I think would be transformative signings so-to-speak, how could you also not get a transformative guy in attack as well?

Salah gets the start. No Konate.

Salah is back in the squad.

Ali
Frimpong
Gomez
VVD
Kerkez
Gravenberch
Mac Allister
Szbo
Salah
Ekitike

Curious to see if they go 4-2-3-1 with Wirtz on the left (hate but so be it), or a 4-4-2/4-3-1-2 (a diamond in midfield with Wirtz leading the charge and Salah and Ekitike in front of him).

Need to be praying Konate is just out with a minor knock.

I hate Mason Greenwood's guts but man is he a good footballer. Absolutely world class in my book, and England could 100000% use his talents even though he belongs nowhere near the national team.

Ekitike has to has to has to score that. Cannot miss. We keep the door open for teams because of that.

Got the second goal, time to control the game and put it to bed. Slot needs to bring on a sub already. Can't keep running our players into the ground all the time. You have to have faith in your bench....

Salah is broken. You cannot convince me otherwise.

Good game. Not the best still in defensive transition, but we had a great cutting edge and were better in offensive transition. Probably should have won this one something like 4-1 but a good building block.

Up to 4th in the table w/ One home game left. UCL Round of 16 in sight.

And I will bet that we don't sign a replacement.

However, it looks like Kostas Tsimikas's loan deal at Roma is deteriorating and that Roma have no intention of making the deal permanent. If Liverpool do activate a recall, that would then facilitate a move for Robbo. I don't like it bc he's been one of my favorite players from the Klopp era. But if he has made it known to Liverpool that he has no intention of signing a new deal bc he is in search of minutes, then a deal now would benefit Liverpool the most. But of all places, Tottenham?!?

On a side note:
Everyone has (rightfully) praised Edwards and co. for their incoming transfer dealings from when he was Sporting Director during his first spell at the club (2016-2022). He and his team hit on so many transfers (Salah, VvD, Alisson, Mane, Robbo, Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Jota (RIP), Matip, Elliott, etc) and transformed this club. They rarely had a miss (Keita).

But we have a very worrying trend of letting players walk away for free. I think we've discussed it before on this board, but it bears repeating.

Here's a list of players that left with Liverpool receiving zero compensation:
- Emre Can
- Adam Lallana
- Georginio Wijnaldum
- Nathaniel Clyne
- Divock Origi
- James Milner
- Roberto Firmino
- Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
- Naby Keita
- Thiago (retired)
- Joel Matip (retired)
- Adrian
- TAA

We are about to add Ibrahima Konate and Andy Robertson (unless he moves to Spurs this window) to the list. That is just bad and unsustainable business. We happen to be in a strong financial position (especially according to latest Deloitte Money League). And each of the above cases is different and maybe some departures were inevitable. But imagine how strong of a position we would be if the above list was, say, cut in half?! Definitely a place where we we need to improve which is why I can see the Robbo deal happening and Salah leaving in the summer.

I have a bit of different view on contract situations. It would have been nice to recapture something for those guys for sure, but I think this happens way more frequently in the modern game than we think. These guys are to-be free agents and like all other sports they have so many more options if they run the contract out and seek the highest bidder and/or the team of their choice. If the team wants to sell, first off player has to agree to terms and secondly they have to want to go to the team that is actually willing to pay for them (when they'll be free in 6-12 months). Severely limits the number of teams. Why not wait until you can be in the market so that everyone is an option.

The overall money on those sales would have been minimal imo and the club was willing to run the contracts down in exchange for another season (Firmino, Gini, Thiago, Matip, maybe Emre) as they were chasing titles, CL, etc. Most of the others had value at or near a ham sandwich. TAA was one of the most desirable FAs in all of football and I honestly think LFC thought they could re-sign him. Plus he would have never agreed to being sold a year earlier because RM wasn't paying a large fee for him. These guys will run out deals because teams like RM or PSG, etc. will pay $300K/week (or more) if they run the contract down. It's part of their business plan. Tap up guys a season or so before they are a FA and pay them insane wages, because they don't have to pay such a large fee. Players near the end of their contracts have so much more leverage than the clubs do.

Robbo should leave if he wants to play, but not entirely sure he is nailed in that team either. He should be, but their manager is a moran!

Just my thoughts. I just want us to play fun football again!

If Andy does head out the door sign me up for Van de ven in the summer. Add him to the list.

I doubt we will fetch more than a few million for 6 months of Robbo. If that is the case, I just wouldn't sell him.

I understanding doing right by a player that has served the club well; however, the drop off from him to Tsimi is MASSIVE. Tsimikas has a nice left foot, but he is a complete liability on defense and largely unplayable if you have title/cup aspirations. If Kerkez gets hurt at all, we could be in for a serious issue given that the right back position is already threadbare.

Furthermore, we won't be hurting Robbos career by asking him to stay 6 more months. He will be able to pick from several clubs at the end of the season, whether he plays or not. There is enough film on Robbo that many quality teams will be looking at him for next season.

It would be stupid and short sighted to sell him now.

I think it's strictly based on the WC being this summer and who the player is with the club. If it wasn't Robbo asking for this I think we'd tell them pipe down we'll let you go in 6 months. But because of all that Robbo has done for us and the fact that he's captaining Scotland to their first WC in 28 years.

Its not like he is a fringe scotland player though. He is a starter and will continue to be a starter even if he doesn't play a single second of football for the rest of the season.

Will he be in better form if he leaves...maybe...but he might also get injured if he is over used at his age.

That's completely fair from our perspective. Agreed. From his though I think he believes he needs to play.

So a 4-2-2-2 with Ekitike on the bench and Gakpo/Salah up front

He still might not be 100% fit I'd guess and maybe not be able to play 120+ minutes across two games in short period.

That makes sense, forgot about that

As my Scottish friend would say "weather looks absolute ****e"

Salah can't hit the broadside of a barn

Looks absolutely miserable there

Awful. I feel cold and wet watching it

South Coast in the winter might be the most miserable place in the UK. It's cold, and wet, all the time.

Our corners

All of the crosses have been bad. Wonder if how wet the pitch is making it that much harder to do what they want with the ball.

We're elite. VVD just head up his ass.