A roundup with Will Rooney of LiverpoolWorld.com
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00:00Obviously, if we look at David Moyes' spell at West Ham, it was up and down, and then
00:08they went on and he achieved European places. He then returned a trophy, which was quite
00:12remarkable really. Then when he did get sacked, you felt that he may have got a bit hard done
00:18by. He's clearly a top flight manager with loads of experience. Do you think it was the
00:24correct appointment from the new owners? They've obviously come in and they've laid it out.
00:31We obviously spoke a number of times whether Deitch's future was in the balance or not.
00:35As you mentioned there, it can change in a matter of weeks or a matter of results. Then
00:39Deitch goes and Moyes comes straight in. Do you think they should have looked elsewhere
00:44or do you think they've made the right appointment for now and for the future as well?
00:50I think it's the right appointment on the balance of things. We're evidently in a position
00:57to try to wait and get a target in. We're in the position where they might not be able
01:02to get a target over the line. We think, right, we've got to go back to the drawing board
01:05because results aren't easy. You can get quickly dragged into a relegation battle. Two home
01:11games this week against Aston Villa and Tottenham, which would be big games. You want someone
01:15in charge of them. You don't want someone like Leighton Baines. It was fine for the
01:18piece for a game in the FA Cup, Leighton Baines taking charge. You need someone experienced.
01:24You need someone who will give Evan a shot in the arm. David Moyes, his job at West Ham
01:30was absolutely magnificent. You have to say, he won the European trophy, had them challenging
01:36for Europe regularly. Not just the Europa Conference League but the Europa League as
01:41well. He's done well. Look what's happened at West Ham since he left, with Julian Lopetegui.
01:48He's obviously lost his job within the first six months of his tenure. I think he was very
01:56under-rated. He's obviously learned a lot since he left Eton. He doesn't think he could
02:04get any unluckier at the time and he left to take charge of Man Utd, given the circumstances
02:10there and his record wasn't that bad. Yes, there were a couple of Real Sociedad and Sunderland
02:16goals to plan for. But West Ham last year, he's a proven Premier League manager and he's
02:22obviously learned a lot in the 12 years since he's been away. He'll bring all that experience
02:30back with him and you might see a little bit of a different Moyes at David Moyes 2.0.
02:35Looking at Everton and David Moyes coming in, what are the biggest changes expected
02:42under his second spell in charge of the club? Obviously, we've mentioned a number of times
02:48Everton over the last three, four years have really struggled. Is it a case of addressing
02:55the home form, making Goodison Park a really tough place to go again? Who are the players
03:01that could stand out under Moyes, do you think? The likes of Dwight McNeil was fantastic under
03:06Sean Dyche. Can he continue that under David Moyes? Is there any players to look at? What
03:11do you think his main goals straight away, his main priorities will be for his second
03:17spell at Everton? I don't think there will be massive changes in terms of the playing
03:21style because you haven't got the players to do it, to go and change it completely.
03:27I think it will develop over time towards his two spells, the ending of those two teams
03:33at the end of his Everton career where he played really good football and he'll want
03:37to work towards that. Scoring goals is the obvious one that he needs to address. Everton
03:42scores, as we speak, 15 Premier League goals in 19 games. It's not been good enough. They
03:48can't rely on the defence all the time. The defence today, it's a good back four, a good
03:54back five with Jorgen Pickford obviously, but maybe they've relied on Pickford a little
03:57bit too much this season as well. So, getting Everton far in the final third and then as
04:03you say, maybe looking at some of the players who might benefit. You're probably going through
04:08the squads and thinking, is Nathan Paterson going to get a chance at right back now? He
04:13was scarcely used by Sean Dyche. He's had his injuries, to be fair to him, but he has
04:18not been utilised enough. Do you look at someone like Ilhan Mendy now and think, well, do we
04:22play him in the number 10 role? A lot of supporters have wanted to see that, but Sean Dyche said
04:29there's no evidence that Sean Dyche can play in that position. I think a lot of people
04:35would argue against that, given what it is. Sheffield United all being in the Championship
04:38two seasons ago, but he's clearly developed as a player since then. Just going back to
04:43Nathan Paterson, are we going to see the full-backs attacking a little bit more? They have been
04:48quite restricted. Ashley Young and Vitaly Mikhalenko are ones that have really got forward
04:54a lot. Given what he said about Dominic Calvert-Lewin, he can be the one that makes a difference.
05:00Does he look to play to Dominic Calvert-Lewin's strengths? In these final six months, a lot
05:05has been made about his contract, but does David Moyes look and think, the best way to
05:10score goals is to give Dominic Calvert-Lewin a regular supply line, not make him so isolated,
05:16getting balls into the box to him, getting players around him that he can link up with?
05:23Looking at Liverpool and the transfer latest, we've discussed a few times the ongoing business,
05:28the deals, and mainly taking the headlines of those big three contracts that fans are
05:34all talking about. In terms of maybe new players coming in or players actually leaving, we've
05:39also discussed the amount of players they have out on loan, whether they'll use January
05:43to recall some of those for their title bid. What's the latest you can tell us from the
05:48Anfield transfer rumour? Do you think it's going to be any busier than it currently is
05:52for the end of this month?
05:54I think in January, and I've referred to it a couple of times now, Liverpool will look
05:59to make deals if they think there's an opportunity, and that seems like it's the policy. Being
06:08linked with the winger from Napoli, I'm not going to try and pronounce his name,
06:13Georgia International, Liverpool reportedly monitoring that situation, but he seems like
06:19he's off to PSG, so that one's off. Again, probably another opportunity to spawn. Reports
06:27suggest in Germany that Liverpool are in talks with Stefano Simas, who plays for Nuremberg
06:32in the German second tier. He's had a good season so far, eight goals in 14 games, and
06:39he meets the ilk of signing that Liverpool might go after. Young, still 19, still plenty
06:46of potential, but if it doesn't work out, then they can sell him for a decent profit
06:53in the future, like they have done with Fabio Carvalho or Stef Vandenberg. In terms of concrete
07:00deals, there have been a couple of players returning from loan, but they're not returning
07:08to impact the first team. Kate Gordon has a disappointing spell at Norwich, Calvin Ramsey
07:15couldn't really get a game at Wigan, has now gone to Kilmarnock, so those are the deals
07:19you're looking at so far. I mean, I know there's a little broad 7% who's maybe going to Real
07:24Betis, that doesn't look like it might materialise. Ben Dope, of course, has attracted suitors,
07:30given that he's done really well at Middlesbrough, but Liverpool will either keep him at Middlesbrough
07:35or they'll sell him, they won't bring him back. In terms of any potential outgoings,
07:41I think the only one you're mainly looking at is probably Tyler Morton, the midfielder,
07:47has said he needs to be selfish and go out because he hasn't played a lot of football,
07:51he had two seasons in the Championship on loan, probably is a Premier League player to be quite
07:56frank, but did Liverpool allow him to go out or did he keep him for squad day? I would think it's
08:02the latter, I don't think that Liverpool will be willing to allow him to leave, just because
08:08they haven't got an abundance of defensive midfielders in the squad at the minute.
08:15Darwin Nunes, it seems like there's talk of rumours developing that maybe Saudi Arabian
08:22clubs are interested. Will Liverpool be willing again to allow him to leave in January? Well,
08:28maybe not, given that Diogo Jota has injury issues and, yes, Luis Diaz has played his
08:34strike of the season, but Nunes gives you something else. How he's been hitting myths,
08:39he had a few fantastic moments in a Liverpool shirt, but he's also been here or there and he's
08:45never quite hit the ground running as they maybe should have done for that price tag when they
08:49brought him in a few seasons ago. Now, in terms of his latest news transfers, whether it's in or out,
08:57what's the sort of latest you can tell us on Darwin Nunes' situation and how are the fans
09:02feeling? How's Arnie Schlott feeling? Is he a player that he really backs to do well under him
09:07in the future? I think Arnie Schlott publicly will really back his players, no matter what,
09:13we've seen that, but I think fans are starting to run out of a little bit of patience with Darwin
09:20Nunes, if I'm being honest. He's been at the club two and a half years now, joint record fee,
09:28he's shown glimpses, but he's never found consistency. Has he improved since he joined
09:38the club in 2023? I'd suggest, or 2022, beg your pardon, I'd suggest he hasn't made massive
09:47improvement. I think this season he's had to play a little bit different, Arnie Schlott's more
09:52controlled, he doesn't want his strikers being haily-baily, running around, he wants everything
09:58to be a little bit more measured. He has improved with his pressing, etc, Nunes, when he's had a
10:06chance, but he's not first choice and that's a problem. If you're paying all that money for a
10:12striker, you want them to be your first choice, scoring goals every other week, being at the
10:17fulcrum of your team. He's scored four goals this season in all competitions, two in the Premier
10:23League, he's had more buckings than he has goals, he's a little bit erratic. Liverpool, I can't see
10:33them, unless a really good offer came in in January, I can't see them letting him go in the
10:39middle of a Premier League title assault. Champions League starts again soon, Liverpool will be looking
10:47to go quite deep in that, so I can't see them letting him go, but in the summer it's going to
10:52be something that they're going to have to think about. Recruitment, you don't always get
10:58them right. It's well known that maybe you look for a two-in-three ratio and this one, you know,
11:08how many signs Liverpool made for big money and they have worked out, but a couple haven't and
11:14Abicator was one and as things stand, you're looking at Darwin Nunes thinking, is it ever going to work
11:21out? He'll have, what, two years left on his deal. In the summer, do Liverpool cut the losses in the
11:29summer and get a striker who's more suited to Arnold Slott's style? That's definitely something
11:35to ponder, but yeah, I don't think Arnold Slott, he has defended them a fair bit in public when he's
11:42being asked about, which you have to commend, but as I say, you know, he was a fan's favourite and
11:50fans want him to succeed so badly, but there's just at the minute no sign that it's going to
11:57work out for him at Anfield.