Blame the Squad Build, Not Just the Boss

The mood around Liverpool can swing wildly, and when results or performances dip the easiest thing to do is pick one person and aim everything at them. But reading the situation a bit more honestly, it feels like a squad-build issue as much as anything. If you’re asking a manager to play a certain way, you’ve got to give them the tools to do it.

I’m not even talking about injuries as an excuse. Every side gets them and you crack on. It’s more that some of the newer lads are only just starting to look settled, which is exactly what you’d expect when you drop players into the Premier League and ask them to cope with the speed, the physicality, and the relentless week-to-week pressure.

New lads, new league, new demands

You can see it with a few of them. Wirtz and Frimpong have looked sharper recently, more in tune with what’s around them and what’s expected. Kerkez, too, looks like he’s learning what it actually means to play for a top side where you’re not allowed to drift in and out of games. That pressure is constant.

And then there’s Ekitike, who for all the ups and downs elsewhere, has been the one consistent point in the conversation. When that’s the case, it tells you something about the balance of the side and how often we’re relying on the same few to keep standards up.

Experience matters more than we like to admit

One point that feels fair is the keeper situation. If you’re comparing Mamardashvili to Kelleher purely on experience and familiarity with this environment, it’s not hard to see why it might look like a step back in terms of steadiness. Goalkeepers don’t get the luxury of easing in quietly, either. Every mistake is a headline.

At centre-half, losing someone who’s reliably available and has Premier League miles in the legs is a big deal. If Leoni was meant to be Quansah’s replacement but can’t stay on the pitch, you’re suddenly back to patching holes rather than building partnerships.

Predictability out wide and the missing variety

Up top and out wide, it’s the variety that feels like it’s gone missing. Gakpo is a player plenty of us love watching, but teams know what’s coming: he wants to cut inside. When you’ve got someone like Diaz as an alternative, it keeps defences guessing because the threat arrives in a different way. Without that, the set-up against us becomes easier.

Midfield hasn’t been perfect either. Mac Allister and Gravenberch dipping at the same time hurts, even if Szoboszlai looks like he’s operating on a different level and Curtis Jones deserves his credit as well.

So yes, you can criticise the football. But if we’re looking for the roots of it, questions for Hughes and the board feel unavoidable. If the manager hasn’t been backed in the way the plan demanded, then “just blame the manager” becomes a bit of a lazy answer.

Written by JonnyNo6: 28 January 2026