Brilliant on paper, flat on the pitch

You look at the talent in this Liverpool squad and, on paper, it should be frightening. Big names, big fees, proper pedigree. And yet it just isn’t landing. That’s the maddening part. The debate always starts with “we should be the best team ever”, then the football kicks off and you’re left wondering why it feels so disjointed.

To be fair, nobody’s saying there isn’t potential. The ceiling is there. But right now it’s not translating into points, performances, or even the basic feeling of a side that knows exactly what it’s trying to be. Football isn’t a spreadsheet. It’s rhythm, confidence, relationships, and the grim graft when it’s not going your way.

When star names don’t play like stars

The harsh truth is that reputations don’t win matches. If Mohamed Salah is having a poor season by his standards, the whole attack can look like it’s missing a gear. Not because one lad is everything, but because so much of what Liverpool do in the final third has often been about someone making the difference when the game’s tight.

And it’s not just one player, is it? If you’re looking at Jeremie Frimpong and Federico Chiesa and thinking you’re still waiting for the real impact, you’re not alone. You can carry one “settling in” story at a time. Carry a few and it starts to feel like the team’s always starting again.

Talent unused is talent wasted

Florian Wirtz is the sort of footballer you build patterns around. If he’s “criminally underused”, as you put it, that’s a structural issue as much as an individual one. The best sides don’t just have good players, they put them in spots where the game comes to them. When that doesn’t happen, you get passengers, not because they’re bad, but because they’re detached.

The same applies when someone like Cody Gakpo is miles off it. Form is one thing, but confidence and clarity are another. Is he getting the right service? Is he being asked to do three different jobs in three different roles? We’ve all watched Liverpool sides before where you could tell players were second-guessing themselves.

Selection, patience, and the coaching question

Throwing a kid into the deep end can work, but it can also expose him. If “Rio” looks like he shouldn’t be in the first team yet, that’s not really a dig at him. That’s a club decision. Development is fragile, and it’s easy to burn it by asking for too much, too soon.

Up front, if Alexander Isak looks miles off the level you expected, that’s another example of the wider theme. The only one you’re giving genuine credit to here is Hugo Ekitike, and that says plenty about where the standards are across the group.

So yeah, the conclusion is uncomfortable but understandable: if the squad is strong “on paper” and it still looks blunt, then the coaching has to be part of the conversation. Because matches aren’t won by transfer fees. They’re won by a side that’s coached well enough to make all that talent look like one team.

Written by 1985mikey1985: 16 January 2026