There’s this weird idea that if you criticise Liverpool you should just pick another club and move on. I’ve never bought that. Without supporters there’s no club, and supporters don’t just turn up to clap politely through everything. They’ve got feelings, standards, and expectations that come from what Liverpool have been and what we’ve seen this side reach.

And this season, for plenty of us, that expectation isn’t being met. Not in a “we should win every game” sense, but in the feeling of it. The tempo. The intent. That sense that opponents come to Anfield already half-beaten before the first tackle goes in.

What Klopp restored at Anfield

Under Klopp, Liverpool didn’t just win matches, they set the terms. We went to the opponent. We squeezed the life out of games with intensity, and you could see teams come here hoping for a miracle and leaving relieved with a point like they’d won a cup final.

It wasn’t perfect every week, but it was proactive. The message always felt clear: do more, run more, take risks, force errors. And that attitude didn’t just lift the players, it lifted the crowd too. Anfield has always been special, but in those best periods it was a weapon.

Now it feels reactive

Fast forward and it’s hard not to feel we’ve slipped into being the team that reacts. The frustration isn’t just results, it’s the vibe that we’re spending too much time trying to manage problems rather than impose ourselves. When you’re worrying about what the other lot might do, you’re already a step behind.

Even in matches you expect to control, it can feel like we’re hanging on to small margins. If things don’t click, you’re suddenly looking at it and thinking: are we really one moment away from dropping points to a side that’s fighting down the bottom? That shouldn’t be where Liverpool live.

Set pieces can’t become the whole story

Set pieces matter, obviously. Every side has to defend them properly and make them count at the other end. But if that becomes the obsession, it turns into an excuse for everything else being a bit flat. The best Liverpool sides defended their box, yes, but they also made sure the opponent didn’t get a breath of air in open play.

For me, that’s the bigger point. Liverpool need a manager who sets the agenda and gets back to taking the game to teams, not one who looks bogged down by explanations. Criticism isn’t betrayal. Sometimes it’s just supporters asking for the standards this club has already proved it can reach.

Written by Red_Flyer69: 10 January 2026

Tags: efl