There’s a bit of perspective missing around Liverpool at the moment. You watch other Premier League sides and they’re not exactly flying either, yet the noise around us is instantly dialled up to 10. Every loose pass, every flat spell, every moment we don’t look like peak vintage Liverpool and suddenly it’s all pinned on Arne Slot.

Perspective matters, even in a scrap

The truth is most teams have wobbles. Arsenal have had nights where they’ve looked laboured, and you can find plenty of examples across the league where the football isn’t sparkling but the points still matter. That’s not an excuse for Liverpool playing below ourselves, but it should calm the idea that we’re uniquely broken or that one man on the touchline is the root cause of every problem.

Slot hasn’t inherited a perfect machine. What he’s walked into is a squad that’s been through a huge emotional and tactical era, with some iconic players getting older and the spine needing fresh legs and fresh solutions. That doesn’t get fixed in a handful of months.

Midfield legs don’t magically reappear

People keep pointing at the press, the energy, the ability to swarm teams and win it back in packs. Fair. But we haven’t consistently been that side for a while now, not like the prime days with Henderson, Wijnaldum and Fabinho covering ground for fun and making it feel like the pitch was tilted.

Midfield is where you feel a transition most. It’s where games are controlled, slowed, accelerated, and where tiredness shows up first. If we’re occasionally a yard off it, that’s not automatically a coaching failure. Sometimes it’s just the reality of a squad needing reinforcements and time together.

Let new lads breathe

There’s also a habit creeping in of writing players off far too quickly. If someone arrives with a big reputation, some expect them to look world-class by week two. If a young full-back doesn’t immediately hit ‘prime Robertson’ levels, he gets judged like he’s a finished article. That’s not how development works, especially at a club where expectations are sky-high and every touch gets analysed to death.

And in attack, we’ve felt the absence of that little bit of class and guile that used to knit everything together. That sort of presence doesn’t get replaced overnight, and it certainly doesn’t get replaced by panic.

Back the manager, back the squad

Yes, the squad probably needs a couple in. And yes, not every signing will be universally loved on day one. But if we’re honest, most of us were pretty content with the direction of travel not that long ago.

So show a bit of faith. The season isn’t done. A new year can be a reset, and Liverpool have always been at their best when we stick together through the messy bits as well as the glorious ones. Onwards and upwards.

Written by Bristol_Red: 28 December 2025

Tags: tactics transfers efl