Liverpool’s big worry: legs, balance and belief

Liverpool’s problems at the minute don’t feel like a one-off. It’s the same themes popping up again: not enough intensity in the game, not enough snap in transitions, and too many spells where we just look a yard short of where we should be.

The tricky part is we’re judging it from the stands and the telly, while the staff have the physical data we don’t. If the numbers are showing players can’t hit the outputs needed for this league, that should be setting off alarms. Because to the eye, there are moments where we look slow getting back, slow getting out, and strangely flat for a team that’s usually built on energy.

Is it fitness, form, or something else entirely?

It could be a mix. Form can make a side look sluggish, injuries can take away your best runners, and confidence can drain the life out of pressing. But there’s still a nagging question: why do we look knackered so early sometimes? If you’re not seeing the sprinting, the duels, the second balls, you start asking whether it’s physical, mental, or both.

And if it’s physical, it’s not a small issue. That’s on the training, the loading, the preparation. If it’s more mental, then at least you can imagine it turning quicker once something clicks. Truth is, without the data, we’re guessing. But the eye test isn’t exactly comforting.

Slot, style, and the danger of the crowd drifting

Arne Slot is going to be judged on results, of course, but also on whether the football gives supporters something to latch onto. Under Jürgen Klopp, even in the rough spells, you often still felt the emotional pull. There was fire, there was belief, and you could sense the crowd staying with it.

Right now, the worry is the opposite: fans getting bored, fans turning, and the whole thing feeling a bit joyless. That’s the slippery slope. Because once the match-going support starts checking out, everything becomes heavier, and every bad 15-minute spell turns into a proper crisis.

Squad balance: the back line still screams for cover

Even allowing for injuries, the squad still looks unbalanced. At the back especially, it feels like we’re one problem away from patching things together. Ibrahima Konate has improved, but his injury record and those longer dips in performance are fair concerns. Virgil van Dijk is still a huge presence, but time catches everyone, and Liverpool need to think about what the next version of the defence looks like.

Midfield, player-for-player, should be fine, which makes it more frustrating when the team doesn’t function like it should. And up front there’s quality, but quality isn’t the same as cohesion. It has to knit together into a team, not just a set of names.

If this season is going to turn, it probably starts with sharper legs and a clearer identity. Then you can talk about bigger questions: Slot, the staff, and whether the people responsible for squad building have actually put the manager in a position to succeed.

Written by Redhotred: 8 January 2026