No Plan, No Stability, No Rhythm

A day at Anfield shouldn’t feel this flat, but the bigger worry is what’s on the pitch: constant chopping and changing, players moved around, and a sense we’re guessing rather than building.

I walked away from the last game with that horrible feeling you get when the football doesn’t even give you a spark to cling to. Not intensity, not pattern, not even a proper siege at the end. Just… flat. Even the concourse matched the mood, with the club somehow running out of hot drinks, which summed up the whole afternoon: unprepared, a bit messy, and not really fit for purpose.

And I’m not saying this as someone who only turns up when it’s flying. I’ve watched us through the lot. That’s why this is so frustrating, because it doesn’t look like a side going through a normal wobble. It looks like a side that doesn’t know what it’s meant to be doing, and a crowd that can sense it.

Where’s the actual plan?

The biggest issue for me is the lack of a clear tactical idea. When it isn’t working, it feels like Arne Slot’s answer is to throw on a raft of substitutions and hope the chaos creates something. Sometimes a bold change is needed, of course. But there’s a difference between being proactive and just spinning the wheel.

You can’t build rhythm if players are constantly being asked to do different jobs in different areas. It stops partnerships forming, it stops players trusting where the next pass is, and it definitely stops us looking stable in transition. You end up with football that’s all little moments and no structure.

Square pegs everywhere

We had three different right-backs in the same game. That’s not “tactical flexibility”, that’s a team searching for answers in the middle of the exam. Stability matters in the wide areas because so much of our press and our covering runs depend on timing. If one side is constantly changing, the rest of the shape starts to wobble with it.

When Kerkez came on, he didn’t look sure whether to stick or twist, and it’s hard to blame him if the instructions aren’t clear. Even worse when there’s nobody obvious to mark and you’re still unsure where you’re meant to be. That’s when the crowd start groaning, not because they fancy a moan, but because it looks like uncertainty has spread.

Changes that don’t change anything

Throwing Mac Allister on doesn’t automatically fix a side that’s lost its way. Good players can raise the level, but only if the framework is there. Otherwise it’s just another good footballer trying to solve the whole thing on his own with a few neat touches.

Same with Ekitike up front. Leaving him pretty much isolated, supported by players who don’t look fit enough to get up with him, is how you end up running your striker into the ground. It’s not fair on him, and it’s not sustainable for us.

Truth is, even when we win, it hasn’t felt pretty or controlled. Something has to give, because at the minute it looks like we’re relying on hope rather than a plan.

Written by dickiedidoh: 8 January 2026