There’s a point in every great cycle where the signings start to look a bit tired, the squad gets older all at once, and the rebuild becomes someone else’s problem. You can make that argument about Manchester United at the end under Ferguson, and honestly we’ve lived our own version of it more than once.

What’s interesting about Liverpool’s lean years is that, for all the frustration, it wasn’t wall-to-wall disaster. We had managers who gave us days out, runs, moments, and even proper spells of good football. It’s just that the league is the measure that haunts you, and we didn’t land it.

Roy and Graeme as the low points

Let’s get the obvious out the way. Roy had the ownership chaos swirling around him, which matters, but it never felt like he understood what the job demanded. The football didn’t feel like Liverpool, and neither did the mood.

Graeme is more complicated, and that’s where a lot of fans split. On pure outcomes and squad building, it’s hard to defend: wrong players moved on, worse ones brought in, and it set us back. But context counts too. He walked into a club that was behind the times, and he wasn’t well. If you’ve got a soft spot for him as a person, you’re not alone.

Evans first, on football alone

There’s a reason some of us still talk about Roy Evans with real warmth. The football could be wonderful. Proper tempo, flair, and a sense that you were watching a Liverpool side trying to be Liverpool again.

The issue, as you’ve said, was the soft centre. Mentally and defensively we could wobble. And you do wonder: win that FA Cup and does the belief kick on? Does it turn into a title team? It’s not outrageous to think it might have.

Houllier, Rafa and Brendan: three very different arguments

Houllier is a big one for the “modernisation” crowd, and it’s fair. Training, professionalism, the whole approach moved forward. Not everyone loved the football, and some of the recruitment was rough, but he raised standards and that shouldn’t be brushed aside. The heart operation changed the feel of his tenure too.

Rafa is where opinions really get spiky. He was brilliant at setting up for two-legged ties, the sort of nights where discipline and detail matter. But it’s also fair to say finals and certain home league games could look muddled, especially when we couldn’t just manage space and sit in. With that group of top players, you can argue he should’ve squeezed more from it.

And Brendan? Hard one. That one great season was electric and deserves respect, but the other side of it is the sense we left ourselves short through stubbornness around recruitment and structure. That’s why he ends up lower for some, even with the memories.

Kenny’s second spell feels like its own little chapter, doesn’t it? Best left as a footnote, while the first reign stays sacred.

Written by Monstersouness: 17 January 2026

Tags: transfers efl tactics