Results Up, Football Flat: Slot’s Next Step

I like Arne Slot. Not just in the generic, “give the manager time” way either. He comes across measured, thoughtful, and he’s clearly not clueless. But supporting Liverpool also means calling it as you see it, and what we’ve been watching lately has too often been a bit… flat.

For the players we’ve got, it can feel subpar. Not always a mess, not always panicky, just slow and safe in a way that drains the life out of games. You sit there waiting for the tempo to click up a notch and it never quite arrives. And when that happens week in, week out, the frustration builds, even if you’re trying to stay patient.

Slow build-up is fine, but it has to mean something

I’ve made my peace with slower build-up. Plenty of top sides do it. Control the ball, settle the shape, move the opposition, then strike when the gap appears. The problem is when the build-up becomes the whole point, rather than the route to something sharper.

There are moments when we get decent territory, even win it back high up the pitch, and you think: right, now we go. Instead it can turn into another recycle, another reset, another pass that feels like it’s there to avoid losing it rather than to hurt anyone with it.

Slow football can still be exciting. It can build pressure like a lid being tightened. But it needs attacking intent, runners, bravery in the final third. Otherwise it’s just possession without threat, and that’s the bit that grates.

Criticism isn’t personal

What winds me up a little is the idea that saying “this is boring” is an attack on Slot. It isn’t. It’s just a description of the matchday feeling right now. You can like the fella, want him to succeed, and still admit the entertainment levels have been low.

Truth is, Liverpool at their best are aggressive. Even when we’re being patient, there’s usually an edge, a sense that we’re about to burst through. That’s what I’m missing. Not chaos, not end-to-end madness, just purpose.

Encouragement from the results, but the next gear matters

The one thing keeping it all from boiling over is that results have taken a turn for the better, and that matters. Confidence comes from winning, and patterns are easier to build when the table isn’t screaming at you.

So yes, I’m always hoping Slot turns it around in terms of performances. Because if the results can stay decent while the football improves, then suddenly you’re looking at a side that feels like Liverpool again. That’s the aim. And it’s not asking for miracles, just asking for more bite when we’ve got our foot on the ball.

Written by Davey Sulls: 4 January 2026