Slot and the squad look miles apart

The sideways stuff is annoying, but it’s not even the main issue. What really sticks in the throat is how separate Liverpool look at the moment: manager on one island, players on another, and the match drifting along until there’s a frantic late push.

You can live with a scruffy spell if you can see the idea and feel the buy-in. But when it looks like everyone’s waiting for the last few minutes to start playing, it screams of a side that either doesn’t believe in the plan or doesn’t know how to carry it out under pressure. Either way, that’s on the coach as much as it is on the players.

When it feels like a substitute teacher

The fan comparison is harsh but it lands: it has the vibe of a substitute teacher in charge and a class that’s clock-watching. There’s no edge to us, no proper fight when the game turns, and no real sign of the group dragging each other through it. You’re left asking a basic question: where’s the spark coming from?

Yes, individuals can be poor on any given day. That happens. But the frustration here is more structural. If the default is safe passes, low risk, and then “kitchen sink” football for the final spell, you end up with a team that never quite gets up to speed. It’s reactive, not assertive.

The tactics: safety first, chaos later

What makes it sting is that you can look at this squad and see possibilities. Liverpool have enough quality to play with tempo, win second balls, and turn games into scrappy, uncomfortable affairs for the opposition. Instead, it can feel like we spend ages moving it side-to-side, only to rely on desperation at the end.

That’s why the talk quickly turns from “form” to “fit”. If the players don’t suit what Arne Slot wants, or if Slot isn’t getting the best out of what he’s got, the relationship breaks down fast. And once that happens, every flat performance looks like a statement.

Summer feels like the decision point

The post makes a simple argument: Slot probably lasts until the summer unless results completely collapse. In a season where the push for Champions League places can stay alive even when teams are inconsistent, the club might choose stability over another mid-season upheaval.

But the same view is clear on the longer term too: it doesn’t feel like something that’s building. The only real optimism comes from imagining this group under a manager who gets more aggression, more intent, and more belief out of them. Because right now, we’re watching a Liverpool side that looks like it’s waiting for something to change.

Written by Bob le ponge: 8 January 2026