I’m not here to tell anyone they have to love Arne Slot’s season. You can be underwhelmed, you can want more, you can even think a change might be needed. But the way some of the criticism is being framed lately feels like we’ve lost the run of ourselves.

It’s become this thing where Slot can’t do anything right. If a player doesn’t play, it’s “he’s frozen him out”. If he does play and looks off it, it’s “he’s ruined him”. And somewhere in the middle there’s a far simpler explanation: maybe the lad just isn’t doing enough to demand minutes.

Chiesa isn’t prime Messi and never was

The Chiesa chat is the one that really does my head in. Some people talk like we signed an automatic match-winner and Slot has somehow destroyed him “from the inside out”. Truth is, that’s giving the situation a bit too much drama.

If a player comes in with question marks, struggles to impose himself, then continues to be ineffective, at some point you have to allow for the possibility it’s not a coaching crime. It might just be that the level at Liverpool is unforgiving and he’s not hitting it. That’s not even abuse, it’s just football.

And when you zoom out, it’s not hard to see why a manager would be reluctant. Liverpool, even in a messy game, still expect a certain intensity and decision-making in the final third. If you’re not giving that, you don’t get the shirt on merit. That’s how it should be.

Selection moans need a bit of context

Then you’ve got the calls to “just play Ramsey” as if development is a straight line and the answer is always the newest name. Young players can be good, they can be exciting, but throwing them in because you’re annoyed at the manager isn’t a plan.

Same with Endo. If someone’s been out for a month injured, you don’t just chuck him straight back in because you fancy the look of it. Match sharpness matters. Rhythm matters. And managers will always, always err on the side of caution when they’ve got a full squad to manage.

Winning ugly still counts

From what you’re saying, Slot put out a strong side and Liverpool won the game. That should matter. It doesn’t mean it was perfect, and you can absolutely say we were sloppy or complacent at times, but that’s not a new Liverpool issue, or even a Slot-only issue.

Lower-league teams raising their game against the big boys is as old as the cup competitions themselves. It happens. It will happen again. The key thing is whether you keep your head, ride the rough spell, and get through it.

By all means, criticise the manager when it’s warranted. I’ve done it myself. But this constant hunt for a villain, where every problem has to be Slot’s fault and every fringe player is secretly the solution, is getting hard to read. We’d all be better off keeping it a bit fairer.

Written by Sean Dundee: 19 January 2026

Tags: efl transfers injury