What grates here isn’t just the odd bad half or a poor set-piece routine. It’s the sense that Arne Slot has decided certain problems are unsolvable, then coached like that’s the case. The low block gets talked about like it’s a law of nature, rather than a challenge you plan for.

The low block can’t be the get-out clause

Every side in the league faces it at some point. That’s the whole point of being a top team: you get other sides sitting in. Saying it takes a “moment of magic” feels like giving up on structure, patterns, and getting the ball into the right areas with the right timing.

If we’re spending months seeing the same picture, then you want to see some tweaks. Different spacing. Better rotation. Someone arriving in the box at the right moment rather than three lads stood on the same line waiting for a miracle pass.

Open midfield, nervous defence

The biggest worry in this view is how easy it looks for opponents to stroll through the middle. That’s not always about individual mistakes. It’s often distances between units, who jumps to press, and who covers the space left behind.

And when we do lose it, there’s a panicky look to the defending. That’s mad on one level because Liverpool teams are usually comfortable having the ball. But comfort on it only matters if you’re organised when it goes.

Selection and balance: where do players actually fit?

There are clear opinions here on profiles and roles. Wirtz, for example, is seen as a central player, not someone who should be forced into wide positions where he looks a bit lost. It’s a fair football argument: players can be talented and still look “wrong” if the role doesn’t suit.

Same with the wide balance. If you want full-backs bombing on, you need wingers who threaten inside and pin defenders, otherwise you’re just running into traffic. And if two players on the same flank both want to do the same thing, you can end up limiting yourself rather than doubling your threat.

Fitness and game-state control

The other complaint is familiar to anyone watching late-game drop-offs: why do we look leggy in the last 10 to 20 minutes? For a squad of elite athletes, that shouldn’t be a regular storyline, especially if the plan is to overload the final third and keep squeezing.

It all points back to the same thing: coaching and problem-solving. Liverpool News Views can handle debate about individuals, but the bigger conversation is whether the manager is adapting quickly enough to what the league keeps showing him.

Written by chewysuarez7: 8 January 2026

Tags: efl injury tactics