The comparisons are starting to fly around again, as they always do when Liverpool hit a sticky patch. But not all rough runs are built the same, and lumping seasons together doesn’t really help you work out what’s actually going wrong.
If you’re looking back at the Klopp years, 2020/21 felt like a campaign where the circumstances were so extreme that most supporters could see the problem with their own eyes. When you lose centre-back after centre-back, everything else gets dragged down with it. The structure wobbles, the confidence drains, and suddenly even the simple things look hard.
Why those seasons don’t quite match up
2022/23, though, had a different feel. There was more to question, because it wasn’t just one position collapsing. The sense was the midfield had run out of steam, and that knocks on to everything: pressing becomes half a step late, transitions get messy, and you end up defending bigger spaces than you want.
Even then, the football often still looked like it had a point to it. There was a recognisable idea, and a few familiar patterns. Having Trent in the side helps that massively because he gives you a route to progression and threat that doesn’t depend on perfect build-up. You can be a bit scruffy and still create something.
The worry now: good squad, thin output
The concern with Arne Slot, from a fan point of view, isn’t really about patience or time. He has time. It’s more the nagging feeling that, man-for-man, Liverpool have got a very strong group, and yet you can watch long spells of games without seeing a chance that makes you sit forward.
That’s the bit that sticks in the throat. Not losing a duel or making a mistake, but looking blunt. When you’re not carving teams open, every match becomes a grind, and every opponent with a low block fancies their chances of taking you into the mud.
Set pieces and “moments” can’t be Plan A
Set pieces matter. Individual quality matters. Liverpool have always needed big players to do big things. But when the message coming out is that you need set pieces or a moment of magic to break teams down, it can sound like you’re accepting the problem rather than solving it.
Low blocks aren’t new. They’re part of the Premier League furniture. The best sides find ways through them with movement, rotations, runners from deep, smarter occupation of the half-spaces, and a tempo that forces defenders to make decisions. If that isn’t showing up often enough, supporters will naturally ask: where’s the coached solution?
I want Slot to turn it around because everyone wants the manager to succeed. But until Liverpool start creating chances with a bit more regularity and purpose, the doubt is going to sit there, quietly getting louder.
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