When the Form Drops, Comparisons Get Ugly

There are certain reference points in Liverpool history that supporters don’t bring up lightly. Roy Hodgson is one of them. But when league form becomes a slog week after week, it’s inevitable people start looking for a yardstick, and Hodgson’s short, miserable spell is the one that screams “this can’t continue”.

The argument is pretty straightforward: Hodgson had 20 league games, picked up 25 points, and did it with a squad most of us would say was weaker. In that light, if Arne Slot is serving up a similar run, the patience isn’t going to last. Not at this club, not with the expectations, and not when the performances feel like they’re shrinking rather than growing.

From one bad day to a pattern

Fans always try to pinpoint when a season turns sour. Here it’s framed as that defeat at Palace in September, the moment the “rot” set in. Since then, it’s described as 21 points from 18 league games, which isn’t a rough patch anymore. That’s a trend.

What makes it worse is the feeling that we’ve been talking ourselves into it. An “unbeaten run” on paper can sound steady, but if it’s made up of limp draws, narrow escapes and performances that never convince, it doesn’t soothe anyone. It just delays the argument until it comes back louder.

The next two games and the reality check

This is where the stakes get spelt out brutally: if the next two league matches don’t bring two wins, then in the same 20-game window Slot ends up looking worse than Hodgson by the numbers. That’s not a comparison any Liverpool manager can shrug off.

There’s also the dread of the fixture list. City and Newcastle are mentioned as likely defeats, and not just defeats, but humiliations. That word matters, because it’s not only about losing points. It’s about looking second best, looking short of ideas, and watching belief drain out of the team.

Europe as a distraction, not a solution

Plenty of Liverpool seasons have been rescued by Europe. It’s part of who we are. But the point here is that clinging to a Champions League dream while the league collapses is like quitting your job because you might win the lottery. Nice story, terrible plan.

And if you don’t believe the side has the steel for it, then it becomes an even emptier comfort blanket. The claim is we’ve been well beaten in Europe too, which feeds into the bigger fear: once the opposition level rises, we’re out. If that’s how you see it, then you don’t “prioritise Europe”. You fix the league, quickly.

That’s why this ends at the harshest conclusion: if there’s no clear sign of a plan, no sense of correction, and no results to buy time, then the call becomes simple. Change the manager. Because carrying on as we are feels like choosing decline.

Written by ViktorVaughan: 27 January 2026