Why are we cramping up so often?

It’s hard to ignore how often we seem to see cramp and tired legs crop up. Whatever the plan is with managing minutes, basic ability to go hard for 90 should not be up for debate.

It might just be the sort of thing you notice once and then can’t unsee, but it does feel like somebody is going down with cramp in a fair portion of our games. And that’s the bit that jars. Cramp used to feel like an extra-time problem, or something you’d associate with a player carrying a knock. Now it’s creeping into normal, routine 90-minute matches and it’s leaving a lot of us asking the same question: how are we even having a conversation about fitness this far into the season?

Cramp shouldn’t be a tactical “side effect”

I get the modern game is relentless. The schedule is heavy, the intensity is brutal, and every manager talks about managing loads. Fine. Rotate where you can, don’t overtrain, and be smart about minutes. But none of that should come at the cost of basic cardiovascular fitness. There’s a difference between looking a bit leggy after a mad run of fixtures and looking like the team hits a wall around the 70-minute mark.

If there is a plan to keep players fresher for the back end of the season, the plan still has to include being able to run. Hard. Repeatedly. That’s the minimum requirement at this level.

The Klopp standard is still the reference point

Whether it’s fair or not, Klopp’s Liverpool set the standard in our heads. We were built around setting the pace, squeezing teams, winning second balls, and keeping that pressure on until it broke opponents. It wasn’t always pretty, but it was relentless, and it was a huge part of why we were so hard to play against.

So when you watch us now and it feels like we’re hanging on a bit once the game goes long, it’s going to stand out. Not because every side can do 90 minutes of chaos every week, but because we’ve seen what Liverpool look like when the engine is right.

Pre-season, time off, and the excuses

Players don’t exactly get months on the beach. It’s usually a short summer break, then back in. That’s why the idea of “cardio issues” feels baffling. You can debate methods and you can debate whether the workload is being pitched correctly, but at this stage of the campaign it shouldn’t look like basic conditioning is the limiter.

And yes, people will point to disruptions and delays. But small interruptions shouldn’t be enough to explain a recurring pattern across the squad. If it’s happening often, it’s worth asking whether it’s training, match approach, in-game management, or just the cumulative effect of the way we’re trying to play.

Truth is, I’m not asking for 90 minutes of mad pressing every week. I’m asking for us to look like we can finish games properly. Because when Liverpool can run, Liverpool can hurt you.

Written by chewysuarez7: 22 December 2025