There’s a weird certainty creeping into the conversation around Liverpool at the minute: that whatever happens, we simply have to stick with Arne Slot. No questions, no alternatives, no debate. And I’m not having that. If the team is slipping down the table and playing like they’ve run out of ideas, why are we acting like accepting it is the grown-up option?

To be clear, nobody has to pretend Steven Gerrard has pulled up trees in his last two jobs. He hasn’t. That’s not controversial. But football doesn’t work like a neat CV screen where one bad spell means you’re permanently useless, and one good spell means you’re the next great thing. It’s messier than that.

Gerrard isn’t spotless, but he’s not a joke either

If you’re judging Gerrard, judge the full picture. He’s the only manager in the last decade to take the Scottish title off Celtic, and he stopped them doing 10 in a row. That matters, whether it fits the narrative or not. At Rangers, he became a hero for a reason.

Aston Villa was a mess and he couldn’t turn it around, fine. And in Saudi, if you’re at a club that isn’t backed like the big boys, you’re basically starting a race a few yards behind. People can laugh if they want, but context is part of the job description in football.

The bigger point: football careers don’t run in straight lines

We’ve all seen it. Managers who stumble in one job then click in the next. Some get a bounce in a new environment, others don’t. It’s why certainty is usually the first thing that gets you in trouble in this sport. You can point at a “safe” appointment and still be miles off.

So when I hear “Gerrard would be too risky”, I get it. But what’s the risk of staying put if you honestly believe Slot is failing? It’s not theoretical. It’s the table, the momentum, the season drifting away while we tell ourselves stability is automatically virtuous.

If it’s going wrong, why pretend we’ve got loads to lose?

This is the bit that winds me up: the idea we must accept dross because change might be worse. If we’re already sleepwalking, then at least waking up and doing something has a point to it. Nobody’s saying hand anyone a long-term deal on a whim. But if you think the current path ends with nothing, why cling to it out of fear?

Football is ruthless. Liverpool should be too. If it gets worse, at least we didn’t just sit there and take it.

Written by MK Scouser: 26 January 2026

Tags: efl