If you watch one thing this week, make it John Gibbons’ eloquent summary of Liverpool’s identity crisis on the always excellent Anfield Wrap podcast.
Bemoaning the lack of connection the class of 2026 has with the fanbase, he picks apart a squad that has felt a bit too pleased with itself this season – using Dominic Szoboszlai’s confrontation with fans at Manchester City as a starting point.
“This football club has got to represent the city that it plays in,” he says. “I feel like at the moment it just comes into town to play and then leaves again.”
It is these deeper issues that should be troubling Liverpool as they consider what comes next in a season that could yet topple into crisis, taking Arne Slot down with it.
How much pressure is Slot under?
The Reds will keep faith with Slot until the end of the season and the plan has always been for him to get another summer. The noises out of Fenway Sports Group (FSG) have been steadfast this season about his ability as a coach and this has been a season like no other at Anfield – a record spend preceded by the death of a much-loved teammate and followed by injuries that have caused significant disruption.
But the manner of defeats to Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, both after a fortnight in which Slot had time on the training ground to shape a plan to combat the threat of two of Europe’s best sides, feeds into the narrative that Slot does not have the answers to Liverpool’s malaise.
If the Reds demise continues, and a trip to local rivals Everton next weekend suddenly looks fraught with danger, and they do not qualify for the Champions League, it’s difficult to see how Slot survives.
Who could be next Liverpool manager?
Eddie Howe – whose future is less certain than it was at the start of the year – was considered for the job when Jurgen Klopp’s departure was signposted two years ago but bridges have been burned on that score by the elongated and damaging pursuit of Alexander Isak 12 months ago.
Would a change of manager be a magic wand anyway? FSG’s appliance of science in the transfer market has always been viewed as the gold standard in the game but there was real surprise at the way they aggressively attacked things in the summer.
Why rivals are baffled by Reds’ spending
Some at PSG, for example, were surprised at the move for Hugo Ekitike, who is a fine player no doubt but had questions to answer on his temperament. Florian Wirtz will come good but the Isak move – sold as signing one of the best players in the world – has backfired. To spend the best part of £450m felt like “kids in a sweet shop” according to one rival Premier League executive, who dealt with Liverpool on a few deals. They were too clever by half in letting Marc Guehi – a player who exudes authority – slip through their fingers.
They signed talent but did they top up the squad’s leadership credentials? The evidence of this season suggests not. The confirmation that Andy Robertson will leave at the end of the season strips another experienced performer from the group.
Michael Edwards was described as “one of the most formidable executive talents in world football” when FSG tempted him back to Anfield after Klopp’s departure in 2024 but so far his big ideas – like those of sporting director Richard Hughes – have not delivered the change Liverpool needed.
They have gambled that the Premier League’s obsession with physicality and set pieces is a short-term play but mental strength will always be a non-negotiable. Quite why Liverpool are so short on it after spending so heavily is a genuine mystery.
