As Liverpool fans, we don\u2019t like to lose. Thankfully, it isn\u2019t an experience we\u2019ve had to endure that much in the past decade or so. From the point of J\u00fcrgen Klopp\u2019s first full season in charge of the Reds, the most Premier League games that we\u2019ve lost in a campaign is nine, which was the case in both 2020-2021 and 2022-2023.<\/p>\n
Those seasons felt like complete disasters, but then you remember that the first came on the back of us winning the top-flight for the first time since 1990 and the second was in the wake of the near-quadruple winning campaign and maybe things haven\u2019t been too bad.<\/p>\n
The problem is, the wheels feel like they\u2019ve come off for Arne Slot, with some Liverpool supporters even calling for the Dutchman to be sacked. The question is, where have things gone wrong and is it possible to get them back on track?<\/p>\n
Diogo Jota<\/h2>\n
If you have, however, then you will be only too aware of just how difficult it must be for those young lads to get out onto a football pitch and perform. It isn\u2019t just that Jota and his brother, Andr\u00e9 Silva, died, but that it happened in such utterly horrendous and tragic circumstances<\/a>.<\/p>\n There is not one member of the Liverpool team that knew the Portuguese player that won\u2019t have visualised the awful way in which the pair died, whether they wanted to or not. They didn\u2019t get to say goodbye to him, yet everywhere they look at the AXA Training Centre and Anfield will remind them of their friend. Whilst I think that it is done with the best of intentions, I can\u2019t imagine that the crowd singing the Jota song every 20 minutes helps anyone.<\/p>\n Most people who suffer a loss turn to work to get over it, but the players can\u2019t. That they can get out and perform at all is worthy of immense praise, in my opinion.<\/p>\n The writer Paul Tomkins has done a wealth of excellent work<\/a> that looks at the fact that it normally takes until a player\u2019s second season before they really hit their stride. When you throw in the fact that Arne Slot has, to use an analogy from Amelia Bona on The Anfield Wrap<\/em><\/a>, got a load of new clothes for Christmas and has been trying to wear them all at once, you can start to understand why we might be struggling. Then there\u2019s the fact that both of our right-backs tend to suffer from injury issues, which has led to our most important midfielder in Dominik Szoboszlai, having to play there.<\/p>\n i don\u2019t get to complain because liverpool walked to the title last year and this year was always going to be a transition year while they bed in new players but also i would like to complain<\/p>\n \u2014 not an art thief (@famousartthief.bsky.social<\/a>) 19 October 2025 at 17:11<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Many are happy to be critical of Florian Wirtz and it\u2019s certainly true that the German hasn\u2019t had quite the impact that we were all expecting. That isn\u2019t entirely down to him, however. The underlying numbers show that he\u2019s set up numerous people for golden opportunities that they haven\u2019t taken, which isn\u2019t his fault. Meanwhile, Alexander Isak didn\u2019t have a pre-season, meaning he\u2019s not been able to start as many games as we\u2019d all like and is now picking up injuries to keep him out of the team. None of that is ideal, but hopefully it\u2019s all stuff that will prove to be a short-term problem.<\/p>\n I could talk about the bad luck that Liverpool have suffered at times this season, but people don\u2019t like to admit how much of a role fortune plays in sport. As a result, therefore, I will instead point to the fact that the league in general has changed. Personally, I think it\u2019s taken a backwards step, but I\u2019m sure Arsenal supporters would disagree. Nevertheless, what we can see is that the Reds spent this summer recruiting for a possession-based approach to life in the top-flight, only to discover that physicality is more important than ever. In short, Mikel Arteta has led the charge<\/a> towards the Stokeification of the Premier League.<\/p>\n![\"number](\"https:\/\/www.friendsofliverpool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/number-20-liverpool-shirt-memorial-diogo-jota-300x281.jpg\")
Any attempts to work out what has happened to Liverpool this season without a discussion around the loss of Diogo Jota<\/a> simply shouldn\u2019t be taken seriously. If you are lucky enough never to have lost anyone close to you, then you will have no idea of the impact that such a thing can have on your life.<\/p>\n\n
New Players Bedding In<\/h2>\n
![\"florian](\"https:\/\/www.friendsofliverpool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/florian-witrz.jpg\")
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The League Has Changed<\/h2>\n
![\"set-pieces\"](\"https:\/\/www.friendsofliverpool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/set-peices.jpg\")
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![Pyaet<\/a>,](\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Florian_Wirtz,_2022-07-31,_Saisoner%C3%B6ffnung_Bayer_04,_Leverkusen_(1).jpg\"){kind=link}