Liverpool’s Squad Depth and Slot’s Compromises

Liverpool’s recent performances are framed here by a thin bench and heavy minutes for key players. The argument is that Slot has adapted, even if the football is not yet where fans want it.

Do Liverpool really have such a ridiculously good squad, honestly? The bench has been absolutely threadbare lately, and Grav, Macca, Ekitike and Dom can’t get a rest. Before Gomez came back we had no fit right backs.

Everyone wants to see that high-intensity pressing game, but fitness has to be part of the conversation when the same core group is playing so many minutes all the time.

Keeping it together when things could have unravelled

At the risk of always sounding like a Slot apologist, I genuinely think we have done reasonably okay given all the factors in play. The idea that Slot does nothing to fix problems or adapt just doesn’t land for me.

The unbeaten run we had, while I agree plenty of performances were below (sometimes far below) what we demand as fans, was still a level above the catastrophic run people talk about. Slot was trying to steer the tanker around, stop us leaking goals and chances, and stop us being wildly out of control every game, by minimising risk without the ball and edging games when we did have it.

Signs of adaptation on the pitch

Since then, he has tried to fix the spacing between the players and the issue of being outnumbered in midfield, which keeps us from progressing the ball and can leave Konate marooned in no man’s land.

The full backs are stretching the pitch and trying to get in behind. Ekitike is constantly making darting runs behind the defence and we are trying to find him. We are getting Wirtz involved in the spaces he wants to receive the ball in, and the last few games we have completely revamped our set-piece approach.

Perspective on the Premier League and expectations

I’m not saying Slot is the answer moving forward, but I’m not sure why people think the likes of Enrique or Alonso would have won the title or got us closer to it this year. The Premier League is an exceedingly difficult league right now, in ways we don’t always appreciate and don’t like.

I truly believe the two of them would have had a rude awakening in this league, and there is no guarantee they could adjust quickly enough, judging from the expectations some fans have set for themselves.

What “progress” might actually look like

I think it’s simply wrong to insist Slot is a purist who can’t come to terms with the physicality and brutality of the Premier League. He has spent an entire season trying to address it and make compromises to his approach, under massive pressure and criticism.

Even with journalists asking him about the man reported to be replacing him, he has got on with the job and admitted the football we are playing is not the football he or the fans want to see.

Folks who expect “epic performances” between now and the end of the season are likely to be disappointed. What makes you think we are suddenly going to start blowing teams away, given the unevenness of our performances prior?

If that is the demand from Slot and this team in the circumstances we are in, I think it’s as unrealistic as the repeated line that we should have walked the league this year. I find that astonishing since we have all been watching the same games.

I think we are going to pick up enough points to get into the Champions League, and I think we are going to have a deep run in the CL, where Premier League teams dominate because of physicality, stamina and quality. That’s all I’m asking for as a fan, plus more improvements in the areas where we have shown positive development lately: defending the box, trying to get behind the defence out wide and through the middle, and set pieces.

Written by PatrikBurgher March 3 2026 12:04:24