🔗 Share this article

Just a couple of weeks back, the Merseyside club seemed set to secure back-to-back Premier League championships and possibly a further Champions League crown. The team's capacity to win despite not optimal displays seemed like the mark of genuine champions.

But, then the tide turned. The Anfield side persisted with mediocre performances and started dropping points. Meanwhile, the North London club, known for their resolute backline and strength in depth, started narrowing the gap at the summit.

Understanding a Slump in Today's Game

Can a trio of straight losses represent a collapse? Like many sporting discussions, it depends completely on your definition of the key word. Is Paul Scholes elite? What does "elite" actually signify? Is the Birmingham club a big team? What constitutes "major"? Are Manchester United returned to prominence? Well, perhaps that's one we can answer.

At a team of this club's stature and last season's excellence, a mini crisis appears a reasonable assessment. During a radio show, ex- forward Neil Mellor was questioned how many losses in a row would trigger alarm. His answer was six. Currently, they are halfway to that particular threshold.

Pinpointing the Tactical Problems

There are clear tactical problems. Integrating new signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a distinct style to departed key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a challenge. Likewise, blending in a gifted attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly unbalanced the midfield. Observers of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a technical player who elevates those around him, connecting play effortlessly rather than imposing himself on the game.

Furthermore, a number of players who excelled last campaign—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now below their best. In fact, most of the squad is. And every one of them share one profound, fresh event: the passing of their colleague and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Impact: Loss on the Pitch

It has been just more than three short months since the tragic loss of their friend. While the outside world progresses rapidly, diverting attention to other matters, Liverpool's squad carry on going to work each day in the absence of their friend.

It is impossible to gauge how every individual and member of the backroom team is coping from one day to the next. There is a great deal of projection. Maybe Salah failed to defend in a particular match because he was tired. But perhaps his performance level is down a few percentage points because he is grieving for his pal.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented eloquently before a recent, making a comparison to his personal situation of losing a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "How they are doing this season is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after Jota's tragedy. I went through a very similar experience when I was a player 20 years ago."

"It is difficult for the squad, it's not easy for the organization, it's not easy for the manager when you come to the training complex and you find daily that spot vacant. So you have to be incredibly resilient. And this is the explanation why for me they are performing not good, even better than good. Because they are attempting to deal with a problem that is not easy."

As explained succinctly on a well-known supporter's show, the reminders are ongoing. They hear his song in the 20th minute, they notice his empty locker in the changing room. In the middle of games, a through ball might be made and the thought arises: 'Oh, Diogo would have been there.' If Salah was seen crying in front of the Kop a few games ago, it indicates that everything is far from normal.

The Boundaries of Football Analysis and Personal Grief

After covering football for two decades, one comes to believe there is a inherent superficiality in the majority of analysis. We genuinely cannot know how an individual is feeling at any specific moment and how that affects their performance. Jota's passing is one of the most stark illustrations. We know a terrible thing happened, and we understand the nature of grief. But further lies an immeasurable level of impact on various people at the club. It is very possible that some of the players themselves don't truly grasp its influence from one moment to the next.

The way the press covers this and how supporters analyze performances is clearly far from the primary factor. On a practical level, mentioning Jota's death is difficult to accomplish in a brief segment before moving on to on-field issues. Outside of this specific tragedy and outside Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to qualify each critique of a footballer with an admission that we know so little about their private circumstances—be it their family relationships, health struggles, or relationship difficulties.

A former professional player, Nedum Onuoha, lately talked on radio about how his mother's passing midway through his career impacted his love for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he stated. "The high points and the low points that come with it didn't really feel the same any more." And that was many years into his profession; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three months.

The Final Thought

Therefore, whatever Liverpool accomplish this season—be it success or failure—whether or not we omit reference to it whenever we discuss their fixtures, and even if it is not the sole reason for their eventual outcome, we should not forget that a short time ago they lost not merely a brilliant player, but, crucially, they said goodbye to a dear friend.