Under-fire Arne Slot says he has full support of Liverpool’s owners while fans have a different opinion

Calling Liverpool’s 2025/26 season a disappointment would be a gross understatement - it’s been a complete mess. And it could get a whole lot worse.

It’s left pundits scratching their heads. In little over a fortnight, on April 27 days’ time, it will be exactly one year since Arne Slot’s team were crowned Premier League champions.

Liverpool’s costly rebuild

After that, the club embarked on a spending spree unlike any witnessed before, bringing in 11 players for a total of nearly $561 million - the most spent by any club in any single transfer window.

A squad revamp was needed - the previous summer the club brought in just two players: Federico Chiesa and Giorgi Mamardashvili, and made four signings ahead of the 2023/24 campaign (Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Endo and Gravenberch).

Meanwhile, a number of first team players moved on - several of them on free transfers, or as in Trent Alexander-Arnold’s case, for a nominal, symbolic fee.

Whether it is down to a lack of foresight, bad luck or, most likely a combination of both, Liverpool’s lavish spending hasn’t improved the team - it’s made it worse, a lot worse.

Flurry of free agents

Why have so many players been allowed to run their contracts down? Ibou Konaté, arguably one of the team’s worst performers this season, is the latest to hold the club to ransom - he reportedly wants to double the $201,000 he earns per week before tax, otherwise he can walk for free at the end of June. Should the club give him what he wants or let him leave?

To be fair, Konaté’s erratic form has been just the tip of the iceberg. The defence as a whole look like the Keystone Cops with the center-back pair taking it in turns to be Charlie Cairoli.

Liverpool’s backline has long been neglected and is now looking so threadbare, that the technical department may seriously have to think about bringing in a completely new back four for the 2026/27 campaign. It says a lot when the coach is forced to play Dominik Szoboszlai as a makeshift right-back.

Andy Robertson confirmed he is leaving at the end of this season, Konaté could exit as a free agent in a couple of months, Van Dijk turns 35 this summer, Kerkez hasn’t fully convinced although he’s improved, Joe Gomez and Alisson are both injury-prone...

Such poor team planning and forward thinking that it make you wonder what the Boot Room Boys would make of it all. The late Ronnie Moran would be having kittens.

Slot feels supported by the club and the fans

In terms of club policy, Liverpool has never been as ruthless as say, Real Madrid when it comes to managers not reaching their targets. Under Florentino Pérez, Slot would not have got to Christmas with those results.

Initially, Slot’s influence on the team was positive - he brought calm and a sense of order to a side designed to play frenetic, chaotic football under Jürgen Klopp. The problem is that it has gone too far in the opposite direction - now everything is too casual, too laid back.

Even from what Slot says in his press conferences, you’d think there are no issues with the team or cause for alarm.

The Dutch manager confirmed that Liverpool’s top brass are fully behind him when he spoke to the media this morning, ahead of Saturday’s home meeting with Fulham - a game the Reds have to win to have any chance of securing a fifth-place finish.

“I’m repeating myself a lot but I have said it many times - I feel a lot of support, but not only from the owners and from Richard [Hughes] and Michael [Edwards], But I feel a lot of support from them as well,” Slot told the media on Friday. “As weird as it might sound, I also feel the support of the fans. We were going out in Paris when the players went out for the warm-up and the fans after a 4-0 loss (against Man City in the FA Cup) immediately started singing, ‘We love you Liverpool’. And after we were, I think it’s fair to say, outplayed over 90 minutes, we went to the away end they were still singing for us and clapping for us. So that support, we have felt constantly. The club knows in which period of time we are in, and in the meantime I feel complete support”.

Liverpool’s tough run-in

Liverpool head into the Week 32 fixtures sitting fifth in the Premier League table on 49 points - one point ahead of Chelsea, two ahead of Brentford and Everton and three ahead of Saturday’s guests at Anfield, Fulham.

In fact, of the seven opponents that Liverpool will face between now and the end of the season, all of them bar Crystal Palace are either already occupying or within reach of one of the five Champions League berths.

Get closer to the game! Whether you like your soccer of the European variety or that on this side of the pond, our AS USA app has it all. Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more. Plus, stay updated on NFL, NBA and all other big sports stories as well as the latest in current affairs and entertainment. Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.

And there’s more: check out our TikTok and Instagram reels for bite-sized visual takes on all the biggest soccer news and insights.