Author | Lightnews

Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 15h

Liverpool can lose games, it happens, but what’s worrying now is how flat we look doing it. No spark, no energy, no identity. That has to change, and fast. The next three games aren’t just big, they might define the entire season.

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Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 15h

Slot will need every bit of his calm to steer this storm, because the pressure from outside is nothing compared to what will start building inside that dressing room.

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Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 15h

We’ve seen tough runs before, and we’ve always found a way to fight back, but this one feels different. The belief seems fragile, the rhythm completely gone.

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Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 15h

The young lads did what they could, but it felt like men against boys at times. You can’t fault their effort, yet the gulf in quality and composure was obvious. These are the moments senior players usually drag us through, and there just weren’t any to do it.

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Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 15h

I get that the focus is on the Premier League and Europe, and I know the injuries have been brutal, but nights like this strip away the confidence that used to carry us through. Palace were organised, disciplined, and looked like they believed. We looked like a team that has forgotten how to.

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Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 15h

But six defeats in seven now, that’s not a blip, it’s a crisis of form, and it’s spreading through the squad like a shadow.

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Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 15h

We’re Liverpool, and we should be trying to win everything we’re in.

Ten changes, three teenagers starting, and a bench that looked like an academy roll call. It sent a message, and not a great one. Of course, Villa, Madrid and City are next, and those games will define where we are as a team.

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Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 15h

Out of the Carabao Cup at home to Palace, and let’s be honest, it never looked like we wanted to stay in it. The line-up said everything. Arne Slot clearly had no real intention of going for that competition, and while I understand the bigger picture, it’s still a tough one to take.

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Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 2d

If that means sacrificing big names and playing ugly for a while, so be it. You don’t get points for pretty.

Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 2d

Slot doesn’t have time to keep tinkering. This 4-4-2 setup worked in the one win they've had in weeks, so lean into it. Liverpool don’t need flair right now, they need bite. They need to stop conceding early, start matching physicality and turn games into battles.

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Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 2d

Up top, it’s about presence and profile. Ekitike and Isak both offer size and hold-up play, which Gakpo can link with from the left. Salah’s goal on Saturday was class but it’s not enough to paper over the cracks. Wirtz is slick, but disappears when the game turns ugly.

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Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 2d

The midfield has to scrap. Szoboszlai, Gravenberch and Curtis Jones all win their duels and have the legs to push and press. Mac Allister’s been off the pace and can’t keep up physically. It’s harsh, but necessary. If Jones isn’t fit, Wirtz or Szoboszlai can shift roles.

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Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 2d

Mamardashvili in goal brings authority until Alisson returns. Van Dijk needs someone he trusts beside him, and Robertson’s leadership is too valuable to leave on the bench. Gomez may be a risk, but he’s the only right-back available who can win headers and doesn’t get bullied.

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Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 2d

🟥 Time to Save Liverpool's Season

Liverpool have become too easy to play against, I think we all agree on that. That has to change, and fast. This XI goes back to basics, adds experience, and brings presence where it’s badly needed.

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Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 2d

🔗 www.itwasalwaysliverpool.com/p/liverpool...

Liverpool’s Structural Issues Are Turning Results Into a Crisis

Tactical breakdown of Liverpool’s repeated defensive failings and Brentford’s ruthless execution.

www.itwasalwaysliverpool.com

Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 2d

🟥 Liverpool are falling apart tactically.

Brentford didn’t outplay them, Liverpool let them.
Four league defeats in a row, same defensive mistakes, no clean sheet since August.

Arne Slot’s side look lost in structure, shape and mentality.
Our full breakdown is live now 👇

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Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 3d

Vinícius Júnior lit up El Clásico, then lit the fuse on himself. A brilliant display undone by fury, frustration and a fight that might just cost him at Real Madrid.

📰 Read the full piece now on It was always…Football
www.itwasalwaysfootball.com/p/vinicius-...

Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 3d

🔴 Liverpool Tactical Analysis: Another Low Point for Arne Slot at Brentford
📖 It was always…Liverpool
👉 www.itwasalwaysliverpool.com/p/liverpool...

Liverpool Tactical Analysis: Another Low Point for Arne Slot at Brentford

A fourth straight Premier League defeat leaves Arne Slot searching for answers as Liverpool’s title defence unravels at Brentford.

www.itwasalwaysliverpool.com

Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 3d

From the throw-in chaos to the penalty farce, it was a night that summed up everything wrong with this run. Four defeats in a row, and barely a spark left from the side that lifted the Premier League just months ago.

A full tactical breakdown of a team searching for itself 👇

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Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 3d

Under the lights in West London, Liverpool looked lost again. Brentford bullied us, outworked us, and picked apart every weakness. Set pieces, shape, mentality, gone. This isn’t bad luck anymore, it’s systemic, and Slot has real questions to answer.

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Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 4d

Liverpool should never be content with that.

Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 4d

The response has to start now. The messaging, the selections, the patterns of play, all of it needs clarity. Slot has the qualities to succeed here, but he needs to act decisively. This cannot drift on any longer. If we are talking about top four in October, we are already accepting mediocrity.

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Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 4d

The identity that defined Liverpool for years has gone missing. The control, the energy, the bravery in possession, the trust between players. It is all fading away. The squad is too talented to be performing at this level. The problems are structural and tactical, not about desire or effort.

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Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 4d

When even the manager admits that teams have found a good strategy to use against us, it says a lot about how predictable we have become.

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Greig Hopcroft @thehopcrofts.co.uk · 4d

You can talk about the bedding in period, about time to adapt, but the patterns are not new. We have been giving up early goals and chasing games for too long. We look easy to play against. Opponents sit deep, wait for the first mistake, and know we will gift them chances.

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