Liverpool’s problems this season have often been aimed at Arne Slot, but Jamie Carragher believes the issue goes deeper than the head coach.
The 4-2 defeat at Aston Villa only strengthened concerns around a side that looks too easy to play through, too fragile defensively and still not guaranteed Champions League football.
Now the former defender has pointed towards recruitment, with Richard Hughes’ department inevitably part of that wider conversation.
Speaking on Sky Sports before the Villa defeat, quoted via Football365, Carragher said Liverpool’s summer business changed the balance of the team.
The 48-year-old said: “For me, the problem all season, it goes back to the summer recruitment. Every player they brought in was more attacking than the one that left.”
Carragher added: “I just looked at the games in pre-season, looked at that first game [vs Bournemouth], and it just felt like end-to-end basketball, and Liverpool weren’t that the season before under Slot, they were a lot more controlled, and it just seems to have been lost this season.”
That assessment feels hard to dismiss after watching Villa repeatedly expose us, with Ollie Watkins scoring twice and Liverpool conceding 52 Premier League goals this season.
Only five teams in the division have conceded more, which is nowhere near the standard expected of defending champions.
Carragher was then asked whether Slot or the recruitment team had the harder job, and his answer placed responsibility on both sides.
He said: “This team, the way they’re set up with and without the ball, we’re not talking about a team that are amazing with the ball and score lots of goals but are open at the back, they’re very poor in possession and very poor out of possession.”
That line captures why supporters are so worried, because there’s no obvious strength to cling to right now.
Jermaine Pennant has already questioned how FSG can still trust this management, while Andy Robertson admitted the Villa display was “a long way short of the levels of this club.”
Carragher’s final point may be the most important one: Liverpool don’t just need money spent, we need the right players for the team.
If not that FSG are the owners of the club, I would say that they took must be sacked as must as I want Slot to be sacked. At this point, I don’t want to blame Slot anymore cos he’s not the one to sack himself and he wouldn’t want to willingly resign his position because the money he gets is huge. The real problem here for LFC are FSG, Edwards and Hughes. They have always wanted someone who they can toss around and manipulate. That’s why Edwards left because Klopp wouldn’t be tossed around or manipulated and seen the success that Klopp brought us without the useless Edwards and Hughes. Arne Slot chose to be a puppet for them. I just wish that we lose against Brentford on the last day so that we won’t go to the champions league. Maybe that’s when FSG will have some sense, cos right now, they are senseless
If FSG hadn’t taken us over, the only title we would have won thus far would be the Championship.
Yet and like everyone else in the summer he was saying they were buying ready made world class players. Funny how he doesn’t mention that. It’s almost as if he doesn’t have a clue what he’s talking about.
And this comment above, “I wish us to lose”. Come on, if that’s how you react to a bad period you’re not a proper fan. Go support City or Chelsea
The recruitment has been poor there’s no argument about that. When you spend 450 million you have to be better than before. Anyone who thinks frimpong, Kirkez, wirtz have been brilliant signings wants their head examined. Ekitike has done ok , and Isak can’t seem to stay fit. I didn’t want us to sign wirtz or Kirkez because I thought before we signed them they were too lightweight. That has has been proven correctly.
What is a proper fan ? Someone who is content with mediocrity and failure and never ever is critical of anyone at the club, owners manager, sporting director ect. No matter how bad we are.
Give me a fan anyday who says it as it is . We are in decline under FSG, slot and Richard Hughes who hasn’t got a clue
It’s not worked out, yeah. But there was nobody of any consequence who criticised Liverpool’s transfer window in the summer. Quite the opposite. It hasn’t worked out for a number of reasons, but this retrospective blaming of Slot, Hughes and FSG for it is nonsensical. Everyone thought they’d played a blinder.
And as for decline under FSG, that’s the biggest load of nonsense of all. Were you around in the Hicks/Gillett years? Or the later years of Moores? The 30 years of not winning the league? FSG have made mistakes, no doubt, but we’re operating on a different planet now in terms of infrastructure and success than we were at any time since the creation of the Premier League, or else we’d never have spent that money in the summer in the first place. Would you prefer Chelsea’s owners? United’s? Would you have preferred to sell our souls for oil money? Things could be a lot worse.
And a proper fan is someone who sticks by their club through thick and thin. YNWA isn’t our anthem for no reason. The “Through the Wind and Rain” fanzine wasn’t named arbitrarily.. People who say they want their club to lose to push their misguided agenda are a bigger problem than anything FSG do.
People on other threads are saying they’re going to boycott next season if Slot is in charge. Good. We don’t want you there. More tickets for people who will actually support the team.
Understand FSG are in it just for the money. You invest 300M after 10 yrs your value goes up to 5BN. You may not like oil money but oil money would have given us more titles. We woukdn’t have to sell players to sign new ones. Infrastructure investment? It is to build value in the assets not to sign better players. The mess that is going on makes stars think twice before joining LFC. Ask why Guehi n Semenyo went to City. May be only young players will be signed, not seasoned players.
Sounds like City might be the club for you, my friend. Get in there early though, so people don’t think you’re a glory hunter.
I totally agree that back in the summer of 2025 we made not bad but wrong transfers. Isak unfit all season and, when he plays, is running like a veteran of 35 years old. Mama looks an average keeper. Frimpong is not either a right-back or a right winger. I had high expectations of Wirtz but the adaptation to the Premier League has proven to be difficult. Ekitike pleyed very well in the first 4 months. Not sure about Kerkez.
Why we sold Diaz n kept Gakpo. Why we let Kelleher left and brought Mama who has never kept a clean sheet. They destroyed the squad. We could get Cherki for only 60M.
Dave, are you Hughes?
