I don’t expect everyone to agree with this piece. In fact, I imagine I will get quite a bit of pushback on it. Although I don’t use Twitter anymore, articles do still get posted there for reasons that are too complicated to go into and I can already see the replies and interactions this will get when I post it there. I refuse to keep my counsel just because of mean things people will say to me on the internet, however. I have grown increasingly tired of the attitude of some Liverpool supporters during the course of this season, which reached a boiling point for me during the match against Chelsea on Saturday. Let me be clear, though: this is not me telling other fans how to think. I am not claiming some sort of moral authority over anyone else, so if you completely disagree with my opinion, then that’s entirely fair. You don’t need to get in touch with me to inform me that you think I’m wrong or accuse me of trying to police the feelings of other people. I am planning simply to make my case and you can either take the points on board or ignore them completely.
Might be glazed over by those who seem to aim personal insults at him and want him gone from the club “because he doesn’t get it”
But Arne Slot calling out British government over not passing the Hillsborough law deserves a hell of a lot of respect.
The truth of the matter is that I am very aware that I’m in the minority at the moment. I am coming from a base of thinking that Arne Slot is a good man. He won the title with Liverpool, which immediately earned him my respect and positive feelings. I also think the way that he handled the Diogo Jota situation was impeccable, which can’t have been easy for a man not a whole heap older than I am. Those two things alone should have seen people willing to cut him some slack, but it seems as though the days of nuance and understanding are long over. This isn’t me saying that I think he’s had a flawless season or that he shouldn’t be criticised for decisions he’s made during the campaign, but rather that any criticism of him should be couched in an appreciation of what he’s achieved and what he has lived through over the past 12 months. If you don’t think that’s true, then it’s fair to say that this article isn’t aimed at you, so there probably isn’t much point in you reading any further. I think he’s a good man in a difficult situation and that’s not easy to deal with.
When Did Anfield Stop Being a Knowledgeable Crowd?
It used to be said that the Anfield crowd was a knowledgeable one. It was claimed that Liverpool supporters understood the nuances and vagaries of a football match, getting behind the team when it was called upon and causing the opposition trouble when needed. When Arne Slot decided to take Rio Ngumoha off for Alexander Isak after 67 minutes, boos rang around the famous old stadium. I honestly couldn’t believe my ears. We now know that Ngumoha had suffered cramp a few minutes before and told the head coach that he couldn’t carry on, but even without that knowledge it was a disgraceful reaction from the Liverpool supporters. Ngumoha is 17 years old. Anyone who saw the latter part of the careers of players like Wayne Rooney or Michael Owen will be more than aware of the dangers of playing a young player too often. The easiest thing in the world for his own career would have been for Slot to play Ngumoha into the ground, which would’ve delighted the Anfield faithful, but instead the Dutchman has been sensible with the youngster.
Rio is 17 yrs, 254 days old. Nobody has played as much football for Liverpool (in the modern era) before that age. Nobody for United, Chelsea, City or Spurs either.
Fabregas clocked 1657, Max Dowman (421) likely gets past Rio too. It’s rare to play so often when so young for a big club though.
— Andrew Beasley (@andrewbeasleyfootball.com) 10 May 2026 at 10:49
There are numerous things that Slot is deserving of criticism for over the season, but the way he has handled Ngumoha isn’t one of them. I have seen people say things like, “Supporters were booing the decision to leave Cody Gakpo on” as well as similar bits of nonsense. The boos were very clearly because Ngumoha had played well and the manager was taking him off in a game the Reds hadn’t played well in. It is fairly disgraceful to be booing any decision made by the person in charge, which I don’t even remember happening in the days of Roy Hodgson, let alone a title-winning head coach. It is the kind of thing that happens at Goodison Park on a regular basis, as well as now at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, but Liverpool supporters used to be better than that. There is, in my opinion, no justification for the way in which the fans reacted to a perfectly reasonable decision from Slot, no matter how some people might want to dress it up after the fact. If you think booing that was ok in the moment, then you might want to have a think about why.
It’s Been a Difficult Season
I have to say that I also wasn’t overly impressed with the boos at the end of the match either. I am as aware as anyone of just how disappointing this season has been. The performances haven’t even been close to good enough, whilst our defence of the title has been a weak one. The decisions made by Arne Slot in terms of both tactics and substitutions have sometimes been puzzling, often frustrating. Chelsea went into the match having lost six games in a row and with a temporary manager at the helm, so the expectation was that the Reds would be able to roll them, only to see us struggle in a similar way that we’ve struggled throughout the campaign. Personally, I am willing to look at the mitigating circumstances that have left us struggling for any sort of consistency, but others seem entirely happy to ignore them. In fact, I’ve even had some people question me about what the mitigating circumstances are that I’ve made reference to, which is something that I find absolutely mind-boggling for a football fan to have to ask, all things considered.
Many mitigating factors but too many players not consistently performing at least to a 7/10 standard this season.
We desperately need someone to take a grip of the games and stop the sloppy mistakes that spread around the team. It cant be down to Virgil all the time.
#LFC #YNWA
— Ian Schroeder (@ianschroeder1.bsky.social) 19 October 2025 at 19:46
From the moment that Jota’s death was announced, this was never going to be a normal season. Every single person associated with the club, including the head coach, was likely to struggle with the aftermath of his passing. On top of that, we’ve had injury after injury, hitting at the moment inconvenient of times. Even in the match against Chelsea we were without a recognised centre-forward, thanks to Hugo Ekitike’s long-term injury and Isak’s lack of fitness. We also lost Florian Wirtz in the buildup to the game, whilst I’ve already covered why it is that Ngumoha’s time on the pitch had to be limited. The disrupted preseason meant that we were always going to be swimming against the tide in terms of fitness, with the number of games we’ve had to play giving Slot very little time to coach the players properly after missing out on the chance to do so in the summer. None of which is to say that he shouldn’t have done better than he has with the players he’s had available to him, but all of it points to a campaign that was screwed before it even began. There is no place in all of that for booing.
Great read AGD thank you for putting into words what I’ve felt the whole season