Things are not looking good for Arne Slot and Liverpool who, just months after lifting the Premier League title, are knee deep in a historic slump.
The fall-off is real, and the team’s stats since being crowned champions in April make grim reading when you see they directly compare to Roy Hodgson’s doomed Anfield tenure.
Slot has, of course, led Liverpool to the Premier League title... but their form since lifting the trophy has been alarming
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Slot has, of course, led Liverpool to the Premier League title... but their form since lifting the trophy has been alarmingCredit: AFP
Hodgson's spell in charge at Liverpool was not a memorable one - in fact, it's a time Reds fans would prefer to forget
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Hodgson's spell in charge at Liverpool was not a memorable one - in fact, it's a time Reds fans would prefer to forgetCredit: Getty
Hodgson is widely considered one of the biggest failed managerial appointments in Liverpool’s history.
Joining in July 2010 from Fulham to replace the sacked Rafa Benitez, the future England manager would win only seven of his 20 Premier League games in charge.
He lasted just six months in the Anfield dugout before leaving by mutual consent in January 2011 with the Reds sitting 12th in the table.
That’s despite a team that still featured Steven Gerrard in midfield and Fernando Torres up front, although El Nino left shortly after Hodgson’s exit to sign for Chelsea (sad face).
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In fairness, the rest of the team was pretty average. Benitez’s decision to sell Xabi Alonso the previous summer was a shock at the time and is now looked back on as a key moment in the demise of a team that had won the Champions League and FA Cup in successive seasons in 2005 and 2006.
After cashing in on Torres, Liverpool responded by signing Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll in January, who helped lift the team to a sixth-place finish with Anfield icon Kenny Dalglish as caretaker boss.
Dirk Kuyt ended the campaign as their top scorer with 15 goals. Just thought I’d throw that in there. What a player.
Torres was their third top scorer with nine, and he only played half the season, which tells you everything about their struggles under the Hodgson regime.
Which brings us back to Arne Slot, whose team pre and post winning the Premier League looks unrecognisable, in a slide that began immediately after lifting the trophy having failed to win any of their remaining four games of that campaign.
It’s worth mentioning here that another thing has also happened in that time - this Liverpool team is one still stricken with grief for their late teammate, Diogo Jota.
Jota scored 65 goals in 182 games for Liverpool during his five-year spell
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Jota scored 65 goals in 182 games for Liverpool during his five-year spell
Not only a key member of the squad on the pitch, Jota was a close personal friend to many of the current Reds stars who have just not hit their stride this season.
Plus, their new faces after a £450million summer spending spree joined a dressing room that was shellshocked by the news of Jota’s death, which came just weeks after they had all celebrated the club’s historic 20th league title together.
It was also just days after some of the Liverpool players were present at Jota’s wedding to his long-term partner, alongside their three children.
Two weeks after the wedding, those same players were pictured in dark suits walking into a church in Gondomar, Portugal for Jota’s funeral.
Is it any wonder they aren’t at their best?
Would you be? Feeling the loss of your teammate and friend every time you walked into the training ground, looked around the dressing room, took to the pitch and hear his chant celebrated by supporters in the 20th minute of every game?
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 29: Liverpool fans display a banner in tribute to the late Diogo Jota as the team prepares for kick off prior to the Carabao Cup Fourth Round match between Liverpool and Crystal Palace at Anfield on October 29, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images)
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Liverpool players are surrounded by Jota imagery in every game - some are now asking whether it's having a detrimental affect on their performances despite the intentions behind the tributesCredit: Getty
Following news of the tragic death of Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, it would be fair to suggest that this campaign would not be the same.
Even after going seven wins from seven at the start of the new season, it was clear they weren’t playing at a level fans were used to seeing.
So, with that in mind, with the team’s 100 per cent record disintegrating into their current run of six defeats from their last seven games in all competitions, should Slot really be under pressure?
I suppose the correct answer should be yes and no. It’s clear his players, and the manager himself, are still not OK after losing their comrade.
We might see them as highly-paid athletes required to give 100 per cent effort, 100 per cent of the time, but they are also human. They are sons, brothers, uncles, husbands, fathers.
So you can talk about players statistics, heat maps and xG until you’re blue (or red) in the face but what does that matter when, as talkSPORT colleague Max Rushden has also pointed out, we don’t consider the players’ personal feelings?
Liverpool's season so far has been one of highs and lows
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Liverpool's season so far has been one of highs and lowsCredit: talkSPORT
Liverpool players are still reeling from the death of their beloved teammate, Jota
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Liverpool players are still reeling from the death of their beloved teammate, JotaCredit: Getty
But, the coach’s team selection, perceived lack of trust in his new players and changes of system are all things fans could rightly point to as they look for reasons why the reigning champions of England can’t seem to buy a win at the moment.
Whatever the Dutchman is doing, it’s not working.
Some voices, particularly those from outside the club and its fanbase, will say it’s a crisis. Many Liverpool supporters may agree.
Others may point to the loss of Jota as a reason why all expectations of this team and manager should be put on hold.
However, when their recent record directly compares with one of the most alarming slides in the club’s history, it’s impossible to ignore… which brings us back to Hodgson.
Here’s how Liverpool’s record since winning the Premier League title under Slot compares to Hodgson’s record as Liverpool boss, which lasted just six months.
Slot vs Hodgson
Slot record since Liverpool won the title (all competitions + Community Shield)
Games: 19
Win: 8
Loss: 9
Draw: 2
Goals for: 34
Goals against: 33
WIN PERCENTAGE: 42.11%
Hodgson’s record (all competitions, July 2010 - Jan 2011)
Games: 31
Win: 13
Loss: 9
Draw: 9
Goals for: 41
Goals against: 33
WIN PERCENTAGE: 41.94%
Slot’s team has suffered the same number of defeats, conceded the same number of goals and has almost the exact same win percentage as Hodgson's Liverpool… in 12 fewer games.
That may well point to a crisis. The numbers don’t lie. Liverpool are in a spot of bother.
In the space of four matchdays they have gone from sitting five points clear at the top of the table to their current position of seventh, seven points adrift of leaders Arsenal.
They are also out of the Carabao Cup, with a young and inexperienced Liverpool XI being knocked out of the fourth round by Crystal Palace.
The 3-0 mid-week defeat was the third time Slot has been bettered by Oliver Glasner this season, and the decision to field a weakened line-up against a practically first-choice Eagles side certainly raised some eyebrows.
On one hand, in the face of a number of injuries, it kept his first-team players out of harm’s way and gave them extra time to fully prepare for their next match.
The pressure is on Slot with his Liverpool team in freefall - but is there more behind their slide than bad coaching and players out of form?
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The pressure is on Slot with his Liverpool team in freefall - but is there more behind their slide than bad coaching and players out of form?Credit: Getty
On the other, it puts even more pressure on the team to end this losing run when they face Aston Villa at 8pm on Saturday - LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on talkSPORT.
After losing three-in-a-row, former Liverpool striker Neil Mellor told talkSPORT he would start panicking when they hit six games without a win.
So, by his own definition, Mellor is now is panic mode.
Seeing that Slot’s current run compares to Liverpool’s record under Hodgson probably won't help his mood. Sorry, Neil, if you're reading this.
But as the news cycle rolls on, it’s important not to forget the impact losing Jota has had on these players, and that there’s really no telling how long that impact will last.
And so with that, we’ll leave you with the words of John Obi Mikel, who usually pulls no punches when criticising player performances, particularly Chelsea’s rivals.
Ex-Chelsea player John Obi Mikel on talkSPORT
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Ex-Chelsea star Mikel has given fans a timely reminder of what Liverpool players are going throughCredit: talkSPORT
But when the ex-Blues man was asked about Liverpool’s plight, he instead offered sympathy to Mohamed Salah and his Reds teammates as they continue to deal with their grief in the face of also having to perform.
“It looks like the wheels have fallen off, they’re not playing well, there’s been a lot of change and a lot of new players have come into the club… but let’s not forget that a massive, massive tragedy happened that nobody expected,” he said on his Obi One podcast.
“It’s a very, very sad situation, the loss of Diogo Jota, and it’s going to have an emotional impact on the team. It’s going to affect them a lot and that has been the case. They’re human beings.
“You’re talking about one of the most popular players in the dressing room, loved by everybody, all the players, the staff.
“As footballers, we spend more time with our teammates than with our own families because we are together in the dressing room every single day. You travel together, on the plane, in hotels, you spend every day with these guys. You do everything together.
“To lose such a massive figure at the club, it’s a massive tragedy and it was always going to affect these players.
It was only a few months ago when Salah was pictured in tears after Liverpool's opening game of the season - the impact of his loss is unlikely to have gone away so soon after his tragic death
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It was only a few months ago when Salah was pictured in tears after Liverpool's opening game of the season - the impact of his loss is unlikely to have gone away so soon after his tragic deathCredit: Getty
“It doesn’t matter how well they started the season or how talented they are – something like this hits you emotionally, and it stays with you.
“For me, whatever is happening at the club, the emotion is still there and is very raw.
"When you look at Mohamed Salah right now, who was very close to Jota, very close, he doesn’t look himself. He looks a shadow of himself.
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“So I think we need to be careful, very calm and a bit more understanding in the way we criticise this Liverpool team.
“Yes, they’re not playing well right now, but let’s not forget what happened in the summer.”