Jamie Carragher held no punches in his assessment of Liverpool’s drop in standards, calling the title celebrations “wilfully unprofessional” as they downed tools early.
Liverpool won last season’s Premier League title with four games to spare, and it led to the squad travelling to Dubai for a holiday and Slot partying in Ibiza between games.
The images were quickly shared across social media and while the results that followed to end the season meant little at the time, hindsight has proved damning.
Since the title was secured against Tottenham, Liverpool have failed to win 13 of their next 23 games in all competitions, losing 11 of them.
Why Liverpool’s early celebrations were “wilfully unprofessional”
In his column for the Telegraph, Carragher accepted that “no one wants to sound like a killjoy,” but that the title parties had to be “after the final game against Crystal Palace, not before.”
He added that “those games before the trophy presentation sent the wrong message,” with the “falling standards” having “become increasingly obvious” since the Carabao Cup final defeat.
Carragher then dished up his most damning statement, writing: “At best, the downing of tools before the season was over was wilfully unprofessional.
“At worst, Liverpool behaved like a small club winning the title for the first time.”
Liverpool deservedly earned their right to celebrate, but you cannot dispute Carragher’s words that it sent the wrong message and leaned into the drop-off in performances and results.
Liverpool, Carragher points out, “have won 20 trophies in the past 24 years because no sooner is one more honour on the board, the work begins to get the next.”
Slot is taking Liverpool away from its winning tradition
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, November 22, 2025: Liverpool's head coach Arne Slot during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest FC at Anfield. Forest won 3-0. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
There have been few signs that Liverpool are in silverware contention this season and Carragher has been one of the voices not shy in pointing out the vulnerabilities of Slot’s side.
“Since the start of this season, Slot has seemed intent on taking the team in a direction which is not in Liverpool’s winning tradition,” the former defender penned.
“It felt wrong on day one of this season, and it has led to a mess right now.”
It was not all bad as Carragher rightly credited Slot for transforming Ryan Gravenberch and getting the best out of Mo Salah last season, but the change in tack has left the head coach with a ticking clock.
“No matter how much goodwill the manager has, Liverpool Football Club cannot sustain the drop in standards witnessed over the past three months,” Carragher surmised.