Liverpool have struggled to win home games during the calendar year and supporters are starting to make their feelings clear
Home fans sing ahead of kick-off in the Premier League match between Liverpool and Fulham at Anfield on September 12 2026
Home fans sing ahead of kick-off in the Premier League match between Liverpool and Fulham at Anfield on September 12 2026(Image: Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)
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Probed on the relative lack of goals and assists from Florian Wirtz this season, Andoni Iraola declared over the weekend he wasn't one of those to obsess over numbers in a world where metrics are becoming the master in football.
But after the mind-numbingly dreadful draw at home to Fulham, there is one statistic that surely underlines the size of the task the head coach is facing in his attempts to transform Liverpool back into contenders for major honours.
Saturday's dire showing meant the Reds have now won only four of the 12 home Premier League games they have played this calendar year.
Fortress Anfield it most certainly is not. And the two chief reasons for that will come as no surprise to those who regularly attend top-flight games at the stadium.
READ MORE: Alisson questions Liverpool mindset and makes Andoni Iraola claim - 'we are not happy'
The first is tactical. That opposing teams often visit in the hope of returning with a clean sheet and set up accordingly is nothing new and is the task facing many supposedly leading clubs on their own patch when up against rivals deemed usually not on their level.
Even when main contenders clash, it is occasionally a case of one shutting up shop and seeking to leave with at least the point they started the game with.
Liverpool, though, found it increasingly difficult last season to break down packed defences while not leaving themselves open to counter-attacks, prompting a change in approach from Arne Slot that went so far in the other direction that it ultimately cost him his job barely a year after winning the Premier League title.
To be fair, Fulham cannot be considered among those to have parked the bus at Anfield, although such as the paucity of creativity and attacking pay from the Reds that it's difficult to know if the Cottagers had planned on having to dig in.
Which leads into the second reason: the Anfield crowd itself.
The thousands of seats that were vacated shortly before and during four minutes of additional time on Saturday highlighted many of the paying supporters had little faith in the Reds scoring a late winner.
It was reminiscent to the early days of Jurgen Klopp's time in charge, when he declared he had never felt so alone in a stadium as he saw supporters streaming for the exit having given up hope of netting an equaliser against Crystal Palace in only his second home Premier League game in charge.
The following month, the subsequent team celebration in front of the Kop after a late leveller at home to West Bromwich Albion was ridiculed in many quarters but was the beginning of a bond between squad and fans that was continued throughout Klopp's tenure.
It simply isn't there now. Nobody is suggesting Iraola echoes his German counterpart the next time Liverpool gain a positive result, but only victories and performance are going to convince the doubters who have long stopped being believers.
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True, the rousing Champions League atmosphere that helped the Reds come from behind to beat Atletico Madrid three days earlier could be put forward as evidence the positive power of Anfield remains in place.
But the fact is the crowd that turns up for cup games is always different to the season-ticket regulars who watch Premier League games. Those are usually people who have seen it all before and, by definition, are the most difficult to impress.
However, even they have changed as a collective, no longer possessing the same levels of patience as previous Anfield generations. They don't fancy another season of underwhelming, unexciting home displays. And, as was clear on Saturday, it doesn't take much for the grumbles to start. It adds another layer of pressure to playing at home for the squad.
And it's obvious the fanbase are having their resolve particularly tested by the performances and general mannerisms of certain individuals within the team. If last season saw the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Cody Gakpo and Slot bear the brunt, this time around the ire is being directed elsewhere.
As Gakpo has already proven this season, it isn't impossible to reverse those fortunes. However, he had previously shown himself valuable to Liverpool's cause - the same cannot be said of every other player who stepped out against Fulham.
With Iraola only four Premier League games into his Reds reign, these are very much early days and there will likely be more pain before any significant gain. And the only way Liverpool are going to win over the weary Anfield crowd is by winning some home games again.
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