🔗 Share this article

Only a couple of weeks ago, Liverpool appeared destined to secure back-to-back Premier League championships and potentially another Champions League crown. Their capacity to secure victories despite not optimal displays felt like the hallmark of true title-winners.

However, subsequently the tide shifted. The Anfield side continued with mediocre performances and began dropping matches. Meanwhile, the North London club, renowned for their stubborn backline and strength in depth, started closing the gap at the summit.

Defining a Crisis in Modern Football

Does three consecutive defeats represent a collapse? As with most sporting discussions, it depends entirely on your definition of the key word. Is Paul Scholes elite? How do you define "elite" even mean? Is the Birmingham club a big team? What defines "major"? Is the Old Trafford outfit returned to prominence? Alright, maybe that is a question we can settle.

At a team of this club's stature and last season's brilliance, a mini crisis appears a fair description. During a broadcast, former forward Neil Mellor was asked how many defeats in a row would cause alarm. His reply was six. At present, they are halfway to that particular point.

Pinpointing the On-Pitch Problems

There are clear footballing problems. Assimilating recent additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a distinct style to departed stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a challenge. Likewise, incorporating a talented attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the midfield. Observers of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a technical player who elevates those beside him, connecting play effortlessly rather than forcing himself upon the game.

Furthermore, a host of individuals who shone last season—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now underperforming. In fact, the majority of the team are. Yet they all have one significant, recent event: the tragic death of their teammate and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Effect: Grief on the Field

It has been just more than three short months since the tragic loss of their friend. Although the wider world moves on rapidly, shifting attention to global events, Liverpool's players continue training and playing each day in the absence of their friend.

This is not possible to know how every individual and member of the backroom team is coping from one day to the next. It requires a significant amount of projection. Perhaps Salah failed to defend in a particular match because he was tired. Or perhaps his performance level is down a few per cent due to the fact he is grieving for his pal.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented insightfully before a fixture, drawing a comparison to his personal situation of losing a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "How they are performing this season is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after Jota's tragedy. I went through a very similar thing when I was a player two decades past."

"It is difficult for the players, it's not easy for the organization, it's not easy for the manager when you come to the training ground and you find every day that spot empty. So you must be incredibly resilient. And this is the explanation why for me they are doing not well, but exceptionally well. Because they are trying to handle a problem that is not easy."

As summarized succinctly on a popular fan podcast, the reminders are constant. The players hear his song in the 20th minute, they notice his unused peg in the changing room. In the middle of games, a pass might be made and the realization arises: 'Ah, Diogo would have been there.' When the Egyptian was seen crying in front of the Kop a few games ago, it signals that everything is not normal.

The Limits of Football Analysis and Personal Grief

Having reporting on football for twenty years, one realizes there is a fundamental lack of depth in most punditry. We simply cannot know how an individual is coping at any given moment and how that impacts their performance. Jota's death is one of the most stark illustrations. We are aware a tragic thing occurred, and we understand the nature of grief. Beyond that lies an immeasurable layer of impact on various individuals at the organization. It is very possible that a few of the players themselves don't truly grasp its influence from one moment to the next.

How the media reports on this and how fans analyze performances is clearly not the most important factor. On a practical level, mentioning Jota's passing is difficult to do in a brief segment before transitioning to tactical concerns. Outside of this particular tragedy and outside Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to qualify every critique of a player with an admission that we are largely ignorant about their private circumstances—be it their family situation, personal challenges, or marital problems.

A former professional footballer, Nedum Onuoha, recently spoke on a broadcast about how his mother's passing halfway through his playing days affected his love for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he stated. "Some of the highs and the low points that accompany it didn't really feel the same after that." And that was half a career; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been only three short months.

The Final Point

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool accomplish this season—be it success or if it's nothing—even if we omit reference to it every time we discuss their matches, even if it is not the sole reason for their eventual outcome, we should not forget that a few weeks ago they lost not just a brilliant footballer, but, crucially, they said goodbye to a friend.