22 Nov 2025 20:25:40
Ed001, I have seen a few comments you have made about the intensity of training under Slot and him moving us away from being a physical side. I appreciate the position I am holding, in still believing Slot is the right man for the job, is looking more insane by the week, thus I would very grateful if you could go into more detail on this as yours is an opinion I have greatly respected for about 14 years. Maybe you can sway me.
The same training regime, as far as I can tell, last season yielded a Premier League title.
It is very easy to look back fondly at the intensity of the regime Jurgen Klopp run and it did achieve massive highs, but there were frequent and we had a couple of spells like this under him. We also suffered, sometimes catastrophically, with injuries.
I can’t help thinking that something else is at play in the background here as we seem to be losing our heads whenever we experience a setback. The first 30 minutes today was as good as anything we saw in the Villa and Madrid games in my opinion, the only difference here is that we experienced a setback and completely lost our heads again.
When you see players like Robertson giving such emotional interviews in the week referencing Jota, I think this is a bigger factor than a lot of people are appreciating. It is very sad for us, in a parasocial sense, but the vast of the players in that dressing room knew him personally and all I hear is how popular he was in the group.
I do think we need a moratorium on singing Jota’s song during the game. I am not an elite athlete, anyone who has seen in real life can attest, but if I was running a meeting at work and someone even brought up a loved one who I have lost, it would impact my performance.
I could be wrong, none of the players are calling for it but maybe it’s out of respect for the fan’s feelings in all of this. After the game, of course, it’s different. He should never be forgotten, but maybe we need to pick our times better.
{Ed001's Note - you forget the players had the improved stamina and fitness from the previous years of work and that only gradually goes. Just like it takes time to build it up.
If the loss of Jota is having such a negative impact, then the coaching staff are failing. They should be using it to fire up the players, to make them run through brick walls for his memory and to never give up. I would have to question the man management at the club if it is having such a negative impact.}
22 Nov 2025 21:23:30
I think Ed has it spot on.
We have transitioned into a slower, possession based team that has less intensity than it had under Klopp
Originally I thought this could be a good thing as it would leave us fresher to compete for trophies at the business end of the season
However, issue appears to be getting anywhere near being in the mix at the business end of the season.
22 Nov 2025 21:36:38
Your point about training really has intrigued me, I will have to give it some thought.
I have seen a few people saying it should be used to spur them on, and certainly if this was a movie we would be winning everything we're involved in this season but I just don't think this is a realistic view with all due respect. Everyone reacts to grief differently and I'm sure its less of a factor with some than it is others, the problem is it seems to be really effecting the leaders of the team (i. e., Slot, Robbo, Salah - who was literally crying on the field in the first game - and Virgil) .
The fact that the players and Slot are constantly referring to it, Slot was unusually emotional in his pre-match press conference when asked about it, just goes to show that it is on their minds.
I am not saying its the whole reason, but we have shown no real resilience all season - that to me signifies a mentality issue. This wasn't a problem last year, we went behind often and usually ended up winning. Something else has changed in my opinion, and I really think people are underappreciating how difficult this must be for them.
{Ed025's Note - im not saying its not a factor FORNAX but its a very easy cop out mate, myself i think its a lack of coaching and motivation more than anything, just my personal view though..
22 Nov 2025 21:55:58
Becker lost his father, he scored the header from a corner in the last minute that secured us UCL football.
Diaz had his Father kidnapped and had a magnificent season last year.
The Players and Slot should be using Diogo Jota as an "OVERWHELMING" Incentive and not as an Excuse for poor attitudes/ performances, as Diogo would not want that or deserve it.
At Hillsborough 97 of our LFC Family were tragically taken from us, this club did not use that as an excuse, but instead went on to still win many, many trophies not just fade away, like everyone wanted us to.
YNWA 97 and 20.
{Ed025's Note - count me in Bond..
22 Nov 2025 22:21:15
NewPaisley79 is Kerkez the new Julian Dicks, Frimpong as Mark walters and Isak as dean saunders?
The Souness era was the worst of all time, mostly because of the type of thugball that souness was trying to implement.
Slot is not showing any adapatability. its like they got the one idea about how the side should evolve and stuck to it, with the squad incomplete and very changed from last season.
Jurgen gradually moulded players into his vision, and instilled fight. We are so easy to play against now that Slot's one model has been well countered.
22 Nov 2025 22:22:31
There is actually quite a lot of research which deals with this, I don't think we will agree. I think it is very easy from the outside to look at it and say it is a weak excuse.
For those interested, some papers to look up:
- Fogaca, Cupit and Gonzalez (2021)
- Henschen and Heil (1992)
- Vernacchia, Reardon and Templin (1997)
- Simpson and Elberty (2018)
All behind a paywall, luckily I have access through work but the abstracts are available to all.
To summarise, athletes grieve in stages like the rest of us. Like us, they also experience these stages differently, sometimes in a different order.
They often deliberately withdraw and isolate themselves - sometimes subtly - which is not helpful when you're trying integrate a bunch of new players.
Thankfully, the overwhelming consensus is that it is temporary, it will end, whether or not Slot will still be there when it does improve is up for debate clearly.
Generalising across the studies, subjects reported it being an event which enabled personal growth and changed their perspective on life, but it is very much a journey and very difficult to begin with.
22 Nov 2025 22:20:52
Edd001 - until you’ve been through the loss of a fellow teammate/ pal/ friend etc don’t ever expect coaching staff to get you through it. Took me 10 years, and I only played Mickey Mouse football, I lost 10’years!
{Ed001's Note - then you were not getting the help you needed. And you were not a pro at a club with the capability to bring in the right help and support. There is no comparison.}
22 Nov 2025 23:23:00
Who can forget Titi Camera? Loses his dad, plays for LFC and scores (I think the only goal of the game) . Legend.
Individuals losing their family members is tragic, of course. No-one should ever play that down.
But this is different, football is a team game and individuals get supported by their teammates who are not affected.
Most of the squad was affected when Diogo died, not individual players.
Moreover, it affected pre-season and even Chiesa knows how important pre-season is for setting your season up.
I think it’s had a big effect, I don’t think it’s our only problem though, there’s a bigger picture.
22 Nov 2025 23:27:00
Must say I agree with Ed001 on this.
You only have to look at what Wales did under Chris Coleman (a bang average Manager) to see what's possible when you lose a key member of the group and you have the right support in place for the players and the coaching group.
The mentality in that group of players after Speed passed was absolutely incredible and turned them into a sum much greater than their parts. They took a tragic situation and turned it into their motivation.
If a club the size and history of Liverpool is not able to get the right people in place to support the players through Jota's tragic passing then the club has failed them all and that's tragic.
23 Nov 2025 07:27:30
I really believe we are over-thinking the tragedy and it's impact on the players.
And by that I mean, that no individual or group scenario is the same. As much as someone can bounce back positively, it is also possible that someone doesn't.
I think it's really simple minded to use one person's experience as a "well he did it" kind of comparison. In saying that, I would hope that the players are getting whatever support etc they need.