🔗 Share this article

Only a couple of weeks ago, the Merseyside club seemed destined to claim back-to-back Premier League championships and possibly a further Champions League trophy. The team's ability to win despite not peak performances felt like the mark of true champions.

But, then the momentum shifted. The Anfield side persisted with average performances and started losing points. At the same time, the North London club, known for their resolute defense and squad depth, started narrowing the distance at the summit.

Understanding a Crisis in Today's Game

Can three straight defeats constitute a collapse? Like many sporting discussions, it hinges completely on your interpretation of the central word. Is Paul Scholes elite? How do you define "world class" actually mean? Is the Birmingham club a major team? What defines "major"? Are Manchester United returned to prominence? Alright, maybe that is a question we can settle.

For a club of Liverpool's stature and last season's brilliance, a mini crisis appears a fair description. On a recent broadcast, ex- striker Neil Mellor was asked how many defeats in a row would cause alarm. His reply was six. Currently, they are halfway to that particular threshold.

Identifying the Tactical Issues

There are obvious footballing issues. Assimilating recent signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a distinct style to previous stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Likewise, blending in a gifted attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly unbalanced the midfield. Observers of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a technical player who improves those beside him, connecting play effortlessly rather than imposing himself on the game.

Furthermore, a host of players who shone last season—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now underperforming. Actually, most of the team is. And they all share one significant, fresh event: the passing of their colleague and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Impact: Grief on the Pitch

It has been just over three short months since the tragic passing of their friend. While the outside world progresses quickly, shifting attention to other matters, the club's squad continue training and playing day after day in the absence of their friend.

This is impossible to know how each player and member of the backroom team is dealing on any given day. There is a significant amount of speculation. Perhaps Salah didn't track back in a recent match because he lacked energy. But maybe his form is down a few percentage points because he is grieving for his friend.

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

"It's not easy 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 place empty. So you have to be incredibly resilient. And this is the explanation why for me they are doing not well, but exceptionally well. Because they are trying to deal with a problem that is not easy."

As explained well on a well-known supporter's show, the reminders are ongoing. The players are reminded by his chant in the 20th minute, they notice his unused locker in the dressing room. In the middle of matches, a pass might be played and the realization arises: 'Oh, Jota would have been there.' When the Egyptian was seen crying in front of the Kop a matches ago, it indicates that all is far from all right.

The Boundaries of Punditry and Personal Grief

After reporting on football for two decades, one comes to believe there is a inherent lack of depth in most punditry. We genuinely cannot know how an individual is feeling at any given time and how that impacts their performance. Jota's death is one of the most stark illustrations. We know a tragic thing occurred, and we comprehend the concept of sorrow. But further lies an immeasurable layer of effect on various people at the club. It is very possible that a few of the players personally don't truly grasp its effect from one day to the next.

How the media reports on this and how fans dissect displays is obviously far from the most important thing. On a functional basis, bringing up Jota's death is challenging to do in a brief soundbite before transitioning to on-field concerns. Outside of this specific tragedy and beyond Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to preface each critique of a player with an admission that we are largely ignorant about their personal lives—be it their family relationships, health challenges, or marital difficulties.

An ex- pro footballer, the defender, lately spoke on radio about how his mother's death halfway through his career affected his passion for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he said. "Some of the highs and the low points that come with it didn't really feel the same any more." And that was many years into his profession; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three months.

The Concluding Thought

So, whatever Liverpool accomplish this season—be it success or failure—even if we don't mention it whenever we discuss their matches, and even if it isn't the cause for their final outcome, we must remember that a short time ago they lost not merely a exceptional player, but, more importantly, they said goodbye to a friend.