Liverpool boss Arne Slot will find it “really difficult” to win back supporters after a damaging spell of results, former defender Jamie Carragher has warned.
Slot’s side were held to a 1-1 draw by relegation-threatened Tottenham at Anfield on Super Sunday, with former Everton forward Richarlison cancelling Darwin Núñez’s opener with a 90th-minute equaliser. The draw followed a 2-1 loss at Wolves on March 3, and Liverpool were jeered off the pitch at full-time.
Speaking on Monday Night Football, Carragher described the situation as worrying for both Liverpool’s season and for Slot personally. He drew a distinction between the vocal online critics and the match-going fans, noting that for much of the season those at Anfield had defended the new manager — even after the controversy involving Mohamed Salah — but that the mood shifted on Sunday.
“It’s not easy for a Liverpool crowd to turn on a manager who has won a title less than a year before,” Carragher said, but added that the boos at the final whistle felt like “proper booing from a disgruntled and unhappy fanbase.” He warned that once supporters lose faith, it is very hard for a manager to regain their backing.
Liverpool sit 21 points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal. Carragher stressed that responsibility should not rest solely with Slot. While acknowledging the manager’s role in recruitment, he questioned whether the new arrivals fit the traditional Liverpool profile and pressing style that defined the club under Jurgen Klopp. Slot, Carragher said, has sought more control and a different profile of player, but the current squad lacks cohesion and the intense pressing game that made Anfield a daunting venue.
“Something really special could happen — a Champions League, winning the FA Cup and qualifying for the Champions League — but a lot of fans have gone this week,” Carragher added. He pointed to Liverpool taking only one point from matches against Wolves and Tottenham and the first-leg defeat to Galatasaray in the Champions League as causes for concern over their European prospects.
Carragher argued the biggest issue is the loss of Liverpool’s press and collective identity. “Liverpool are not a team — they are a team of individuals,” he said, asserting that quality players have been added but not integrated into a functioning unit. The result is a lack of cohesion and the erosion of the crowd-driven intensity that used to make Anfield a fortress.
Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes echoed concerns, suggesting the club’s summer signing Florian Wirtz has nudged Liverpool toward a more possession-based approach that has diminished their intimidating home atmosphere. On The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast, Scholes praised Wirtz’s ability but argued the team has lost the determination to disrupt opponents and “stop the other team.” He said Anfield no longer feels as hostile and that Slot’s different methods may not suit the club’s traditional strengths.
Both Carragher and Scholes concluded that while Liverpool remain talented, the balance between style and the aggressive, high-intensity approach that characterised recent seasons has been lost — and restoring that identity, along with supporters’ faith, will be a major challenge for Slot.