The Reds' Current Struggles: How Diogo Jota's Loss Impacts the Squad

Just a few weeks ago, the Merseyside club appeared set to claim back-to-back Premier League titles and potentially another Champions League crown. Their capacity to win without optimal performances felt like the hallmark of genuine title-winners.

However, subsequently the momentum turned. Liverpool persisted with average showings and began dropping matches. At the same time, Arsenal, known for their stubborn defense and squad depth, started narrowing the gap at the top.

Defining a Slump in Today's Game

Does three straight losses constitute a collapse? Like many sporting discussions, it hinges entirely on your definition of the key word. Is Paul Scholes elite? How do you define "elite" even signify? Is the Birmingham club a major club? What defines "major"? Is the Old Trafford outfit back? Alright, perhaps that is a question we might answer.

At a team of this club's stature and previous campaign's excellence, a minor setback seems a reasonable description. On a recent broadcast, ex- striker Neil Mellor was asked how many losses in a row would trigger alarm. His reply was six. Currently, they are halfway to that threshold.

Pinpointing the Tactical Issues

One can observe clear tactical issues. Assimilating new additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a different style to departed key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Likewise, blending in a gifted attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a creative talent who improves those around him, connecting play effortlessly rather than imposing himself upon the game.

Furthermore, a number of players who excelled last campaign—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently below their best. In fact, most of the team is. Yet they all have one significant, fresh experience: the passing of their teammate and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Effect: Grief on the Field

We are now just over three months since the devastating loss of their friend. Although the wider world moves on quickly, diverting attention to global events, Liverpool's players carry on going to work day after day without their friend.

It is not possible to know how every player and staff member is coping from one day to the next. There is a great deal of projection. Perhaps Salah failed to defend in a recent match simply he was tired. Or perhaps his form is down a few per cent due to the fact he misses his pal.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke eloquently before a fixture, drawing a parallel to his own situation of losing a teammate, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "How they are performing this campaign is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after Jota's tragedy. I lived exactly the same thing when I was a player two decades past."

"It's not easy for the squad, it's not easy for the organization, it's not easy for the coach when you come to the training complex and you see every day that place empty. So you must be very strong. And this is the reason why for me they are doing not good, even better than good. Because they are trying to deal with a problem that is not easy."

Just as explained well on a popular supporter's show, the reminders are ongoing. They hear his song in the first half, they notice his unused locker in the changing room. In the middle of games, a pass might be made and the thought arises: 'Ah, Jota would have been there.' If Salah showed emotion in front of the Kop a few games ago, it indicates that everything is not all right.

The Limits of Football Analysis and Human Emotion

Having reporting on football for twenty years, one comes to believe there is a fundamental lack of depth in the majority of punditry. We genuinely cannot know how an individual is coping at any given time and how that impacts their performance. Jota's death is one of the clearest examples. We are aware a terrible event occurred, and we understand the nature of sorrow. Beyond that lies an immeasurable level of impact on different individuals at the club. It is highly likely that some of the players themselves do not fully understand its influence from one day to the next.

How the press reports on this and how supporters analyze performances is obviously far from the most important factor. On a functional basis, mentioning Jota's death is challenging to accomplish in a short soundbite before transitioning to tactical issues. Outside of this specific tragedy and beyond Liverpool, it would seem strange to qualify each critique of a footballer with an admission that we know so little about their personal lives—be it their parental situation, personal challenges, or marital difficulties.

A former professional footballer, the defender, recently spoke on a broadcast about how his mother's death midway through his career impacted his love for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he said. "The high points and the lows 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 months.

The Concluding Thought

Therefore, whatever Liverpool achieve in the coming months—if it's something or if it's nothing—even if we don't mention it whenever we discuss their matches, even if it isn't the cause for their eventual outcome, we should not forget that a short time ago they suffered the loss of not merely a exceptional player, but, more importantly, they lost a dear friend.