The Cost Of Modern Football Success

These are strange times to be a Liverpool FC supporter.

On the surface, we have everything we once craved. We compete. We win (and lose!) There is an expectation to be in every conversation and match that matters. And yet, we hear something else. Frustration. Impatience. Discontent.

Which raises a question worth asking: What has success done to us? What has it cost us?

READ MORE: Loyalty To Liverpool by Mick Daly
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The Cost of Patience

Think back to when Jürgen Klopp first arrived.

There were no immediate guarantees. No instant transformation. Just belief, time, and a sense that something meaningful was being built. And we gave him that time. Partly because we had had so little recent success. Plus, Klopp knew the problem: “We have to change from doubters to believers.”

So, we endured the setbacks, the near misses, the learning curve, the squad rebuilds, because we had little choice but to be patient. We would wait until we did turn into believers ‘at the end of the storm’.

Remember, Klopp had a poor season after the joy of 2019/20. Then a good one. Followed a poor one. Then an ok one. We are quick to forget, although I do understand that success can help us navigate the storms of life.

Today, patience is rare. A poor run of results, a dip in form, and the mood shifts quickly. What was once seen as part of a journey now feels like a deviation from expectation.

Have we traded patience for instant gratification?

The Cost of Expectation

This is the Arne Slot reality, as it was Klopp’s. 

This is a manager who, one year ago, delivered a Premier League title in his first season. A remarkable achievement; one that, in another era, might have bought time, trust, and perspective.

And yet, here we are. Pressure is mounting. Doubt has returned. A poor performance, a disappointing result, and suddenly the conversation shifts from progress to replacement. That’s the cost.

Not just for Slot, but for the environment around him. Because success doesn’t just raise expectations, it reshapes them. What was once acceptable is no longer enough. What was once progress now feels like regression.

Even a title-winning manager can find himself under scrutiny within a season. This isn’t really about Slot (I know! I hear you!) It’s about what success has done to us supporters.

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We don’t measure over seasons anymore. We measure over weeks. Sometimes over 90 minutes. And in that environment, patience shrinks. Perspective fades. Loyalty gets tested (read my previous article on this)

There is a stark contrast here. Klopp was trusted to build something before achieving success.

Slot is expected to maintain everything, including success and beloved players. Those are not the same job. And yet we judge them as though they are. This is not to say standards shouldn’t matter—they should, they do. But the question isn’t whether Slot should be judged. It’s how quickly we now move to judgment, and what that says about us. How quickly does FSG move to judgment? Quickly, I hope, one way or the other. Don’t keep us in suspense.

The Cost of Identity

Modern football has changed what clubs are.

They are no longer just institutions rooted in place and community. They are global brands, content machines, commercial ecosystems. And that creates tension.

Because Liverpool has always been more than that. It has been about identity. Belonging. Something you feel, not just something you follow. But as the club grows globally, the risk is that the connection becomes diluted. Not lost. But stretched. The question becomes: Are we still part of something… or are we just consuming it?

The Cost of Loyalty

Success attracts attention. It brings new supporters, new voices, new expectations. Good right?  But that’s the price of being elite. It also changes the culture.

Loyalty used to mean staying through the difficult moments. Now it can sometimes feel conditional; tied to performance, results, or individual players. Loyalty – real loyalty – is tested when things aren’t going well. And perhaps that’s the real question: Has success made loyalty harder, or has it made the decline more visible?

I have to wonder if the recent protests would have happened at all if we were leading the PL by 6 points?

The Cost to Players

Modern footballers live under relentless scrutiny.

Take Mohamed Salah. Expected to deliver. Constantly. Consistently. Exceptionally. Because he almost always has. Every dip in form becomes a discussion. Every perceived flaw becomes a narrative.

To perform at that level, under that pressure, requires something most of us will never fully understand. We demand greatness. But we rarely allow for humanity. Think “Our #20”.

The Cost of Perspective

Success has raised the bar. That’s what it’s supposed to do, but it has also shifted perspective.

Finishing second used to mean progress. How many times did we finish second to City by one point? By millimeters? Then it was seen as some kind of ‘success’, coming so close. Now it feels like failure.

A draw feels like a missed opportunity.  A defeat feels like a crisis. And somewhere in that shift, something else has changed: our ability to enjoy being a true supporter. Have we become so focused on winning that we’ve forgotten how to properly feel Redness?

The Global Game — The American Scouser Lens

Liverpool FC is no longer just Liverpool. It belongs to the world. From the streets around Anfield to places thousands of miles away, supporters feel the same pull, the same connection. At American Scouser, we celebrate that. We cling to it tightly. 

But that global reach also changes the experience. Expectations differ. Perspectives vary. The relationship with the club evolves. The supporter culture has changed. Arguably, it’s been diluted. 

And yet, the core remains the same: A shared identity. A shared belief. The challenge is holding onto that as the game continues to grow internationally.

The Hidden Cost Joy

This may be the hardest truth of all. Success gives us everything we asked for, dreamed of. But it also changes how we experience it.

When winning becomes expected, it loses some of its magic. When success becomes the baseline, anything less feels like disappointment.

And in that world, joy becomes harder to find. Joy is not happiness. Joy is a choice. The choice of true Red, regardless of the latest results or performances. 

Final Thought

Success has given us nights we will never forget. It has restored pride, belief, and expectation. But it has also changed us, and not for the better.

Before Jürgen Klopp: Top four felt like progress. A title challenge felt exciting. Winning trophies felt extraordinary. After success: competing isn’t enough. Challenging isn’t enough. Even finishing second can feel disappointing.

That’s the paradox: the more success you have, the less satisfying success becomes unless it keeps escalating.

Success has shortened our patience. Sharpened our criticism. Raised expectations to a level where, even short-term success, over time, can feel like failure.

The question isn’t whether success is worth it. The question is: What are we willing to lose to keep it? Because supporting Liverpool was never just about winning. It is truly about belonging. And that… is something worth protecting. Whatever the COST.