Liverpool is just normal. If that’s the meanest thing I can say about their season, great. But at times this year I wished they had enough talent to RISE to the level of normalcy.

If I were to jump in and be really critical, I’d lead with Jota’s death. That’s one thing that’s not normal and could be presented as the sole reason the club is where they are right now.

But Jota’s death wasn’t the primary issue for the team’s play; it was how they responded to the accident. And then it blossomed into whether the leadership from 24-25 would take the right steps to keep the squad together.

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I don’t think it happened.

I think Slot and the team’s management were perfect in their response to the accident. Nothing was missed in how Jota has been revered and remembered.

And when you lose a friend, a teammate, a member of your extended football family, it’s chaos.

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Chaos as we’ve never seen!

We saw that here. Chaos in every third. A backfield that couldn’t stop attacks. Strikers who couldn’t catch a break. And the mental chaos that emerged.

Looking back at 2025-26 and the run-up to the season, the standout (GOOD & BAD) feelings for me were many. Here’s a list off the top of my head with some random historical pain points tossed in…and the bad stuff does stand out.

Jota

2-1 loss to Chelsea 10/4

Talk about Virgil leaving

‘Huge’ win against soon-to-be relegated West Ham 5-2 in February

Milner doesn’t play here anymore

Huge win against Qarabag FK – 6-0 in Champions League

Six losses in seven matches in the early stages

Talk about Salah leaving

No more Trent

2-1 loss to Palace 9/27

Firmino doesn’t play here anymore

2-1 loss to Man United 10/19

32.9 percent of LFC’s chances at goal this season were MISSED!!!

Yikes. I didn’t really know how bad it had gotten until I looked back at how I prepared this season. Maybe the team did so poorly (respectively) because fans didn’t exude the jubilation and energy they have in the past.

I know I didn’t.

There were times this season when I decided to listen to the match in the car instead of watching it so I could run some errands.

There were times this season when I was happy that LFC was on USA so I didn’t have to sit through the loss. 32.9% of chances MISSED!

I was so annoyed at the team at times that I would purposefully watch Goal Rush so I could see real action from other teams while peeking at the LFC score.

I paid attention to lower leagues (Hull City!!!) and international play.

In The Flesh

AND THIS BURGEONING ambivalence was after I spent almost a month IN THE UK watching football over there. It didn’t burn me out; it was joyous.

The trip fueled my excitement about Liverpool, and when I returned to the United States, I was ready for a great season…and then we dropped to 11th place. Double-digit placement in the table. DOUBLE DIGITS!!

The teams I got used to seeing below us had climbed above us. Teams that hadn’t been up in the EPL since I started watching in 2016. Players I had hardly heard of were scoring goals…but we weren’t.

Salah was cold. The only goals Szoboszlai got were from 700 meters away and going the speed of light. Otherwise, he was Nunez part deux, missing at close range. Then again, so did everyone else.

Sure, there were nice goals this year and some screamers. BUT 32.9% MISSED CHANCES!

For the most part, we faced a whole collection of sitters that should have been in the back of the net. Had we taken advantage of our missed shots this season, we’d have about 164 goals instead of 62 (before kickoff on 5/24/26).

By The Numbers

In fact, only a few tweaks to the season, and we might have been really in the race. And don’t laugh, there was a time in 25-26 that I honestly thought we could elbow our way to the top.

164 goals with one match to play. Think about that. Highest scoring teams in the table right now are 76 at Man City, 69 at Arsenal, 66 at Man United. Clearly, with a better front few, we could have run away with everything.

102 EXTRA goals would be enough to get the quadruple and have enough left over to do it again the next year. C’est la vie. 32.9% missed chances.

Alas, we couldn’t and didn’t finish our games like in the past. Where I could almost depend on an injury-time goal every match in 24-25, it was like we checked out at full time this year.

Goals just didn’t come, and the attitude at the pub changed too. For the first time in a decade, the luster was gone. People sang the songs and yelled at the TVs, yet the passion wasn’t always there.

Perhaps it’s my perspective, and maybe I’m starting to get more interested in the struggles of other sides. I love Liverpool with all my heart, and I want to be pleasantly surprised. I want action as we had a few years ago.

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And this isn’t a ‘without Klopp we’re crap’ comment. I just think we have more players who aren’t arrogant enough. We need the players who fight fight fight for the ball, who don’t give up, who have energy for days.

This used to be us, and now it’s changed. Maybe ten years is the cycle in the EPL. A turnover of leadership; a slight change in the table dynamics (Villa wins in 2027??); and an influx of players who need to prove themselves.

Ultimately, I bleed Liverpool red. Generally, I feel physical pain when they don’t play up to expectations. I want the team to recapture its magic so that watching them is joyful again.

Here’s to a win on the final day, and to looking forward to 26-27 in the EPL. I think that’s all I can do right now – I bet in August, we’ll be looking at a change in the LFC landscape.

Regardless of who remains, I yearn for them to recapture their magic and make this fan happy again.

YNWA