Anfield Watch
·9 January 2026
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Yahoo sportsAnfield Watch
·9 January 2026
As mentioned, many expected Liverpool to be the team to beat this season.
Their first-team squad is full to the brim with talent which has made people wonder why their performances have been so poor.
Over £450 million was spent on improving the Reds' ranks and to be honest, it feels like they've gone backwards rather than forwards.
These thoughts are shared by ex-Liverpool player Stephen Warnock who admitted that it's "incredible" that Liverpool need to spend more money on their team to become competitive.
"There has been a lot of talk around the city and fans saying that if they lose heavily tonight, they want the manager gone. I just find it incredible," he said in quotes relayed by BBC Sport.
"Surely you have to let this squad evolve. I still think they need to sign players which sounds incredible given the money spent in summer.
"The one thing Liverpool are missing in this squad is players that can beat people. Liverpool simply don't have that at the moment in this team."
Although most of the deals that Hughes made in the summer were impressive, it still feels like he fell a bit short.
Indeed, when everyone is fit and in form, Liverpool are likely to have one of the best front lines in the world.
However, the fact that the Reds have been left with just three senior centre-backs for an entire season is concerning.
Liverpool did have a deal agreed for Marc Guehi's transfer but, when that fell through, they had no back-up options which massively scuppered their plans, especially when Giovanni Leoni tore his ACL.
After their massive summer of spending, you'd have expected the Anfield outfit to be almost untouchable but in reality, they're still a few players short of challenging Arsenal for the Premier League title.
So, with this in mind, it feels like Hughes has failed Slot which, after their Premier League title win last term, is far from ideal.









































