The Reds' Recent Struggles: How Diogo Jota's Loss Continues to Affect the Team

Only a few weeks back, Liverpool seemed destined to secure back-to-back Premier League championships and potentially another Champions League trophy. Their ability to win without optimal performances felt like the mark of true title-winners.

However, subsequently the momentum shifted. Liverpool persisted with average performances and started dropping matches. At the same time, Arsenal, known for their stubborn backline and strength in depth, began closing the gap at the summit.

Understanding a Crisis in Modern Football

Does three straight defeats constitute a collapse? Like most sporting discussions, it depends completely on your definition of the key term. Was the United midfielder world class? How do you define "elite" even signify? Is the Birmingham club a major team? What defines "major"? Are Manchester United back? Alright, maybe that's a question we might answer.

At a team of Liverpool's stature and previous campaign's excellence, a minor setback seems a fair description. During a broadcast, ex- striker Neil Mellor was questioned how many defeats in a row would cause panic. His answer was six. Currently, they are halfway to that particular point.

Pinpointing the Tactical Problems

There are clear footballing problems. Assimilating recent signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a distinct skill set to previous stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a difficulty. Similarly, incorporating a gifted playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a creative player who elevates those beside him, connecting play effortlessly rather than forcing himself upon the game.

Furthermore, a host of individuals who excelled last campaign—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently underperforming. In fact, the majority of the squad are. Yet every one of them have one significant, fresh event: the passing of their teammate and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Impact: Loss on the Pitch

We are now just more than three short months since the tragic passing of their teammate. While the outside world moves on quickly, shifting focus to global events, the club's squad carry on going to work each day without their mate.

This is impossible to gauge how every player and member of the backroom team is coping on any given day. There is a great deal of projection. Maybe Salah didn't track back in a particular match because he lacked energy. Or maybe his performance level is down a small percentage points because he is grieving for his pal.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke insightfully before a fixture, making a parallel to his own experience of losing a teammate, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "How they are doing this campaign is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after Jota's tragedy. I went through exactly the same thing when I was a player two decades past."

"It is difficult for the players, it's not easy for the club, it's not easy for the manager when you arrive at the training complex and you see every day that spot vacant. So you must be very strong. And this is the reason why for me they are doing not well, but exceptionally well. Because they are attempting to handle a problem that is not easy."

As summarized well on a well-known supporter's show, the reminders are constant. They are reminded by his song in the 20th minute, they notice his unused peg in the changing room. In the middle of matches, a through ball might be played and the realization arises: 'Oh, Diogo would have been there.' If Salah was seen crying in front of the Kop a matches ago, it signals that everything is far from normal.

The Boundaries of Football Analysis and Personal Grief

Having reporting on football for twenty years, one comes to believe there is a fundamental lack of depth in most punditry. We simply cannot know how an player is feeling at any given moment and how that affects their play. Jota's passing is one of the most stark illustrations. We know a terrible event occurred, and we understand the nature of grief. Beyond that lies an immeasurable layer of effect on different people at the club. It is highly likely that some of the squad themselves do not truly grasp its influence from one moment to the next.

The way the media reports on this and how fans analyze displays is clearly not the primary factor. On a practical basis, mentioning Jota's death is difficult to do in a brief segment before transitioning to on-field concerns. Outside of this particular 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 family situation, personal struggles, or relationship problems.

A former professional player, Nedum Onuoha, lately talked on radio about how his mother's passing midway through his playing days impacted his love for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he stated. "Some of the high points and the lows that come with it no longer felt the same any more." And that was many years into his profession; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three short months.

The Concluding Point

Therefore, whatever Liverpool achieve this season—if it's something or failure—even if we don't mention it every time we analyze their fixtures, and even if it is not the sole reason for their final result, we must remember that a few weeks ago they suffered the loss of not merely a brilliant player, but, crucially, they said goodbye to a dear friend.