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Just a couple of weeks back, the Merseyside club appeared set to claim back-to-back Premier League titles and potentially a further Champions League trophy. Their capacity to secure victories despite not peak performances seemed like the mark of genuine champions.

But, subsequently the momentum turned. The Anfield side persisted with average showings and began dropping points. At the same time, Arsenal, known for their resolute defense and squad depth, started narrowing the distance at the top.

Understanding a Crisis in Modern Football

Does a trio of consecutive defeats constitute a crisis? As with many football debates, it depends entirely on your interpretation of the central term. Is Paul Scholes world class? What does "world class" even signify? Is the Birmingham club a big team? What defines "big"? Are Manchester United returned to prominence? Well, perhaps that's a question we can answer.

For a club of this club's size and last season's brilliance, a mini crisis appears a fair assessment. During a broadcast, ex- forward Neil Mellor was questioned how many losses in a row would trigger alarm. His reply was six. Currently, they are halfway to that threshold.

Identifying the On-Pitch Issues

One can observe obvious footballing issues. Assimilating recent additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a distinct skill set to departed key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a difficulty. Likewise, blending in a talented attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly unbalanced the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a technical talent who improves those beside him, linking play effortlessly rather than imposing himself on the game.

Additionally, a host of players who excelled last season—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently below their best. In fact, the majority of the team are. Yet every one of them share one significant, fresh event: the tragic death of their teammate and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Impact: Loss on the Field

It has been just more than three short months since the devastating loss of their friend. Although the wider world moves on rapidly, diverting focus to other events, Liverpool's squad continue training and playing day after day without their friend.

This is not possible to know how each player and staff member is dealing from one day to the next. There is a significant amount of projection. Maybe Salah didn't track back in a recent match simply he was tired. Or perhaps his performance level is down a small percentage points due to the fact he misses his friend.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented eloquently before a recent, making a parallel to his own situation of losing a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "The way they are doing this season is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after the loss. I lived exactly the same experience when I was a player two decades past."

"It's not easy for the squad, it's not easy for the club, it's not easy for the manager when you arrive at the training complex and you find every day that place empty. So you must be very strong. And this is the explanation why for me they are performing not good, even better than good. Because they are trying to handle a situation that is not easy."

As summarized succinctly on a well-known supporter's show, the memory triggers are ongoing. The players hear his chant in the first half, they notice his unused locker in the dressing room. Even during games, a through ball might be played and the thought arises: 'Oh, Jota would have been there.' When the Egyptian showed emotion in front of the Kop a matches ago, it indicates that everything is not normal.

The Limits of Punditry and Personal Grief

After reporting on football for two decades, one realizes there is a inherent lack of depth in most punditry. We genuinely cannot know how an player is coping at any given moment and how that impacts their play. Jota's passing is one of the clearest illustrations. We know a tragic event happened, and we understand the nature of grief. But further lies an immeasurable level of effect on different individuals at the club. It is very possible that some of the squad themselves do not fully grasp its effect from one moment to the next.

The way the press reports on this and how fans dissect performances is clearly far from the most important thing. On a practical level, mentioning Jota's passing is challenging to accomplish in a short soundbite before transitioning to on-field concerns. Beyond this particular tragedy and outside Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to qualify every criticism of a player with an acknowledgment that we know so little about their private circumstances—be it their family relationships, personal challenges, or relationship problems.

A former professional footballer, the defender, lately talked on a broadcast about how his mother's passing midway through his playing days impacted his passion for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he said. "Some of the highs 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 only three short months.

The Concluding Thought

So, whatever Liverpool achieve this season—if it's something or if it's nothing—even if we don't mention it whenever we discuss their fixtures, even if it isn't the cause for their final result, we should not forget that a few weeks ago they suffered the loss of not just a brilliant footballer, but, crucially, they said goodbye to a friend.