The deposed champions, their dreams of another great dynasty seemingly ruined by the very transfer window that had their supporters dreaming of it, Liverpool return to a Premier League that has thoroughly chastened them. There will be no Arne Slot in the dugout this time, the sense that fans weren't having a coach who led them to the title in his debut season meaning that his second go around proved to be his final one. In his place comes former Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola, a coach who proved himself to be adaptable and capable on moving to England but who must now prove he can bend one of England's biggest clubs to his will.
Several of his predecessors hired from within the English game found that to be a tough task. With a potentially radically different style of play to bed into a team that has, as it did in 2025, lost several key figures. In the increasingly homogenised world of elite sport, few of England's top clubs retain quite the same sense of themselves and their place that Liverpool do.
There is a strong feeling of community and social justice around Anfield, an ideology that underpins a fanbase who will fight to make sure the club lives up to the values of the community. That that remains while Liverpool continue to compete for (and win) the biggest prizes in the sport is a triumph. Alternatively, maybe you're Jeff Bezos and you're part of a consortium that just bought about 30% of the club from Fenway Sports Group (yes, that Fenway).
See, even when a club just about clings onto its sense of community, it cannot help but be a great big asset in an industry that keeps drawing capital. The story of Liverpool in 2025-26 was the story of two star attackers, Florian Wirtz and Mohamed Salah, writ large. Undeniably, neither were quite at the level that you would expect from a $135 million new signing nor the reigning player of the year.
By the standards they set, each fell short. Compared to what might reasonably be expected from most Premier League players, they were still very good. Had it not been for the injuries, a squad-building process that left Arne Slot plugging gaps in some spots, spinning plates in others, and perhaps the emotional toll of a season that began with the loss of Diogo Jota, more could have been made of the season.
Liverpool's was a weird, imbalanced season for a weird, imbalanced squad, one who could reel off last-gasp winners one month and struggle to string two points together the next. How much of that is going to be changed by 12 months' more familiarity between some of their big-money signings and how much by a new coach really is not clear yet. Well, you'll have heard all about the new coach.
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