Arne Slot admits IGNORANCE over forgotten Liverpool star

Liverpool have got a bigger squad of players than Arne Slot might have you believe.

Of course, there are a number of regulars in the starting XI who aren't available for selection, and the performances that we're seeing from some of them aren't good enough. We're being forced to adapt.

This means looking at different tactical approaches and different formations to get the best out of the available crop of players. But even with this operation in full swing, certain players are being left out.

It is Slot's ignorance about these forgotten stars that is actively handicapping the teams' success.

Slot's stubbornness is hurting us

Prior to the Reds' match against Leeds on Saturday night, the head coach spoke about Federico Chiesa in his press conference, and addressed fans' wishes to see the Italian play a starting role.

He said: "Every player has a possibility to start, but we have many options to start in his position, as I said so many times before. But he is indeed having his impact coming off the bench a few times."

The greater context behind Slot's claim is that Chiesa has only started two games, meaning he's come off the bench 13 times so far this season. Across the 403 minutes he's played, he's scored twice and assisted three goals - an extraordinary effort given such few opportunities.

Mohamed Salah has been taken out of the starting XI in two of the Reds' last three games, yet it's been decided that it's best for Liverpool to not play with a right-winger at all than to play Chiesa.

And down the other end of the pitch, the Reds have been without both Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong available at right-back for a few weeks now, although the Northern Irishman returned against Leeds, replacing Joe Gomez and ensuring that Slot had 'four real defenders' on the pitch.

However, we've also seen Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai deployed in that position at times.

Concerns were raised by Slot in midweek about how Alexander Isak has struggled to play the role he did for Newcastle, and one reason for his underwhelming start has been not creating enough 'threatening situations' for him, which is supposedly linked to our lack of an overlapping full-back.

Speaking to The Guardian, the Dutchman said: "With Jeremie Frimpong being injured and Conor Bradley being out, it is not like we have so many options on the right-hand side, and it is a bit similar on the left. Alex could benefit maybe from a Conor or a Jeremie type of player who goes outside, instead of both wingers we have who come inside, and full-backs who can come in with crosses."

The problem there, however, is that 22-year-old right-back Calvin Ramsay - who played against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup in October, and is in the confirmed Premier League squad - is being left at home rather than being added into the first-team to cover in his ideal position.

Instead, he's occasionally featuring for the under-21s, although the Scottish international defender has two years left on his current Liverpool deal, and it was decided in the summer that he was best placed on Merseyside, rather than be gifted a loan move, even though he's constantly overlooked.

These two issues with Chiesa and Ramsay aren't new. They've been clear as day all season long. It makes no sense to not play a different right-winger when Salah is out of form, and playing your best midfielders in defence interchangeably, when you have an actual right-back available, is nonsense.

It's Slot being purposefully ignorant at the options he's got available in his squad, deciding to ignore the players entirely. Of course, it's plausible that there is a legitimate reason for these decisions, but when the team's results aren't getting any better, it can feel like the fanbase is being down-trodden for wanting answers to what feel like particularly reasonable questions about his selection calls.

As in most cases, it's best to trust in the head coach, back the team, and hope that you're proven wrong, but we've had two months of mixed form, and nothing looks to be changing anytime soon.

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