Lewis Steele: Anfield’s fear factor is ‘completely gone’ under Arne Slot

Lewis Steele: Anfield’s fear factor is ‘completely gone’ under Arne Slot

Liverpool’s Anfield Fear Factor Under Arne Slot

On Media Matters for Anfield Index, Dave Davis and Lewis Steele picked apart another troubling Liverpool display, this time after Chelsea’s draw at Anfield. Steele’s verdict was blunt: “Chelsea are a bad team” who “came to Anfield and looked like a good team.”

That, for Steele, has become the pattern under Arne Slot. “He’s made pretty average teams look good,” he said, adding that “Slot is making bad teams look pretty all right and that is the biggest legacy of this season for me.”

Liverpool retreat raises familiar concerns

Davis noted how Liverpool started well, went ahead, then appeared to stop playing. Steele agreed, saying: “They play well for 15 minutes,” before they “seem to just forget that they’re good.”

His most damning line was simple: Liverpool “retreat back on the pitch and they invite pressure.” Against Chelsea, he felt “you could see that Chelsea goal was coming for 10 minutes before it did go in.”

That speaks to a wider anxiety around Arne Slot’s Liverpool. Steele argued that when Liverpool struggle, Slot “didn’t know how to fix it,” calling that “a microcosm of the whole season.”

Fear factor has gone from Anfield

The strongest section of the podcast came when Davis asked whether Anfield had lost its aura. Steele did not hesitate. “The fortress is completely gone,” he said.

He compared this Liverpool side with previous years, when even struggling teams would not relish a trip to Anfield. “In Liverpool’s worst moments over the last 10 years, Anfield has still been a fixture that I think all teams and all fans would say I don’t fancy our chances there.”

Now, Steele said, that has changed. “If I supported any team in the Premier League I would now look at Anfield and go, oh we could win there.”

That is not merely about results. It is about mood, belief and authority. Steele said the fans “have seen enough” and added: “I don’t blame them for leaving.”

Photo: IMAGO

Arne Slot faces growing pressure

Davis referenced the boos at full time, and Steele said Liverpool’s decision makers “can’t not hear the negativity towards Arne Slot.” He added: “Every Liverpool fan I speak to apart from a very small number don’t think that he’s the man to turn it round.”

Steele also questioned Liverpool’s effort levels, saying: “I’ve not seen any fight from them in the last six months.” On Slot’s football, he was just as severe: “The football style has just been so bad. It’s so slow.”