Liverpool’s Soft Midfield and Passive Performance Under the Spotlight

Liverpool’s defeat against Galatasaray in the Champions League prompted a searing debate on the Post Match Raw podcast on Anfield Index, where Trev Downey, Dave Hendrick and Jim Boardman dissected another lacklustre display. The focus was clear: a team criticised as too soft, too passive, and nowhere near the performance levels supporters expect.

Hendrick on Liverpool’s soft approach

Dave Hendrick did not hold back. He insisted, “Look, this Liverpool team is soft. There’s just no way to look at it in any other way.” His assessment centred on a lack of physicality across the squad, noting, “With the exception of Virgil, there’s nobody you would say in that team that goes out and really bullies people.”

He expanded the argument by attacking the passivity in midfield: “There’s far too many passive players in this team. And it’s not just being passive when you don’t have the ball. It’s being passive when you do have it. Today we saw far too much backwards, sidewards, take six touches… we’re too passive on and off the ball.”

Downey questions Liverpool’s performance

Host Trev Downey also underlined the team’s lack of intensity and urgency. Reflecting on effort levels, he said, “Most people were kind of second to every ball. We were weak in tackles. It was kind of frustrating that aspect of it, wasn’t it?”

Downey pressed Hendrick on the wider consequences, suggesting that this was not a one-off but part of a deeper issue: “It’s a sort of existential one at this stage for the manager to solve… it isn’t too much of a stretch to say what Dave has just said, that the season could kind of get away from us.”

Boardman on concentration and structure

Jim Boardman pointed to concentration and decision-making as key flaws. He argued, “I was just sick of the passing… the amount of times we were just making poor choices with pass… even when we were passing it backwards we weren’t passing it strongly enough, weren’t passing it accurately enough.”

He linked that carelessness directly to results, saying, “It just feels like there’s just way too many [errors]. If you pass the ball well you keep possession and if you keep possession you’ve got a chance.”

For Boardman, Liverpool lacked the resilience and guile required on nights like this: “We completely lack any kind of street senses… they won six or seven really cheap free kicks tonight that just completely took the air out of the game. Why the hell aren’t we winning more of those free kicks?”

A passive performance with urgent fixes needed

The theme across all three contributors was clear: Liverpool’s performance against Galatasaray was defined by softness and passivity. Hendrick illustrated the midfield’s ineffectiveness with damning numbers: “Between the two starters, they had five defensive contributions in the game… our defensive midfielder had one.”

Boardman concluded by demanding harder work and smarter thinking: “There’s just too too many times we’re not working hard enough. And that doesn’t just mean running around a lot. That means thinking as well, using your brain a little bit.”

Downey summed up the wider frustration by highlighting the lack of impact from elite players: “I just can’t get my head around the fact Dave that we introduced those two boys off the bench and proceeded to give them nothing by way of showing… the second half is simply proof of that.”

Conclusion

On Post Match Raw, there was no hiding place. The voices of Downey, Hendrick and Boardman reflected a growing concern: Liverpool’s soft edge, passive midfield and underwhelming performance cannot be brushed aside. As Hendrick warned, “Until we get somebody like that, we’re going to have problems like this.”