Liverpool Women find fresh belief amid WSL survival fight

Liverpool Women’s turbulent season has been laid bare in a powerful piece of long form reporting by The Athletic, and it leaves you both emotionally drained and strangely hopeful. At the heart of it sits Gareth Taylor’s haunting admission that “It probably hasn’t felt as desperate as it’s looked.” That single line captures the contradiction of a campaign that has flirted with collapse yet refuses to fall apart.

Sunday’s 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur felt bigger than three points. When Mia Enderby converted Jenna Clark’s cross in the 92nd minute to make it 1-0, it ended “a run of 282 days without a WSL win”. For a squad that had gone 12 league matches without a victory, that moment was cathartic. Taylor revealed, “Fisky said to me after the win how emotional it was. The players on the pitch, the injured players in the stands, we’ve wanted a good moment, just something to cling onto.”

This was not just a footballing release, it was a human one.

Grief, loss and emotional weight

It is impossible to read the original article without being struck by the trauma Liverpool have carried this season. The deaths of former manager Matt Beard and kitman Jonathan Humble cast a shadow that football could never simply outrun. Taylor’s words are devastatingly honest, “It was hard because, being in such quick succession, it just felt like, ‘What’s going on here? What is happening?’… the thing with grief is that it affects people in different ways.”

These were not background issues, they were central to the emotional temperature of the club. Rob Clarkson added, “You try to get through it but you obviously never get through it completely. It’s always going to be there.” That grief sat alongside an already fragile squad and a changing identity, making every defeat feel heavier.

Recruitment chaos and delayed rebuild

From a footballing perspective, Liverpool’s struggles were partly self inflicted. Delayed appointments for Taylor and Clarkson meant that the summer window became, in Taylor’s own words, “a nervous mode to add to the squad”. Losing Olivia Smith for a world record £1m and captain Taylor Hinds without proper replacements left holes that injuries then tore wider.

ACL injuries to Sophie Roman Haug and Marie Hobinger, plus long term absences for several others, forced young players like Enderby into heavy minutes. Yet belief never fully evaporated. According to The Athletic, “there was belief and excitement in Taylor’s style and the manner in which he wanted to implement it”, even if the squad lacked the depth to deliver it consistently.

January’s £1m recruitment drive has begun to change the feel. Clarkson noted, “Against Spurs, it looked and felt like a very different team. The more competition for places, the more everyone has to raise their level.”

Survival now defines everything

Liverpool remain bottom, but the metrics suggest they deserve more. They have conceded the fewest goals in the bottom half, yet scored just 10, making them “the league’s second-worst attack”. Taylor is clear eyed, “For all of Sunday’s joy, the season turns on survival.”

That honesty is refreshing. There is no hiding from what lies ahead, trips to Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal. Yet Taylor also spoke of unity, “the behaviour of the people here, the unity through all these difficult moments has been probably the proudest thing I’ve been associated with.”

That, more than any xG chart, explains why Liverpool Women still have hope.