This season has become a year of major revamps across Europe. Liverpool rebuilt their squad, Real Madrid made numerous signings, and Manchester City revamped last season but still failed to retain the Premier League title for the fifth straight time.
Clubs are spending heavily, and coaches are getting the signings they want, yet many teams are still heading downhill. Why is this happening? This isn’t the first time a squad overhaul has complicated things instead of fixing them.
To understand why, let’s look at historical cases from the past, while using Liverpool’s current season as the main example.
Common Factors Behind “Post-Rebuild Downfall” in Top European Clubs
1. Loss of Team Chemistry & On-Field Understanding
Football success relies heavily on familiarity and automatisms(Tactical cohesions). When a club signs too many players, the team rhythm breaks and it takes time to recover from it.
Here is the list of all signings of Liverpool made this season
| Player | From | Position | Fee / Notes |
| Florian Wirtz | Bayer Leverkusen | Midfielder | ~£100m (up to ~£116m with add-ons) |
| Alexander Isak | Newcastle United | Forward | ~£125m |
| Hugo Ekitiké | Eintracht Frankfurt | Forward | ~£69m (up to ~£79m) |
| Milos Kerkez | Bournemouth | Left-back | ~£40m |
| Jeremie Frimpong | Bayer Leverkusen | Right-back | ~£29.5m |
| Giorgi Mamardashvili | Valencia | Goalkeeper | ~£25–29m |
| Giovanni Leoni | Parma | Centre-back | ~£26m |
| Ármin Pécsi | Puskás Akadémia | Goalkeeper | ~£1.5m |
| Freddie Woodman | Preston North End | Goalkeeper | Free transfer |
| Will Wright | Salford City | Forward | ~£200k
|
Liverpool has signed almost 2 players for every position. This is almost a complete revamp starting xi from last season. This is bound to create chemistry problems which can cause misplaced passes and crosses, wrong decisions by the players at the critical moments like shooting from distance instead of passing it to an unmarked teammate.
A very famous example of so many signings in 1 window which failed miserably was Chelsea in the 2022-23 season. After the Todd Boehly takeover, Chelsea spent over £600 million on players like Enzo Fernández, Mudryk, Sterling, Fofana, and Koulibaly. Chelsea finished 3rd in the Premier League and had two domestic cup finals last season. But later they finished 12th, went through three managers, lacked chemistry, goals, and tactical consistency.
2. Expensive Signings instead of correct signings
When old players leave, clubs often rush to sign top replacements without analysing their profiles. They rarely ask whether the new player can offer the same qualities or rebuild the same chemistry. That oversight eventually hurts them.
Liverpool provides a perfect example. They allowed Trent Alexander-Arnold to leave for free and brought in Jeremie Frimpong. Frimpong is a top full-back, but his profile is completely different. Trent played as a deep-lying playmaker and often inverted next to the defensive midfielder to help progression and dictate switches with long diagonals. Frimpong, on the other hand, stays wide and rarely inverts.
This contrast has forced Arne Slot to change Liverpool’s structure. With Trent, they built in a 3-2 shape (CBs + Trent + DM). With Frimpong, the team shifts into a 2-3-5, where he joins the front line. While this suits Frimpong, it disrupts the rhythm of Salah and Ekitiké, who lose their natural tempo and movement patterns.
| Attribute | Trent | Frimpong |
| Primary role | Playmaking RB/CM hybrid | Winger-like attacking RWB |
| Strength | Passing range, creativity | Pace, dribbling, ball-carrying |
| Positioning | Inside (inverted) | Outside (wide) |
| Attacking style | Switches + crosses | Dribbles + cutbacks |
| Defensive profile | Space reading | 1v1 speed + aggression |
| Tactical impact | Control | Penetration |
3. Commercial Pressure vs Football Logic
Clubs often make signings for PR or marketing value rather than sporting fit.
Liverpool signed Hugo Ekitike earlier in the window, but later still brought in Alexander Isak for around £125m. Their original plan was to sign only Isak, yet negotiations collapsed due to disputes between Isak and Newcastle and issues surrounding his £125m release clause. That pushed Liverpool to buy Ekitike instead.
However, when Newcastle finally opened the door for Isak’s departure near the end of the summer window, Liverpool signed him anyway, mainly to flex their strength in the market. Since Ekitike cost around £69m and performed brilliantly in pre-season, Liverpool had no real need to sign Isak at that stage.
| Player | Appearances | Goals | Assists / Goal Involvement |
| Alexander Isak | 5 league appearances (for Liverpool) | 0 league goals so far for Liverpool | — |
| Hugo Ekitiké | 11 Premier League appearances this season | 3 league goals this season | Total goal involvement ≈ 4 in League this season (goals + assists) |
A similar example is PSG in the 2021–22 season when they signed Messi, Ramos, Wijnaldum, Donnarumma with no chemistry, all free but redundant roles. PSG despite having Neymar, Mbappe, Messi finished in Ro16 in UCl which was worse than last season.
4. Unrealistic Fan & Board Expectations
Spending big creates immediate pressure to win, even though rebuilding always needs time. It also puts extra weight on expensive signings who must justify their price from day one.
Liverpool paid around £100m for Florian Wirtz. When he failed to produce a single goal contribution in his first three games, the “007” jokes and trolling started immediately. That criticism affected his confidence and performance, and he has managed only 2 assists in 15 matches so far.
Manchester United faced a similar situation in the 2014–15 season. Van Gaal had to deliver instantly after the club spent huge fees on Di María and Falcao, even though the team had no settled system. Di María struggled to adapt, received heavy criticism, and never showed his Real Madrid form. United paid €75m—then a British record—but he left after just one season with modest numbers.
| Competition | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| All Competitions | 32 | 4 | 12 |
| Premier League | 27 | 3 | 10 |
| Champions League | 2 | 0 | 0 |
5. Psychological Fatigue or Identity Crisis
When a “core era” ends (like Klopp’s Liverpool or Enrique’s Barça), the emotional bond of the team fades. Even with new faces, the soul of the team is hard to rebuild instantly.
To get a complete understanding of Why Liverpool’s tactics are failing this season, click here
Squad Revamp Failure, Is this a myth?
What Liverpool is suffering due to an almost new squad is not new. Football has witnessed these downfalls many times. Here are some noteworthy examples
| Club | Season Before (Form) | Rebuild Window (Major Signings) | Key Departures | Following Season (Drop) | Core Reasons |
| Chelsea | 2021–22: 3rd, two cup finals | Enzo, Mudryk, Sterling, Fofana, Koulibaly, Cucurella, etc. | Rudiger, Christensen, Werner | 2022–23: 12th, 3 managers | No chemistry, no defined XI, over-signing, tactical chaos |
| Tottenham | 2018–19: UCL finalists, 4th PL | Ndombele, Lo Celso, Sessegnon, Clarke | Trippier, Wanyama | 2019–20: Collapse early, Poch sacked | New midfield didn’t fit, loss of identity, fatigue |
| Real Madrid | 2018–19: Lost Ronaldo, but core still strong | Hazard, Jović, Mendy, Militão, Rodrygo | Key leadership void post-CR7 | 2019–20: Shaky early months | Adaptation issues, Hazard flop, identity shift |
| Barcelona | 2016–17: Still elite under Enrique | Coutinho, Dembélé, Griezmann (2017–19 cycle) | Neymar, Iniesta (later) | 2018–20: UCL collapses, tactical disorder | Wrong profiles, no chemistry with Messi, imbalance |
| AC Milan | 2016–17: Stable 6th | Bonucci, Biglia, Calhanoglu, André Silva + 7 others | Old guard | 2017–18: Inconsistent, Montella sacked | Too many signings, no core, unstable lineup |
| Man United | 2013–14: Poor but stable | Di María, Falcao, Shaw, Herrera, Blind, Rojo | Vidic, Ferdinand | 2014–15: Disjointed season | Overhaul too large, no system fit |
| PSG | 2020–21: UCL semifinalists | Messi, Ramos, Donnarumma, Hakimi, Wijnaldum | None major but loss of locker balance | 2021–22: UCL R16, messy attack | No pressing structure, star overload |
| Juventus | 2018–19: Dominant Serie A | De Ligt, Ramsey, Rabiot, Higuaín return | Cancelo | 2019–20: Weak performances, decline started | Sarri style mismatch, confused midfield |
| Manchester City | 2022–23: Treble winners, perfect system | Gvardiol, Doku, Nunes, Kovacic | Gündogan, Mahrez, Laporte, Cancelo | 2023–24: Performance dip early, loss of control, dropped points vs lower teams | Loss of leadership (Gündogan), Doku/Nunes/Kovacic not yet synchronized, rhythm disrupted |
Conclusion
Liverpool’s downturn is not the result of one problem, it is the consequence of several interconnected tactical fractures triggered by a massive squad reshuffle.Liverpool didn’t collapse because the manager is bad or the signings are bad. They collapsed because they changed too many profiles too quickly, breaking the precise structures that made Slot’s first season elite.
They should restore a stable double pivot with Mac Allister + Gravenberch or Mac Allister + Endo.
They should rebuild the right-side triangle like that of Trent – Szoboszlai – Salah from last season. It is because it gives clean inside long passes with overlaps.
Give Wirtz a free No.10 hybrid role, not wide-left and reduce long-ball dependence.
A healthy portion of the season is still remaining and Liverpool can still recover with some changes in tactics.
