Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch has his say on Arne Slot and the current problems engulfing Anfield
14:01, 29 Nov 2025
Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch.(Image: Mike Morese/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Peter Crouch says Liverpool’s problems are now “deep rooted” as he called on Arne Slot to drop Mohamed Salah to inspire a response against West Ham United on Sunday.
Wednesday night’s 4-1 defeat to PSV in the Champions League was the ninth reverse in 12 games for Slot’s team and the Reds currently find themselves on their worst run of form since 1953.
Salah’s defensive output has been called into question during the sequence of results, with the Egyptian currently on five goals for the campaign, which is his lowest return at this point of any of his nine campaigns at Anfield.
OPINION
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Crouch says Salah should not be above being taken out of the team if performances continue to be sub-par as he assessed the issues Slot is trying to work out ahead of a hugely important trip to West Ham this weekend.
“Defensively, woeful (against PSV),” said Crouch, who was speaking exclusively to Paddy Power. “It just didn’t look like them at all. They weren’t getting up to people, there was no tracking back.
“Salah is guilty of that, but I don’t think there’s anyone in a Liverpool shirt right now who can hold their hands up and say they’ve been playing well. A real frustration for all Liverpool fans.
“I’m sure Salah can turn it around, and if anyone deserves a little bit of grace, I would say Mo Salah deserves it. He’s not undroppable by any stretch of the imagination, and if he isn’t pulling his weight and Arne Slot needs to rotate things, then of course you can change things. But at the end of the day, I still think Salah can do it and he’ll come good.
“I saw Curtis Jones’ interview saying it’s the hardest time of his career at the club. You can lose a couple of games, that’s bad enough. But to lose to them in that manner, I remember playing PSV and they’re a decent team, but Liverpool should be putting them away. These things can happen but it’s happened too regularly and it’s clear there is a deep-rooted problem there.”
The former England international, who won the 2006 FA Cup with the Reds, believes Anfield has lost its fear factor in recent weeks, with Slot’s team losing at home to Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and PSV.
Crouch added: “Teams are going to the Etihad and Anfield now and believe they’ll get a result. In years gone previous, certainly under Jurgen Klopp and (Manchester City boss) Pep Guardiola, it was a complete write-off.
“Even if you did get a result, you’d be expecting your goalkeeper to be keeping you in it, saving 25/30 odd shots, so there’s definitely a loss of the fear factor and you can put some pressure on them.”
