Last season was one of the worst Liverpool have endured in a long time. As the defeats piled up, I kept hearing the same comparisons being made. Some supporters were saying this was as bad as the Roy Hodgson era, while others compared it to Brendan Rodgers' final months at the club.

But were those comparisons actually fair?

Let's Start With Roy Hodgson

Firstly, Liverpool were in a completely different position as a football club.

• The club was around £350 million in debt.
• Liverpool recorded a loss of approximately £55 million.
• Around £40 million a year was being paid in interest on debt.
• The debt wasn't created by Liverpool buying players; it came from Tom Hicks and George Gillett's leveraged takeover.
• Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was threatening to call in the loans.
• There were genuine fears Liverpool could enter administration if the club wasn't sold.
• In October 2010, Fenway Sports Group (FSG) bought Liverpool for around £300 million and immediately cleared the acquisition debt.

This was reflected in Liverpool's transfer business that summer.

Players In

Joe Cole (Chelsea) – Free Raúl Meireles (Porto) – £11.5m Christian Poulsen (Juventus) – £4.5m Paul Konchesky (Fulham) – £3.5m Brad Jones (Middlesbrough) – £2.3m Danny Wilson (Rangers) – £2m Fábio Aurélio (Free agent) – Free (re-signed)

Players Out

Javier Mascherano (Barcelona) – £17.25m Yossi Benayoun (Chelsea) – £5.5m Albert Riera (Olympiacos) – £3.3m Diego Cavalieri (Cesena) – £3m Krisztián Németh (Olympiacos) – £1m

Although Hodgson was never the right fit for Liverpool, he wasn't exactly backed either. Selling Javier Mascherano was a huge blow, especially after Xabi Alonso had left for Real Madrid the previous summer. Alongside Steven Gerrard, they formed, in my opinion, the best midfield Liverpool have had in the Premier League era.

Liverpool had also finished seventh the previous season. Looking at the financial situation and those transfer dealings, what exactly was Hodgson supposed to achieve?

Hodgson's Record

Games: 31 | Wins: 13 | Draws: 9 | Losses: 9 | Win rate: 41.9%

Brendan Rodgers' Final Season

The problems for Brendan Rodgers started long before he was sacked.

Liverpool had already lost Luis Suárez after the 2013–14 title challenge. The following season they could only finish sixth, while Suárez went on to form one of the greatest front threes football has ever seen alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar.

In my opinion, after Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Suárez was the best player in world football at the time.

Liverpool simply never replaced him.

Players In

Roberto Firmino (Hoffenheim) – £29m Christian Benteke (Aston Villa) – £32.5m Nathaniel Clyne (Southampton) – £12.5m James Milner (Manchester City) – Free Danny Ings (Burnley) – Compensation Joe Gomez (Charlton Athletic) – £3.5m Adam Bogdan (Bolton) – Free

Players Out

Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) – £49m Steven Gerrard (LA Galaxy) – Free Fabio Borini (Sunderland) – £8m Rickie Lambert (West Bromwich Albion) – £3m Iago Aspas (Sevilla) – £5m Sebastián Coates (Sporting CP) – £2m

Losing Suárez, Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling within the space of 12 months was always going to leave a huge hole. Rodgers was sacked on 4 October 2015, with Jürgen Klopp appointed four days later.

Rodgers' Record

Games: 11 | Wins: 5 | Draws: 3 | Losses: 3 | Win rate: 45.5%

Last Season Under Arne Slot

Arne Slot inherited a squad that had finished third the previous season and guided Liverpool to the Premier League title in his first year with only Federico Chiesa added to the squad.

FSG then backed him in the summer of 2025 like never before.

Players In

Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen) – £100m rising to £116m Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen) – £29.5m Milos Kerkez (Bournemouth) – £40m Alexander Isak (Newcastle United) – £125m Hugo Ekitike (Eintracht Frankfurt) – £69m rising to £79m Giovanni Leoni (Parma) – £25m Giorgi Mamardashvili (Valencia) – £38m

Players Out

Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid) Luis Díaz (Bayern Munich) Darwin Núñez (Al-Hilal) Caoimhin Kelleher (Brentford) Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen) Tyler Morton (Olympique Lyonnais) Nathaniel Phillips (West Bromwich Albion) Kostas Tsimikas (Loan – AS Roma) Ben Doak (Bournemouth) Harvey Elliott (Loan – Aston Villa)

The calibre of players Liverpool could attract compared to the Hodgson and Rodgers eras is stark.

In Florian Wirtz, they signed the reigning German Footballer of the Year. In Alexander Isak, they brought in a striker who had scored 44 Premier League goals across the previous two seasons. Milos Kerkez arrived after being named in the Premier League Team of the Season, while Hugo Ekitike showed his class almost immediately.

This wasn't a club struggling financially or rebuilding after losing world-class players. This was a club that had finished third, won the Premier League the following season, and then spent well over £350 million on some of the best talent in Europe.

Despite that investment, the following season turned into a huge disappointment.

Slot ultimately paid the price with his job, just as Hodgson and Rodgers had before him.

Slot's Record

Games: 58 | Wins: 27 | Draws: 10 | Losses: 21 | Win rate: 46.6%

How the Managers Compare

Managerial spell win rate

Manager	P	W	D	L	Win %
Hodgson (2010–11)*	31	13	9	9	41.9
Rodgers (2015–16)*	11	5	3	3	45.5
Slot (Last Season)	58	27	10	21	46.6

Full season win rate

Season	P	W	D	L	Win %
2010–11	58	25	16	17	43.1
2015–16	63	30	16	17	47.6
Last Season	58	27	10	21	46.6

So, Were the Comparisons Fair?

In terms of the football on the pitch, maybe.

None of those Liverpool sides were enjoyable to watch.

But that's where the comparisons should end.

Roy Hodgson inherited a club drowning in debt and losing key players. Brendan Rodgers lost Luis Suárez, Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling within little more than a year.

Arne Slot inherited a squad that had finished third, won the Premier League in his first season, and was then backed with one of the biggest spending sprees in Liverpool's history.

Yes, all three managers ultimately lost their jobs.

Yes, all three oversaw disappointing periods.

But the circumstances couldn't have been more different.

Results can be compared.

The situations they inherited cannot.