Liverpool are sinking deeper into their worst run of form in years, and one of the most glaring problems is the right-back position. What angers supporters isn’t just the repeated defensive issues — it’s the fact that Arne Slot is ignoring an obvious solution already inside his squad: Calvin Ramsay.
Ramsay arrived at Liverpool as Young Player of the Season in Scotland, highly rated for his modern full-back profile: pace, attacking intelligence, accurate crossing, and—most importantly—natural defensive instincts. A player built for the exact position Slot’s system is missing most. Yet he remains unused.
Instead, Slot has been dragging Dominik Szoboszlai — Liverpool’s most consistent midfielder from last season — into the right-back role. The result? A weakened midfield, a destabilised backline, and a structure that collapses under pressure.
This is what fans cannot understand: why solve one problem by creating two new ones?
Trent Alexander-Arnold himself is the clearest example of what happens when Liverpool trusts youth. When Nathaniel Clyne was injured in 2016, Klopp took the risk and handed a chance to an unknown 18-year-old academy right-back. That risk produced one of the best full-backs of his generation.
Ramsay is in the same position — but he is not being given the same belief.
It’s not just a tactical issue; it’s psychological. Players know when they are being overlooked. They know when the manager does not trust them for their natural position. Confidence drops. Performances drop. And soon, the entire squad feels the weight of that doubt.
Liverpool are losing more than a backup option. They’re losing the chance to develop a top-tier right-back — someone who could genuinely be the long-term successor to Trent.
Meanwhile, Slot’s selection choices up front only add more confusion. Hugo Ekitike — sharper, harder-working, and more suited to Liverpool’s pressing game — continues to be benched in favour of Alexander Isak, who is still regaining fitness and form.
Slot keeps choosing what he thinks is the “safe” option.
But Liverpool has never grown under safe decisions.
Klopp built a dynasty by taking risks. By trusting his squad. By believing in young players before the world believed in them. Without that courage, Trent Alexander-Arnold would never have existed.
So the question now is painfully simple:
Why is Slot refusing the chance to create another Trent?
Calvin Ramsay is waiting. The fans are waiting. And Liverpool’s defence — leaking goals weekly — desperately needs a real right-back.
No one wants Slot to fail, but his rigidity and his mismatched decisions are dragging the team backward. And unless he changes course soon, Liverpool risk continuing their collapse… while a perfect solution remains ignored inside the dressing room.