Let’s get one thing immediately straight: Dominik Szoboszlai has comfortably been Liverpool’s best player this season.
Despite his, at times, brilliant performances, however, that is an incredibly low bar to clear right now.
There have also been plenty of occasions when Szoboszlai has personified everything that is absolutely wrong about Liverpool this season. Sloppy in possession, outwardly overconfident and guilty of going down at the faintest notion of contact, he is the archetypal footballing prima donna.
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Some would argue that Szoboszlai has earned the right to demand more from supporters, as he did on Monday, taking aim at fans for leaving Anfield early after Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur.
However, the Hungarian has nevertheless been a huge part of the problem at Liverpool this season, even if he has occasionally found solutions. He, and any of the current Reds squad, are the last people who should be lecturing fans about their support of the team.
Liverpool fans have every right to leave early
Many Liverpool supporters will agree with Szoboszlai’s insistence that leaving the ground early is damaging the team’s chances of winning games, while plenty would have been red-faced and furious at the boos which rang out following full-time on Sunday.
What these people are missing, though, is some crucial context. Liverpool fans do not make a habit of leaving early, nor do they enjoy booing any version of their team.
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Even in the toughest times this season, notably the back-to-back 3-0 and 4-1 losses against Nottingham Forest and PSV Eindhoven respectively, supporters at Anfield have remained firmly on the side of Arne Slot and his players.
That continued to be the case even for much of Sunday’s dismal performance, but you simply cannot keep playing so poorly, getting so easily outbattled and – worst of all – giving up last-minute goals and expect fans not to get annoyed. At some stage there is going to be a reaction.
Slot was much more level in his assessment of fan frustration after the game, admitting that he completely understood where they were coming from. Szoboszlai claimed he did too, but instead of making divisive comments about the fanbase, perhaps he should look inwardly instead.
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Time for the lectures to stop
Liverpool supporters are some of the very best around, but they also know when they are being taken for fools. Slot has the team playing some of their worst football for decades, while players like Szoboszlai simply do not seem to grasp just how poor things currently are.
Everyone has the right to an opinion, and Liverpool’s No. 8 will be given plenty of grace because of his mostly good performances this season. But footballers should not be preaching to fans who pay good money, and give up plenty in their lives, to sit and watch such turgid ‘entertainment’ week after week.
It is not Szoboszlai’s fault that he lives on a different planet, and he has no doubt worked incredibly hard to be where he is, but is hugely jarring to hear the likes of him lecture people who really deserve so much better.
“We want to make them happy, it’s not that we do it on purpose. They can be angry but stick with us because we are a family, we need you guys,” he said at the end of his spiel.
Sometimes familes fight, and that is fine, but they should also stay out of each other’s business at times as well. Do your job, and we’ll make sure we do ours.
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