Liverpool and Arne Slot have been having a torrid time in the Dutch manager’s second season in charge.
However, it seems like the Merseyside club has taken the first step in fixing things as the set-piece coach has become the first casualty.
On December 30th, Liverpool parted ways with Aaron Briggs, the first-team set-piece coach, after just 18 months in charge.
Briggs, who was a former Manchester City analyst, joined Arne Slot’s backroom staff in July 2024 as a performance analyst, but as the club wasn’t able to find a proper set-piece coach, the responsibility went to Briggs instead.
Liverpool gave an official statement as they announced the news of Briggs’s sacking on their website –
“Liverpool FC can confirm Aaron Briggs has departed his role as set-piece coach of the men’s first team.
Having joined the club in July 2024 – initially in the role of individual development coach – Briggs contributed to our Premier League title success last season as a member of Arne Slot’s backroom staff.
He leaves with the appreciation and best wishes of everyone at the club.”
This season has been horrendous for Liverpool in terms of set pieces. Excluding penalties, no Premier League team has conceded more set-piece goals than Liverpool’s 12. In fact, only West Ham (10) has conceded more goals from corners than Liverpool (7).
The stats at the other end aren’t any better. Liverpool averages 2.4 goals scored per 100 set pieces taken, with only Brentford scoring fewer. Liverpool also averages 8.2 goals per 100 set pieces, which is the second-worst in the league, with only Nottingham Forest averaging more.
Liverpool fans displayed a whole spectrum of reactions on this news –
Good News
Fans were rejoicing as they’ve long had doubts over the unqualified coach, who was actually brought in as an analyst, being made the makeshift set-piece coach. Those doubts only grew bigger as the team’s performance on set-pieces directly coincided with the hiring of Briggs.
With players like Isak, Van Dijk, Konate, Gomez, Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Gakpo, and Ekitike, all 6 feet or more, many expected Liverpool to dominate in the air. Instead, the Reds are the ones getting dominated since the second half of last season.
Getting rid of Aaron Briggs is probably better news than any other signing we could make in January.
— Laurie (@LFCLaurie) December 30, 2025
Moreover, fans were also celebrating the sacking as better than any new signing, as they’ll no longer have to see plays like a 5 ft 8 in Mac Allister marking the tallest players from the opposition during corners.
Fall Guy
There was a lot of sympathy for Briggs as fans thought he was being thrown under the bus and made to look like the scapegoat for the shortcomings of Slot and the board.
Feel for him a bit. Was hired to be the elite development coach and then made set piece coach when we couldn't find anyone else. Not sure why we thought it was a good idea to give someone with no experience that job. https://t.co/lAlZ8wyPRN
— barry (@BackseatsmanLFC) December 30, 2025
While set-pieces were definitely an issue, they feel Slot’s tactics and inability to get the best out of his summer signings are more glaring issues, and sacking the set-piece coach is like changing the faulty tires when you’ve got a totaled engine.
Brendan Rodgers era in spotlight
Many were also making comparisons between Slot and Brendan Rodgers, the former Liverpool boss who was struggling in 2014-15 after mounting a title challenge in 2013-14 and only losing to Manchester City at the tail end after the infamous Gerrard slip.
In 2015, Rodgers and Liverpool heavily underperformed, and Colin Pascoe, who was Rodgers’ right-hand man at Swansea and Liverpool, was consequently sacked for the club’s poor season.
At the time, many fans raised questions over whether the club went over Rodgers’ back and took the decision, but it was later revealed that Rodgers was the one who decided to sack Pascoe.
“I decided to make a change in the staff,” told a news conference. “I had two fantastic guys in Colin and Mike who are great professionals and were very good and supportive.
“I just felt we needed to move in a different direction. That was a decision made purely by myself. The guys have started very well, and we hope we can work with that ambience in the group.
The sympathy for Rodgers quickly shifted to disappointment and anger that Rodgers threw Pascoe under the bus and tried to shift the blame away from himself.
Fast forward a decade, many fans are wondering whether Slot did the same and threw his fellow coach to the wolves so that he doesn’t get blamed for the club’s bad results.
Arne Slot = Bane
There was also a huge chunk of the fanbase that used humor to react to this news, as the “They expect one of us in the wreckage, brother” scene from Batman: The Dark Knight Rises being a commonly used meme.
Currently with 32 points in the league, the new Liverpool, now without the faulty set-piece coach, will need to mount a historic comeback if they have to overcome the 13-point gap between themselves and the league leaders, Arsenal.
