Jamie Carragher has never been one to dress things up for comfort, and his latest column in the Telegraph pulls absolutely no punches. The man who made 737 appearances in a red shirt has labelled Liverpool's current squad as potentially the "failed galacticos era", and the sting of that phrase lands harder precisely because of who is saying it.

Carragher's argument is rooted in genuine unease about the direction the club has taken since winning the title. He has been consistent on this: the decision to spend in excess of £660m across two summer windows, culminating in Liverpool becoming the first club in the world to field three £100m footballers simultaneously, never sat well with him. "For Liverpool to become the first club in the world to field three £100m footballers is bewildering. To me, it was wrong," he writes. That is not a throwaway line. That is a considered verdict from someone who understands what this club is built on.

The context here matters. Bradley Barcola arrived for £123m in the summer window, joining Florian Wirtz, who cost £116m, and Alexander Isak, who moved for a British record £125m last September. Last Saturday all three started together for the first time. On paper, it is a front line to stop traffic. On the pitch, the results have not reflected that investment.

Carragher points to a stat that is genuinely difficult to sit with: Liverpool have won only 18 of their 46 league matches since the day they lifted the title. The Premier League campaign this season began with a 2-2 draw at Newcastle United, and since then the Reds have been held to disappointing stalemates at home to both Nottingham Forest and Fulham. New head coach Andoni Iraola remains unbeaten across six matches in all competitions, which is something, but draws at Anfield against those opponents are not what a squad of this calibre should be producing. Carragher's point about the club dropping to fifth the season after winning the league, despite that level of outlay, is almost impossible to argue against.

Perhaps the sharpest part of Carragher's column is his assessment of what sacking Arne Slot actually revealed. Rather than drawing a line under the problem, he argues the managerial change has simply removed a convenient scapegoat. "Slot proved a useful scapegoat for too many players. There will be no hiding place for them at Anfield if they do not run through a brick wall every week for Iraola," he writes. That is a direct challenge, aimed squarely at the dressing room.

He also notes that the first signs of Kop discontent were audible during the goalless draw with Fulham, and suggests that reappraisal of Slot's tenure will now arrive faster than anyone expected. The implication is clear: the players who underperformed last season can no longer blame the manager. Iraola takes his side to Bournemouth on Sunday, his former club, and this week's trip feels like exactly the kind of fixture where character gets tested. Carragher has laid down the marker. Now it is on the players to answer it.