It would have been unthinkable this time last year, but there are increasing calls for Liverpool to sack manager Arne Slott after a disastrous second season in charge.
The Dutch tactician got Liverpool off to a great start last season, revitalizing a side that had perhaps been a bit stagnant under legendary manager Jurgen Klopp and seemingly leading them to Premier League glory, their second title since 1990.
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But how quickly perceptions can change, it is now starting to look like Slott simply inherited a great team from Klopp and was just a bit lucky that both Manchester City and Arsenal were worse than usual.
Of course, that’s not all. So what went wrong with Slott, and how much of it is his fault?
Mohamed Salah’s decline in form
It was perhaps to be expected that Mohamed Salah would decline a little at the age of 33, but no one expected such a drastic decline in performance to come so quickly. It would be harsh to blame him here, as it wasn’t Slott who handed the veteran Egyptian forward a new contract after such a sensational season last season.
In fact, Slott undoubtedly coped with this difficult situation brilliantly and tried to pull Salah away from the team without too much fuss, but it turned out that the LFC frontman was not happy with playing the ball. Even after this very public spat, Slott managed to prevent it becoming a repeat of Erik ten Hag versus Cristiano Ronaldo, with Salah returning to the first team (and still playing really badly, it must be said) and preparing for an emotional exit this summer.
Liverpool strengthened their attack last summer, so perhaps there was an element of preparation for life after Salah, but this season, marred by Florian Wirtz’s slow start and Alexander Isak’s injury, has undoubtedly derailed any changes that Slott would have ideally wanted.
play style
But what Slott must take responsibility for is the absolutely miserable football that Liverpool have produced for the majority of this season.
There are gaps at the back and what happens next is predictable, but there have been far too many games this season where opponents have found it too easy to let teams in the slot through. Manchester City’s 4-0 win at the weekend was a perfect example of this. If that kind of performance is repeated against Paris Saint-Germain this week, we will no doubt see a similar scoreline.
Even more worryingly, slots don’t seem to have an answer to this. Click here to watch what feels like one of many examples this season of the former Feyenoord manager being completely taken aback and unprepared for what Liverpool’s opponents were going to do in the match.
Diogo Jota
To be honest, there is no precedent for such a tragedy in modern football, and Liverpool’s players and coaching staff are still mourning the loss of Diogo Jota’s teammate and friend.
The Portuguese forward tragically passed away along with his younger brother in a car accident last summer. It’s important to remember that even top-level professional soccer players are human. This news is a huge shock and it will take a long time to recover from the grief. I don’t want to speak for everyone involved, but it cannot be ruled out that this defeat continues to affect mood and confidence and continues to sap the energy of everyone inside Anfield.
Needless to say there was nothing the manager could do about this. Like the rest of the club, Slott would have been hurt, and there is no managerial template for how to improve a dressing room after a tragedy like this. While there may be legitimate criticism of tactics and recruitment, the trauma this group has experienced and is likely to continue to experience for some time to come cannot be understated.
Where do Liverpool fans stand?
“I’ve supported Arn Slott for most of the campaign,” says Empire of the Cop’s Farrell Keeling. “I have cited real mitigating factors such as the tragic death of Diogo Jota before the season, the loss of Trent Alexander-Arnold, the lack of pace on the wing, the failure to sign Marc Guehi… the list goes on.
“While I understand that there are still many who want to support the Dutchman (Liverpool is the manager’s club after all), for me personally I have reached a point where the arguments for the slot overwhelm any mitigating factors or reasons why he might stick around beyond the 2025/26 season.
“As a Liverpool fan, this is a terrible situation, especially since Arne Slott gave me the happiest days of my life last season when Liverpool finally lifted the Premier League title in front of their supporters.
“But the red flags are clear and black: the players are ‘giving up’ (in Virgil van Dijk’s own words) at the first hurdle and the manager seems completely at a loss to encourage any sustained improvement. ”
Empire of the Cop’s Liam Toger agreed, saying:
“I’m not one to appoint a manager or head coach after some bad results, and I wasn’t against slotting when the Reds had a terrible autumn. But with no signs of learning from that poor performance, the case for keeping the Dutchman is becoming increasingly difficult, especially if (as I think they will) LFC miss out on Champions League qualification.”
There has been nothing to look forward to this season from a Liverpool perspective, and while that’s not all of Slott’s fault (players and ranks are also to blame), he unfortunately has to shoulder a significant portion of the blame for the poor form over the past six months.
“Qualification in the Champions League is essential for him to keep his job, but he still has a huge task to win back his detractors. If Liverpool fail to fulfill that task, I suspect changes will be made in the summer.”
While Slott is not the only person at Liverpool to blame for the team’s decline, Farrell reiterated that the manager is ultimately to blame for the surprising departure of so many players who did so well last season.
“Would the arrival of two quick-footed wingers and a centre-back in the summer dramatically improve the situation? Of course it does. Should players like Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes be jointly responsible for not giving the manager enough of the right tools? Yes, of course,” Farrell added.
“However, the magnitude of the fall from last season’s title win is unacceptable. Our gutless performance in the 4-0 defeat to Man City in the FA Cup (who delighted the visitors in the first 30 minutes) is unacceptable. “The prospect of missing out on the Champions League places (even though England are likely to be awarded an extra spot) is unacceptable.”
“And, as always, the buck stops with the coach.”
