Last summer, FSG started playing drums that repeated the same beat. Liverpool have just come off a record-breaking spell after winning the Premier League and will no longer need to spend big in the summer, as they have for years.
What happened next is difficult to explain and almost impossible to grasp in its entirety. The Reds have been sent out of the FA Cup and Champions League in recent weeks and their hopes of boarding Europe’s elite train in the final stages of the season are in jeopardy after a poor start.
Even though he had a strong start to the season, he put on a smile of victory and made up for his lackluster performance with a late goal.
They are fifth in the Premier League, a long way from last year’s remarkable levels, but something needs to change. FSG has maintained its support for the (ostensibly) hapless Arne Slott throughout this testing period, but FSG can be fickle and the end of management without improvement could mean the end of last year’s heroism.
FSG is already in talks to replace Slott
Slott has received a lot of criticism from everyone this season and it would be a huge risk to hold on to his belief even if Liverpool scrape by fourth or fifth in the Premier League. Liverpool weren’t good enough.
Whichever way you look at it, the fact is that last year’s champions were empty shells of themselves, lacking in physicality, confidence and technical application.
Arne Slott’s Premier League results with Liverpool | ||
|---|---|---|
24/25 | # | 25/26 |
38 | match | 32 |
twenty five | victory | 15 |
9 | draw | 7 |
4 | loss | 10 |
86:41 | GF/GA | 52:42 |
84 | point | 52 |
2.21 | PPM | 1.63 |
Sporting director Richard Hughes is set to remain at the club, ending speculation that he could end his term as Liverpool’s sporting director prematurely amid growing interest from the Saudi Professional League.
Understandably, the former Bournemouth manager will be keen to appoint Andoni Iraola, who is set to leave his post at the Vitality Stadium on a free transfer this summer.
Iraola’s idea is good – he has been hailed as “one of the best managers in the Premier League” by Fabrizio Romano – but there would also be an element of risk in such a hire for the Spaniard, who is young and untested at the highest level.
In the case of manager Julian Nagelsmann, Liverpool could replace Slott with someone with a proven track record at the highest level, while also appointing an innovative manager to lead the way for much of his career.
According to TEAMtalk, FSG are already in talks with representatives of the German coach and could persuade him to take over in his current role after the World Cup.
Liverpool will be aware that Arsenal and Chelsea are also interested, and that Nagelsmann has a desire to test his skills in the Premier League and lead an elite team like Liverpool.
The fact that Nagelsmann’s own agent has initiated contact highlights his desire to leave, while the report outlines that a move to Anfield would be a “significant interest” for the young manager if Slott is sacked.
Why Nagelsmann is an upgrade over Slott and Iraola
Nagelsmann’s resume speaks for itself. Still only 38 years old, he has achieved a lot in the dugout, winning the Bundesliga and the DFL Super Cup in a full season with Bayern Munich, after impressing through spells with Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig.
Iraola has Premier League experience but his Cherries side have been inconsistent at times this season and expectations will change at Liverpool, but Nagelsmann has already proven himself to be at the top level and he may just be rubber stamping his ideas.world classAs noted by journalist Rory Smith, a successful World Cup campaign in North America enhanced their reputation.
Even his sacking at Bayern Munich raised eyebrows, but this has not deterred Liverpool’s top brass from taking action.
A highly adaptable and complex coach, Nagelsmann has an eye for detail as well as Slott (even if that eye has wandered for the Liverpool manager this season). However, he differs in that he is a supporter of Klopp’s brand of football, with the legendary Merseyside manager stating that he is “a big fan of his”.
Nagelsmann plays in a 4-2-3-1 structure, which could make things easier for Florian Wirths in a 10-man format. Interestingly, Wirtz is already under the direction of his compatriot in the national team.
His Gegenpressing approach focuses on possession. In this respect, he shares some of the managerial qualities of Slott and Klopp, and maintains an intensity comparable to Iraola. Bournemouth’s squad is as fit and threatening as any team in the top flight.
Nagelsmann is one of the most astute and intelligent tactical thinkers in football. Believing in his age and inexperience, he established himself at Hoffenheim and then Leipzig. His short spell at Bayern also saw some success, with him hailed by journalist Josh Bunting as “Europe’s youngest coach”.
Liverpool will be very successful with his appointment. Aberdeen sporting director Lutz Pfannenstial went so far as to say that he is “better than Guardiola” when it comes to tactically outmaneuvering opponents.
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Liverpool are in urgent need of improvement in wide areas.
