Arne Slot's Time at Liverpool Appears to Be Running Out
The expectation was that Liverpool's turbulent period would stabilise once the squad settled, but Slot's diminishing fight and increasingly lost demeanour suggest his time at the club is drawing to a close.
A Manager Looking Lost
I truly thought that the rough waters would steady to a point where we would get back to winning ways once things bedded in. It was a lot of ins and outs, so the evidence was there to explain the leaks. What has surprised me most about it all is that as time has passed, Slot seems to be showing less fight. His press conferences are getting worse. He just looks lost at times on the sideline.
Some were saying on here that he was told he was gone at the end of the season, which if true was definitely poor management from above. He just looks now like his heart isn't in it.
Tactical Concerns and Pattern Problems
I know the armchair gives great insight and wisdom, but watching that game against Burnley today is further indication that there must not be much in the way of tactics being relayed to the players. The amount of times Gakpo gets in the road or lane of the full-back is crazy. All he has to do is move inside a little, creating an overlap for Kerkez that drags players away or out of position enough to create spaces in other areas. But if he's being told to play that way, it's just madness.
Four and five players standing ten yards apart on the wing with everything at a walking pace. Game after game. The big space we leave in the heart of midfield with regularity is shocking, and the fact it hasn't been addressed is baffling.
The Alonso Question and Champions League Implications
I honestly don't know if Alonso is the answer, but if he is willing to come now, I think we have to do it. There's no way Slot stays beyond this season anyway. But if we keep him to the end of the season, I do not see us finishing in a Champions League spot, which could set us back next season when we need to buy two top quality centre-backs. Without Champions League football, what are we going to have to spend?
I honestly hate to say it, but I think Slot's time is spent. Beyond anything else, the football has been dire and there are no signs he intends to change it. It's the same patterns that don't work, over and over again, every game.
Luck Won't Save Us
I know with a turn of luck we could be six points better off over the last six games or so. But it would be luck. The way we are set up and playing can't continue beyond this season, or it could take years to get back to where we have been, a club who are at the least challenging for the title with eight games to go.
The players look lost at times. There doesn't appear to be any strong leadership on the field or the sideline. The passion has evaporated. The blood and thunder is gone. I think Slot has been given ample time to show he can turn it around, but there is no evidence showing at all that he can. He constantly blames results on teams sitting back, but our slow pace of play allows every team to reset and double up on wide forwards with ease.
Time for Fresh Ideas
There are ebbs and flows in every club. Perhaps we forget we had nearly a decade run as a great team playing great football and challenging most years. Perhaps a reset takes a while. But as supporters, we want to see the blood and sweat in trying to maintain it.
We need fresh ideas. More leaders in the team. People who won't accept the slightest slip in standards from anyone on the field. The change needs to happen. Whether what's going on upstairs at the club is the true rot or not is hard to tell. But if the manager stays, it's going to be a rough ride trying to get top four. I usually always try to be positive, but I can't see a way ahead without change.
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