Wishful thinking. The Gary Neville school of willing it into being when it comes to Liverpool.
Arne Slot | Liverpool manager (Posture Watch)
- Thread starter Samid
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It doesn’t flatter Liverpool. The underlying numbers indicate that Liverpool are first having been the better team in every match this season - with Forest being the anomalous result. It’s been incredibly straightforward so far.
It’s unspectacular, it’s seemingly very controlled and it’s a contrast to Klopp’s approach. This is creating a sense that Liverpool have dropped off. Yet, they’ve played 10 games, won 9 and barely conceded. Teams not really getting near them.
Fixtures have been kind but that’s not Slot’s fault. City and Arsenal have made a meal of beating the ‘fodder’ in recent weeks - either of those being top would arguably be flattering at this stage.
Annoying that this loser keeps winning.
Saw someone say they look efficient on the PL matchday thread, the co-commentator on their game called them a well-oiled machine. Sums up what I'm seeing too.
Not spectacular, and I think they perhaps lack that extra bit of sparkle to put them into contention for the biggest prizes but they're going to win a lot of football matches. A big shock if they don't qualify for the CL, which some people were speculating they might not do ahead of the season. A small chance Chelsea finish ahead of them as well as City/Arsenal as they're going well but it has to be 4th at worst.
He's come in, kept things relatively simple and kept them chugging along nicely.
Not spectacular, and I think they perhaps lack that extra bit of sparkle to put them into contention for the biggest prizes but they're going to win a lot of football matches. A big shock if they don't qualify for the CL, which some people were speculating they might not do ahead of the season. A small chance Chelsea finish ahead of them as well as City/Arsenal as they're going well but it has to be 4th at worst.
He's come in, kept things relatively simple and kept them chugging along nicely.
Agree with this sentiment, I think Erik is a slightly special case where you have a manager who's so tactically inept it boggles the mind how he even achieved that top 4 finish in his first season.
It's very hard to contrast him with other managers at big European club's, it must be a first in recent history where a manager has spent near 700m in three seasons yet has regressed beyond the point which he was hired from (6th).
If he gets through the next month or two with similar consistency, then I'll start to worry. Right now you have to just look at who the cnuts have played, and think they've been very fortunate so far.
Think they will finish top 4 but concede too many chances ,which will be punished by more efficient attacks, to mount a proper title challange.
I'd still have City as favorites (as they have the "inevitable" aura around them) with Arsenal a close second and then Liverpool maybe the best of the rest, but even that won't be proven until they complete the 10/12 game tricky run mentioned previously.
I also don't think they have the squad to absorb injuries to key players in the midfield.
I'd still have City as favorites (as they have the "inevitable" aura around them) with Arsenal a close second and then Liverpool maybe the best of the rest, but even that won't be proven until they complete the 10/12 game tricky run mentioned previously.
I also don't think they have the squad to absorb injuries to key players in the midfield.
They did beat Villa away, Tottenham away and Chelsea away, though, and drew against each other. Had they not drawn the match the winner would currently top the table. Had Arsenal lost to Villa, they could go top by beating United. Had City lost away to Chelsea, Chelsea could go top by beating Nottingham today. Point being, you can only beat what’s ahead of you but the sample size is small and Arsenal, City and Chelsea have dropped points between each other whereas Liverpool have yet to be involved in those games. And they have not lost any game yet, whereas Liverpool have. None of this means Slot didn’t have a very good start and only 2 goals conceded is a good foundation to build on. Conversely, City looks shaky at the back and it looks unsustainable - if they don’t fix it, they’ll drop many more points soon.
It would be panic stations on here if Klopp stayed and had the same start to the season as Slot and the Caf would start it’s annular rooting for City mode early. You can only play what’s in front of you and Slot has made the most of it. I wish there wasn’t a break right now but it does give us time to heal and get ready to move forward.
The problem with football fans is that they think in a very binary fashion rather than recognising that in nearly a decade of work all sorts of major changes would happen and impact on performance.
So this idea that klopp = god who can’t be bettered and slot = unproven amateur is rubbish. Klopp was a burnt out wreck for at least 12-18 months, surviving on fumes, and it showed in all sorts of aspects of our play not to mention that he’d completely given up the tactical side of things to his no 2 in that period. The klopp of the last 2 years was a very different animal from the one who won the CL and PL.
Whisper it quietly if you’re talking to a load of Liverpool fans, but we look tactically and technically far superior now to what we’ve done for the last 2 seasons. The defence is now iron clad rather than conceding to the first attack and having to spend the rest of the game playing catch up. Energy levels are far better maintained with no serious injuries due to far less helter-skelter football. We’re better at retaining the ball, finding spaces, navigating through a press, maintaining control of a game, winning games 1-0 or 2-0 with a modicum of comfort.
And he’s far better at responding to opposition tactics both in advance of a game and in-game than klopp (or lijnders, who was doing all the tactics last few seasons) ever was. If klopp’s plan A didn’t work, the solution was always to go harder at plan A. Slot is very different - he adapts game to game, and it’s obvious. All of that said, the true test will be where he is come Christmas.
You're on the verge of losing 3 top players. Maybe fourth, don't know about Alisson.
I've seen this movie all before. An excellent manager departs, next season it's all rainbows and sunshine, however when time passes and new ideas are needed, it's starting to get worse.
City, Arse and Chelsea have better squads already. I see a lot of older players in your team. Newcastle and Villa are knocking on the door. For me United have excellent youngsters in Mainoo, Yoro and so on.
Maybe i was too harsh and you make top 4, however it's a stiff competition and you're in need of a good system. Individually you've never replaced Mane and Firmino, so i'm skeptical when you have to do it again. Personally i don't really rate Jota, Nunez, Diaz and so on for the money you spend on them.
I think that Liverpool were annoyingly smart in their recruitment of Slot vice others. Accepting that Alonso was the preferred choice for the fans, and Amorim was fancied, I think that the Board felt that the players already at Liverpool, coupled with their playing style was very similar to that employed by Slot and therefore there was very little change required.
Why is he so fat?
Slob
For the record, I agree with you in the sense that there are no 'easy' teams in the league now. Even the lower spots can beat you on a day and every game is a tactical battle. But to suggest us playing 3 of our hardest fixtures away from home and winning nearly all 3, that us being top would have been flattering us is ludicrous especially considering Liverpool, aside from a struggling United, have played nobody of any note. The one home game we drew we were 10 men. All the other home games we utterly dominated and totally deserved the wins.
I like Slot and for what its worth I feel you can definitely challenge this year. You have a solid defence and excellent strikers, with a good midfield. You play us in the next month or so, should tell everyone where Slot stands. Personally I am expecting an extremely tricky and good game.
Pure speculation at this point , we might extend all of them and there are reports that we are in talks.
Like with Moyes taking over from SAF?
Very weird reasoning, if you don't see how Slot has already implemented his own style of play on this team then you simply haven't watched many of our games so far.
Chelsea doesn't have a better squad than us. Newcastle and Villa are much more likely to fall out of the top 4 race than Liverpool and have inferior squads, and including a midtable team like United is just laughable to be honest. Yoro hasn't played a minute of PL football in his life.
We are not in need of a good system as we currently have a good system. We did in fact replace Mane and Firmino individually with Diaz and Nunez, no they are not at the same level as the former two but no players were ever gonna be that good following in their footsteps. And if you don't rate those players then that's on you, but Jota is one of the best finishers in the league and has 4 goal involvements in 6 league games, Diaz has 5 goals and an assist in 7 league games and is playing better football than he ever showed under Klopp. And that's not going into detail on how Slot has seemingly unlocked the potential of Gravenberch as a midfielder who's picking up MOTM awards for fun, who was considered a write-off by Klopp.
I probably expressed myself poorly. I’m mainly suggesting that Liverpool have earned 18 points without much problem so they sit top on merit. Obviously the fixtures have been kind and it might look considerably different after 14 games. I just don’t know what has ‘flattered’ Liverpool so far in terms of results.
I’ve read this type of doomsaying before. Casting Liverpool’s future in doubt is a specialism amongst some on here. Go back to 2015 and Klopp was being doubted. Go back to May and Liverpool would be thrown into misery upon Klopp’s departure.
I’m not suggesting Liverpool are set for a trophy-laden season, but portraying things so negatively is just wishful thinking rather than the likely reality.
Exactly. "Newcastle and Villa are knocking on the door and even United has some promising youngsters", ffs
There's still every chance that Slot isn't a success, doesn't win any trophy and is out of the door between this and two years, way too early to tell. But predicting our downfall after this 18/21 start and being top of the league is just extremely silly.
So... What people are saying?Exactly. "Newcastle and Villa are knocking on the door and even United has some promising youngsters", ffs
There's still every chance that Slot isn't a success, doesn't win any trophy and is out of the door between this and two years, way too early to tell. But predicting our downfall after this 18/21 start and being top of the league is just extremely silly.
I think you're right. Liverpool don't have to worry about Slot not being good enough. What they have to worry about is the futures of Salah, van Dijk, Alisson, and Alexander-Arnold. Any one from these 4 leaves or starts declining, and they cannot adequately replace them. Even if they find the heirs to these players, Liverpool might not be in the top 5 preferred destinations for them. Not enough financial power + living in the North of England + personal preference. We saw it just a few months ago with Yoro.
Oh, and the ambition of FSG.
They have been content with these 4 all-timers I mentioned just carrying them into the top 4, instead of building on them in order to challenge for the league every season.
Dutch-Scouse cuisine is just too delicious to refuse.
But for Slot I have to say I am quite impressed how quickly he left his mark, this Liverpool plays much different to the one of Clop - it's less exciting and 'rock and roll', but also less chaotic, they know what to do when they're 1-0 ahead. So far so good, really
This is incredibly spot on. I love the guy, but we went trough dips and falls troughout his tenure.
The team was looking caotic in a fun way from 2015-2018. Then Liverpool became one of the best teams in the world from 2019-2022, and after that things got more caotic again. I think Klopp resigned at the right time, maybe even a little late. We only have 1 Carabao to show for in the last two seasons, and we had no business being in that title race last year. The fact that we lead the league at Christmas, and look better this season, makes me optimistic.
You can't post anything if you always have to make reservations about what might or might not happen in the future. I don't want to be the guy who went way over the top after seven league games which is why I did it anyway, but right now there are a lot more signs to suggest that we will remain contenders (and firmly in the top 4 conversation) than that we won't, and it feels that's definitely not reflected by the majority of opinions in this thread. So these "it will start to get worse" or "once you need new ideas they'll struggle" sentiment, which was confirmed by the poster I replied to, is based on nothing else than - at this moment - speculation/hope imo.
If you flip that around to the posts you were getting annoyed at, it works pretty much exactly the same.
I think the club are letting him down massively with the contract situations, as well as the poor showing in the transfer window. Going into next season without Salah, TAA (our entire right hand side) and Van Dijk (irreplaceable imo) is crazy.
I'd prioritize TAA and Van Dijk, and let Salah go. There's a good chance TAA is at Madrid next season though.
I'd prioritize TAA and Van Dijk, and let Salah go. There's a good chance TAA is at Madrid next season though.
I think this is clever on behalf of Liverpool's management to appoint a head coach in Slot.
They clearly demarcate the on-field and off-field matters and so far Slot is going along with it, understandably since he hasn't the stocks to do otherwise.
Recruiting Alonso and Amorim would have seen them needing to convert to back-3; that is massive massive undertaking.
Slot's variations of 4-3-3 is calculated bet that is favourable to take on.
Their defensive number has improved significantly, conceding less xG and actual goals.
Now they have thier work cut out for them with Virgil, Trent and Mo contract situation.
Failing to strengthen their midfield in the summer is massive miss for them and undoubtedly will be the undoing of their season.
But all in all If they can tie down Virgil and Trent, it's still pretty good outcome come season's end.
Most likely they will maintain top 3 and win a minor trophy.
Re-emergence of Gravenberch is the silver lining out of the summer transfer debacle.
Fede is still non-entity for all intents and purposes, jury is still way out.
They clearly demarcate the on-field and off-field matters and so far Slot is going along with it, understandably since he hasn't the stocks to do otherwise.
Recruiting Alonso and Amorim would have seen them needing to convert to back-3; that is massive massive undertaking.
Slot's variations of 4-3-3 is calculated bet that is favourable to take on.
Their defensive number has improved significantly, conceding less xG and actual goals.
Now they have thier work cut out for them with Virgil, Trent and Mo contract situation.
Failing to strengthen their midfield in the summer is massive miss for them and undoubtedly will be the undoing of their season.
But all in all If they can tie down Virgil and Trent, it's still pretty good outcome come season's end.
Most likely they will maintain top 3 and win a minor trophy.
Re-emergence of Gravenberch is the silver lining out of the summer transfer debacle.
Fede is still non-entity for all intents and purposes, jury is still way out.
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Looks like Klopp did the right thing and bailed. Clearly he didn't want his legacy tarnished by incompetent owners. Reminds me of a certain manager we used to have.
I still can't believe that Liverpool replaced Klopp so seamlessly. And Slot is not even Liverpool's first choice. Is this how a competent football structure works? Or Liverpool just being lucky again second time (after Klopp)? I doubt so.
Meanwhile, we got the wrong Dutch manager and struggling big time. We are in 14th and play terrible football yet our so called best in class football people keep him.
Meanwhile, we got the wrong Dutch manager and struggling big time. We are in 14th and play terrible football yet our so called best in class football people keep him.
One is Slot is actually a good coach. Two is luck has definitely played a part. Three is expectations were super low for them going into the season especially with no signings so there really been heat on him unlike us where we spent £200m and worse than last year.
It's the English cuisine. He looks like he gained a few stones and pebbles and other weird imperial weight measurements since joining them.
He's shite and it will all fall apart
What about Alisson? Signing Mamardashvili has to indicate that he's leaving soon as well, right?
Let’s wait until they at least have their first test?
Which will be what exactly? I guess Milan away doesn't count? Or an away game at your biggest rival (I know you suck but it's usually a bogey game for us in most years)? Guess he'll have to win at City or Arsenal before some of you will acknowledge that he's done a great job so far
Don’t you have Chelsea next? I think that will be a good barometer, personally. You’ve started really well, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a kinder fixture list for the start of a season.Which will be what exactly? I guess Milan away doesn't count? Or an away game at your biggest rival (I know you suck but it's usually a bogey game for us in most years)? Guess he'll have to win at City or Arsenal before some of you will acknowledge that he's done a great job so far
Which will be what exactly? I guess Milan away doesn't count? Or an away game at your biggest rival (I know you suck but it's usually a bogey game for us in most years)? Guess he'll have to win at City or Arsenal before some of you will acknowledge that he's done a great job so far
I think the idea that he's done a great job so far would be pretty unanimous. That wasn't the claim there.
The claim is that you've replaced Klopp seamlessly. It's definitely too early to say that.
Agreed, but a loss against Chelsea this weekend wouldn’t immediately mean that he’s not up to the task either. If we can’t take anything away from a generous run, we should just wait until the end of the season to make an honest, non-kneejerk evaluation.
I agree that the best way to judge is wait for the full season. As a compliment to him I'd say that it does look very unlikely that the wheels will come off. Seems very stable.