The pundits have been having their say on Liverpool head coach Arne Slot, who for the first time in his Anfield reign is coming under serious scrutiny
It would have been unimaginable two months ago. Back then, Liverpool had just beat Southampton 2-1 in the Carabao Cup, with Alexander Isak scoring his first goal for the club, to make it seven straight wins in all competitions to start the season.
Fast-forward eight weeks and Liverpool are out of the Carabao Cup and more damagingly down in 11th in the Premier League table after losing eight of their subsequent 11 matches. Meanwhile, their £125m British transfer record signing Isak hasn’t found the net since.
It’s has been a shocking downturn in form for the Reds and, for the first time in his reign, questions are being asked of Arne Slot, who enjoyed a remarkable debut campaign in charge by leading the club to a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title.
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But September, let alone May, now seems a long time ago and the dismal 3-0 home loss to Nottingham Forest on Saturday has led to pundits even speculating over Slot’s job ahead of a crucial run of matches.
Liverpool are going well in the Champions League, winning three of their opening four group-stage fixtures, and they will look to maintain that form when they play host to PSV on Wednesday.
But that is followed by a big run of three Premier League games in the space of a week with trips to West Ham United and Leeds United sandwiched between a home clash with Sunderland.
And, ahead of those matches, the pundits have been having their say on the the future of the Reds head coach…
Igor Biscan
The former Liverpool midfielder, who won the Champions League with the club in 2005, said: “There is pressure, but for every manager at that level, there is always pressure.
“I don’t think his job is in question. Even if he doesn’t win the league, just by doing what he did last year, after what happened before he arrived and how difficult his job was, it was exceptional.
“Everybody was saying it would be extremely difficult for him to really continue what Jurgen Klopp had done before him.
“He is a quality manager, and he deserves a lot of credit and he needs time. There are so many new players, and you need time to make them work together. I’m really sure that they will start winning again very soon.”
Gary Neville
The Manchester United legend said after the dreadful defeat to Forest: “There’s no way that Arne Slot should be in danger or losing his job. I’ve heard murmurs; you go on social media and all that nonsense, forget that.
“Some Liverpool fans will say, ‘don’t talk about my football club like that’, but come on, let’s have some sense here. This is a really good manager, who’s a brilliant front man for the club as well in the way he handles himself. He’s got real class.
“For me, he’s having a really bad time. I think he’s got to somehow reverse back down the road quite quickly and do something different, intervene and sort out what he thinks might be some really difficult decisions staring him in the face, maybe give the players a little bit of help with the make-up of the teams he is picking.
“I love the style of play, by the way. I love it when they go punch for punch, but when you’re going punch for punch with teams and you’re not coming out on top, you do have to change that. You do have to do something different. I think the players will be expecting that of him, never mind the media and the fans.
“For Arne Slot, I think it’s a real challenging moment. He’s going to come under pressure, people are going to start saying the fatal words of, ‘is he in trouble?’ But let’s not get too carried away with that.”
Stephen Warnock
The ex-Reds defender told the ECHO: “No, no I don’t (think he’s at risk). I know there has been a lot of talk on social media from fans but I think with everything that has gone on over the summer, the new influx of players that have come into the football club, I think he’s got enough in the bank to turn things around.
“It’s a difficult job, if you lose games, it’s always tough and it’s always trying to find solutions, you have to make big decisions along the way but I don’t see him getting sacked anytime soon.
“However, if you go on to lose your next five it does become difficult.”
Martin Keown
The former Everton and Arsenal defender said: “We have to give credit to Forest for what they are doing but yes, the wheels are coming off now for Arne Slot.
“Obviously, it was Jurgen Klopp’s team, and he has tried to come in and make changes, but he has spent £450m on players, and they are going backwards. They have simply been undone. Whether it’s a crisis I don’t know, it’s certainly a major problem for the manager to go six defeats from seven. Unthinkable.
“I don’t think you can win the league one year and get sacked the next. It’s remarkable what we are seeing with Liverpool. Their fall from grace and to lose this many games at the start of the season, it is unthinkable really from this time last season.”
