Will Arne Slot in at Liverpool FC?

When Liverpool FC’s previous men’s first team manager Jürgen Klopp announced in January earlier this year that he was leaving the club at the end of the season, it came as a huge shock to players and fans alike. Klopp said that he was running out of energy and needed a sabbatical.

Liverpool FC being one of the most followed clubs globally, rumours were rife about Klopp’s successor. A number of names like Xabi Alonso (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Roberto De Zerbi (then at Brighton & Hove Albion FC), and Rúben Amorim (Sporting CP) cropped up from time to time.

Ultimately, after a fair few months of speculations, LFC signed Dutch manager Arne Slot on a three-year basis from Feyenoord Rotterdam. There were mixed reactions from the LFC supporters on the back of this, as most of them wanted Klopp to be succeeded by a more well-known and successful manager.

Arend Martijn “Arne” Slot is a former footballer who started his playing career in the VV Bergentheim academy. He was then brought to PEC Zwolle, for whom he made the most number of appearances, established himself as an attacking midfielder there. Slot retired from playing a little over a decade ago.

Initially, Slot worked as an assistant coach at PEC Zwolle and then SC Cambuur. His first managerial stint came at AZ Alkmaar in 2019. Slot impressed in his first season, which then prompted the Feyenoord owners to appoint him as their manager in 2021. He had another impressive first season as he took Feyenoord to the final of the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League season, which they lost to AS Roma. In the subsequent seasons, though, Feyenoord achieved domestic success as they won winning the Eredivisie (2022/23) and the KNVB Cup (2023/24) under his tutelage.

Even though Slot’s appointment at LFC came as a surprise to most, it’s important to look at the factors that might have prompted the Reds management to select him over other potential suitors.

There seem to be few similarities between Klopp and Slot. Both are known to be great communicators, with their teams known to play an aggressive brand of football. Like Klopp, Slot also prefers a 4-3-3 formation. Similar to Klopp, Slot has been known to develop young academy players and give them opportunities to break into the first team.

However, there are stark contrasts as well. While Klopp has more experience in leagues like the German Bundesliga and the Premier League, Slot’s only experience has been in the Eredivisie. While Klopp’s Dortmund and Liverpool sides played regularly in the Champions League, Slot has only managed six games in Europe’s flagship competition.

Moving on to the subtle tactical differences, while both Klopp and Slot prefer to play the 4-3-3, Slot also often deploys the 4-2-3-1. Both prefer to play a defensive high line. While Klopp preferred to play through the wide areas with quick transitions on the counter at Liverpool, Slot prefers to build from the back.

In Klopp’s system, the fullbacks would make the forward runs with the midfielders covering for them in the deeper areas. In Slot’s system, though, a midfield overload happens featuring a double pivot along with the fullbacks inverting into the middle areas as they try to keep moving the ball with quick passing to beat the opposition press. Through this midfield overload, they also try to exploit spaces in the opposition half by passing to the forward midfielders or the wingers in the wider areas to launch an attack. This style of play does require a certain skillset, hence press-resistant midfielders with incisive passing skills and ball-playing centre-backs are key prerequisites for the Slot system to work effectively.

Liverpool have played three pre-season games in the US this summer, winning all of them. Even though the sample size is small, the players have played well in the new system. A few of them have also spoken publicly about how impressed they have been with Slot’s training methods and style of play.

Still, it’s quite difficult to judge a manager on the basis of a few pre-season games, especially with a lot of first-team players unavailable. Also, most clubs generally play a mix of first team and young academy players during pre-season. 

There are other reasons to be sceptical. Everyone has seen how Erik ten Hag, who had a lot of success with AFC Ajax in the Eredivisie, has struggled to cope with the demands of the Premier League in the past two seasons at Man United. Slot also has on his shoulders the pressure of replacing Klopp, who ended Liverpool’s wait of 30 years to win the Premier League among other major honours.

However, there are also reasons to be optimistic. At LFC, Slot has a group of world class players along with promising young talents at his disposal.

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There is no doubt that Arne Slot has the most challenging times ahead in his new role, and it remains to be seen how he copes with the pressure and demands of the Premier League. He is definitely going to get some leverage from the supporters, at least to a point anyway.

The 2024/25 season is going to be a really interesting one for Liverpool FC fans in the post-Klopp era, filled with lots of anxiety and excitement. Let’s see whether Arne will “Slot” in at Anfield or “Kop” out!