Is it time for Arne to Slot out?

Sport is just like life; fortune can change in an instant, and you are often left to wonder how things have taken a turn for the worse.

The same has been the case with Arne Slot at Liverpool. He arrived at Anfield ahead of the 2024/25 season, succeeding the legendary Jürgen Klopp as the Reds’ head coach. Contrary to popular belief, which dictated that last season would be a transitional one for the club, Liverpool didn’t make wholesale changes to the squad and still went on to win the league in Slot’s very first season, while also reaching the Carabao Cup final.

Cut to the 2025/26 season, and Liverpool have been one of the worst defending champions in Premier League history, having gone out of the title race contention as early as November. They have also been knocked out of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup and are now only left in the UEFA Champions League, where again they are hanging by a thread. It’s a complete contrast from last season, where they managed to win the league title with four games remaining.

Understandably, the majority of the blame is falling on the head coach. Recent developments have put even more pressure on the Dutchman, and serious questions are being asked about his position at Liverpool now. Whether he needs to leave or stay is a very complex question, and to answer that we need to look at several factors.

Mitigating factors

There have been issues on and off the pitch that Slot has had no control over that have affected Liverpool’s performances.

In July, Liverpool lost one of their forwards, Diogo Jota, to a car accident that took the lives of him and his brother, André Silva. The tragedy has been arduous to endure for the Liverpool squad and their fans. The implications of how it affected the players cannot be quantified, as handling grief and loss isn’t easy and straightforward, not even for professional athletes.

Another concern has been the exodus of several players who provided balance to the team. The departure of Luis Díaz, Darwin Núñez, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Caoimhín Kelleher has been significantly felt at Anfield this season. Apart from that, new signings have taken time to settle in, while some of the key players have been out with long-term injuries, most notably newcomer Alexander Isak, Conor Bradley, and Wataru Endo. Even new right-back signing Jeremie Frimpong hasn’t been able to have a positive impact, having struggled with recurring injury concerns.

Though injuries are part of the game, the bigger problem is that the Liverpool management sold too many squad players in the summer without bringing in replacements, leaving the manager having to make the tough decision to play players out of position in the absence of first-choice operators.

Dismal performances and ineffective tactics

While he has been unlucky with injuries, Slot is definitely to blame for poor tactical choices and ineffective substitutions in many games this season.

Of course, Liverpool are going through a transitional phase, but their playing XIs on paper haven’t been as bad as they have been made to look so far. Liverpool won the first five league games of the season, but even then their performances were hardly convincing and they relied on last-gasp winners a few too many times.

After the initial winning run, Liverpool endured a catastrophic downfall, marking their worst run of form since 1953 as they lost nine games out of 11 across all competitions.

Let alone their failures in the cup competitions, their league form was so inconsistent that Liverpool were out of the title race by November. The performances improved for a period of time as they went on an unbeaten run of seven games in all competitions between November and December, which moved them back into the top four. However, in that period Liverpool drew games against newly promoted sides, thus becoming the first defending champions to do so. Looking at the actual results, their unbeaten run looks somewhat farcical. It wasn’t a sign of the team turning their fortunes around; it was just a minor reprieve.

Slot failed to produce improved performances at the turn of the year, with world-class players looking sub-par and ordinary under him. That pattern continues, and the squad still has no sense of identity and clear-cut ideas, with both tactics and players seeming to go through the motions.

Abysmal game management, conceding soft goals, not being able to hold leads, not being able to find a way against low-block teams, proving far too easy to bypass through midfield, demonstrating a clear lack of intensity, playing passively — the list of issues is endless.

The players also need to take some of the blame and improve their standards massively, though there has been a clear lack of leadership and ideas from the manager, right from training to the actual matchday. A team that used to be praised for their intensity and press until last season have become one of the most lethargic sides in the league this term, which is indicative of inadequate fitness levels as a result of a poor training regime and insufficient recovery.

In contrast to last season, where he looked assured, calm, and confident on the sidelines, Slot has looked utterly clueless, anxious, frustrated, and out of ideas this time around. His uninspiring substitutions have more often had a negative impact than proving helpful, and his only solution to try and win games has been to remove the defensive options, load the team with more attackers in the last ten minutes, and play chaotic football with the hope of winning or earning a draw, but even that has backfired on various occasions.

Given teams in the Premier League are becoming more tactically defensive and opting to go for long balls and score through set pieces, this hasn’t helped Slot either, as he doesn’t set up his team like that. However, a good manager learns to adapt to different tactics, rather than sticking to the same old style while expecting different results and then complaining about the opposition when it doesn’t work.

Lack of trust on the squad players

Another issue has been Slot’s lack of trust in squad players and continuing with out-of-form players even when they have failed miserably. The Dutchman’s stubbornness in not using squad players like Rio Ngumoha, Federico Chiesa, Curtis Jones, and Wataru Endo, despite the likes of Cody Gakpo, Ryan Gravenberch, and Alexis Mac Allister going through a poor run of form, has also been frustrating and, quite frankly, baffling.

Gakpo had a decent campaign last season and contributed in a big way to Liverpool’s title triumph. However, he has been dismal this season. The same could be said for midfielders Mac Allister and Gravenberch, who have looked fatigued and miserably out of form compared to the brilliance of last season.

In contrast, the likes of Chiesa, Jones, and Ngumoha have produced match-changing moments whenever they have got the chance, yet they don’t seem to have earned the coach’s trust to play more minutes and have been left frustrated on the sidelines.

A good coach is someone who knows how to utilise his squad over an entire season, knowing which combination to play against which opponent while also keeping the young players motivated. Slot has managed to do none of that this season.

The loyal Liverpool fan base losing faith

Liverpool’s iconic stadium, Anfield, has been famous for its atmosphere and the fiercely loyal legion of fans who back the team and the coach no matter what.

Over the past few months, though, Anfield has felt cagey and quiet during matches due to the abysmal performances, and several games have even resulted in boos directed towards the coach and the team after the game, a highly rare occurrence at Anfield.

In their most recent defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad, a majority of the Liverpool fans were even seen walking out after the hour mark, not even waiting for the team to try and turn it around, as they seemed to have lost faith. Some were even singing songs about a certain former player who is being rumoured to be their next head coach.

An unprecedented disconnect has been witnessed between the fans and the coach this season, one that seems irreparable. Although the Liverpool management is publicly backing the Dutchman, his relationship with the fans has already been broken, and it seems like it is just a matter of time before a decision will need to be made by the higher-ups.

Conclusion

Taking all the abovementioned factors into account, it’s clear that Liverpool Football Club seem to be in a mess almost a year after celebrating their 20th English top-flight title. After the massive spending spree in the summer, they were touted as the favourites to defend their title and win further silverware, but the reality has been unexpected and contrasting.

It has come to a point where a change feels necessary now. Liverpool’s legendary coach Bill Shankly once said, “At a football club, there’s a holy trinity – the players, the manager and the supporters. Directors don’t come into it. They are only there to sign the cheques.” Well, currently there seems to be a huge discord between the Liverpool supporters, the players, and the coach, and when that happens, it leads to a toxic work environment, which could hardly be a foundation for future success.

At this moment, we can only speculate if Slot will be let go at the end of the season, dismissed earlier, or left in charge going into next season. However, I believe that it’s time to look ahead, as this partnership seems to have run its course. Slot doesn’t seem like the man who can take this team any further. Liverpool still have a chance to qualify for the Champions League next season, and failing to do so could have severe financial consequences.

With the season about to end, an interim option isn’t viable anymore. A new managerial appointment should be made instantly with a view towards the current situation as well as the upcoming season, someone who can sort out the current issues, help the team qualify for the Champions League again, and also be involved in the summer recruitment process, with several key players departing the club.

Slot did win the Premier League title with Liverpool in his first season, and even though it was a commendable effort, the pressure of winning at top clubs is always unrelenting and cruel. Past season’s success cannot cover up present inabilities and failures. Even with the mitigating factors affecting Liverpool, Slot has looked incapable of addressing the issues on and off the pitch and improving players and performances. The same issues have continued to persist, and with players and fans looking equally disinterested, it feels like the Liverpool management are just postponing the inevitable.

It’s hard to reach this conclusion in a span of less than 12 months, but it’s time for Arne to Slot out.