Liverpool’s Loss of Identity - The Slot Dilemma

Liverpool’s Loss of Identity - The Slot Dilemma

Burying your head in the sand when there’s a live problem is a natural reaction. It’s a human reaction. However, as humans, we all know it’s not the correct reaction. Those outside of the situation clearly see the problem needs resolving, whereas those involved are blinded. In the absence of data, facts and statistics, those involved are more likely to stay blinded by loyalty, sunken fallacy and most certainly ego. Whichever of the three reasons it might be, I would suggest ego, Liverpool’s sporting director, Richard Hughes and FSG head of football, Michael Edwards, have buried their heads in the sand regarding the future of Arne Slot. 

Amidst the public pressure on Arne Slot, the party line from Liverpool, which has been toed and re-iterated by Liverpool reporting journalists, has been that Slot’s position is not under review or threat. A show of faith and backing for a head-coach who won the Premier League 12 months ago is admirable. As we know, football can chew and spit managers out far too quickly. Slot, for last season, has deserved the chance to try and fix Liverpool’s issues this season. This isn’t a blip. Liverpool aren’t in a “bad moment”. Issues have been prominent all season and with Slot seemingly unable to come up with solutions, how much credit does he have left in the bank?  As the noise gets louder and the fans demand answers, will the “public stance” change? Will the heads arise from the sand? 

Mitigating reasons

First of all, there are reasons outside of the coach’s control that can reasonably be put forward as why this season has been such a disappointment. The Liverpool reporting journalists have almost daily been re-iterating the club’s line, that “mitigating reasons” can explain this season. Bad luck with injuries, new signings not settling in and actually being injury-free, and clear squad deficiencies at centre half and a lack of a pacy winger have all had an effect this season. Salah’s drop off from the league’s best player to a shell of himself also hasn’t helped. Squad building is not entirely on Slot’s head, and those above, Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards are culpable for these errors, however mitigating reasons cannot and should not exclude any review of Slot’s performance this season. 

Anfield

13 days ago, in Liverpool’s draw against Chelsea, Anfield let the hierarchy know their views on what’s happening on the pitch. Anfield booed, and not for the first time this season. The fury, the anger is real. This isn’t e-fans on social media. This isn’t a quiet minority. The match-going fan has spoken. The disconnect between the fans and the players hasn’t been as big since the Roy Hodgson days. Hodgson, also, didn’t have the luxury of spending £500million on a Premier League winning team.

The fans are not having it anymore. The team doesn’t come close to resembling what a Liverpool team should be like. Jamie Carragher is right in that Liverpool should not be longing for Jurgen Klopp or a Jurgen Klopp figure in the same way Manchester United have been since Sir You Know Who left. However, Liverpool fans expect intensity, running and some ambition in the football.!None of which exist in this iteration of this Liverpool. The less this Slot team looks like a Klopp team, and more a Slot team, the worse it looks. The results are dreadful, performances apathetic and the underlying numbers also show that. Liverpool lose when they deserve to lose and win when they don’t deserve to. 

The dressing room

It’s also not only the fans that aren’t seemingly having it either, with Mo Salah’s incredible social media post last weekend after the capitulation against Aston Villa. Salah called for a return to a “heavy metal attacking team” and that “everyone who joins this club should adapt to it [the identity of heavy metal football]”. A direct, indirect attack on the head-coach? It appears that way. That post was then liked by members of the team which, of course, is a pretty damning indictment. 

Salah has, of course, attracted criticism for his post from ex-Liverpool footballers and the media in general. Here they see a footballer having one last jab at the coach as he leaves the football club. A footballer trying to excuse his own performances by putting the blame at the door of the head-coach. Interestingly, Liverpool fans have overwhelmingly backed Salah. They see a club legend speaking out at what’s happening inside the dressing room and calling out a lack of standards. They see Salah warning the owners not to make an Erik Ten Hag or a Brendan Rodgers mistake.

Performances 

Salah has been accused for airing dirty laundry in public, however there was an unwashed load pegged out on the line for all to see at Villa Park last Friday. That performance was dreadful and indefensible.  Performances have been pathetic and they have been all season. The new wingers and “tweaks” Slot and Liverpool’s hierarchy seemingly think will solve their issues in attack won’t solve the chasm in midfield and the awful defending. This “performance” was a bleak exhibit in a case that’s been building since before Christmas.

Four midfielders played at Villa Park last Friday and yet Aston Villa had the freedom of Birmingham. Van Dijk, Konate and Alisson is a proven title winning defence. So why have Liverpool conceded 51 goals in a 38 game season, their most since 1914-15. Bournemouth lost 4 out of their 5 back 5 last summer, and yet Andoni Iraola’s team have conceded less goals than Liverpool. That’s what coaching can do. This Liverpool team aren’t well coached in any aspect. Goals are scored from individual moments of brilliance and are conceded with ease. This is a coaching issue. This is a system issue and for it to happen over an entire season shows it’s not one that the current head-coach knows how to fix. Slot’s reaction on Friday night, and I had to check this quote out with the “fake news” you encounter on social media, was “We didn’t score goals. But, two goals away at Villa Park is not bad.” That’s alright then.

An identity of high-tempo football, built from the bottom by Klopp, previously embraced by Slot, has been completely eroded this season. Liverpool lack any fundamental identity and don’t do any single thing well. Chelsea had been outrun in every one of their 35 Premier League games this season, until they played Liverpool at Anfield 13 days ago. I don’t know what the opposite of “heavy metal football” is but that’s not it. Outrun, at Anfield, by a team of misfits playing for nothing under an interim head-coach. Damning. 

I’m always wary of accusing players of downing tools and not playing for a manager, but if that’s a team that is, then that’s even more worrying. 

Results

Let’s talk about the results. Bad performances but good results, you can accept. But, of course, this article wouldn’t be written if the results were good. Michael Edwards and Liverpool’s owners FSG are data and numbers people, so here’s some facts. Liverpool haven’t beaten any of the promoted teams all season. They gave Igor Tudor his only point as Spurs manager. The 20 losses this season is more than in any season this century. They’ve suffered their joint heaviest home loss in Europe. I severely doubt when the numbers are put through the computers at FSG on performances, results and underlying data, the results are favourable on what has been a wretched season. The points total Liverpool will amass wouldn’t have been to secure Champions League in any previous season. 

Stick or twist?

So, the question is, why the patience in sticking with their man? Well, he’s their man. Slot is Richard Hughes’ only appointment so far in his role and it’s reported that both Hughes and Edwards’ contracts are also up at the end of next season. So if that’s the case, why sack a head-coach and then task yourself with the mammoth task of appointing a new one if you’re not going to reap the results from it? Couple that with the fact that Edwards and FSG are known for being smart. Sacking a head-coach and admitting you were wrong about him? That’s not smart, that’s what Manchester United and Chelsea do. What is less smart however is backing a guy who’s onto a hiding to nothing and then being forced to backtrack on that decision later on. 

The new wingers and “tweaks” Slot and Liverpool’s hierarchy seemingly think will solve their issues in attack won’t solve the chasm in midfield and the awful defending. 

Four midfielders played at Villa Park last Friday and yet Aston Villa had the freedom of Birmingham. Van Dijk, Konate and Alisson is a proven title winning defence. So why have Liverpool conceded 51 goals in a 38 game season, their most since 1914-15? Bournemouth lost 4 out of their 5 back 5 last summer, and yet Andoni Iraola’s team have conceded less goals than Liverpool. That’s what coaching can do. This Liverpool team aren’t well coached in any aspect. Goals are scored from individual moments of brilliance and are conceded with ease. This is a coaching issue. This is a system issue and for it to happen over an entire season shows it’s not one that the current head-coach knows how to fix. Slot’s reaction on Friday night, and I had to check this quote out with the “fake news” you encounter on social media, was “We didn’t score goals. But, two goals away at Villa Park is not bad.” That’s alright then.

And so, perhaps we’re in the middle of the mistake. Goodwill and credit in the bank buys time, as does a Premier League win, but football moves on fast. Sentiment can only last for so long and unfortunately it looks like fans have turned and how many times has such a fractured relationship been repaired at any club? Perhaps it’s time to dig your head out of the sand, plug the data in and smell the coffee. Whether the curtain comes down in the summer, or whether it’s somehow October or November, it looks inevitable that the curtain will fall.