Despite an underwhelming season, under-fire head coach Arne Slot deserves time to put things right at Liverpool beyond the current campaign
First of all, let’s be clear: it’s true that the vast majority of Liverpool’s performances this season have been far from encouraging. At no point since mid-August have the Reds managed to string more than three convincing outings under Arne Slot.
The reigning Premier League champions have struggled to find consistency and the Dutch coach cannot be exempt from criticism. The eye test does little to inspire belief, with Liverpool lacking urgency on the pitch, their lines looking disjointed while several key players are unable to rediscover their form.
Meanwhile, Slot cannot be blamed for being reluctant to experiment. In his bid to provide the team with a boost from the dugout, he has repeatedly shifted formations, tried players in different positions, dropped stars who seemed undroppable and appears to be constantly searching for answers to solve Liverpool’s 2025/26 riddle.
A head coach – not a manager
Yet, let’s roll it back to where it all began. When Slot was appointed by Liverpool to succeed Jürgen Klopp, the club was careful to label him a head coach rather than a manager, a choice of words that raised a few eyebrows at the time. After a several years of Klopp being in charge of everything at the Reds, Liverpool decided to shift to a man who would be able to focus on the team’s performance on the pitch.
Hence, all responsibility concerning recruiting and transfer planning would fall on FSF CEO of Football Michael Edwards and sporting director Richard Hughes. The two Liverpool executives have overseen four transfer windows with Slot in charge, with Federico Chiesa being the only signing in the first two and the club opting against strengthening the team in the latest.
In between, Liverpool splashed out almost half a billion pounds to beef up their squad last summer, though Slot has correctly stressed that certain players had to be sold in order to raise funds.
In came the club’s three big signings Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitiké. Having been deemed a big risk due to his fitness history, the former has played a total of 859 minutes across all competitions, having missed almost 30 games through injuries.
In fact, following Ekitiké’s season-ending injury against Paris Saint-Germain, the promising attacking trident will have played only 115 minutes together by the end of the campaign – not quite how Slot would have envisioned it.
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As for Wirtz, the German playmaker admitted in various interviews that it took him some time to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League after taking Bundesliga by storm at Bayer Leverkusen. Wirtz may have recorded 16 goal contributions across all competitions, but he has not managed to carry the team on his shoulders when it mattered most.
Some may argue that with Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker in the team, that task that should never have fallen to him, but neither of Liverpool’s veterans have lived up to the expectations this season.
A change of guard
Having won the Premier League title in his first season in charge, Slot’s second campaign has been labelled as a belated transition year for Liverpool – and it may well have been one. A 33-year-old Alisson has been struggling with injuries, while a 34-year-old Van Dijk has not been at his best and the ongoing saga with 33-year-old Salah has affected the team.
A talented Giorgi Mamardashvili was signed as the goalkeeper who will receive the baton from the Brazil international, but the succession issue in the backline remains unresolved. With talks about Ibrahima Konaté’s future having seemingly been going on forever, a deal to sign Marc Guéhi fell through last summer after weeks of negotiations with Crystal Palace.
Prodigious defender Giovanni Leoni showed potential before suffering a season-ending injury, leaving an injury-prone Joe Gomez as the only backup option behind Van Dijk and Konaté. Add to the mix two new full-backs and it comes as no surprise why Liverpool’s defence has lacked cohesion throughout the season.
Meanwhile, few would have expected Salah’s drop in form following a historic campaign in which he recorded as many as 57 goal contributions in 52 games across all competitions. A saga that ended with the Egypt international announcing his departure from Liverpool at the of the season has deeply affected a team that heavily relied on their star winger, especially after a season where he was the central character throughout a sublime run all the way to Premier League glory.
With Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister finding it hard to get back to their best, all burden has fallen onto an extraordinary Dominik Szoboszlai, who’s been delivering week in, week out regardless of the position or role he has on the pitch.
In his bid to accommodate the new signings and help the team get their season back on track, Slot has tried winger-less systems, formations with two strikers and even a back three – to no avail. With six games to go, Liverpool’s sole objective is no other than securing a top-five spot that would clinch them Champions League qualification for next season. The Reds won’t have it easy as they play away at Everton, Manchester United and Aston Villa, while home games against Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Brentford will be anything but a walk in the part for Slot’s side.
According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Liverpool are willing to keep Slot even if they miss out on a top-five spot this season. The report may have taken many by surprise, but the rationale behind the decision is sound. At the end of the day, only two coaches have delivered a league trophy to the Anfield faithful during the modern Premier League era. If one of them doesn’t deserve another chance, then who does?