Having been given an impossible task, Arne Slot delivers in spades for Liverpool

Source : ABC NEWS

When Jürgen Klopp announced he would be leaving Liverpool with several months remaining in the 2023-24 season, there was trepidation, and rightly so. 

Klopp left Liverpool having won every trophy on offer, including the English Premier League title the club had so desperately craved in the three decades prior. 

Typically, replacing an iconic manager such as Klopp, who became a part of Liverpool’s fabric, proves to be an extremely difficult task. Even the most optimistic figures at Anfield wouldn’t have dreamt of the Reds winning a Premier League in the season immediately after the German’s departure.

Manchester United is yet to come close to winning another Premier League title since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, and has floundered in mediocrity in the 12 years since his final season. 

Having already won the League Cup, Liverpool fans harboured dreams of sending Klopp off with a second Premier League title this time last year, only to see their team collapse in the final month of the season.

Liverpool sat top of the table with eight games to go, but stumbled to the finish line with just three more wins to close out the season. One of those came in Klopp’s final match in charge, with the title well out of reach.

In the months following Klopp’s announcement, the focus turned to who his replacement would be. Xabi Alonso, the beloved former Liverpool midfielder in charge of German side Bayer Leverkusen, was the sexy pick and undoubtedly the fans’ choice. Ruben Amorim, now United manager, had his name thrown up. Some even wondered whether former Reds arch-nemesis José Mourinho would patrol the sidelines. 

There was a shock when it emerged that relatively-unknown Dutch manager Arne Slot would be taking over from Klopp, having solely managed clubs in the Netherlands, the last being Feyenoord.

The finale of the Klopp era, a 2-0 win over Wolves at Anfield, was an emotionally-charged affair. It ended with Klopp urging Liverpool fans to get behind Slot by leading a chant of his replacement’s name. It was a powerful moment timed to perfection by the outgoing manager, and kickstarted what has been a perfect transition.

There is no other top club in England where something like this would take place. Imagine Sir Alex asking those at Old Trafford to chant David Moyes’s name over a decade ago.

Having been handed the impossible task of succeeding one of the most iconic managers in Liverpool’s rich history, Slot has completed it with aplomb.

Replacing an iconic manager on the sidelines often proves too difficult for a variety of reasons. It is hard to command the respect and trust of veteran players who have become accustomed to one voice and one way of doing things. 

Tinker too much, and you run the risk of catching the team’s best players offside. Tinker too little, and people start wondering what exactly you bring to the table. 

Slot has walked this tightrope masterfully, imparting his own tweaks onto the team while maintaining what made Liverpool so good under Klopp.

“He’s a very down-to-earth manager. Very calm, composed. You can talk to him about football, life, anything. He’s so good tactically, and I think we fit well in his system. 

“If you look at our midfield … they’re all complete midfielders. They can do it all: Run, win duels, and find each other between the lines. 

“With Klopp we would more often play a long ball and then fight, but now that we’re playing with more patience, and shorter passes, you can fully see how much quality our midfield has.”

Liverpool operated — and thrived — in chaos under Klopp.

At their best, the Reds could ram on three goals inside the space of 10 minutes. They could also give away two in the same amount of time. Proper heavy metal football. Klopp’s greatest managerial rival, Pep Guardiola, explained perfectly what it was like playing the Reds at Anfield when they were humming.

Slot’s Liverpool side is perhaps not as entertaining a watch as Klopp’s version. Nevertheless, the Dutchman has retained some of the best bits of Klopp’s Liverpool while adding a level of calmness to the whole operation. 

The calmness extended right down to this title race, which has ultimately proved to be a cakewalk in comparison to the thrilling last-day finishes of previous seasons.

Liverpool’s doubters have tried to downplay this triumph by putting it down to a weak Premier League season, mainly because of an uncharacteristically poor season from Guardiola’s Manchester City side, winners of the last four Premier League titles.

To do so would be to dismiss what has been a ruthless season from the Reds.

Liverpool went 26 league matches between defeats this season, and have sat in first place since the end of matchday nine in October. The unbeaten run rivals that of the 2019-20 title team that started the season having gone 27 games unbeaten.

Liverpool has done an excellent job of regenerating its squad on the fly without spending ridiculous amounts of money. The lack of spending compared to the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United is a constant source of frustration for fans, but it is hard to argue with the results of the club’s self-sustaining transfer model in recent years. 

The Reds have needed to be ruthless in letting some beloved players from the Klopp era go in order to freshen up the squad. 

Of the top 10 players in terms of Premier League appearances from the 2019-20 season, only Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andrew Robertson, Mohamed Salah and Alisson remain at the club.

Fan favourites Georginio Wijnaldum and Roberto Firmino walked free after their contracts were not renewed. Jordan Henderson, despite being Liverpool’s captain, was sold to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq, while Fabinho and Sadio Mané were also sold off in Klopp’s final years.

Slot has been able to hit the ground running because Klopp had essentially begun the process of refreshing the squad before his arrival, hence why the Reds have been able to win the title this year without making any major signings last summer.

Liverpool resisted breaking the bank and its wage structure to sign Jude Bellingham two summers ago, instead adding Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endō to its midfield. The quartet cost a combined 145 million pounds ($300m) in transfer fees, an absolute bargain in today’s market.

That is not to say things have been entirely perfect under Liverpool’s current owners, Fenway Sports Group (FSG). Liverpool gambled by splashing 64 million pounds on Darwin Núñez in 2022, a move which hasn’t paid dividends. The erratic Uruguayan striker has mostly failed to fire and will likely be sold for a cut price this summer. 

FSG caused significant consternation among fans by letting van Dijk, Salah and Alexander-Arnold’s contracts virtually run out this year. Van Dijk and Salah have re-committed, but Alexander-Arnold, a local lad considered by the many to be the Liverpool’s next captain, is expected to walk to Real Madrid on a free transfer this summer.

Losing a generational talent like Alexander-Arnold, who has a market value of roughly 65 million pounds, for free is a significant blow, if indeed he departs.

Alexander-Arnold has been one of Liverpool’s biggest creative hubs from right back under both Klopp and Slot, and replacing his output will be no easy task. 

Having observed what he already has in the stable for the last year, this summer, Slot will get to put his own imprint on this Liverpool squad. 

Usually the trophies come after that, not beforehand, as has happened in this case. Talk about a perfect transition.