Slot Out? No, Slot SORT IT OUT.
It’s been a minute since we Liverpool fans welcomed the international break with such enthusiasm, yet here we are. In those rare situations, you assume the worst. If you’re going to take the Liverpool social media landscape at face value right now, that would definitely seem like the case. Three straight losses in all competitions, two in the league, with the Reds looking listless in both attack and defense, have Arne Slot scratching his head. This stretch certainly wasn’t in the bingo card of many Liverpool fans. Matters are made worse given the amount of star power the squad has after a massive summer of spending. The question remains: Is this just growing pains? Or something much more worrying?
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A Total 180
Comparing this season’s start to this point last year, Liverpool has looked the complete opposite of the composed side that Arne Slot molded since his arrival. The attack is predictable, with even the inevitable Mo Salah looking past his best to start the year. The silky smooth midfield, a big game-changer for the Reds last year, looks erratic and sloppy. The defense, a rock for the majority of last year’s title-winning squad, looks slow, disorganized, and easily exposed. This is easily the toughest stretch of Slot’s brief spell as Liverpool manager. Times like this are where a top-class gaffer makes his money, though. The ball is in Slot’s court, and the onus is on him to figure things out before things get ugly.
What’s Gone Wrong With Slot Ball?
If you are to go through the previously mentioned Liverpool social media landscape, many have their theories as to the Reds’ early-season struggles. The blistering seven wins in seven games to start the season seemed to paper over some really noticeable cracks. Notably, the Reds have struggled mightily to hold onto leads and have often needed late winners to bail them out. Arne Slot has done historically well to win the Premier League during his first outing. However, the true test for a manager in the league lies in their second seasons, when the league as a whole gains ample recognition of their tactics and adjusts accordingly.
We’ve seen this especially over the last three losses. The opposition is crowding out the middle of the park, essentially negating one of Slot’s primary means of ball progression. This has hampered Liverpool’s build-up play considerably. The likes of Salah, Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike, and Florian Wirtz don’t get the ball as much as they should. I cannot stress enough how much the boys need possession of the ball to gel with each other much better. How can Liverpool do that when they struggle to make basic forward passes? This has all been a massive head-scratcher for Slot over the last few weeks.
Time To Back The Gaffer
For all the doom and gloom expressed over the last three weeks, I think it’s fair to say that Arne Slot should be given the chance to do his tinkering and sort this mess out. A few hyperbolic “Slot Outs” here and there don’t change the fact that he’s got a lot of credit in the bank for coming in, winning a league title, and overseeing a high-spending summer. His success has afforded Liverpool quite the lineup that can lead us for years to come. All hope is not lost yet, as the Reds remain only one point behind top spot in the league. They are also still very much poised to advance to the Champions League knockout stages.
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The best we could do as fans is to keep the faith and count on the manager to do his thing. As the title of this piece states, we don’t want Slot out; we want him to sort this out. There well may be a high chance that we could look back at this stretch of the season come May with a few trophies on hand and wonder what all the fuss was about.