Did Liverpool get it right sacking Arne Slot? | OneFootball

The Arne Slot era at Liverpool came to a juddering halt last week amid strife, struggle, and fan unrest, with outgoing Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola tipped to be the favourite to replace him.

Out of the numerous questions raised by the Dutchman’s exit, one stands out: was it the right call to sack him?

That may seem silly to ask, given the former AZ Alkmaar manager’s unpopularity with fans due to his tactical decisions mid-game and having leaked 53 goals – the most goals Liverpool have conceded since the 1992/93 season.

But for all the former Zwolle midfielder can be criticised for a title defence from hell, it is worth remembering that events outside his control won’t have helped his plight.

FromTheSpot analyses whether FSG made the correct decision or could have gambled further on the Slot machine.

Right call: Half a billion down the drain

It isn’t known exactly how much influence Slot had over last summer’s outlay, so one has to be wary of pinning the blame solely on him when it comes to Liverpool’s new arrivals this season.

But nevertheless, it cannot be ignored that under his leadership the defending champions spent an eye-watering single-window record of £450m to scrape a fifth place finish and Champions League football on the final day.

Sizeable gaps in central defence weren’t addressed, with money instead blown on unnecessary luxury signings such as Florian Wirtz and their £125m man, Alexander Isak. Milos Kerkez, meanwhile, looked far from the competent left back Liverpool brought in from the Vitality Stadium.

Of course, it should be pointed out that Slot has had his fair share of bad luck when it comes to transfers. Long-term injuries to centre back signing Geovanni Leoni and the aforementioned Isak could not have been foreseen by the club, while Jeremie Frimpong – signed as Trent Alexander-Arnold’s direct replacement – has himself been plagued by injury setbacks.

Then there is the farcical handling of Marc Guéhi’s failed switch, which is in no way the ex-Feyenoord boss’s fault.

On a more positive note, it is also worth mentioning that Hugo Ekitike, who joined from Frankfurt for a potential £78m, was a standout before rupturing his achilles tendon against PSG.

But even with such mitigating factors, the Dutchman still has to shoulder some of the blame for one of the worst transfer windows European football has ever seen.

Right call: The departure of Diaz

In addition to wasting a king’s ransom on incomings, Slot also authorised some head-scratching departures – not least that of Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich.

It is true that the Colombian was often frustratingly inconsistent for the North West club. But when on form the ex-Porto man was the club’s best attacker behind Mo Salah, and has proven to be one of Europe’s most dangerous wingers when used right.

Given how this campaign has played out, it is difficult not to feel the 29-year-old would’ve performed better for the Reds than his peers on the wing, such as Federico Chiesa and others like him who have come in and out of the side.

Right call: Tactical blunders

More than anything else, Slot’s biggest crime as Liverpool boss was deviating too much from what worked previously.

Gone was the intense high-pressing, free-flowing ‘heavy metal’ football that characterised the club during Klopp’s era and the Dutchman’s first season, to be replaced with slow, insipid, predictable build up play.

Nowhere was this epitomised more than his handling of Mohamed Salah, with Slot choosing to shift the ‘Egyptian King’ closer to the touchline in a move that baffled the Anfield faithful and neutrals alike.

Yes, managers need to adapt, but completely changing the side’s style whilst also shoving a player known for his goalscoring prowess away from the box was always going to raise eyebrows.

And that’s before we get to the Reds’ leakiness at the back, with 63 goals being conceded in all competitions over the course of the season – the eighth worst in the division and third worst among sides who played in Europe.

Unsurprisingly, Slot’s bold decisions, to say the least, backfired, and Salah’s form alongside his club’s plummeted off a cliff.

Wrong call: Salah’s attitude

As understandable as Salah’s frustration regarding his new role was, it is difficult to deny that the way he handled matters had a notable negative impact on the club.

At a time when the title winners were sliding towards a crisis, the 34-year-old eschewed knuckling down and helping his teammates in favour of making sensational claims about being “thrown under the bus.”

Of course, the rot had already started long before the ex-Roma forward’s explosive remarks, but his conduct certainly didn’t help matters.

Without such an intervention, and the added pressure that came with it, Slot may well have righted the ship and set his charges back on course for a second successive league win. As it was, however, Salah’s comments proved the iceberg to The Anfielders’ Titanic.

And to add further insult to injury for Slot, it has been announced that Salah may u-turn on his decision to leave Anfield following FSG’s verdict.

Wrong call: A summer of shock and sadness

For all the charges that can be levelled at Slot, it is worth remembering Liverpool’s title charge may have been doomed before it even began.

The heinous car attack on the Merseysiders’ title parade, as well as the death of Diogo Jota just five weeks later, was always going to cast a pall over what should’ve been a joyous offseason.

Just one of these events would’ve taken something of a toll on the Reds’ squad, but both of them occurring in the same summer – let alone in such a short timeframe – was always going to be mentally crippling.

Given the circumstances, it is no surprise that the 20-time champions dropped off to such an alarming extent.

Wrong call: Last season’s title win

For all the criticism levelled towards Slot this season, it is worth remembering that he did manage to win the Premier League last time out.

Sure, it could be argued that he did so with Jurgen Klopp’s team and was inspired to largely take after his tactics and dropped off in the final weeks.

There are still others, of course, who would argue that Salah carried the Reds to the trophy single-handedly in one of his finest ever seasons. But to make such arguments would do a disservice to what was, overall, a completely dominant campaign.

Weighing up the pros and cons, FSG were probably right to sack the ex-Cambuur coach. But regardless of what has come since, the Netherlands native remains only the fifth manager to win the top flight during their debut season in England – and nobody can take that away from him.

That accomplishment alone won’t redeem Slot’s subsequent title defence this season, but he nonetheless departs Anfield as a title winner who will be remembered for bringing Premier League glory back to Liverpool, despite how his tenure ended.