Arne Slot ‘genius’ makes ‘dreadful’ Liverpool star even worse but Xabi Alonso ‘problem’ looms | OneFootball

Arne Slot has been lambasted for his usage of a ‘dreadful’ Liverpool star, while some supporters are far beyond caring.

This bumper Sunday Mailbox also includes a ranking of the worst celebrations, while Manchester United are actually the biggest ‘bottlers’.

Slot reduces Liverpool fans to apathy

The biggest indictment of Slot sadly is that he has made me not care.

We can’t beat Spurs, Wolves, Burnley, Man Utd or Chelsea… and we looked ponderous, lack of press, lack of urgency.

Scored and went to sleep.

And I just felt kinda… Meh..

That’s not how I feel. That’s not how I want to feel.

I should be angry when losing and ecstatic when we win. But I’m just so unarsed..

It sort of felt inevitable that we would concede to Chelsea, like the Man U game and I was prepared to just shrug.

That’s the worst feeling as a fan. Not really giving a toss. Hate that.

I wanted to give Slot the benefit. Everyone he bought has been injured for periods. Some longer than others. Sold more than we replaced. Less sqaud. Less depth. Settling in period for Wirtz and Frimpong etc..

There are ‘excuses’ but nothing excuses playing in a style that seems no one is that bothered.

Hoping next year we dont lose as many players and we sign Elliot Anderson. Hes been my fave player in the league this year by a stretch. Sadly City will get him. Al – LFC. Not even arsed.

Minty’s sick of Slot’s ‘genius’

Who is honestly watching Liverpool play football and thinking that the guy orchestrating it deserves more time.

Gakpo has had a dreadful season playing in his actual position. Today Slot used his genius to play him out of position to make him even less effective: in the opening 40 minutes he had 0 touches, committed one foul and was offside once. In the second half he demonstrated an impressive lack of in game intelligence to keep onside when he could see across the line and it meant what would have been an undeserved win was instead an undeserved draw.

Let’s also be real about the opposition today: Chelsea are in tatters. They’ve literally got a competition winner as head coach now. They’ve lost 6 games on the bounce and their captain has actively been talking about leaving in the summer. Their star boy has forgotten how to play football and today they also barely had enough players to fill the bench. Questions need to be asked at Anfield because that crock of sh*t was the better team.

Let’s also remember football is a game of momentum and mentality. So imagine how aggressively the momentum and mentality shifts when you’ve lost 6 on the bounce and concede early at one of the louder grounds in the league. The level of incompetence required to take that advantage and then whittle it away playing meek football behind the ball is astounding.

Frimpong played out of position today but it really boggles the mind what his instructions are. He’s a speed merchant who runs past the defender and then immediately checks back to allow them to catch up everytime. Sometimes he would float crosses in which was great because tiny Rio did fancy winning a header against the two 6 foot central defenders today.

So your front line is can’t touch the ball in a positive way Gakpo, Frimpong of the paragraph above and Rio. Rio is running at people and trying. It’s a really fitting tribute to Slot that he realised the trick would be to sub on Isak for Rio. Now Gakpo could go out wide and deliver nothing leaving Isak totally isolated.

I’m genuinely at the point where I don’t know why I even watch. There’s no joy to be found at Anfield. Credit to the fans who had the staying power to be there to the end to boo. Christ knows I would’ve been gone at 75 minutes to avoid the traffic. Minty, LFC

It’s only half time but yet another poor performance from Liverpool. You wouldn’t guess we are playing against a team that lost its last 6 games. The same thing happened against Tottenham so it’s not a one off.

What kind of coach having no striker available or Salah decides that playing a defender upfront is the best option? There’s nothing remarkable that Frimpong ever does and if he can’t play his position even when there’s no right back available then he shouldn’t even be on the pitch.

All this just to avoid starting Chiesa, it’s ridiculous. Philip Correa

Liverpool Football Club is in a pickle of the biggest, saltiest sort

There are so many issues with this Liverpool side at the moment that I imagine our owners cannot put a definitive finger to every negative variable that’s been introduced this term. That’s a flowery way to say I and they too cannot possibly know whether this disastrous campaign is down to Slot or the players, or both.

But it’s always both isn’t it, a sort of joint and several footie liability that can never be parsed with scientific accuracy. And that’s before they even consider whether certain levels of their own hierarchy have a hand in the accountability.

The problem with simply hiring Xabi Alonso, as much of the snap reaction for a resolution seems to be, is that if the Spaniard comes aboard and the drift continues, what then? It’s not at all inconceivable, and where then would this ownership go for answers and truth. What well to draw from after you’ve scooped the last resort bits of gravel at the depths.

Liverpool are on the precipice of heading back into the wilderness. The wilderness won’t be as deep or pronounced as was the days of Hodgson, of Hicks and Gillett, or the aimless and forgettable period post-Suarez, but it will be considerable wilderness for a club of this magnitude and descending from a recent era of pretty impressive heights.

I don’t know whether Slot should stay or go to be honest, and I recognize the rationale for both. What I do believe is that simply sacking the manager doesn’t resolve this malaise, yet current methods with the current (available) personnel clearly do not endeavor to succeed or even redirect the downturn.

There was a time when lads chatting up liked to use an assortment of vegetable emojis when they didn’t have the stones to just spell it out; this is a rather different context but I’ll tell you right now Liverpool Football Club are in a pickle of the biggest, saltiest sort. Eric, Los Angeles CA

What is the point of sticking with Slot?

Well, that was a dreadful game from two teams that have spent squillions in players and recently won the league and the world club cup. How far they have fallen.

While Slot gets some credit for winning the title, couldn’t have foreseen the drop off from players like Mac Allister and having to shoe horn in players from the summer galactic buying spree (and suffering numerous injuries), the team is playing so badly, so lifelessly, so timidly and cautious, they do not look like any Liverpool team ever.

There is no fear for visiting teams. They didn’t even have to do much to stay in the game, such that in the last quarter of the game – the team that used to push hard and blitz opponents – are now so worried about letting in a goal – they cede so much territory – and let in a goal.

Luckily they were playing Chelsea. A Chelsea having lost so many and at sixes and sevens – that are struggling to score goals. You. That Chelsea.

At this point, what is the point of sticking with Slot? He is showing no nous, not using younger, eager players. When Klopp’s squad were decimated by injuries he brought in youngsters who, buoyed by his presence, often excelled. Nope. Slot would rather stick with the players who have lost form, lost confidence and lost the ability to harry and press (excepting Szoboszlai.)

They still need at least 2 points (with a superior goal difference) to secure a Champions League place, without which, they’re not going to be attracting top talent. Klopp was a draw card all by himself. This season’s Slot, not so much.

Edwards and Hughes have a lot to answer – the ‘golden management’ team are showing it’s just gilding. Paul McDevitt

Bottling clubs

A lot of vitriol, hate and rage has been subjected to one team in England this year. Yet the same team is the only English team standing in the Champions league and on the verge of winning the league title.

However, let’s look at two ‘big’ clubs here, Man United and Real Madrid. To date, ManU has played 38 games this season. 36 in the Premier league and 2 cup ties.

They’ve had all the time to prepare for matches and yet are still 3rd on the log. The team they dislike most, has played close to 60 games, qualified for Champions league final and raked in £100m from UEFA!

Madrid, for the second year in a row is going trophyless! The players, instead of fighting for the badge, are busy fighting each other, yet there is no trophy for the same.

Can we therefore settle this bottlers debate, hand over the prize to the two key winners, and leave the potential champions out of the equation? Yiembe, Mombasa

Managers opinions of players

Yeah yeah United were rubbish. Carrick out Yadda Yadda but also again shocking refereeing Jesus Christ. Shocked out how Hume pulled Shaws shirt cynically in front of the ref stopping a decent attack and no yellow? It just seems like refereeing is all vibes now. The rules are whatever the ref decides they are on the day and it’s just a mess. There is zero consistency and honestly at this point we may as well get rid of the ref and have a digital whistle with VAR doing all the decisions because the man “running the match” is definitely not following the rules anymore

Alright moan done.

One thing that does fascinate me is what goes on behind closed doors with managers and players. It’s been widely spoken about how Amorim, quite wrongly, never player Mainoo. Nobody will know why and Mainoo has done all he can to show that he was never in the wrong.

Which brings me to the Amad/Mbeumo axis. Amad has been United’s worst player by far in relation to the amount of game time (I’m not including Zirkzee or Ugarte because they haven’t gotten a comparable amount of game time) he’s getting while Mbeumo went from first choice up top to the bench. I also bring up Mbeumo because F365 was very happy to throw him in the Whelming Category

We never know what happens behind the scenes but curious as to see what the mailbox thinks about the constant game time for Amad who has 2G2A and Mbeumo having 10G3A. Weird Disgruntled, RSA

A word on TNT Sports coverage

“Gaslighting is a form of persistent psychological manipulation and emotional abuse where a perpetrator makes someone question their own memory, perception, or sanity.”

After Chelsea equalised against Liverpool at Anfield, there was understandably a question around whether or not Fofana had touched the ball after Enzo Fernandes’ free kick went all the way through and into the back of the net.

Ally McCoist suggested Fofana had touched it. Fletcher and he laughed about how this was McCoist’s natural instinct as a former professional striker. The best angle, slowed down, was unconvincing, but inconclusive. Fofana might have got a slight touch, though probably didn’t much affect the trajectory of the ball.

McCoist and Fletcher’s increasingly asinine banter around this point continued until another, better angle was found that showed clear daylight between Fofana’s foot and the ball. I would estimate the better part of a foot (as in 30cm.) The broadcast even followed it up with a clip of Fofana pointing to Fernandez (presumably crediting the goal to him.)

Case closed.

That was, until the TNT broadcast team claimed that their backroom staff had “solved the mystery.” They proceeded to show the original (inconclusive) angle slowed down and magnified. They claimed that this showed a new deviation of the ball (how?)

“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

McCoist then, quite embarrassingly for him, seemed to believe himself vindicated. Fletcher acknowledged the input of the half time broadcast while acknowledging that the premier league adjudication panel had awarded the goal to Fernandez. To anyone with a pair of eyes, a functioning brain and a modicum of self-respect, it was clear that this was the correct decision. The Fletch-McCoist banter bus, however, did not relent throughout the second half.

Then, after the match, TNT spoke to Fofana. They asked if he wanted to claim the goal. Initially he seemed to be like “yeah sure” but this seems to have been more down to the fact that TNT themselves convinced themselves that he had touched the ball, and had passed this message onto him. He perhaps thought “they have all these cameras, angles and tools to catch minor details such as these in a match. I was caught up in the moment. Perhaps they saw something I didn’t notice.”

At one point during this interview, they showed footage of the more conclusive angle (already shown to us in the first half) showing that he did not touch the ball.

They asked him if he thought he touched the ball.

He said no.

Finally, probably about 20-30 mins after the match had concluded, the TNT broadcast claimed there was another twist in the Fofana-Fernandez goal accreditation saga.

A new angle (the same one they showed us in the first half, and over the interview in which Fofana said he thought he did not touch the ball!) showed clear daylight between Fofana’s foot and the ball.

Sure, I could blame the TNT backroom staff member (and do) for missing the clear evidence in the better, more conclusive angle their network *had already shown us*, but that didn’t mean that those on the HT broadcast had to indulge this nonsense/go along with it. Which didn’t stop some trying to put the entire blame on him for messing it up.

Lyndsey Hipgrave: at half time we were calling him Colombo, but I guess now he’s Dumbo!

Some were more understanding.

Joe Cole: Now we can see how hard it is for VAR.

Worst celebrations ranking

Now that we’ve got all the Arsenal angst and Carrick discourse out of our systems, can we please get back to the true purpose of the mailbox: fun football nonsense?

I know, impossible task.

So I went to watch my nephew play soccer at his high school on Friday (sorry, football — America has ruined me). One of his teammates scored and immediately pulled out that weird Matheus Cunha surfing celebration. You know the one. Arms out, wobbling around like he’s trying to balance on a lilo in Magaluf.

They still lost the match, sadly.

Now, I’ve always hated that celebration. It gives me the absolute ick. And now that Cunha plays for my club, I regret to inform everyone that tribalism has not changed my opinion. If anything, seeing teenagers copy it only strengthened my stance.

Which got me thinking: what are the worst football celebrations of all time? Not iconic ones you secretly hate. I mean the genuinely awkward, charisma-free celebrations that make you cringe even when your own player scores.

So here’s my completely objective Top 10 Worst Football Celebrations:

10. The Robbie Keane cartwheel and gun fingers 9. The Cristiano Ronaldo “calma” sit-down 8. The Adebayor knee slide from the halfway line 7. The Dele Alli finger-eye thing 6. The Gareth Bale heart celebration 5. The Mbappé folded-arms pose 4. The Lingard “J-Lingz” self-branding era 3. Any coordinated team dance 2. The baby-rocking celebration 1. Matheus Cunha’s surfing celebration

There are obviously many more offenders. The Griezmann Fortnite dance deserves jail time, and Richarlison briefly celebrated goals like a man trying to win a TikTok challenge.

But football needs this stuff. The game is too serious now. Still, if players are going to score, the least they can do is avoid embarrassing themselves immediately afterwards. Gaptoothfreak, Man Utd, New York (Honourable mention: when other players imitate the “siuuu” celebration)