With Arne Slot set to come in at Liverpool, some observers have voiced the woes of Erik ten Hag at Manchester United as a cautionary tale when it comes to a leading name of English football hiring an Eredivisie-winning coach.
However, Neil Jones has pointed out why the 45-year-old should be able to swerve many of the issues which have hindered his compatriot at Old Trafford over the past two years.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest Daily Briefing column, the LFC-focused journalist said of the current Feyenoord boss: “What should help him significantly, as opposed to say, Erik ten Hag at Manchester United, is that he is arriving into a club that has clear parameters in terms of its recruitment strategy, has a squad whose core is at the right age to develop and improve with good coaching, and which has Champions League football to look forward to.
“He has good, established executives working above him, and that should enable him to focus on what he is best at – coaching.”
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Jones makes a very good point about Slot coming into a far stronger starting position at Liverpool than Ten Hag did at United in 2022.
The 45-year-old will be bequeathed a revamped, vibrant squad which spent most of this season in the Premier League title race and will partake in the Champions League later this year.
Also, and most crucially, he comes to a club armed by the world-famous expertise and nous of Michael Edwards as CEO of Football, along with a highly regarded new sporting director in Richard Hughes.
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Compare that to the mess into which Ten Hag walked at Old Trafford two years ago, with a disjointed and underperforming group of players having limped to a sixth-placed finish, and instability behind the scenes amid ongoing vehement opposition to the deeply unpopular Glazer regime.
The 54-year-old may have enjoyed a strong first season at United (7-0 thrashing at Anfield aside!) but has seen familiar problems at the club come home to roost once again this term.
Thankfully, Slot will enter Liverpool at a time when we’re in rude health and have rock-solid foundations in place to build upon the extraordinary work of Jurgen Klopp.