Liverpool make decision on sacking Arne Slot as new FSG stance emerges
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Arne Slot has faced mounting pressure on his job at Liverpool this season. Read our Privacy PolicyWithin a month, Klopp was chanting the name of his successor on the Anfield turf as the German said his goodbye on an emotionally charged afternoon in front of more than 60,000 supporters.It was an unconventional way for a club of Liverpool's stature to effectively announce their incoming manager, yet it was delivered in an almost characteristically spontaneous manner from a carefree Klopp, who by that point was gleefully abandoning the script and acting on impulse.Within 12 months of news breaking that they had finalised the agreement with Feyenoord to appoint Slot as their new head coach, the Reds were revelling in one of their most celebrated days at Anfield, being crowned champions of England for a 20th time.A resounding 5-1 thrashing of Tottenham, who had the distraction of a Europa League final, proved the ideal curtain-raiser to one of the most euphoric afternoons the iconic stadium had ever witnessed, as Slot's team was crowned champions of England.The celebrations that evening, precisely one year ago today, stretched until roughly 3am inside the Carlsberg Dugout in the Main Stand.
That, however, will offer little comfort.Arne Slot has struggled in his second season at Liverpool. (Image: Getty Images)In many respects, a recent sequence of three consecutive wins has spared May from becoming a defining month for their entire campaign against the sides they are competing with to emerge as the 'best of the rest' behind title contenders Arsenal and Manchester City.Liverpool, who currently sit fourth ahead of Sunday's trip to United, are well-placed as the final month of the season looms, but securing their spot in next season's Champions League won't be regarded as a measure of achievement.
It has consistently been the fundamental minimum expectation for a club that appears to have planned its finances around participation in Europe's most profitable competition.Slot will cite numerous factors why his side have fallen short of where they stood at this stage last year, but justifications rapidly begin to resemble excuses.Injuries have undoubtedly taken their toll at times, and while there has been considerable misfortune for the likes of Conor Bradley, Wataru Endo and £204m strike duo Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak, the casualty list has never spiralled to the almost farcical depths witnessed during some recent campaigns.Slot's principal headache, in truth, has been a shortage of squad depth at a club that was far too eager to offload its fringe players last summer.Slot has consistently maintained that Liverpool do not retain players against their will, meaning those who wished to leave — Darwin Nunez, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luis Diaz, to name but three — were duly permitted to do so. Seventeen defeats across all competitions is simply unacceptable, a reality captain Virgil van Dijk has admitted on numerous occasions in his honest post-match assessments.Yet what has proved most alarming is that, beyond a handful of bright moments in some of the season's more prestigious fixtures, the Reds' overall showings have all been plagued by the same laboured shortcomings.Slot admitted it was difficult to hear earlier this year that his style of football this season might be characterised as 'boring', but supporters can typically tolerate defeats more readily when an attacking brand of football has them gripped to their seats at its peak.