Arne Slot is a class act but his title credit has expired and he is now on trial at Liverpool. The Liverpool boss is under pressure after Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson left the club in the wake of a hugely disappointing Premier League title defence.
Emotional Farewells Mask Hard Reality
Aside from the emotion, the tearful scenes, and the celebration of wonderful Liverpool careers, there was a hard reality when Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson said farewell to Anfield. Liverpool Football Club is losing two very good players. Arne Slot is losing two very good players. And one of them had a year left on his contract.
The poignancy of the occasion should not camouflage the identity of the best performer in the match between Liverpool and Brentford on Sunday. It was Salah. By some significant margin. No, he has not had the best of seasons but Salah remained an individual as important as anyone in the Liverpool squad.
He turns 34 in three weeks, but there is no doubt he has at least another couple of seasons left at an elite level. The reasons for Salah walking away after nine years at Anfield, despite having one year remaining on his deal, have still not been fully explained.
Relationship Breakdown with Slot
Was it simply that his relationship with Slot was beyond repair? It does not matter now. But what does matter is that his departure significantly weakens Liverpool. And that is just one of the issues Slot - along with sporting director Richard Hughes and Fenway Sports Group's chief executive of football Michael Edwards - will have to address this summer.
Slot is a class act. He took a back seat for the Salah and Robertson farewell and spoke about them very nicely. To say it has been a difficult season for Liverpool - on many levels - is an understatement but Slot has represented the club extremely well. And he has never ducked a question, to be fair, always giving an honest answer.
“If you are asking me for one word to describe the season, I would say injury,” he said after the draw against Brentford. While that is clearly his honest feeling - and while Liverpool have clearly suffered their fair share of physical setbacks - it inevitably comes across as an excuse.
Lowest Points Total Since 2012
The 60-point total was Liverpool’s lowest since the 2011/12 season. Injuries might offer some mitigation but only some. Only Manchester City had more possession throughout the Premier League season than Liverpool but Slot’s team was either not clinical enough or too often too ponderous, hence Salah’s comments about the need for a return to ‘heavy metal football’. That is easier said than done.
When you have spent £450 million in the previous summer, the hierarchy is probably reluctant to sanction another big spend 12 months later. But with Salah and Robertson gone - and the possibility of a couple of others, including Curtis Jones, leaving - another influx of talent is needed.
Overhaul Yet to Succeed
It is not a rebuild but a continuation of the overhaul that began last year. So far, that overhaul has not been successful. Hugo Ekitike - who, cruelly, suffered an Achilles injury that could keep him out for the rest of the year - was probably the brightest of last summer’s signings. It goes without saying Slot needs the likes of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak to hit the ground running at the start of next season.
Slot remains a class act and deserves to start the third year of his contract. But the credit from that first-season Premier League title win has now expired. And next season, Slot is on trial from day one.
