Taxi for Slot

[Steveo]

Their best work - as I have always stated and timing was key… As was Ulla

[Kev0909]

If (big emphasis on "if") a change of Manager were to come, I too would be quite reluctant to do it during the season.

I can absolutely understand frustrations at present, but I also (ideally) want to see if Slot can turn it around.

To me, when you have been awful (which we were for a bit) you want to see 4 things -

- Stop the rot
- Get a decent unbeaten run in
- Having become more solid, slowly increase the risk in attacking players
- Become a side that regularly wins football matches in an entertaining fashion

The first two have been accomplished. We are really struggling with the third step (or Slot isn't yet pushing it) just now, but I do err towards seeing out the season to see if we can find it, then hopefully signs of the 4th step.

We might need a change - we might. However if we do, don't rush the decision. Don't go for "just anyone" and begin a cycle akin to that at Tottenham, Chelsea or Man United.

Hopefully Slot can find ways for those third and fourth steps to happen. If not, we'll have more options in the Summer for the coaching role than we would right now.

it will happen if it looks like we're drifting away from europe places, FSG will act, i'm sure of it.

After the summer spending, no champions league will fuck us not to mention we'll need at least 1 CB, a no6 and at least 1 attacker

I'm hoping we improve and pull away in the race for 4th... we've missed a chance last few weeks already.

[Ravo19]

Im drawn back to slots role and the transfer team.the feeling is that slot says "i need a LB"transfer team come back with a short list for slot to choose from,ok fair enough.
But the window was a mess,two number 9's and a ten,no replacement for diaz,no DM and no 1st team CB,does slot even get to say the formation he wants to go with?
Was a 10 forced on him?at over £100m is slot under pressure to fit wirtz in?
Or is the transfer team having to much say on players,formation and starting 11?

[redgold]

Well, Amorim's on the market again...😉

[Red October]

Im drawn back to slots role and the transfer team.the feeling is that slot says "i need a LB"transfer team come back with a short list for slot to choose from,ok fair enough.
But the window was a mess,two number 9's and a ten,no replacement for diaz,no DM and no 1st team CB,does slot even get to say the formation he wants to go with?
Was a 10 forced on him?at over £100m is slot under pressure to fit wirtz in?
Or is the transfer team having to much say on players,formation and starting 11?

It was such a strange window. We stripped out the squad to pay for two world-class players. The last time we spent like that was for Alisson and VVD but the money came from Coutinho so didn't affect the whole squad the same. We're really bare-bones right now. Why invest in Ekitike AND Isak? Both top players but why not get a DM or CB with the money left over? We would make do with Ekitike and could have even brought someone in a striker for about 60m.

Then Wirtz which is well-documented. Seems a class player. But very lightweight and was he really what we needed?

[Red October]

I'm finding myself at the stage where you kind of wish we'd get so bad that they'd get rid of Slot. Because even though we're not losing at the moment, we're awful to watch. It's the most boring i've seen us since Hodgson probably. My wife used to have a casual interest in games when Klopp was there. Now she can't bare to watch games. The Leeds game - the second half seemed to go on for hours....it's like Trappatoni when he was Ireland manager. Do we want this manager to get in the CL for next season?

[Ravo19]

When half time whistle went at 1-0 down,we would have seen klopp running down the tunnel and the players would have known it wasnt going to be a comfortable break,i dont see slots half time talk bothering the players to much.
Facts are slot will never be seen as a top premiership manager and is out of his depth at the top end of table.

[Insidious]

Do we want this manager to get in the CL for next season?

I think for a lot of fans that's largely going to depend on whether or not what we are viewing is "it" or whether this is just a pragmatic stage in our development.

Whatever opinions people have of Slot, good or bad, I very much doubt he watches us back and thinks "yes, this is my vision, this is how I want us to play" - we might find for example that a pacey attacker or two ahead of Wirtz opens up through-balls that bring back some of the get-off-your-seat moments that come with transition, or that taking a midfielder out of the side that's not at their very best right now (Mac Allister for example) and giving someone else a go to mix the blend up means that the ball we're keen to retain gets popped about very slightly quicker, helping us to find the forwards.

At the moment the forward runs to mix it up a bit (cutting behind a centre-back from out to in, confusing the full-backs etc) aren't really there, nor are many of the passes to find these runs that aren't even being made - plus undeniably some of our injuries/unavailable players and move away from setting the team up to benefit Salah are impacting it.

If we envisage a dial that we could turn towards attacking intent, it feels like we're a 4-or-5 and the fanbase is used to the 9-or-10 of Klopp's earlier vision of his side and later the hybrid of that and a slightly more controlled vision in the later years, whilst still maintaining LOADS of attacking intent. If Slot is currently just trying to make us hard to beat to instil some confidence before "turning the dial" a little to take us up to a 6-or-7 on the attacking intent score we could probably mostly live with it - but if what we are watching right now is "Slotball" and it will ALWAYS look like this irrespective of any interesting signings, I can imagine most saying "no thanks" to it - understandably so because we wish to be entertained.

I'm very keen for him to get us there and am not in the "Slot out" camp, but will happily concede that I wouldn't be in a rush to watch performances like Leeds and Fulham on a regular basis. I'd still do it (we weathered Hodgson ) but we should 100% aspire to better.

[jozza800]

It's a fustrating watch more than anything. The players either do make a run and they are just not picked out and we retain posession. Or we're as static as fuzzed up balloon and not making any kind of space.

They amount of times Wirtz wriggles free and has a bit of space but very rarely recieves the ball is mind-bending.

The pass that Jones made for Gakpo early on yeasterday is the only proper through ball I can remember us playing for months.

But if you listen to Slot nothing has changed from last season in terms of the way he want us to play, which is clearly untrue.

[Red October]

I think for a lot of fans that's largely going to depend on whether or not what we are viewing is "it" or whether this is just a pragmatic stage in our development.

Whatever opinions people have of Slot, good or bad, I very much doubt he watches us back and thinks "yes, this is my vision, this is how I want us to play" - we might find for example that a pacey attacker or two ahead of Wirtz opens up through-balls that bring back some of the get-off-your-seat moments that come with transition, or that taking a midfielder out of the side that's not at their very best right now (Mac Allister for example) and giving someone else a go to mix the blend up means that the ball we're keen to retain gets popped about very slightly quicker, helping us to find the forwards.

At the moment the forward runs to mix it up a bit (cutting behind a centre-back from out to in, confusing the full-backs etc) aren't really there, nor are many of the passes to find these runs that aren't even being made - plus undeniably some of our injuries/unavailable players and move away from setting the team up to benefit Salah are impacting it.

If we envisage a dial that we could turn towards attacking intent, it feels like we're a 4-or-5 and the fanbase is used to the 9-or-10 of Klopp's earlier vision of his side and later the hybrid of that and a slightly more controlled vision in the later years, whilst still maintaining LOADS of attacking intent. If Slot is currently just trying to make us hard to beat to instil some confidence before "turning the dial" a little to take us up to a 6-or-7 on the attacking intent score we could probably mostly live with it - but if what we are watching right now is "Slotball" and it will ALWAYS look like this irrespective of any interesting signings, I can imagine most saying "no thanks" to it - understandably so because we wish to be entertained.

I'm very keen for him to get us there and am not in the "Slot out" camp, but will happily concede that I wouldn't be in a rush to watch performances like Leeds and Fulham on a regular basis. I'd still do it (we weathered Hodgson ) but we should 100% aspire to better.

Yes, that's a fair point. I think Slot would need to communicate that vision to fans though. Otherwise, he might be out on his ear if fans turn against him. He needs to come out and say our priority is to be more solid now and we will build on that....I would take that.

[Red October]

It's a fustrating watch more than anything. The players either do make a run and they are just not picked out and we retain posession. Or we're as static as fuzzed up balloon and not making any kind of space.

They amount of times Wirtz wriggles free and has a bit of space but very rarely recieves the ball is mind-bending.

The pass that Jones made for Gakpo early on yeasterday is the only proper through ball I can remember us playing for months.

But if you listen to Slot nothing has changed from last season in terms of the way he want us to play, which is clearly untrue.

I believe, like Klopp and Shanks, that the best form of defence is attack. That's almost always been the Liverpool way barring a period under Houllier. The ponderous stuff we're producing right now just invites pressure....

[JockStrap]

We had 58% possession away to Fulham. 68% at home to Leeds. 67% at home vs Wolves.

You need to separate results from performance. We're not invitiing pressure. The opposite. We're just not creating enough good chances with the control that we have. That will come.

[toshin]

It was such a strange window. We stripped out the squad to pay for two world-class players. The last time we spent like that was for Alisson and VVD but the money came from Coutinho so didn't affect the whole squad the same. We're really bare-bones right now. Why invest in Ekitike AND Isak? Both top players but why not get a DM or CB with the money left over? We would make do with Ekitike and could have even brought someone in a striker for about 60m.

Then Wirtz which is well-documented. Seems a class player. But very lightweight and was he really what we needed?

Now think about the type of attackers diaz Nunez and jota were. Absolute fighters even when things weren't going well for them.
Do you see fight in any of the current crop, and yes I place salah here, good as he mostly is.

We've often come short from almost achieving something in all comps (twice with klopp) due to a lack of depth. What do we do, spend big on 3 dudes and make it even worse.

[JockStrap]

Ah for the good old days of Nunez and Diaz.

It's amazing how much better those 2 have gotten since they left.

[Steveo]

Diaz was superb for us last season so much so we ain't winning a bean without him. Maybe stick to your own advice about the subject matter in threads...and put a sock in it yer daft Bampot.