All Aboard the Slot Express

[Ravo19]

I don’t want fucking Alonso his style is no better suited to the Prem than Sliot’s

There’s are really good fucking reason Klopp’s team Slit inherited thrashed Alonso’s Leverkusen 4-0 please fuck off wabting systems and styles that won’t work in the Orem for those reasons

If you took the time to check,alonso changed to a 4 3 3 when taking over at real madrid.

[Steveo]

We are most likely a mess whoever gets the gig. Unless a transformative and generational one off like Shankly or Klopp finds their way to us again that is.

The structure now has massively devalued the role of what was formerly the managers - and now is taken up by the head coach.

Hughes and Edwards decide who and what is needed and what is sourced and what dictates both is more firmly based on economics. So a high cost young option with potential for huge sell on and massive marketing potential (Wirtz) is prioritised over granting ‘He’s from Barrancas’ the salary he more than deserved.

The ‘head coach’ has about as much say on the matter as the FA does on the 115 charges.

The fact that Slot doesn’t appear capable at a club of this size and in a league that’s so competitive is another matter.

Last season - with the benefit of hindsight - as anyone with even half a brain and 2 functioning eyes can see - was mostly about Jurgen Klopp. What he left in terms of continuity and belief and how much the group loved him and wanted to deliver. Lasted for more than half of last season before the effects of the new structure began to show through.

[pob]

Last season - with the benefit of hindsight - as anyone with even half a brain and 2 functioning eyes can see - was mostly about Jurgen Klopp. What he left in terms of continuity and belief and how much the group loved him and wanted to deliver. Lasted for more than half of last season before the effects of the new structure began to show through.

Yep. We've been shite for the most part since March last year, once Slot had started to implement his own style. Luckily Aresenal had given up by then. Had they put us under any serious pressure I'm convinced we would have blown the league.

[Nineteenx]

It’s madness to destroy our system built up over 10 years and sell key players in key positions as it is

Thinking you can ever play low intensity exclusively shirt passing with no wide forwards is ridiculous

[Steveo]

agree - and I don't think anyone envisioned this being the final blueprint. Late last year, specifically between October and December 2025, we seemed to have found the 'happy medium': a hybrid of high-octane 'heavy metal' football and a more sustainable, controlled rhythm to prevent burnout.

At the time, it looked like a subtle tweak toward tactical perfection...retaining the Klopp's aggression but dialling it back just enough to dominate the tempo. However, the benefit of hindsight suggests that wasn't the finished product; it was merely the embryonic stage of a much larger shift. During that transition, the stars aligned briefly. Had we been able to bottle that specific style, I believe we’d be neck-and-neck with Arsenal right now, even with the challenge of integrating so many new faces."

[Steveo]

2024 not 2025 keep forgetting it’s 20 sodding 26

[RedMagic]

Has he been sacked yet? If not, why not?

[jozza800]

agree - and I don't think anyone envisioned this being the final blueprint. Late last year, specifically between October and December 2025, we seemed to have found the 'happy medium': a hybrid of high-octane 'heavy metal' football and a more sustainable, controlled rhythm to prevent burnout.

At the time, it looked like a subtle tweak toward tactical perfection...retaining the Klopp's aggression but dialling it back just enough to dominate the tempo. However, the benefit of hindsight suggests that wasn't the finished product; it was merely the embryonic stage of a much larger shift. During that transition, the stars aligned briefly. Had we been able to bottle that specific style, I believe we’d be neck-and-neck with Arsenal right now, even with the challenge of integrating so many new faces."

Agreed. He's gone too far the other way.

You wonder what the thought process is. He'd done enough to change the way we played so that it was different to Jurgen and he gets the credit.

And I don't believe that FSG, Edwards or Hughes have had any input in the style of play. I know we mention that Slot is just the coach, but they haven't seen us win the league and thought, we need to change this.

Yet, it looks like that's exactly what Slot has done.

Utterly baffling.

[teesred]

Agreed. He's gone too far the other way.

You wonder what the thought process is. He'd done enough to change the way we played so that it was different to Jurgen and he gets the credit.

And I don't believe that FSG, Edwards or Hughes have had any input in the style of play. I know we mention that Slot is just the coach, but they haven't seen us win the league and thought, we need to change this.

Yet, it looks like that's exactly what Slot has done.

Utterly baffling.

Agree with you and Steveos post you replied to.
He's tried to be clever, tried to invent his own brand and it's fell flat on its arse with absolutely no chance of a recovery. It's 100% gone beyond any comeback,hes lost the majority of support now for sure and it's just time he's seeing out. He must surely know that.

It'll genuinely be Interesting to see how many games we can win before the end of season. There's 8 games and I can seriously see us dropping points in atleast 5. Each team we play will cause us problems and they'll be gagging to play us. We are alongside Spurs the softest touch in the division.

I honestly think there's more of a risk keeping him than bringing in an interim for those 8 games.

[toshin]

You can blame changes in*players, injuries etc for not being able to challenge the top two this season, and that would be fair to Slot.

The fact we are so off manutd and are scrambling to *be top -five- is pathetic.
Regardless of anything else, our squad is good enough to be comfortably top 5, and not losing the games we have, in the fashion we did.

But most of all, Slots attitude like he's fockin Pep annoys me and I cant see how it wouldnt also annoy the hell out of the squad.

[Ravo19]

You can blame changes in*players, injuries etc for not being able to challenge the top two this season, and that would be fair to Slot.

The fact we are so off manutd and are scrambling to *be top -five- is pathetic.
Regardless of anything else, our squad is good enough to be comfortably top 5, and not losing the games we have, in the fashion we did.

But most of all, Slots attitude like he's fockin Pep annoys me and I cant see how it wouldnt also annoy the hell out of the squad.

I would love slot to succeed here bur his reluctence to change things is on him.
90% of us nobodies on here know that a 3 man midfield would have turned enougth defeats into draws and draws into wins to have given us enough points to have been sitting comfortably in 3rd place.
Slot seems to be determined to step out of klopps shadow even if it means falling on his own sword.

[Insidious]

I don't think they'll appoint Alonso. We don't have enough for centre backs to play his system at the moment or at all for most of a season.

Alonso isn't wedded to a back-three. We saw at Real Madrid that he will use a back four.

I don't like to make direct comparisons too much with players or managers as the wrong message is often taken from them (if we compare a physical all-round midfielder to Gerrard, people are quick to jump on and assume you're saying they are AS good as Gerrard, when you're just comparing "moulds" so to speak) but I would think of Alonso in the "Ancelotti" mould in one aspect in that I think he would come in, look at what we have and pick a system to fit the players - though Alonso definitely seems to be more of a coaching-obsessed type than Carlo.

Short version - just because Alonso joins (hypothetical) doesn't mean we would exclusively play in a back-three set-up. So that's handy to know if he were to try the 3-5-2 and quickly learn it didn't suit the League, or if he felt it wasn't the right fit for our players.

Though, centre-backs aside, we certainly do have a squad mix that might lean into it. So it would not surprise me - if Konaté stayed and we keep certain players - if we tried it.

So given that centre-back is probably the area where we are least suited, let's look - who would we have that "can" play there next season?

Van Dijk
Konaté
Jacquet
Leoni
Gomez
Endo (played more at CB than at DM in his career remember, by something like 30 appearances)

Then......

Bajcetic at a stretch (really rather not)
Grav at a stretch (really rather not)

It could prolong Van Dijk a bit (but should we really "build around" him anymore given his age?) and we seemingly have the numbers, though Gomez has injury issues, Leoni we don't know about yet and we would want more quality than Endo - but we can see that it's at least semi-plausible. Perhaps, if we went for it, acquiring a centre-back or two (or better still players who could play centre-back and DM, or centre-back and full-backs for more flexibility) could be a viable move.

We certainly have capable lads for wing-back. Kerkez on the left, Frimpong on the right, Robbo depth on the left - question marks (sorry Bradley) on the right, due to Bradley's injury record and Frimpong having his own issues. In an ideal World where Tottenham got relegated, perhaps Porro could solve a problem.

We certainly have some good midfielders - and if we wanted to we have the option of doing something like sell Mac Allister to facilitate a younger midfielder, if we so wished.

Best of all, forwards, which are typically the most expensive players on the market, we'd be looking at having four (or five, if sometimes using other formations) for depth in a front two - rather than six, for depth in a front three.

That would rather solve our issue of having -

Gakpo
Ngumoha
Isak
Ekitike
Salah
Chiesa

We'd be able to keep four lads - or five - and let one go, freeing up some wages for elsewhere. Whether that is selling Salah and Chiesa to bring one lad in, or selling Gakpo to bring a lad in, or whatever, will be subject to a lot of opinion - but we would have viable solutions and certainly any wages coming out (whether it's Salah's, Gakpo's or Chiesa's) would be a welcome top-up to the wage kitty for anyone we might target - especially if it were Salah to depart. Salah and Chiesa departing for an excellent young forward with wage kitty to spare for another centre-back etc could certainly work.

So whilst I wouldn't want us wedded to a 3-5-2 and whilst we are (currently) short at centre-back for it, I don't think it would be an impossible juggle nor require massive upheaval in the transfer market.

[Red October]

Agree with you and Steveos post you replied to.
He's tried to be clever, tried to invent his own brand and it's fell flat on its arse with absolutely no chance of a recovery. It's 100% gone beyond any comeback,hes lost the majority of support now for sure and it's just time he's seeing out. He must surely know that.

It'll genuinely be Interesting to see how many games we can win before the end of season. There's 8 games and I can seriously see us dropping points in atleast 5. Each team we play will cause us problems and they'll be gagging to play us. We are alongside Spurs the softest touch in the division.

I honestly think there's more of a risk keeping him than bringing in an interim for those 8 games.

I hope the directors are looking at it like this: get top five and leave us in a secure place for Alonso or AN Other to take over. Hopefully it's not a case of "Oh Slot got us CL for next season, so let's keep him on". I can't face the thought of more of this awful brand of football...

[miller0863]

People believing Alonso is next in line, are suggesting an interim manager to the end of the season

Why??

Alonso is free to start work tomorrow, absolutely no need for an interim whatsoever.

[Ravo19]

People believing Alonso is next in line, are suggesting an interim manager to the end of the season

Why??

Alonso is free to start work tomorrow, absolutely no need for an interim whatsoever.

Maybe alonso isnt the target,rumours of germany's manager Nagelsmann is a target but wont be available untill after world cup.