Taxi for Slot

[fiordearg]

Defo deserves the credit for that. The job he had, he did to perfection. BUT that job was made miraculously less difficult for him than at any time since Leicester City won the title.

Putting him on that flag on the Kop - Alongside Shankly, Paisley, Jurgen etc…? Men who built successive teams of winners..? within months of Jurgen leaving was imo - poor form, and sadly Karma has followed.

I say this despite the fact that I personally warmed to Arne after his first interview before he arrived.

BUT the beatification of him post title win is a study in how easily football fans ignore context. To hail him as a genius for winning a title in his debut season requires a wilful blindness to the landscape of the league. Not only did he inherit a squad drilled to perfection by Jurgen Klopp, but the seas parted for him completely.

He walked the league because Man City finally imploded under the distraction of 115 charges and the other challenger couldn't field a fit 11 for half the season. This wasn't a masterclass in management; it was the luckiest title run in history. He steered a pre-built ship into an open dock while his rivals were sinking themselves.

No prizes for noticing that the club were fully aware of this. Yes they made a hash of the summer recruitment BUT that was par for the course pre Klopp. The legacy left by Jurgen was the title win. This is the point.

Yes he was fortunate with his timing and the structures and personnel put in place were excellent. I believe he's running out of time because FSG don't like to see heavy investment wasted. Right now he looks like he can't manage that and blend the new with the old

[Steveo]

Not his fault - who on this planet could follow Klopp while working for these profiteers?

[Steveo]

And for me it wasn’t the structures and personnel put in place. That’s a narrative carried by those who refuse to see who and what F$G really are.

The idea that we could replicate the Boot Room succession under them is a joke. Klopp was an outlier, a miracle worker who dragged a club run by profiteers to the summit with one arm tied behind his back

Look at the timeline: 97 points, a Champions League, a 99-point title win, and a near-quadruple, all while the owners tightened the purse strings. His final gift was rebuilding a burnt-out midfield in one summer, creating the squad that secured the title last season. He did the work of a Manager, a Sporting Director, and an Owner, and it broke him. Barely nine months later, it’s obvious: we haven't replaced the man, and we certainly haven't replaced the miracle

[Insidious]

I don't think the heat will die down even if we beat PSV handsomely. The Eredivisie is currently a pile of wank. Things will either stay the same should we best PSV, or the pressure on Slot will increase even more if we don't take all three points.

Indeed.

League wins are required - and fast.

If we did beat PSV (European football seems to suit our set-up a little better so am quietly confident on it) and went on to beat West Ham away (confidence isn't as high here) then you set up the suddenly very-difficult-looking Sunderland match at Anfield.

If you win there and have won the previous two, then you're (probably) looking at us still being in the automatic qualifying spots for the Champion's League whilst being 3 points or less off the Top Four after 14 games.

That would look a little better as we'd finally have gotten back to getting a couple of wins off in a row and yet would still remain a v-e-r-y delicate position. There's a pack of sides that all have belief that they can attain European football for next season and they aren't going to let up in a hurry.

It's still my belief that things will pick up a bit February-to-May but Slot needs to weather a tumultuous remainder of November, December and January before we get there - not to mention that he actually has to start landing on the right solutions to combat the difficulties we will face along the way, such as brave calls on use of Salah, constructing a midfield properly and addressing our full-back situation without sticking Szoboszlai in there.

Buckle up, as the remainder of 2025 could be a rough ride.

[jozza800]

My concern is that after the City game we were looking at 5 very winnable games - Forest, PSV, Wham, Sunderland and Leeds. It was a chance to pick up some points and try and gain a bit of momentum.

However, i'm not even confidenent of beating PSV, nevermind the league games!

We've started the run horrifically. I wouldn't be at all suprised to see us beaten by any of the sides in this run to Christmas.

[teesred]

My concern is that after the City game we were looking at 5 very winnable games - Forest, PSV, Wham, Sunderland and Leeds. It was a chance to pick up some points and try and gain a bit of momentum.

However, i'm not even confidenent of beating PSV, nevermind the league games!

We've started the run horrifically. I wouldn't be at all suprised to see us beaten by any of the sides in this run to Christmas.

I thought exactly the same, looking at the fixtures yesterday I thought we can win all of them but equally lose most aswell on the flip side. Sunderland probably the toughest of the lot.
There's just nothing to be confident about.

[Insidious]

My concern is that after the City game we were looking at 5 very winnable games - Forest, PSV, Wham, Sunderland and Leeds. It was a chance to pick up some points and try and gain a bit of momentum.

However, i'm not even confidenent of beating PSV, nevermind the league games!

We've started the run horrifically. I wouldn't be at all suprised to see us beaten by any of the sides in this run to Christmas.

I didn't see us going on a "run" as such myself, certainly not winning 5 on the spin or anything. I was more in the line of thinking that it was going to be something like "win two, lose one" or "draw two, win one" for a while, probably into the start of 2026 - very much expecting us to look like a side that would finish 5th-9th for a while, then turning a corner somewhere towards the end of Mo's AFCON spell, landing on a few solutions and looking better in the final 15 or so games of the season to end up finishing 3rd/4th.

League games right now the confidence just isn't there as we have a number of players who don't look "on it" when behind the ball and our attack isn't bailing us out of that. We don't look like a side that wins two but loses one - we look like a side that could lose 3 more on the spin (in the League) and if that happens, I think the players will just stop responding entirely, if that Forest match hasn't already tipped them.

Europe I am way more confident about (could see us getting to the quarters or semis in the Champion's League) as there is a lot less of the long-throw, second-ball, lump-it footie that we are seemingly incapable of dealing with right now, plus players always seem to get themselves up for Europe, plus the Anfield factor, plus having more time/space.

I thought this period of questioning Slot's capacity to sort us out would be occuring in December/January and then we'd land on the "post-Salah" template and a lot would click into gear, but at the moment......oooof.......Slot has to get that far first and he seemingly can't buy a result right now. The West Ham away is huge.

[Steveo]

Yep and binning Slot might seem like the only way to stop the rot BUT, is Slot the real problem…? As much as he doesn’t deserve all the plaudits for last seasons title win, imo he doesn’t deserve all of the blame for this seasons current debacle.

None of us know who decided to target the players we did - or who sanctioned the sale of Diaz for instance. Slot has had to integrate lots of new faces… This is never easy - see Klopp 2.0 for teething problems.

It’s bad right now - and there is the real danger that we lose another 3 or 4 games before the year is out..Eeek

BUT another manager while offering the hope of a short term fix - may well provide potentially a longer term problem. We change the stability of the club. At least with Slot there is a legacy between him and his predecessor… a link to the mentality monsters. So many of the players are part of that link.

No way Arne is as bad as these last 8 or 9 results… is there? Could he be in Tent Pegs bracket? Naah

Is this all on Slot OR a panic by the club? Panic that Klopp’s team was aging in some areas and being broken up in others and that drastic action was needed? Does Arne really choose Isak ahead of Hugo or is there pressure from above? Who the heck knows. But imo disastrous as things look right now, binning the manager isn’t the answer just yet.

It’s damning for him at a glance because we payed top dollar AND we didn’t sign shyte players but quality… BUT - crucially why did we fail to bring in the players most needed? No replacement for Luis - a feable and late last minute attempt for a top CB when it was a glaring need back in February…. ! Still no attempt for a 6…?

It’s crazy - yet surely this bunch can be utilised to work as a side capable of a top 4 challenge?

[Steveo]

That bottom line will be the deciding factor in Arne’s future. The length of time that possibility remains and or the speed with which it disappears dictating the timeframe…

The golden goose is all the leeches are here for after all.

[Kev0909]

Every time we finish top it seems we do too little (like last time) Or this time..... completely bizzare transfers... and too much perhaps, and not even get what we fucking needed.... is the transfer team to blame this time surely? because FSG actually tried to stay on top by coughing up the money..... but it was a waste of time.