This is an examination of Liverpool which seeks to get inside the dressing room and the minds of bruised players going from heroes to zeroes in the eyes of many fans. So forgive the rather bizarre starting place, which is a little village in the Dutch Bible Belt.
Bergentheim, to be exact. It’s the birthplace of Reds boss Arne Slot and still home to his parents, mum Fennie and dad Arend. Slot’s old man – father to Arne, Jakko, Edwin and Gerlinde – is a demanding fellow and, at times last season, was a vocal critic of his son.
Regularly he would be on the phone. ‘Why did you make this substitution?’ he would ask, or, ‘How could you only win this game 2-1?’. Slot Jnr – his side then a winning machine – would smirk as his dad said: ‘This performance was not exciting enough, son.’
Critical, yes, but with a limitless pride. Sometimes, he would pop down to the local shop, called Plus, five times a day. No, not because he was forgetful in his old age but because he wanted to bump into friends. ‘Arend, how good is your son?!’ they would ask. He loved it.
This week, though, calls with Slot Snr have been less like being summoned into the headteacher’s office – Arend, nearly an octogenarian, is a retired schoolmaster after all – but more like a therapy session where a softer approach has been offered to his struggling son.
‘As a dad when things go well, you can criticise more,’ said Slot when asked about his father this week. ‘As a dad, he knows how difficult it is for me. To give me another hit is not the best thing you can do as a dad. He is a bit more supportive now than when we are winning.
Arne Slot is lost for answers as Liverpool crash to defeat against PSV Eindhoven at Anfield in midweek – their ninth loss in 12 games
‘I can call so many managers or coaches I have worked with for advice, but there are a lot of people in the club such as my staff members, other people too. If I want to, I have a lot of people I can speak to.’
Slot had plenty of coaching colleagues on speed-dial last year, like Jurgen Klopp and Dutch legend Louis van Gaal and other old mentors from back in the day, but he did not need them. He was thrown in at the deep end, operating in Klopp’s shadow, but swam like Michael Phelps.
Now he is sinking. Fighting against the current, hurtling down the rapids without a paddle. The poor chap went from the toast of Liverpool to public enemy No 1 at Anfield.
If you doubt that last line, look at the empty seats on Wednesday at full-time, listen to the boos. Or look at a poll on social media that asked the simple question: ‘Slot – in or out?’ Of the more than 7,000 voters – most, but it must be said not all, Liverpool fans – 71 per cent wanted him gone.
Harsh? Yes, but arguments for his sacking are getting stronger. In the dressing room, senior stars are shellshocked. Virgil van Dijk, to his credit, fronts up to the press after every game. He is keen for the group to start taking ownership of the crisis. ‘We are letting the boss down’ is the general vibe. The skipper and others are irked and irritated at recent form.
Local lad and boyhood fan Curtis Jones spoke candidly about how annoyed players were, whereas others have been quiet – publicly at least. You cannot blame them, really.
Voices were raised after the 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest. Five of the first-team squad – Van Dijk, Salah, Andy Robertson, Dominik Szoboszlai and Wataru Endo – captain their countries, so you cannot say Liverpool are short of leaders.
So the main mood is one of bamboozlement. What on earth is happening? Two months ago, the only question over Slot’s future would have been when he was signing a new contract (as it stands, he has 18 months remaining), not when he would be packing up his things.
Liverpool legends such as Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard have joined in the pile-on this week, questioning Slot’s decision-making as well as the effort levels of the players.
Mohamed Salah’s form has fallen off a cliff. The Egyptian has scored just three non-penalty goals in the Premier League this season
Virgil van Dijk, to his credit, has fronted up to the press after every game. He is keen for the group to start taking ownership of the crisis
But despite the reaction from fans and pundits, many still think all the criticism this week has been reactionary and premature. It has all happened very quickly and one can compare the lack of fear factor at Anfield to Old Trafford in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
Other comparisons have been made to Manchester City last season, when the champions went on a run of juts one win in 13 matches. Slot himself thinks the fact Pep Guardiola, an idol of his, led City to finish third should inspire his team.
Guardiola stopped the rot but what if Slot does not? They have three league games in the next six days: trips to West Ham and Leeds with a home clash against Sunderland in the middle. What if results and performances do not change?
Just look at Jose Mourinho’s dismissal months after leading Chelsea to the 2014-15 title, or Claudio Ranieri being sacked six months after the 5,000-1 fairytale with Leicester City. It has happened before – and can again.
Ranieri tried to move Leicester away from the 4-4-2 counter-attacking style that had served them so well – see Slot meddling with his magical midfield that drove them to the title. Leicester signed striker Islam Slimani, for a club-record £28 million fee from Sporting Lisbon, but he failed to cut it – see Alexander Isak’s slow start to life at Anfield.
Liverpool’s position is that Slot is safe. After all, the Reds are two points off the top five and three off the top four. There is a chance that, this time next week, they are above current second-placed team Chelsea in the table. They remain on track to progress in Europe, too.
Playing devil’s advocate, Liverpool had a superb start to the season that masked over problems. They needed late winners in lots of early games and, going back further, performances were not great at the tail end of last term.
Club-record signing Alexander Isak has had a slow start to life at Anfield – adding to the parallels with Leicester’s disappointing follow-up to winning the league in 2015-16
A banner in the Kop with Arne Slot alongside other trophy-winning Liverpool managers. But how much longer will Slot keep his job?
Hugo Ekitike feels the pain of defeat to PSV but Liverpool’s drop-off began at the back end of last season
None of this is a new issue, basically. Some point to Slot losing assistant coach John Heitinga as an issue. Undoubtedly it is – as the players liked him… but it is hardly like the former Everton man, since sacked at Ajax, was the brains of the operation that masterminded the title win when others did nothing.
His replacement, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, is said to be a welcome voice on Slot’s team of lieutenants. The former Dutch midfielder is subject to interest from the Indonesia FA to take him as manager but sources close to Van Bronckhorst insist they have had no contact yet.
Slot is the man in the firing line, though – the man whose every move is now scrutinised and every word dissected. Is talk of him being sacked fair? Maybe. Does he deserve a chance to put this right? Yes, he still has credit in the bank.
Most importantly, the hierarchy agrees with that. But Slot himself knows that this next week, with three league games, is the biggest of his career. Winning the Premier League will never be taken away from him but, in football, you are only as good as your last game.
