Liverpool have had an incredible fall from grace since winning the Premier League last season, and their 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Saturday has put even more pressure on manager Arne Slot.
Fans are starting to turn on the Dutchman who won them the league six months ago, with Slot’s side sitting down in 11th, level on points with Man United and 11 points off leaders Arsenal, who are already looking like champions elect.
After a summer in which Liverpool spent around £400 million on new players, is Slot already a dead man walking, and who could replace him?
Too much change all at once
Liverpool’s league winning side was so well balanced. They had Trent Alexander-Arnold providing defensive cover for Mohamed Salah with line-splitting balls, Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister sitting further back to help protect the centre-backs.
They were a well-oiled machine, and that’s mostly due to the fact that slot came in and changed nothing. The Dutchman had pretty much the same squad that Jurgen Klopp did in the season before and reaped the benefits.
It’s probably too early to say, but Liverpool’s summer 2025 transfer window may go down as one of the worst in Premier League history. £116 million Florian Wirtz looks so well off the pace, like he’s shocked by the intensity of the league with every touch of the ball.
As for their second British record transfer signing, Alexander Isak, he has been completely anonymous in his five Premier League appearances so far. Going on strike all summer meant he had no pre-season, but Slot himself said we’re allowed to judge the striker ahead of their defeat to Man United. Well, the verdict isn’t good.
New left-back Milos Kerkez was brought in to replace Andy Robertson, but he’s looking like half the player he did at Bournemouth and was dropped for key games against Man City and Real Madrid ahead of the international break.
The only real hit of Liverpool’s window is Hugo Ekitike, but signing Isak has completely derailed the momentum he had at the start of the season.
Why are Liverpool so bad right now?
Honestly, there are so many reasons we probably won’t cover everything here. Essentially, Liverpool are vulnerable at the back, lacking in midfield, and toothless up front, they’re bad everywhere on the pitch.
Liverpool’s struggles this season largely come from problems building play from the back. With Trent Alexander-Arnold sold to Real Madrid and Alisson injured, the defence has had to adjust. New goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili is left-footed, unlike Alisson, which subtly changes Liverpool’s passing patterns.
Instead of naturally funnelling play to Virgil van Dijk on the left, their best ball-playing defender, Mamardashvili’s distribution pushes the ball towards the right, where Liverpool have been less secure.
Opponents have exploited this by pressing to shut off the left side and force Liverpool into their weaker right-sided build-up. Individual issues add to the problem: Milos Kerkez can telegraph his passes, and Conor Bradley tends to play too quickly rather than helping slow the game to bypass pressure.
Overall, faster but less accurate passing from the back has led to more turnovers, shorter possessions, and a less effective build-up structure. Yes, Alisson came back for the defeat to Forest, so they have plenty of issues beyond their build-up.
Liverpool have issues beyond the pitch. Amid all the transfers, their summer was struck by immeasurable tragedy due to the death of much-loved forward Diogo Jota. The effect something like that can have on a team can’t be understated.
Who could replace Arne Slot?
Klopp is current favourite to return and save his former club, but he’s clearly loving life away from football management and has said several times that he probably won’t ever go back to it, so, sorry Liverpool fans, don’t put money on that one.
The two most obvious options are already in the Premier League; Oliver Glasner and Andoni Iraola. Both managers have seen their stock rise immensely over the past 18 months, and they’re both out of contract at the end of the season, so should be attainable.
Of the two, Glasner would be the better option. Iraola’s Bournemouth side play a very high line, and with Liverpool’s current defensive issues, they would continue to get found out, while the Crystal Palace boss would shore things up at the back, and build a foundation that would allow them to build some confidence.
Verdict
Slot needs to start getting some results, thankfully for him, Liverpool have a decent run of fixtures coming up, facing West Ham, Sunderland, and Leeds in their next three Premier League games.
It’s also hard to blame Slot for the entirety of Liverpool’s problems. They clearly added too many players for too much money in the summer, almost completely throwing off the balance of their squad.
So, Slot should get more time, yes there needs to be genuine signs of improvement, but he’s earned a bit more faith from those at the club.