Arne Slot’s position at Liverpool is set to become “untenable” if results continue to tank despite the club’s strong desire to stick with the Dutch coach, reports claim.
Slot saw his future openly called into question by disgruntled fans during the 4–0 FA Cup quarterfinal humbling against Manchester City. Those who stayed at the Etihad to watch Liverpool’s players give up after falling three goals down early in the second half chanted the name of Xabi Alonso.
The former Real Madrid manager and retired Liverpool midfielder has been billed as a potential alternative to Slot, with calls growing louder each week the Reds fail to rediscover their title-winning form.
Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain serves as a poignant marker. Last season’s European meeting with the French giants proved to be a decisive turning point in Slot’s debut season, inspiring a slump from which Liverpool are yet to pull out of.
Liverpool lost just four of Slot’s first 45 games before they were knocked out of the Champions League round of 16 by PSG last March. The Reds have suffered defeat in 20 of their 59 matches since.
Arne Slot’s Record Split by PSG Elimination
| Statistic (All Comps) | Pre-PSG Elimination (per Game) | Post-PSG Elimination (per Game) |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 45 | 59 |
| Wins | 34 (76%) | 29 (49%) |
| Draws | 7 (16%) | 10 (17%) |
| Losses | 4 (9%) | 20 (34%) |
| Goals Scored | 105 (2.3) | 106 (1.8) |
| Goals Conceded | 38 (0.8) | 80 (1.4) |
Despite the team’s worrying form and some damning admission from the squad about a lack of commitment, Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) are still keen to give Slot “the chance to put things right next season,” according to The Athletic.
However, that generous stance is not expected to last if Slot fails to steer Liverpool back into the Champions League next season. Given the financial outlay last summer and the sums which would be required to fix the holes which exist in the current squad, missing out on Europe could be catastrophic. Certainly for Slot. “Champions League or bust,” is the line The Athletic have stuck to.
Liverpool currently occupy fifth place, which will guarantee Champions League qualification should any Premier League club avoid defeat in Europe this week. Chelsea, however, are just one point adrift in sixth while Manchester United (six ahead) and Aston Villa (five) threaten to pull away.
Some Liverpool fans may argue that Slot’s time should be up regardless of the club’s eventual Premier League finish, paving the way for Alonso to assume the helm. John Barnes is not one of them.
Liverpool Legend Questions Fans Over Arne Slot Treatment
On the face of it, Alonso boasts a number of admirable qualities. The unattached ex-Liverpool midfielder established a strong reputation as one of the world’s most exciting young coaches while winning the Bundesliga title for Bayer Leverkusen. For many, that standing hasn’t taken a major hit following his unsuccessful spell in the Spanish capital given the unique demands of the Madrid job. Barnes, however, isn’t so forgiving.
“I understand the clamor because Xabi is a Liverpool favorite,” the iconic winger told the Liverpool Echo. “But did he not fail at Real Madrid? Was he actually a successful manager?
“Of course, don’t get me wrong, I think Xabi is great and he did a good job. But he got sacked by Real Madrid for failure, didn’t he? That’s why they got rid of him.”
Alonso was given just seven months and 34 games at the Bernabéu. Inheriting a roster which failed to win a major trophy during Carlo Ancelotti’s final campaign, the philosophical new hire struggled to implement a high-pressing approach which didn’t suit his star-studded squad. Real Madrid’s retired star Gareth Bale summed up his former teammate’s struggles best: “In Madrid, you don’t need to be a coach, you need to be a manager.”
Beyond Alonso’s perceived failures, Barnes opposed Slot’s exit on principle. “We won the league with Arne Slot and all of a sudden we want to sack him?” the former top-flight champion asked.
Barnes joined Liverpool in 1987 at a time when the club’s unprecedented success domestically and abroad was founded by a proud sense of continuity. “If there is one word in our language which depicts Liverpool FC,” the club’s former chairman John Smith used to say, “it is ‘stability.’” Sacking Slot less than a year after he delivered Liverpool’s second league title since Barnes left the club wouldn’t fit that mantra.
“If he [Slot] then goes and Alonso comes, suppose Alonso fails in his first six months or first year, are we going to say sack him and bring somebody else in?” Barnes mused. “I always support the managers, whoever they are, because they come to the club because of their success, because they're good managers, and they have to be given time.
“Jürgen Klopp was 20 points off the top when he first came, but we stuck with him. So I think Xabi will be a great manager one day, but I want Arne Slot to stay.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Untenable’—Liverpool’s Stance on Arne Slot Sack As Xabi Alonso Pressure Grows.
