[Liverpool](https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/)’s success thus far this season would make it reasonable for some people to forget just how seismic a change this year was supposed to be. Moving on from an iconic coach - undoubtedly the best the club’s had in the Premier League Era and, likely, one that many would etch up next to the likes of Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley as the greatest ever - is never easy. But Arne Slot and his team have made good on the insistence that Jurgen Klopp left behind a squad that was always more likely to steamroll teams than fall apart.
As the calendar races towards the midway mark for the Premier League season, Liverpool find themselves atop the table with a match in hand. All after the departure of Klopp and essentially the entire coaching staff.
One department that likely felt a more pronounced shift is in goalkeeping, where the likes of Alisson Becker and Caoimhin Kelleher had to also account for the changeover from one of the few members in the senior coaching set-up that pre-dated the arrival of Klopp: John Achterberg. While the current goalkeepers coaching staff includes a familiar face in Claudio Taffarel, the head of the staff is new arrival, Fabian Otte.
Which is all to say that there’s been a lot of transition within this unit. And yet, the performances on the pitch do not reflect any kind of turbulence. Instead, you see what looks like a well-oiled machine out there, starting with the guys donning the gloves and manning the space between the posts.
[Ali spoke with the official site and gave his take on how things have been](https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.liverpoolfc.com%2Fnews%2Freally-good-direction-alisson-becker-lfcs-new-goalkeeping-set&referrer=sbnation.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fliverpooloffside.sbnation.com%2F2024%2F12%2F22%2F24327077%2Fliverpool-alisson-on-life-under-the-new-regime-slot-klopp-achertberg-goalkeeping-premier-league):
> ‘It’s not easy to change, I had – and have still – a really good relationship with John and Jack. And with Taffa, all three working together were really good. Not only for myself but also for the other goalkeepers as well, but the club decided to change, so you have to just accept that. Fabian is a great guy, full of energy, young, brings a lot of quality. He didn’t change too much, to be honest, because when he came in we had a lot of talks about how I like to work, how the goalies like to work.I said to him, I have a way of working but I want you to bring something because he came here to put something on the table as well – and I am smart enough to know that I don’t know all things about football.”
It looks like a good understanding is brewing because, as is indicative of the understanding across the squad, Ali and the other keepers all look like they have a great sense of the game plan and the patterns of play.
Which, for me, underscores just how valuable Slot and his entire team are: it is no small feat to be able to assess an entire team (with so many off at international tournaments over the summer, no less), make the determinations as to how to adjust play, and then distribute that information in a way that fosters both comprehension but also buy-in. From a leadership perspective, what Slot’s done in these early months is nothing short of extraordinary. Here’s hoping it continues.