Liverpool are very much in a crisis after Saturday's 3-0 thrashing against Nottingham Forest. The Reds have now lost six of their 12 Premier League matches this season and their title defence is already over, with resilient league leaders Arsenal 11 points clear of the Merseyside outfit.
Questions are now being asked of manager Arne Slot despite the Dutchman leading Liverpool to the title in his first season last term. The 47-year-old is struggling to prove he can be the man to stop the rot. So how long should Slot get before Liverpool decide enough is enough? The Express Sport team have their say on Slot's future...
Charlie Malam
Should Arne Slot be sacked right now? No. How long should he get? Well with Liverpool playing like this, maybe two or three more months? They have no playing style and that is why he's losing the credit he has in the bank. There are serious questions about whether he can solve this crisis. He's shown little this season to indicate that he can.
The death of Diogo Jota has had a huge impact on the squad and that is inarguably a significant factor in their steep decline this season. But tactically, this Liverpool team are an absolute mess and it is on the manager to fix that. Slot has been given two international breaks to work out a solution since this poor run started and both times the Reds have lost at Anfield in their first game back.
It's difficult to say what formation Liverpool SHOULD play with this squad. But it is Slot who signed off on the summer signings. Florian Wirtz was sold on Slot's plan for him. So what plan was that? Who knows. None of the players seem to know. This team don't have any substance right now. They can't defend and they can't attack. They're bad at pressing, ponderous in possession, they're not direct any more and they can't defend set-pieces.
Only Dominik Szoboszlai has had a good season but the rest have not become bad players overnight. The bulk of blame therefore has to be apportioned to the manager. Slot needs to show, and fast, that he can address some of these problems or Liverpool are well within their right to axe him before the season is out. An awkward problem is that there's no clear replacement should it get to that point...
Tom Parsons
The Liverpool hierarchy will be desperately trying to understand whether Arne Slot is capable of finding solutions to his team’s current woes.
The Dutchman has huge credit in the bank after taking a group of players who adored their previous manager, Jurgen Klopp, and re-energising them to perform at their peak levels en route to winning Premier League silverware.
However, Slot now has a very different problem to overcome. His squad is arguably stronger than it was last season, but the players are just not performing how they should be.
Slot needs to give his bosses an indication that he can steer the team out of their mini-crisis. And he needs to do it urgently. If Liverpool are still marooned in mid-table by the end of the busy festive period, Slot will be running out of time. And the Reds should bring in a new manager in the New Year if Slot has been unable to arrest the slide by then.
Jack McEachen
Arne Slot should at least get the season. He has already lifted the title, and if they hadn’t run into PSG last season, who knows where they would have ended up in the Champions League?
This start to the season is horrific, of course, but Slot has earned the right to turn things around. The £450m summer spend illustrated the trust and faith that has already been placed in the Dutchman.
Besides, what managers are on the market that would seriously appeal? Unless Jurgen Klopp is willing to walk away from his new life, then few options generate significant promise.
Slot has already demonstrated he can lead Liverpool to being one of, if not the best, teams on the planet. He deserves time and patience.
Aaron Morris
Despite heading into the season with a feeling of invincibility, given he managed to guide Liverpool to the Premier League title last term with very little effort in the summer transfer window, Arne Slot will surely be feeling the heat as a result of the Reds’ recent run of poor form. With just one win in their last five league outings, Liverpool languish in a lowly 11th.
Not only have summer signings in Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak failed to live up to their monumental price tags, but a previously impregnable defence of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate haven’t looked up to scratch this season, sporting more holes than a sinking ship. Meanwhile, having to utilise Dominik Szoboszlai as a makeshift full-back as a result of Jeremie Frimpong’s injuries also hasn’t helped matters, given Liverpool lose a key part of their engine room as a result.
Liverpool’s current defensive debacle may leave football fans worldwide wondering whether the acquisition of Marc Guehi would have prevented such a lacklustre run of form this term, especially given how close the Reds were to signing the Crystal Palace skipper on deadline day. Meanwhile, the choice to ship out Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen could also raise eyebrows, considering how well he is performing in the Bundesliga and Liverpool’s lack of depth in the position.
As for how long Slot has left at the helm, I believe that he has the rest of the season given his accomplishment of winning the league last season, regardless of whether Liverpool’s current run of form continues or worsens. It’s a bold statement, considering Graham Potter and Ange Postecoglou were let go by West Ham and Nottingham Forest respectively for similar results, but I’m not sure Liverpool will be in any rush to ship the 47-year-old, especially considering they traditionally tend to stick with their managers for prolonged periods.