The ECHO's Liverpool FC reporters assess the state of play over head coach Arne Slot and his Anfield future
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - JANUARY 12: Arne Slot manager of Liverpool looks on during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Liverpool and Barnsley on January 12, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by MB Media/Getty Images)
If Arne Slot's glorious debut campaign in charge of Liverpool was almost serene, his second season has been anything but(Image: MB Media/Getty Images)
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If Arne Slot, to borrow his own words, thought he had 'quietened the noise' surrounding Liverpool and his own future as the club's head coach with a 13-match unbeaten run in all competitions, then Saturday's 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth put paid to that.
That same 13-match unbeaten run in all competitions has now quickly become five games without a win in the Premier League and, with Chelsea and Manchester United triumphing the following day, a bad weekend for the defending champions became worse as they slipped to sixth in the table.
There are mitigating circumstances for what's happened this season and victory at home to Qarabag tonight (Wednesday), and with it automatic progression to the round of 16 in the Champions League, would ease some of the frustration among the fanbase following the events on the south coast.
But few could have envisaged Liverpool being so far off the pace in the Premier League title race at this stage of the season and they are now in a very real fight to achieve a top four or top-five finish.
It comes with the territory, then, that there are question marks over Slot, who come the summer will be going into the final year of his Anfield contract. Will the man who led the Reds to their first league championship in front of supporters in 35 years be in charge beyond then?
Our Liverpool writers have their say...
Paul Gorst
From winning the Premier League to facing an uphill battle for a top-four place, it's been quite the few months for Arne Slot and his Liverpool squad. But where to start in the assessment of where it is all going wrong?
The Reds underwent a significant turnover of players in the summer months as big-name operators like Luis Diaz, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Darwin Nunez all left alongside the likes of Harvey Elliott, Jarell Quansah and Caoimhin Kelleher.
In came marquee names like Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz to fit in alongside Milos Kerkez, Hugo Ekitike and Giorgi Mamardashvili, but despite the makeup of Slot's squad changing considerably after a summer spend of around £450m, few were grumbling when the window closed on September 1.
So it would seem like revisionism to suggest the work performed during the player trading months was not up to the standard required. Adding a senior centre-half to the ranks would have undoubtedly helped but talking down the summer window is to do so with hindsight now.
There is, of course, the tragic passing of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva to consider in all of this too. It's impossible to gauge how much grief is impacting performances but Andy Robertson revealing how close to his thoughts his good pal was just moments after qualifying for the World Cup with Scotland in November was telling.
Just because the players aren't talking about the shocking and sudden death of their colleague in every interview does not mean his absence isn't keenly felt around the place and that is a factor that is not always taken on board by a lot of supporters in the social media era. For that alone, the critiques have to be more measured.
But on the pitch, Slot's side have struggled for cohesion and consistency. Their inability to defend set-pieces has been their Achilles Heel all season and their awful habit of conceding in stoppage time has cost them nine points already.
Add in the difficulty in establishing any fluid patterns in the final third and the ponderous, laborious build-up play and it's clear that this is a confidence-shot side who aren't going to magically return to last season's heights overnight.
Slot, as is the case in the modern game, has to carry the can for most of that under-performance. Admittedly there have been many extenuating circumstances in a campaign where it has felt, at times, like anything that can go wrong will.
A leg break to Isak came at a bad time, while season-ending injuries to Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni have been tough to take. The fallout from Mohamed Salah's ill-advised interview at Leeds United needlessly dominated the Anfield agenda for too long in December and it has taken most of the new arrivals some time to showcase what they are all about.
But even a 13-game unbeaten sequence failed to inspire before it was ended with a fifth stoppage-time goal against in Saturday's 3-2 loss to Bournemouth. They still look short of creativity and ideas in the final third and just six wins since September in the Premier League tells its own story. At a club the size of Liverpool, explanations quickly start to sound like excuses.
Slot and staff gave fans two of their greatest ever days in April and May last season when the title was confirmed and then lifted and that is why there is still some belief he can get it back on track.
But it would also be accurate to stress that the support-base for the head coach has dwindled significantly since the end of September, when results started to wane. Failure to secure Champions League football will surely result in a change at the helm.
Ian Doyle
This next statement is likely to hurt the feelings of a significant number of people. But that doesn't make it any less true.
The Liverpool board, much like Arne Slot himself, pay absolutely zero attention to whatever people are saying on social media.
True, the players may be aware of comments and content, and many actively look to engage in conversation with fans. But for the decision-makers, what happens online stays online.
The same, though, cannot be said for those who pay their hard-earned to watch Liverpool on a regular basis. These are the people who, similar to almost any club, will sway the opinion of those in the corridors of power when it comes to determining whether time is up for whoever is sat in the hotseat.
True, there was a smattering of boos last time out when the full-time whistle went against Burnley in Liverpool's last home game. That, though, was largely due to frustration. And if jeers are the barometer of automatic dismissal, how is Mikel Arteta still Arsenal manager after what happened at the weekend?
Anfield is far from turning toxic. But to say there are no grumblings from the natives would be misleading. They know this team is capable of a whole lot better than they have produced this season.
The football has at times been a difficult watch. But then it was for a large part of the 2020/21 season in defence of a thrillingly-won title, and it certainly was in 2022/23 when Liverpool ended up missing out on Champions League qualification altogether. There wasn't much appetite to sack Jurgen Klopp then, if memory serves. And don't forget, the Reds - the most decorated team in English football history - haven't retained a trophy since 1984. That's 42 years ago.
Slot, though, has been handed a few other issues. Similar to Brendan Rodgers with Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard, he's having to oversee the closing stages of the careers of two Liverpool greats in Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah while planning long-term for their replacements. Not easy, as Salah has shown already this season.
While Fenway Sports Group sanctioned a record £450m signing splurge this summer, it perhaps came at the expense of selling a coupe of players too many. There's a reason clubs don't spend £100m+ on two players in a matter of months, as Liverpool have discovered to their cost.
And then there's the inevitable and understandable impact of Diogo Jota's death which, while impossible to calculate, simply cannot be understated.
So, now what? Liverpool have shown time and again in the past they will be patient with managers. Sometimes it works - see Gerard Houllier and Klopp - other times it doesn't, such as Graeme Souness and ultimately Rodgers. Only Roy Hodgson was swiftly axed, and nobody was surprised at that.
Manchester United are a good case in point of the problems a club can face when a successful managerial era ends. Even now they continue to make appointments with the image of Sir Alex Ferguson in their minds. They haven't moved on.
Liverpool were much the same before Klopp arrived. Which is why following him was such an unenviable task in many ways - and what made Slot's title win in his first season in charge all the more remarkable. Not even Klopp could win the championship with those players.
That, and the fact FSG backed the head coach so heavily in the transfer market only to then see him thus far unable to even hint at the potential of the grand plan, means they are unlikely to do anything hasty in the summer.
Even if Liverpool fail to qualify for the Champions League, it will be a difficult decision for them to jettison a man in whom their faith was so instantly rewarded - regardless of who else may be on the managerial market.