Parallels have been drawn between legendary Liverpool manager Bob Paisley and Arne Slot for winning the Premier League on his first attempt — now he has to match another achievement.
Liverpool are in the trenches this season, looking a different side to the one that walked the league last term.
This 20-game Premier League run from Slot is as bad as we’ve seen since the days of Roy Hodgson 15 years ago.
Discuss: Liverpool are worse to watch this season than under Roy Hodgson
A bleak comparison for Slot 😬
Roy Hodgson and Arne Slot records at Liverpool
Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
But you can go further back, to the days of Bob Paisley, where Liverpool came out of a similar situation in convincing fashion.
Replicating the feat might be Slot’s get-out-of-jail card.
Bob Paisley’s perfect response to a similar Liverpool rut
Way back in the 1980s, Paisley was undergoing a rebuild at the club after a phenomenal first six-years.
It didn’t start smoothly. That iteration of the Reds were also defending champions who went on a run of six wins in 21 games, an almost identical stretch.
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They ended that season in fifth — the bare minimum for Slot this season — and won a European Cup.
Bob Paisley
Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images
It might be a stretch to suggest this Liverpool team could follow in Paisley’s footsteps again, but the performances in the Champions League have been drastically better.
If Slot were to take this side to European glory, it would certainly secure his position at Anfield.
Fifth could be enough for Arne Slot but maybe not for Liverpool fans
If Liverpool don’t manage to win the Champions League, but finish in fifth and book their place for next season’s competition, that might suffice for him to keep his job.
That doesn’t mean it will satisfy the supporters, though.
What does Arne Slot have to do to still be at Liverpool next season?
FSG are ‘firmly’ behind the manager 👀
Arne Slot on Liverpool future
Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images
After such a spend in the summer and so much to celebrate last season, a measly fifth-place finish and no trophies would feel like a huge letdown.
But FSG seem to be backing Slot. He might escape the sack without another Paisley-like feat.
Whether he should or not is another question.
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