LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - APRIL 27: (SUN OUT, SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Former Liverpool player and TV Pundit Robbie Fowler, looks on while presenting prior to the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC at Anfield on April 27, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Robbie Fowler has revealed what the dressing room will be thinking(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
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Robbie Fowler believes the dismissal of Arne Slot will be met with optimism by those in the Liverpool dressing room. The powers that be at Anfield called time on Slot's two-season tenure on Saturday morning.
The Dutch head coach won the Premier League title in his maiden season with the Reds but struggled in his sophomore campaign. Naturally, dramatic change can come with any new appointment, with Liverpool eyeing Andoni Iraola as their next manager.
Fowler, who scored 171 goals for the Reds during two spells at Anfield, knows all too well the havoc and opportunity that a change in head coach can usher in. The legendary forward was at Liverpool during managerial transitions from Graeme Souness to Roy Evans and, then later, from Evans to Gerard Houllier.
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Fowler thinks there'll be an appetite for something new and a feeling of excitement flowing through the club at what's to come. Speaking via BetMGM, the former Liverpool striker exclusively told the ECHO: "I think there will be a little bit of excitement [at a new manager coming in].
"Don't get me wrong, it's not excitement about getting rid of the manager, it is excitement about the new plans, the new ideas, the training methods, the new everything."
Even Slot's arrival brought new methods to Liverpool. The Dutchman changed how Liverpool players prepared for games, famously axing Jurgen Klopp's rule that players must stay at a city centre hotel ahead of home games.
KIRKBY, ENGLAND - MARCH 09: Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, speaks to his players during a training session ahead of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Round of 16 First Leg match between Galatasaray and at AXA Training Centre on March 09, 2026 in Kirkby, England. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Liverpool players will be gearing up for life without Arne Slot(Image: 2026 Getty Images)
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"But what you've seen with Slot is totally different to what you saw with Jurgen Klopp in terms of how you prepare for games, how you go to hotels," Fowler added.
"So I think from a player point of view, that's one of the first things you think of. 'Well, how are we going to play? How is the system going to be? Are we all going to fit into this system?' And then obviously the training regime, 'What do we do in training?'
"For me, football is about creating an environment and a training environment where players want to come in and train all the time and want to be the very best version of themselves. So I think you look forward to it. And look, regardless of what people think, I think there'll be a lot of people in that dressing room who will be sad to see Arne go because they'll have a good relationship.
"Now what we see on the outside is maybe different from what players and the coaches have to see within the four walls of the AXA (Liverpool’s training base). Now all of a sudden everything's got to change. You know, the methods. I mean, even the eating habits could change, in terms of where you eat or if you go to hotels before games."
Liverpool's Dutch manager Arne Slot brings on Liverpool's Dutch striker #18 Cody Gakpo (C), Liverpool's English striker #73 Rio Ngumoha (2R) and Liverpool's Argentinian midfielder #10 Alexis Mac Allister (R) during the English FA Cup quarter final football match between Manchester City and Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on April 4, 2026.
The Liverpool dressing room will be braced for change now that Slot has gone, according to Fowler(Image: Getty)
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Slot's sacking has been polarising. Some believe the time was right to look elsewhere after the Reds lost 20 games in all competitions last season, while there's a view that he's been treated harshly.
Fowler, although admitting he would've given the Dutchman more time, conceded the buck always stops with the man in charge when things aren't going well. "I think we should have given him a little bit more time," he said.
"I was a little surprised by it coming out now. But I think a lot of it comes down to the manager. I think it's how he plays. It was very unusual for the club to have so many things that are not aligned within that one period of time.
"You can maybe have one player off it and then you sort of try and fix and eradicate those problems, but Liverpool have had a lot of injuries as well. I'm not putting the manager down too much, but I think the manager does play a part because he's picked the team."