Image Credits: Imago Images
It has been a season to forget for large parts of the Anfield faithful. After the euphoria of winning the Premier League title in Arne Slot’s debut campaign – the Dutchman becoming only the fifth manager in Premier League history to clinch the trophy in his first season in English football – the 2025/26 campaign has been a sobering reality check.
Liverpool spent close to £450 million in the summer, bringing in the likes of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz with the expectation of building a dynasty. Instead, an autumn collapse saw the reigning champions lose six of seven Premier League games between September and November, at one point slipping as low as 12th in the table – their lowest league position in over a decade.
The style of football drew its own firestorm. Fans labelled the team dull and boring, a criticism that Slot, to his credit, addressed head-on by admitting in January that he didn’t “completely disagree,” while insisting his intention was always to play attacking football.
Nevertheless, despite all the external noise around Slot, FSG have no plans to dismiss the Dutch manager, at least according to Paul Joyce.
The Times journalist has reported that FSG are “steadfastly” behind Slot and want him to “emerge” from this tricky period:
“There are some Premier League clubs, where the pain threshold is lower, who might have already swung the axe,” Joyce wrote.
“FSG remain steadfastly behind Slot and want him to emerge from the turbulence.”
“Slot is not known to doubt himself and he has told friends that he will turn it round. He continues to be hands-on on the training pitch, along with his assistant Sipke Hulshoff, and will have spent time poring obsessively over every perceived mistake, but he cannot help but be aware of the mood changes, the jeers and will have been hurt by the branding of his team as ‘boring’.”
In other words, this is very much FSG doubling down on their original bet. Slot has endured a brutal first title defence, yet the ownership is convinced the problems are temporary rather than terminal and that their manager, not the players, is best placed to drag Liverpool through the storm.
The pressure will not ease any time soon, but Joyce seems to hint that if there is to be a reset at Anfield this summer, it is far more likely to be around Slot than without him.
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