Arne Slot with the Liverpool decision-makers. (Image: Getty Images)
Two years ago this week, as Jurgen Klopp entered his final ew matches at Anfield, Liverpool were gearing up for the arrival of the Arne Slot era. A deal struck with Feyenoord, made public on April 26, 2024, set in motion the process of hammering out the finer details between the two clubs, as Slot waited eagerly for confirmation that his coveted move would become a reality.
“It seems clear to me that I would like to work there,” the Dutchman said at the time. “The clubs are negotiating, so I am still on hold. We have to wait until an agreement is reached, but I have every confidence in that. I believe that Feyenoord will let me join Liverpool as it would be a massive step for me.”
Within a month, Klopp was chanting the name of his successor on the Anfield turf as the German said his goodbye on an emotionally charged afternoon in front of more than 60,000 supporters.
It was an unconventional way for a club of Liverpool’s stature to effectively announce their incoming manager, yet it was delivered in an almost characteristically spontaneous manner from a carefree Klopp, who by that point was gleefully abandoning the script and acting on impulse.
Within 12 months of news breaking that they had finalised the agreement with Feyenoord to appoint Slot as their new head coach, the Reds were revelling in one of their most celebrated days at Anfield, being crowned champions of England for a 20th time.
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A resounding 5-1 thrashing of Tottenham, who had the distraction of a Europa League final, proved the ideal curtain-raiser to one of the most euphoric afternoons the iconic stadium had ever witnessed, as Slot’s team was crowned champions of England.
The celebrations that evening, precisely one year ago today, stretched until roughly 3am inside the Carlsberg Dugout in the Main Stand. It was a relaxed gathering, with the squad still wearing their specially-designed ‘Champions 20’ T-shirts. It was more red collar than black tie, according to those fortunate enough to have been present.
From the outset, Slot delivered a masterclass in man-management, enhancing the right individuals at the right moments to lift the formidable squad that Klopp had handed over to him to fresh heights.
At that point, it appeared Slot was poised to join the established pantheon of dugout brilliance so revered on the Kop.
April 27 last year signalled the beginning of the summer-long celebrations on Merseyside. Title presentations and trophy parades followed the month afterwards as the head coach and his squad rightfully basked in the adulation of an extraordinary campaign that few had anticipated when he first took over from the inspirational Klopp.
Many, at that juncture, had actually spoken of an unavoidable hangover from the glittering era under the previous manager. Its emergence, with the benefit of hindsight, has perhaps been postponed. Slot finds himself in vastly different circumstances now. The closing stages of April 2026 represent a stark contrast for the Reds manager, who has navigated a challenging and occasionally turbulent campaign with doubts still remaining.
Securing a place in next season’s Champions League, which will be guaranteed with six points from the remaining four fixtures, against Manchester United, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Brentford, is now appearing a more realistic prospect than at any point this season. That, however, will offer little comfort.
Arne Slot has struggled in his second season at Liverpool. (Image: Getty Images)
In many respects, a recent sequence of three consecutive wins has spared May from becoming a defining month for their entire campaign against the sides they are competing with to emerge as the ‘best of the rest’ behind title contenders Arsenal and Manchester City.
Liverpool, who currently sit fourth ahead of Sunday’s trip to United, are well-placed as the final month of the season looms, but securing their spot in next season’s Champions League won’t be regarded as a measure of achievement. It has consistently been the fundamental minimum expectation for a club that appears to have planned its finances around participation in Europe’s most profitable competition.
Slot will cite numerous factors why his side have fallen short of where they stood at this stage last year, but justifications rapidly begin to resemble excuses.
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Injuries have undoubtedly taken their toll at times, and while there has been considerable misfortune for the likes of Conor Bradley, Wataru Endo and £204m strike duo Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak, the casualty list has never spiralled to the almost farcical depths witnessed during some recent campaigns.
Slot’s principal headache, in truth, has been a shortage of squad depth at a club that was far too eager to offload its fringe players last summer.
Slot has consistently maintained that Liverpool do not retain players against their will, meaning those who wished to leave — Darwin Nunez, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luis Diaz, to name but three — were duly permitted to do so. Harvey Elliott represents yet another such case.
However, recouping reasonably substantial fees for squad players such as Ben Doak, Tyler Morton and even Jarell Quansah means the current group now contains too few players capable of generating comparable funds this summer.
Should the Reds be forced to ‘sell-to-buy’ — as Slot claimed following the Champions League elimination against Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month — which players would they realistically be prepared to part with? It appears increasingly probable that certain first-team regulars may find their futures scrutinised in order to finance the next phase of the rebuild.
Slot may point to injury misfortune, the suspected hamstring complaint casting a cloud over Mohamed Salah’s final weeks at Anfield being a prime example, yet the absentee list has never been truly extraordinary for a club of Liverpool’s stature. Too many of the understudies have simply failed to earn sufficient trust.
A consistent pattern throughout the campaign has been the overall standard of performance, irrespective of results. Seventeen defeats across all competitions is simply unacceptable, a reality captain Virgil van Dijk has admitted on numerous occasions in his honest post-match assessments.
Yet what has proved most alarming is that, beyond a handful of bright moments in some of the season’s more prestigious fixtures, the Reds’ overall showings have all been plagued by the same laboured shortcomings.
Slot admitted it was difficult to hear earlier this year that his style of football this season might be characterised as ‘boring’, but supporters can typically tolerate defeats more readily when an attacking brand of football has them gripped to their seats at its peak. That hasn’t occurred nearly often enough this season.
It’s expected that Slot’s end-of-season assessment will see him remain in his current role. Club owners Fenway Sports Group, who have implemented significant changes at the Boston Red Sox, are committed to affording their head coach the time and opportunity to demonstrate why April 2025 represents the standard and April 2026 the anomaly.
However, the margin for error will be smaller the further the club moves away from that memorable day this time last year.
