Arne Slot insists he is ‘100 per cent convinced’ Liverpool will be a different team next season after a year to forget.
But what gives him such faith? Judging off the last 12 months, there is very little evidence to suggest the team are learning from past problems and mistakes.
The people who matter – owners Fenway Sports Group, sporting director Richard Hughes and others in the top brass – believe Slot is still the man, even if fans may disagree with that.
So here are five things Slot and those above him must fix this summer and on to next season if they are to fix this mess and right the wrongs of this last year…
Get the fans back onside
One thing you will notice is that most of the points we will note are somewhat linked. The fans would not boo and be negative if the performances were not so feeble.
Likewise, the famed Anfield atmosphere would not go AWOL if the playing style was not so slow, uninspiring and naive.
Arne Slot is ‘100 per cent’ convinced that his Liverpool side will be better next season
But priority No 1 for Slot has to be the fans. They are the lifeblood of the club and, right now, they are firmly against the current manager and his tactics.
On Saturday against Chelsea, they voted with their feet as many headed for the exits early. A glance at the stairwells with 10 minutes to go was a fair gauge of belief right now… many just did not want to be there any more, they did not fancy their team to win. Who can blame them?
They also booed – not for the first time this season. It was loud when Rio Ngumoha was substituted, clearly angry at Slot for making the change even though it was fitness related, and then again at full-time after a lacklustre display.
To be honest, it feels like the head coach is past the point of return and has been for some time. Once this loyal, honest and knowledgeable crowd make up their minds, it might be hard to change their opinion back in your favour.
Standing by Slot risks making next season a write-off, too. Look at Erik ten Hag at Manchester United – given an extra season after a protracted saga over his future but then sacked in October. Look at Brendan Rodgers, even, in 2015 at Liverpool.
How does Slot change that? Well…
Playing style must improve
Liverpool are a boring team to watch. The play style is slow, lethargic and predictable. Even when they have been winning games this year, they have hardly produced edge-of-your-seat drama you cannot take your eyes off.
It has been the same for a year now.
Liverpool are boring to watch and their playing style must improve over the summer break
Gone are the days of last season when Liverpool would attack at a breakneck speed, like the Red Arrows flying forward, be it Mo Salah at the top of his game or Luis Diaz or – God rest his soul – Diogo Jota or even, dare it be said, the erratic agent of chaos Darwin Nunez.
The last 10 minutes of this affair with Chelsea was like watching a walking football match. Harsh, maybe, but watch it back and bring evidence that it is not true. There was one moment where Giorgi Mamardashvili won the ball and half the Reds team just stood still. Awful.
If Liverpool had drawn this match having been knocking on the door with chance after chance or putting in an energetic performance that was only denied by solid defending, poor finishing or an inspired goalkeeping display, fans would not have minded it.
Yet instead it was obvious where this game was headed. They seemed happy with a draw. Against a team that had lost six in a row for the first time since 1993, the playing style – whether by design or not – gave fans nothing to get excited about.
Fix the midfield
Ryan Gravenberch had his best 20 minutes of the season on Saturday and not just because he scored a goal. He was back to his former self which was when it felt like he would be able to find space on a rush-hour tube at London Euston.
Yet overall, he has had a disappointing campaign which perhaps goes unnoticed given his partner has been even worse. Alexis Mac Allister, the World Cup winner who was in the top bracket of midfielders last year, has gone backwards – which is putting it nicely.
Many fans have reached the conclusion that the Argentine should be sold. At first it seemed like a knee-jerk reaction but now it is fair, yet ask yourself this: who would buy Mac Allister for a reasonable price based on this season?
Even if Real Madrid’s best attempts at a Fight Club sequel lead to a few of their midfielders, like Fede Valverde or Aurelien Tchouameni, leaving the club, would the Spanish giants really want to stump up cash for a player who looks like his legs have gone?
Ryan Gravenberch (left) looked back to his old self against Chelsea, and Alexis Mac Allister has gone majorly backwards this season
Aside from personnel, Liverpool always look like they are played through like a hot knife through butter. Against Chelsea, the likes of Enzo Fernandez was popping up in dangerous positions aplenty, with Marc Cucurella also exploiting gaps.
After a huge spend last summer of just under £450million, it feels like a big spend is needed again. Alongside a Salah replacement, a midfielder – maybe a true No 6 with legs – should be top of the shopping list.
Say a prayer that injuries are better
Slot has had fair reason to be aggrieved with Liverpool’s number of injuries this term. It was only this time last year that we were lauding them for a spotless record in this regard – was it by design or just good luck?
Whatever it was, this year can be filed under ‘bad luck’, with long-term absentees all over the place at the AXA Training Centre.
That will surely even out next season, though we are not yet sure when the likes of Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni and Jeremy Jacquet will be able to join up with team-mates after their lengthy lay-offs – and how long it will take them to get to full fitness.
Hugo Ekitike will miss a chunk of next term with an Achilles injury, which leaves Alexander Isak – himself injury prone – as the only recognised No 9 at the club. Cody Gakpo has led the line in the last fortnight.
He is not as bad as some fans think but the Dutchman is also not the answer to Slot’s many problems.
Is Slot to blame for everything?
No!
Although it has been brushed under the carpet somewhat, the fallout between Slot and Salah in December – as Daily Mail Sport wrote at the time – was obviously a lot more severe than many thought.
But Slot is not to blame for everything, and will have his own team next season when the likes of Mo Salah leave
The damage was done and it has cast a shadow over this season. Slot will have his own team next season with Salah, Andy Robertson and maybe Alisson leaving but he will have no excuses if it does not improve.
Should he still be talking about injuries, missed chances and refereeing decisions in the autumn, it would not wash. One bad season is perhaps forgivable with fans, two would not be.
Fans are right to question him but should also quit the conspiracy theories online. There has been a belief recently that Liverpool have too many days off when, in fact, they have spent more days in training this season than they did last year when they were champions.
A video surfaced of players doing keepy-ups in the bowels of Old Trafford and that was widely criticised. If that was last season and came before a win, everyone would have loved it.
There are 100 things Slot and players have done wrong – and an equal amount for him to fix this summer if he is to come back from the point of no return – but players will be deeply hurt by questions over their work-ethic.
