Arne Slot - Head Coach (Part 1)

The Albert
4738

Very Happy with the win. A win is a win afterall and makes everything looks atleast a bit better.

I would love everything to workout again and Slot to remain, but he has to fix things on the job…during these run of games and coach the team in a well drilled way.Lets hope this is a step in the right direction.

My thoughts on the interview:
Seedorf added some perspective from the players side felt like was the mediator assigned by the club to bring peace.

At 3:12 Slot talks about Mo…saying it’s about a player with the Manager or with the club.
This is a very shady response and it’s like Arne here is trying to say that this is not on me but rather the club (Hughes). Otherwise, why would you even bring up the option that the player has a problem with me or the club.

My biggest criticism of Slot here is that instead of putting out the fire, he continues to add more fuel to it.

We keep iterating here all this while that ‘No player is bigger than the club’…but neither ‘the manager is bigger than the club’.
He is not helping shut down the mad theories.
He needs to shut down these questions whatever has happened will be dealt internally in the club. We don’t discuss anything outside, that’s not the way this club operates.
When seedorf asked him…do you have the intention to bring him back…everyone makes mistakes in life…but what is your spirit ?(i.e. do you want to fix this)
Slot Answer: you say everyone makes mistakes , does the player think he has made a mistake as well? Why are we washing our dirty linen in public here ? This should be discussed internally, this is not some pundit, this is the coach !
Simply answer like this: Mo Salah is one of the finest players this club has had and an important part of our squad. As I said, we will deal with this internally and will let you know if there’s anything to discuss.

And then when Seedorf spoke about his thoughts that when a player is hurt, the team , the club… the coach should make the first step to talk to the player and open the door…
Again Slot added more fuel to the fire… that’s your opinion… implicitly I will not talk to him…my ego is bigger. He should come and talk if he needs to…

I am quite sad in this respect that we continue to run these events in the media as a clear case of ego battles between Slot and Mo.
It makes me really upset that Slot’s not doing any favours to close this chapter, atleast publicly.
I bet this never goes for this long as Klopp was at the helm. And, let’s not slide this with Slot not having PR training. You walk the talk …stick by the club ethos and don’t make this about you either.

You just shut the media down…say everything will be dealt internally and that’s it. Move on. Instead you have again added shadow to Brighton’s pre match conference, where you will again asked questions like…have you spoken to him, When will there be any comms with him…will he be in the squad…is this Mo’s last game ?

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4739

Natural selection is a thing

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4740

What Mo did in the first place is impossible for Slot or the players to ignore anwering on questions about it at press conferences and interviews.

So, they have to comment on it and so far they’re all doing it in a normal, respectful way. Whatever Slot said on Monday or last night, he cannot prevent part of questions being about Mo again against Brighton.

The press officer alongside Slot might again come in to say that it’s enough questions about Mo and questions on the game. Like it was pre-Inter.

There is no escaping this for a while, but with time, it will diminish and go away (we’ll see what that means, is Mo still here or not).

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4741

If he would have said good luck to the lads tonight, or something supportive like that, I could get on board with it. We had a huge game coming up but sadly Mo’s post didn’t acknowledge it or get behind the team. It looked, to me, to be about him.

If it was intended to be conciliatory, he left a lot open to interpretation there :joy:

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4742

Robbo said he said it to him and other teammates personally.

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4743

Glad to hear it. Cheers.

We are in an interesting time. Will there be an apology and reconciliation, or will there be an exit? If the middle ground is to let it fester, without resolution, I don’t think that will help.

We are going to know what was this is going pretty soon, I think.

4744

He did it personally to the players, Robbo spoke about it after the game. Just read his interview or watch it.

I don’t understand why Mo has to post it? No matter what he’s doing, he is doing it wrong now apparently.

:roll_eyes:

Edit

Yes, he made a mistake, okay. It happens. We’ll see how the club handles it, but the constant criticism and negative interpretation of every little thing is getting annoying.

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4745

To be clear, we don’t know that he thinks it was a mistake, or if so what specifically he was mistaken about in thinking and/or saying.

4746

I was commenting about the solo post in the gym.

Edit
Mo has a private life and a public life. In his private life I’m glad to hear about his messages of support to his playing colleagues. That’s good.

It is his public life - the one he is putting up on social media, that I was commenting on, in particular the solo picture in the gym. It didn’t seem conciliatory. Clearly others have a different viewpoint, and that’s ok! Let’s see what happens.

If I’m wrong, and Mo is much more team Liverpool than team Mo at this stage, I look forward to the forthcoming public apology and reconciliation. (I think a public apology is necessary because Mo went public in a huge way, and thus set the terms of engagement, so the apology needs to be public).

Mind you, I will say it is a bit of a fools errand for us to be commenting on cryptic pictures that Mo posts to social media. Much better to go with what he has just said, on the record.

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4747

I listened to Seedorf’s back and forth with Slot, and I can’t say I totally disagree with everything Seedorf said, but I do disagree that the club has to be the one to open the door for Mo.

Mo has to apologize. He wildly misjudged the situation and compounded an already difficult situation for his manager, teammates, and club as a whole by selfishly focusing on himself. That wasn’t the act of a leader. That wasn’t the act of someone who wanted the best for the club. That was the act of someone who cares only about himself.

I think Henry had the best take on this on the UCL show - you are entitled to be upset about your place in the team but you just don’t go public. Give Slot some stick in his office. You don’t go to the press. Not now. Not when the club is struggling on many fronts. Not when your own performance has been subpar.

And the fact that the majority of the supporters and media are backing Slot in this dispute underlines how badly he’s misjudged it.

Apologize, Mo.

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4748

Okay :slightly_smiling_face: I never said he thought it was a mistake; I personally think it was wrong. Could it be my English?

It leads to nowhere if everything is constantly twisted.

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4749

You’re picking out things that can be interpreted negatively and unfortunately ignoring the positive aspects that definitely exist, for reasons I don’t understand. That’s how it comes across right now. It is what it is, I just wanted to point that out. Let’s just leave it at that.

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4750

Not sure what you mean. But if you want to take it private I will be happy to engage.

I also want to note that I think you are being negative - not about Mo but about the manager, since Salah’s outburst. Slot has been put in an awful position by Mo, and you are criticizing Slot’s man management? I don’t like that. Mo had no issue with Slot’s man management when he was being played 90 mins week in week out. But once he goes to the bench for a stint the shit hits the fan.

Even Jurgen - we both agree on his stature - said Mo is great, until he’s not playing or until you bring him off. That should tell you all you need to know.

Mo has been brilliant for us and I hope there will be a reconciliation. There should be room for forgiveness if he can see his error and apologize. If not, he should be sold. That’s my position in a nutshell, and I’m happy to leave it at that with you, or take it to private message for more processing as needed. Peace out.

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4751

It’s amazing, really. Mo’s tantrum has done more to solidify Slot’s position than if he just remained silent.

But once Mo leaves for AFCON, the attention will turn right back to Slot. And if the team still hasn’t had a run of sustained positive form by the end of the year, I still think Slot could face the sack.

That’s especially so if Xabi departs Madrid.

4752

Yes, I have criticized Slot’s personal management skills, but that was long before this whole Mo thing happened. It’s nothing new, and it’s documented. We’ve been talking about it for weeks. It has absolutely nothing to do with Mo and is probably just a consequence. And that’s exactly my point. Right now, youre only seeing what you want to see, and not the bigger picture that we’ve been experiencing practically all season, and which has been developing over a long period of time.

Edit

We’ve been talking for weeks about Slot’s questionable squad management, how he constantly plays his favorites to the point of “nausea” , how squad players feel undervalued, and how others are consequently overplayed or injured. None of this has anything to do with Mo. This is just the final straw.

4753

Strongly disagree about not being able to see the big picture. Of course I can see the bigger picture. Please try to be more respectful toward fellow posters and not tell them what they can see, or not see.

Before the Mo Salah situation blew up, Slot’s tenure was the big topic of discussion. There were plenty of fans who were ready to sack him. They looked at the record with all the losses we’ve had, and also the lack of a good pattern of play. The case being made was reasonable.

On the other side there were plenty of fans who would acknowledge that while the slump is unacceptable, they were willing to give Slot longer, to see if he could work through it and make a case for himself that he should be here longer. Given the title win, for those fans he still had credit in the bank, though not unlimited. The case being made was reasonable.

Once the Salah situation is resolved, one way or the other, the Slot situation is still very much in play as the season unfolds. He has a lot of work to do to convince that he should be here next season.

4754

I havent listened to it but whether or not Mo is at fault, i think there is nothing wrong with the club apologizing if it thinks it draws a line underneath the saga and moves everything forward.

Sometimes being the bigger man (or woman) is the best course of action.

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4755

And what precisely would the club be apologising for?

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4756

We dont know that for certain.

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4757

Whatever they feel is the issue being raised by Mo and would allow resolution - the broken promises, the poor communication etc.