He played 66 minutes of PL football under Klopp and barely made squads outside of League Cup and early round FA Cup. Klopp only gave him a couple hundred minutes more than what he played for Slot.
There was no great clamour for him to stay last summer. Nearly 23 years old and yet to crack the first team with any degree of regularity under two different managers. We also had Bajcetic coming back from loan and I assume we didn’t think he’d be AWOL all season, not to mention McConnell and Nyoni. We could have kept hold of him but did he want to stay as a backup option or did he need the move to kick on.
Hindsight is great but he’s had one decent season in France. We clearly thought he might kick on hence the sell on clause but he wasn’t going to make that leap here.
You have repeatedly pointed out that a manager has the prerogative to not fancy a player and when that is the case the club has little choice left but to try to get something in return by offering them for sale to people who do fancy them.
If the criticism of Slot is over his evaluation of these players and a flaw in what a players needs for him to be able to see a use for them, then our set up is not remotely a defense against those criticisms of slot.
This makes a really big assumption that Guehi was viewed as the replacement for Quansah. All of the reporting suggested otherwise. As does the logic of it.
Get the fuck out. In all my years I never connected Milton was Stephen Root.
All of these “rumors” about Slot from unreliable source(s) smack of someone with no information gambling that if he does get sacked, they’ll look like an insider. If he doesn’t get sacked, they’ll come up with some excuse or delete the tweet/acct and start anew. AKA the IndyKaila special.
The comment I replied to was that ‘last summer Slot got rid of homegrown players en masse’. I think that is somewhat beyond him ‘not fancying a player’ and into the realms of a strategic transfer policy or even a prejudice.
We moved on Trent, Kelleher, Quansah, Elliott and Morton. One of those actively engineered a Bosman, and while the club can be blamed for getting into the situation where that was a thing, I don’t think that can be pinned on Slot. Kelleher was just too good to be a number two, and unless you think we should have sent Alisson packing last summer, that that was an obvious move that needed to happen. Morton is one of the wilder criticisms I’ve seen levelled at Slot, and there was certainly no clamour for him to get minutes at the expense of Szoboslai, Gravenberch, Jones or Mac Allister. He certainly wasn’t in anyone’s thinking a year earlier when Klopp bought four new midfielders to play ahead of him.
Which leaves us with Quansah and Elliott. I’ve already said my piece on Quansah. I think there is a long term plan for him, and he will be back at some point. After the title winning season, there was no clamour for Quansah to be starting at centre back over Konate this year (It’s ironic that I think he would have taken that shirt back given Konate’s form). That in mind, you have a 23 year old lad who wants a career, doesn’t want to be second fiddle in a position that traditionally isn’t rotated. His buy back clause drops to £56m at the point Van Dijk’s contact expires, and he’s already agreed personal terms on a deal. Do the maths.
So to Elliott. He was a good squad player, and Slot could have got more use out of him, notwithstanding a midfield with him and Mac Allister is giving up fuck loads of height and physicality. But again, he is at the age and of the ability where he understandably wants to playing regular first team football. What are we supposed to do here? Just not let him go, and make him stay as back up?
If Slot is sacked, I hope Elliott stays and gives it another go, as I fear another duff move for him at this point and he could end up having one of those careers that just drift away.
So I think there is fair criticism of Slot for the way he has used his squad, but when it comes to the decision to move players on, there are other factors. The desire of the player is one, but also we have to remember that the club spent £450m, and us going to need to recoup some of that through sales. We know this is true Luis Diaz, who Slot did not want to go, but the club felt needed to be sacrificed.
I think it’s really hard to have any kind of conversation about Arne Slot and transfers - critical or defensive - in the absence of a full appreciation of his remit. In this vacuum, people who want to criticise will look for criticisms, and people who have more of an instinct to defend him (like me) will look for mitigations.
Klopp always said he had first and last say. Which I always interpreted to mean that he identified a need, and signed off the target. It would stand to reason that Slot, in a less influential interpretation of the role, surely doesn’t have this degree of control (and I think those stories will emerge if he is sacked). I think decisions on squad building are made collectively, but Slot will input on that, including how much he plays lads on the periphery. Even with that, I think there are exceptions. For example, I think Tyler Morton not getting many minutes, Slot suggesting that isn’t going to change, and the club deciding to move him on is one thing. If Slot (or any manager) said to the club ‘Rio Ngumoha is overrated and we need to cash in now) that would be a bigger problem.
I guess that’s one advantage of Slot getting the boot. Yes, we may get someone come in and want a couple players of their choosing. But we may also have someone who finds value in Elliott, Chiesa, Endo or Tsimikas.
I know Iraola has a reputation for developing young talents. Be great to see what he could do with Rio, Nyoni, Leoni, McConnell and a potentially fit again Bajcetic.
I’d still expect some of those to fall by the wayside no matter who’s in charge but there’s at least 3-4 squad options in there that are barely getting a look in right now.
I’m in a (clearly small, and shrinking) minority that think Slot should stay.
I think the man won a title a season ago. Was he powered to that title, in the main, by Salah? Yes. Had the wheels already fallen off by late last season? Yes. Has the Club spent, on his behalf, more than GBP 400M on Isak, Wirtz, Ekitike, Frimpong, Kerkez, Leoni and Jacquet? Yes. I do not agree in the least with how he’s insinuated things about Salah. And I was very concerned to hear him say he’s not playing heavy metal football in order to manage injuries. I think the players who are used to that football are certainly more willing to leave than to play for him, and that’s a worry. It concerns me, further, that even Alisson, who seems, for all intents and purposes, a fairly level-headed gentleman, also appears willing to leave. And in addition, yes, Slot has lost the fans.
What are the mitigating circumstances?
This season has been quite bad injury-wise.
Last season’s Salah has not been this season’s Salah.
I also don’t think Slot has lost his (I think, quite considerable) abilities as a manager in a single season. Not many managers have the ability to walk into a managerial role and win the EPL in their first season.
Some further reasons:
It’s taken Arteta finishing 8th, 5th, 2nd, 2nd, and 2nd (lastly to Slot) before finishing 1st this year. If we hire a new manager, we start that cycle afresh - we start buying that manager’s “player profile” and for that manager’s “style of play.” Yet we’re already GBP 400M deep into building for Slot’s preferred team and style of play.
Which truly elite managers are available? Enrique, who could well be on the verge of retaining the UCL? Further…
I really don’t think Iraola would be as good as Slot under the same circumstances (i.e. 3 games a week, elite level European football, major media pressure). Thomas Frank provides a cautionary tale.
I think maybe this is how Hughes and Edwards might be thinking. I personally was thrilled when Edwards came back. I still think last summer, in terms of transfer business, we had a great summer. I think calm heads and some introspection, rather than throwing the whole project out might be the approach they’re thinking of taking. In doing so, they might be motivated by the incentive of covering their own mistakes. Nevertheless I still think the Slot project has potential, and is really only a couple of wingers and a 6 away from something special…
If they sack him on Monday for Iraola…who I like, mind you…it’ll just beg the question as to why they waited a week when they might have been able to bring in Alonso.
@Chrenyan I gave a thumbs up for a well argued post. I hung in there for longer than most in backing Slot, but my position changed a little while ago, the longer it went on with bad results and bad play.
I get the mitigating factors, and if he is mutually consented, he will feel a little hard done by. Still, my take is regardless of everything that has happened, he should have had us playing better, and there should be a better feel around the club.
It’s time for a change. Let’s see if it happens. You might be right and Slot stays on but we will know soon enough.
