Arne Slot - Head Coach

My gut feeling is Slot is wanting a diamond 4-4-2. So would look something like

Grav

Mac Dom/Curtis

Wirtz

Isak/Mo Ekitike

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Would be fine if we ever looked like playing that, at this moment we havent

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Its still an interesting idea, as the vogue set ups always fall out of vogue, and this 4/3/3 press system has been front and side +10yrs now, before that it was the extra tight 4/4/2 even 4/5/1. Im sure it will swing away from the press soon anyway.

I think we would’ve tried it by now.

I don’t think that’s the plan.

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Unfortunately for Slot, the next few league fixtures from now to the end of December looks very winnable in anybody’s eyes. Failure to win all of them barring one or maximum 2 draws will be a major blow to Slot’s quest for a contract renewal.

UCL wise,the fixtures look very winnable too. He has to win all barring a maximum of 1 that to ensure we get a bye into the round of 16 as a seeded side. If we end up going in knock-out phase playoffs, that will be an extra 2 games that we don’t really need…

The promise that Slot showed in the first 2 thirds of last season isn’t there to be seen anymore.

Very too easy to play against and reactive.

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Yet he obviously prefers that box system 4222. System however Gakpo and Salah prefer coming from wide and those 2 are his favourites?
For a supporter watching it’s painful. There’s a lack of cohesion and to me the leaders and communication is all wrong.
The problem with 4222 from what I see is we finish with 424. When pressing well this isn’t a bad thing. Take against City our very early press was reasonable once Ekitikè and Szoboszlai had sorted it out and weren’t both in the same space. It collapsed because Salah, Mac and Gravenberch didn’t, couldn’t, or wouldn’t stay disciplined.
When we press it’s at best only reasonable so it gets beaten fairly easily by good teams and when it is our block looks horrible. Against City Gravenberch for example was looking to sit in space not covering anything whilst Bradley was getting bullied by Doku consistently. Mac over commits and gives away silly free kicks.
Our 2 midfielders look lost and our advanced players aren’t good enough deep to help them out when we try to play out (except Szoboszlai but he’s a funny one, when he looks like he takes responsibility he’s good when he doesn’t it falls to pieces).
There’s a mix of poor tactical nouses and poor mentality. Fix one and we can start going forward. Against RM we fixed the mentality both Szoboszlai and Gravenberch took responsibility and played on the front foot. Against City Gravenberch disappeared not defending and not passing forward, he took the easy options.

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Hate to say this but we don’t look anything like the Slot team from last season. We now play more like a team of Sloth. Slow and lazy. These laboured perfornances needs to stop asap.

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Well, he’s upholding the first part of the deal - PSG were dreadful in the first few months of the last season!

I told my friend last summer that this was the summer where we either become the next Bayern or we become post-Wenger Arsenal. So far, it seems we’re much closer to the latter. We tried with the big money, ready-made signings instead of sticking with our tried and tested strategy of mostly bringing in players who are on the verge of becoming top class but aren’t quite there yet. The intention was good but the enactment leaves a lot to be desired, unfortunately.

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So it was you…

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I go on a break from forums this season and all you guys contrive to turn the club shit.

It’s all of you. Most specifically @SBYM

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Personally I’m asking when and how the decision was made to go all in on the transfer market this Summer just gone and not address anything the season before?

Was it a timing issue? Letting Slot get a view on the squad? Target availability and so on.

Multiple factors. The demise of jota didn’t help either.

I really don’t want to say I told you so. But Isak should have been firing.

All fingers point to giving the coach enough ammunition and he just isn’t delivering.

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Agreed, although I wouldnt have put it that way.

And yet we’ve seen it time and time again with lots of signings.

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And so it points to a failing on the coach’s side. We’ve got the talent. He hasn’t delivered.

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There seems to me to be a problem with players mentality which is interfering with cohesion, communication, effort, determination and tactics.
We are in a very difficult, wobbly place.
Slot needs to impose his way so that we can see if he’s good enough or not. ATM we’re in limbo land, is it the players not following or Slot who’s not in the required league?
Whatever it is Slot is the responsible.

I think the AFCON period will tell us a lot. I recognise my bias when it comes to Bradley, and he had a tough time yesterday, but he got no help at all from Salah

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Manager is always the fall guy. That’s a given. Football is littered with failed transfers. In fact, it’s absolutely daft when viewed from a risk perspective. Invest millions in a player that may, may not work. The more you do in one hike ups that risk as team balance becomes a factor on top of everything else.

I’m questioning how much involvement he had in the decisions leading up to now. Some for sure, Summer before maybe less than we know.

In an interview a while ago, Salah said he was very happy with Slot because he doesn’t have to defend as much as he did under Klopp. Bradley and the right side of midfield got into trouble yesterday and in other matches because of this.

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Time and time again, opponents tend to target our right flank. Some of them are even vocal about it. I’m not sure what Salah has to do to get dropped at this point. There is no more attacking threat from him that covers up for his defensive deficiencies.

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