That’s the nub of it. They aren’t going to sack the manager unless a replacement is lined up. I rather suspect that they don’t regard Slot as being the problem in the training set-up. It wouldn’t surprise me if they did bring in new coaching staff, just not the head honcho.
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8 Midfielders when we won the title including Chirivela, also, keita, Ox.
We have 8 now including Endo & Bacjetic!
So you purposely misinterpreted the @jaffod post. Not cool.
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Our squad size in terms of sheer numbers is totally fine, but it’s not well balanced. The 22 group is very good (although in it, we have Leoni and Ngumoha and Nyoni is basically our “23rd” player), it’s the 11 where we’ve struggled.
In some areas (forward positions) we have a bit too much let’s say starting quality or reputation and certainly not enough clarity who starts and how it functions, in other areas (CB and arguably on the wings) we’re a bit too light.
Arsenal’s balance, strength in depth this season looks the best. Although they are carrying one or two extras, which can happen if you enter the season with some long term injuries (Jesus), but that’s doable for a short while, it’s not too much. Happened with us under Klopp also.
Amount of money wasn’t the issue with the Guehi transfer. A fee was agreed with Palace. Them not managing to find a replacement and Glasner threatening to walk was the problem.
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Slot might also be part of the decision or agreement not to sign a CB in this window, we’ll see.
The natural dynamic is that fans always want more signings/transfer activity overall than clubs.
Both when it makes sense and when it doesn’t.
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6…maybe 7…
6-7 …
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We’re at sixes and sevens 
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So, Slot flatly stated that his preferred system is 4-3-3 with real wingers, which raises the question of how he’s planning to play it with Ekitike and Isak. Shifting either one to the side would be a waste and in Isak’s case not very applicable. Unless he’s thinking about rotating them at No. 9, but they are too good not to be regular starters.
You do have to wonder what the thinking was behind the decision to acquire both of them.
It’s pretty simple really. Klopp played 4-3-3 and we had Firmino/Jota or Jota/Nunez for the middle of the three. Sometimes we’d have to play Gakpo there too.
Slot also wants to play with one central striker. When he had Jota and Nunez we ended up with Diaz there a bunch of times. We now have just Isak and Ekitike with Gakpo in a pinch. Both will play plenty.
The entire conversation above this is debating the depth of the squad and now you’re worried that we’ve got two really good options for one position and questioning the decision to buy them both.
4-3-1 might explain our poor results and performances 
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Under Klopp, we played more with forwards inside.
Under Slot, he prefers those players or wingers to play wider.
In the mean time, of course we can use someone like Wirtz off the sides to create the double #10 box shape midfield structure.
Since Slot took over, we’ve flipped the main midfield structure from a 4-3-3 one to the double-pivot 4-2-3-1. It means that sometimes, especially when losing or chasing the result, there will be room for both Ekitike and Isak. Is that the most often scenario though? No (at least you hope not!).
We all agree we should have two players per position and if we talk about the striker position, being one through the spine, we need two quality options.
However, you don’t get that balance in any way. It’s one thing having a starter like Firmino and then getting someone like Jota (who could cover anywhere in attack). It’s another when you get two brand new players Ekitike and Isak in the same window, but play with 1 striker.
Under Klopp, we had clarity and with time as we progressed, better competition. Now, you can say that we have more of that competition, but not enough clarity how it should work.
Not that fees or market value should dictate who starts, but…
We’re the only club that has it’s 2 strikers among the 7 (Ekitike is joint with Martinez) most valuable ones on the market.
Among the most 25 most valuable ones, Inter has Martinez and Thuram (but they play with 2 up top), United has Sesko and Cunha (but they compliment each other and don’t battle for the same spot, at least for now), Arsenal has Gyokeres and Havertz (different players), Bayern has Kane and Jackson (who joined on loan knowing he’d be a clear backup) and City has Haaland and Marmoush (clear who is first choice and who is backup).
Should I moan if we have Ekitike and Isak in the building? In a way, no.
But is it normal to have that situation if we don’t play with 2 strikers and how sustainable is it long term? Not really and who knows.
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Perhaps we view it as a more short-term audition?
When Jota unfortunately passed away, maybe our next targets on the market weren’t convincing and we said, f*ck bringing someone cheap and of suspicious quality, get two quality options and let them battle it out. In some game situations, we’ll use both.
That said, Isak was more proven and of more reputation than Ekitike. I believe it’s Isak who was our first choice since the first months of 2025 and we signed Ekitike as a reaction to the combination of losing Jota and the Isak deal dragging on, with the danger of not happening.
To have a quality audition, obviously you need to be lucky that they’re fit and in normal condition to go up against each other.
With Isak’s circumstance (no football or team training for 4 months, that is a lot), unfortunately that will not be a battle on equal terms until next summer or the start of next season. It’s a great opportunity for Ekitike. But he also knows Isak will get his chance at some point, because he’s proved in this league that he’s a serious player if he’s fit.
If it’s an “Alvarez” situation down the line, in terms of having two successful options (our ones would have to prove it first, which isn’t the case yet), but something that will not be sustainable to have both and keep both happy enough for long enough… then you wonder what the re-sale value might be in either cases. In that case, Ekitike could be more valuable than Isak.
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Ha ha, It’s not like I was expecting an apology or anything but are you really doubling down on this?
‘I’ll’ refers to me. If I was refering to you I’d have said ‘You’. It’s that simple. Completely changing the context of someone else’s post and then accusing them of threatening you is pretty strange.
I (that’s me, ‘jaffod’) have no desire to engage with you (that’s you,‘Lynch04’) on this matter anymore. Ta.
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Also where does Wirtz play in a 4-3-3 since he’s a 10 and not a real winger, midfield 3?
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I’m not sure about the highlighted to be honest. I haven’t seen much difference in the way Forest, Leeds, Fulham or Crystal Palace played against us, nor Arsenal or Cheaty. The change imo, has more to do with Slot misusing Salah’s qualities for instance, by telling him to stay on the right wing, and thus, too far from goal to have his usual effect. Or from allowing Diaz to leave the club last summer, and thus, to deprive us from a quality option on that side. There are many other rational reasons for our slump in performance, but I don’t think that many teams have spectacularly changed their style when playing us, compared with last season, when we were dispatching them on a regular basis.
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No idea, but there was obviously a plan for him as Wirtz was impressed when Slot explained it to him.
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Teams have different styles, change and adapt all the time.
This is certainly not a situation he was in at Feyenoord, where he was one of the dominant sides and probably had less variety to cope against, also the league not being as competitive.
It’s up to us to constantly find answers to new kind of problems.
The life of a big club and big team (that wants to remain so), and that’s not since yesterday.
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I’ve come around to the idea that not replacing Diaz like for like was a grave error. I still don’t get the Isak signing, though hindsight would suggest Hugo was not ready when clearly he has been one of bright sparks.
There is a team of players here who could easily walk the league and its why I do think he will be moved on in the summer regardless.
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