Arne Slot is being compared to Jurgen Klopp – but for all the wrong reasons following Liverpool’s worst run of form in over half a century
Arne Slot finds himself in a position strikingly similar to the one Jurgen Klopp occupied before the German stepped down as Liverpool manager. Midway through the 2023/24 campaign – and after nearly nine years in charge – Klopp made the stunning announcement that he would leave Anfield.
Citing fatigue and the relentless pressure to deliver success, the 2019 Champions League-winning coach revealed he would be quitting the club at the end of the season. A few weeks before his departure, Klopp offered a little window into the motivations behind his decision – motivations that may ultimately steer Slot towards the exit as well.
He feared that staying put would only extend the slide that had left Liverpool fifth and without silverware in 2022/23. In essence, he took himself out of the equation for the club’s benefit.
“The football hasn’t been great the last few weeks and as a result, you start hearing people say that I look really tired. I’m just old,” Klopp told Sky Sports in May 2024.
“I’m about being in it 100 per cent until the last day. That was always the plan. I was sure that if I didn’t make that decision now, next year it could have been tricky. The thought of picking yourself up for another pre-season, make big decisions.
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“For that, you really need to be full of energy – 80 per cent is not enough. That’s the truth. It’s too much. It’s a 24/7 job. Yes, there are more important things in life, but if you really care then it’s 24/7.
“I did it for a pretty long time and I knew I couldn’t continue to do it at the standard necessary for a club like Liverpool.”
Although Slot can’t claim to be suffering from the same sort of fatigue that afflicted Klopp – having only been in the Liverpool hot seat for 18 months – he will certainly relate to his predecessor’s insistence on sky-high standards – standards that simply aren’t being met at the moment.
The Reds are on their worst run of form for decades, having lost nine of their last 12 matches in all competitions. What began as a sturdy Premier League title defence has unravelled into full-blown crisis on every front.
Wednesday’s 4-1 defeat to PSV in the Champions League was their third-straight loss by a margin of three goals, following successive 3-0 defeats to Nottingham Forest and Manchester City.
As a result, Liverpool have tumbled out of the automatic Champions League qualification spots and into the bottom half of the Premier League – a place they haven’t occupied this late in a season since the 2012/13 campaign.
Intense pressure is now mounting on Slot and while he is understood to retain the backing of Liverpool’s hierarchy, that goodwill may evaporate quickly if performances and results don’t improve quickly.
The fixture list does offer a degree of relief: up next is a meeting with a struggling West Ham side, followed by clashes with newly promoted Sunderland and Leeds.
Still, an easier run of games brings higher expectations – and if Slot fails to meet them, he may yet go the way of Klopp, whether by choice or by chop of the axe.
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