Liverpool can now appoint the dream coaching duo.
It’s all over for Arne Slot at Anfield. He has reached a point of no return.
The Dutchman’s grip on his position at the club is slipping fast into oblivion after the emphatic 4–0 loss to Manchester City on Saturday.
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Coming on the back of a two-week build-up that promised a response, this latest setback felt less like a bump in the road and more like a decisive moment in a season that has gradually unraveled.
Shipping four goals in a match of this magnitude, especially in such a short spell and capitulating to a half decent but not great side in City, laid bare not only defensive frailties but also a worrying absence of identity and mental toughness, traits that have long defined Liverpool teams at their best.
It marked Slot’s 15th defeat of the campaign, a figure that is difficult to justify given the standards expected at a club of this stature.
Perhaps even more alarming than the number of losses is how they’ve unfolded.
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Liverpool do not seem to have a plan. Performances have frequently lacked cohesion, with no clear tactical direction emerging. Against City, Liverpool were passive, chasing the game rather than dictating it, and repeatedly came off second-best in crucial moments.
That suggests a manager struggling to translate his ideas into effective performances on the pitch and that usually means the manager is out of his depth.
To make matters worse, Slot doesn’t appear to be a great man-manager, someone who inspires belief. There are growing concerns about the squad’s mentality. The players’ body language hints at a side short on confidence and belief, which inevitably raises doubts about the manager’s ability to motivate and manage his group.
With results continuing to decline and little indication of a turnaround, it is increasingly difficult to see a way back.
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Sooner or later, Liverpool have to make a change and there is an obvious change to be made to appoint a dream duo.
Xabi Alonso is open to returning to Liverpool and he is available at the moment. After leaving Real Madrid, Liverpool is the only club he would be willing to go into even mid-season.
It was reported in January that he would be open to a move before the end of the season.
So, the door is open for Alonso, and he would be a dream appointment given his achievements. Even at Real Madrid, he led the league table on expected points showing he was unfairly judged.
But before that Alonso’s achievements at Bayer Leverkusen, winning the Bundesliga going undefeated speak for themselves. He is by far and away the best candidate for the job and that’s before we even start to discuss his affiliation to Liverpool.
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Alonso knows what this club means. He’s experienced the greatest of heights at Istanbul.
And the door is open for Liverpool to also appoint someone else who also understands what this club stands for probably more than anyone else.
Steven Gerrard speaking to The Overlap last week opened the door for him to become an assistant manager at Liverpool, proclaiming that he would be open for such a role at the club.
“You have to understand it before you sign up to it, what the role is,” Gerrard said.
“It’s to support the manager, to be that assistant.
“I would do it for Liverpool Football Club, if I was asked and if they felt I was the right man to do it, I’d be open to it yeah.”
Liverpool just make it happen. Get these two in, the door is open. It would be a dream come true.
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