Lewis Steele REVEALS what Liverpool players think of Slot | The Pitch

Daily Mail Football

Daily Mail reporter Lewis Steele and Liverpool reporter David Lynch deliver expert insight on Arne Slot's time at Anfield, and analysis on calls from some fans to end his tenure as Reds manager. liverpoolfc lfc arneslot football

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Liverpool fans have asked, "Can Anna Slot be [music] trusted to turn things around?" Since the start of the season, key factors have raised question marks around Slot style of play, management, and his future at the club. Slot [music] feels disrespected, and he's right to feel that way. Lewis Steel joins the show to detail how [music] the players view slot and the work he does behind the scenes, while David Lynch gives the fan perspective, [music] too. Slot or not, you decide. So this conversation is about Liverpool style of play, their performances this season and fan opinion of slot. But everything though needs to be put into perspective due to the tragic passing of Diego Jot Lewis. How does this continue to impact the players? >> I think it's quite unquantifiable to be honest because these are a group of young players most in the mid to early to mid20s who've probably never dealt with anything like that. Um, and that they'll be seeing his shirt. They'll be seeing where he used to sit. They'll be hearing the fans singing about him every single week. And you don't know quite just when that might hit the players. It might hit them when you least expect it. And that's how grief works. So yeah, everything we say, positive and negative, has has to have that caveat. We don't know just how much this has affected them. >> And how did Slot deal with the situation at the time? >> I thought brilliantly personally. I think, you know, again, he's a young manager himself and so he's never experienced anything like this. And so, um, you know, I think he dealt with it with with class and the way he spoke about it for starters. I think, you know, he's asked difficult questions very frequently in preseason about that situation, how they were going to deal with it. I think everything he said was kind of spot on in in the tone. Um but also the way he dealt with the players and and as Lewis alludes to that the young men there and he's got to look after them and I thought he did a great job of that in terms of you know allowing them to decide almost when their preseason began when they were ready for training when they needed a day to just be at home and and have a think about things and kind of process it. So I think he he dealt with it really well and and as as Louis says as well though it's still going to be a process and that process is ongoing and it is it's the kind of big caveat around the whole season is we don't exactly know the effect but I don't think that you know you could criticize the manager in any way for the way he dealt with that. I think he was absolutely spot on. >> Well before we move on of course our thoughts remain with Diego and Andre's family, friends and everyone close to them. Now at the beginning of the season six signings were made46 million pounds spent. They broke the British transfer fee on Florian Vertz and then did so again with Alexander Isach. David, has that transfer worked for anyone involved? Is absolutely not. I'd say I mean, you know, if you'd said that you were going to get to this point of the season, he'd only scored a couple of goals and not really been on the pitch very much. I mean, that was kind of every Liverpool supporters's worst fears around him that he would have injury problems because he had had previously, albeit you couldn't necessarily predict a broken leg. The fact he has been injured is something that's not a huge shock. And as I say, the output's just not there. So, you know, when you spend that kind of money, you need instant impact. And I think that's what everybody hoped they would get from Alexander Isak. He come in and immediately be, you know, the best striker in the league or maybe the second best behind Holland. Um, but he just hasn't been on the pitch anywhere near enough. And so, um, you've got to say that's been disappointing. It hasn't worked for Liverpool at all. I don't think Newcastle have got a great deal out of it either. It's not really worked for them. Um, so no winners at the moment, but of course Liverpool will say judge that signing over the length of the contract. Sure. But the early signs are not great. >> I mean, he obviously didn't have a preseason because of the drop that he was throwing at Newcastle. Do you think that's the reason it is? >> I think that's a big reason for it. I mean, you can't legislate for Mickey van laying on thick and, you know, breaking your leg. But honest, and he has said multiple times they've signed them for six years and not six months. M >> and I do get that and I do think maybe this time if we're doing this this time next season we'll be having a completely different conversation because I do think he's going to go from strength to strength. However, when he comes back the goal he scored against Spurs almost doesn't count. He starts again from ground zero. Um, and the six years, not six months thing is all good, but you basically lost a year of that already because say comes back in March when I think they're expecting him to mid-March, the season's nearly done then. He's not going to be fully fit again until August. Um, so yeah, they've already lost a year of that. And when you're paying 125 mil, that's quite a big chunk of your contract already gone. >> Absolutely. But the thing is the signings were so exciting. you know, vert echoes who come off the back of a brilliant season at Bournemouth. Be honest, David. Did you think the title was a shoe in? >> I had a few worries I think about turnover. We we've seen it so many times. I mean, Chelsea probably the best example, modern example we've got of a team huge turnover every summer. They never seems to get settled, never can play any kind of cohesive football as a result of that. So, I I did have a worry about Liverpool, not just the ins, but so many outs as well. So that had that slight concern. But what I did think is at the very least they'd maybe be in contention for the title. Might not be, you know, chewing to win it, but they'd be up there and they'd be kind of nailed on for Champions League. Wouldn't have to worry about that. They'd be top three minimum and up there with City and Arsenal. And what we have seen is nowhere near that. Liverpool in a dog fight for fourth and you know, they might not win that. So it's, you know, that's been really really disappointing I'd say. >> And with the signings that they made, the expenditure being quite so vast, was there internal pressure on slot? I think in hindsight yes there was but at the time I think everything was just happening so quickly they'd sign verts and before you'd even digested that it's like wow they want Isak as well or they want ect as well >> everything happened so quickly and obviously the jot thing which you mentioned you didn't really have a chance to sit down and think maybe there is pressure on him but there has to be pressure when you've when you've spent that much money. It's funny you mention about everything going so fast because sporting directors, if you listen to them and their rhetoric, it's always about things being planned long in advance. You know, they worry about the medium to long term. Did it feel quite scattergun at the time? >> It did a little because we're not really used to Liverpool operating that way. And what's interesting is that obviously Michael Edwards was the previously the sporting director. He's back now in an even more senior role. So you would have expected kind of a a continuity in terms of the approach really that it would be we do as few transfers as possible because that then you know negates the the risks that are involved in transfers going wrong but also it allows us to keep a kind of core squad together over a number of years and incrementally change that and when you tend to do that it's better from a football perspective. So that's what was unexpected about it. But I think what Liverpool would probably defend themselves and say this had to happen. You know, we'd left it too long to to do this surgery to the squad. Klopp had taken on so much power in his last couple of years that maybe long-term thinking went out the window a little bit. Um but there's there's no question that, you know, the way that they've gone about it, even if it was well planned and well executed, um you you know, you still felt that it was going to have a negative impact on the pitch or there was potential for that to happen. And we've definitely seen that play out. Why was there such a big change? >> I think it was needed to be honest. You look at Trent left the club um and quite a lot of other players moved on. I think the average age was you know ticking in the wrong direction. They have really brought that down. Um you look at the strikers Darwin Nunes to you know he wasn't good enough. Um I think that's fair to say he wasn't good enough for that level. Lewis Diaz seemed to want that move to Bayern Munich. So quite a lot of senior players were moving on. Um, and I think with Vertz, for example, it was either you get him this summer or you don't get him at all because he was going he was leaving Liveroos and whatever happened, Each just, you know, signal to Liverpool he wanted that move. And I think that was again, it was do it then or don't do it at all >> and they needed to freshen up the fullback position. So, I think with all of them, you can look back and say they absolutely needed to do it. Maybe it just was they did too much too soon and you know only really now are we starting to see these new boys really step it up in terms of their level and also the fitness and the their understanding about the style of play as well. >> Well, one player they couldn't get in was Mark Gahhee. Did that feel like the the positivity of the window at the time it certainly was was kind of overshadowed? >> Yeah, I think in that final kind of was the final day of the transfer window when they failed to get that over the line you did see a little bit of negativity among supporters. There was a there was a real strong feeling I think that that was such a key position to get in another center half because they know they've got issues there. They've got Joe Gomez injury prone. Canate has been in the past. Um you know they knew that they needed another center half and so there was worry amongst fans about that and I think I think those have been vindicated. I think it's been proven right that that was an area Liverpool did need to address in the end. Um, so to not get that over the line, you know, they've been criticized for leaving it so late, for not allowing Crystal Palace the time to get a replacement. I think all of those criticisms are probably valid and and we've seen that this season. Liverpool have looked short in that position. >> Well, they're trying to rewrite that wrong with Jeremy Jac coming in in the summer potentially, maybe as Canante potentially goes with the end of his contract. reports were suggesting that he only wanted to go to Chelsea, maybe but but now that his first choice was Liverpool. So, how do you think Liverpool's swooped in and gotten over on them? >> Well, yeah, I think that's a really good signing. I think there's a terrible joke to be made about signing a summer jacket in the winter for the summer. [laughter] >> Terrible. >> Um, but but it's what Liverpool do. They plan in advance. Everyone would have preferred Jeremy Jack to be arriving this week rather than in June or July, but I think that's how they got him. I think Chelsea were wanting him now. Ren didn't want to let their star defender go in the middle of the season. Why would they? And I think that's how Liverpool swooped in. I think we um in one of our Q&As's on the Daily Mail mentioned his name about a month ago um as one that they were potentially looking at. But at the time it did feel like Chelsea were the front runners and even up until you know Sunday Monday they they they still felt like the front runners. Liverpool swooped in and got him. And that's what they've done quite a lot this season. You think if you look back to Florian verts, everyone would have if you'd asked this question six months ago, everyone would have said they'll go to Bayern and go to Man City. Liverpool, you know, won that one. So clearly the pitch that Liverpool make to players is winning players over and that's what they've done here. I think there's no doubt as well on that one that it's probably helped in the gay situation as well. There's a clear vacancy at Liverpool for a center half in the long term. And so if you're Jac, you're looking at that, you're looking at Chelsea who's seemingly stockpile in every position. You don't know you're going to get your opportunity. Whereas I think if he knows that joining Liverpool now, there's going to be games for him there and there's going to be opportunity to develop in the Premier League. So that's probably helped Liverpool out, I think. >> Well, one of the people that he'd be coming in for primarily would be Ibrahim Aonate. And you know, inconsistency really has been a theme of the season. To name but a few, Canante, Isak, and Van Djk have all had periods of underperformance. David, for you, who's been the most subpar? >> I would say Alexis Mallister to be honest. I think he's just had, for me, he was Liverpool's most important midfielder last season, just on both sides of the ball. So intelligent, progressing the ball, but also winning it back and just that he just provided the nice balance between Sosa and Gravenber. It was such a nice unit together. Yeah, this season he's been incred I was gonna say up and down. He's been mostly down to be honest. You can pick out a few performances he's put in. You know, Real Madrid in the Champions League at home was was one of them where he was absolutely outstanding, back to his best, but that was in November and you thought at that point, okay, he's going to get going now. This is, you know, we're seeing the real Alexis Mallister. That that's just not happened at all. And I think we're seeing almost like a physical problems with him. He just doesn't seem, you know, he seems slow to the tackle. just doesn't seem to be able to cover the ground and he's never been the quickest, but I I wonder if the preseason injuries really has hampered him massively, but he he just hasn't looked his his old self. And I think for Liverpool, it's been almost like being a midfielder down because he was he was so crucial for them last season. He's just he hasn't been the same player this year. >> How's that manifested itself on the pitch, their misplaced passes, weaken midfield? How's it been? Yeah. Well, I think you could see frequently this season how easy Liverpool have been to counterattack and he would generally have been in the right place at the right time. You know, we spoke about him not being the paciest, but >> he's kind of had the extra yard in his head. Even that seems to be missing now because he just he just can't seemingly get there and then it is it's misplaced passes. It's not being as controlled with the ball. Um and and he was so influential in there last season. So, they've really [clears throat] missed the best version. Lewis, you beautifully likened them to Bazbool in one of your in one of your articles for the Daily Mail. They won the opening five games, but then their form completely fell off a cliff after that Crystal Palace defeat. Why? >> Well, I think with those five games, they didn't actually play very well in any of them to be honest. Um, first game of the season, they won late on first away game at Newcastle was at 90 plus 10. Arsenal was a late free kick. Burnley was 90 plus 5 penalty. So even when they were winning, they weren't playing well. So I'm not saying I had a had a crystal ball, but I thought that their results were going to go like that. Maybe not quite as steep as they did, but I think everything just went wrong at once. I think they had a few injuries. Player form, lots of players fell off a cliff. The new signings weren't jelling. Mo Salah's form really dipped in front of goal and they just looked vulnerable. And you know, Slot didn't seem at that point to have the answers to solve it. Now, he tweaked a few things after the worst defeat, which was against PSV and they went on this 13 match uh unbeaten streak, but even in that they were still pretty tur. There were some there were to be honest there were some good games but most of the time I was thinking this is I was sat Anfield a couple of times thinking this is quite boring and you don't normally even as an as a neutral at Anfield it's normally you you get what you pay for because it's either Liverpool or you've got a really good game on your hands and you know there's a few over Christmas that weren't that at all and fans were booing at one point I think that was against Burnley at home was it? Yeah. >> Um, and yeah, I think now they're just starting to come out, but there's no consistency. They beat Newcastle last weekend and they go they play against City at the weekend. I cannot call that game at all because you just can't call anything with this team right now. >> And so Lewis says boring. It's quite a damning indictment for Liverpool because it's just not how they are perceived as a club. What is the fan sentiment? Yeah, I think I think the boredom has been part of it that the aesthetics of the football has really not kind of helped the mood because it's not just that Liverpool have been ineffective because there were times and seasons where they were ineffective under Jurgen Clark, but they were always trying to play in a particular way whereas this has been a terrible combination of being hard to watch and pretty awful as well. So, um, no one has really seemed to kind of enjoy it and I think that creates the atmosphere then when you can hear booze when it is a disappointing result and a poor performance combined and we've seen, you know, too many of those really from Liverpool's perspective. >> One of the players that have been underperforming significantly this season is Muhammad Salah. Four goals, five assists. It's shocking by his standards. David Carrager said that his legs have gone. Do you agree with that? >> I think it's fair. um you know you you almost don't want to be as harsh with someone who is has given so much to Liverpool and has been one of the you know not just to Liverpool but to the Premier League as a whole one of the the true greats that we've seen really but it comes for everyone doesn't it you know you are at some point you are going to slow down and and I think we are seeing that now I think have seen many times this season it's not just that the the output's kind of dip but a couple of times where the ball's been put in behind for him and and maybe he's he's beat the defender to it maybe but there's not been quite that separation And so he's not had the space to get a shot off and he's trying to cut back inside. So he doesn't look as quick. I mean, he's still he's still working for the team. He's still, you know, still pretty good with the ball at his feet in certain situations, but that electric pace which just made the difference between being very good and and truly great. That seems to have gone really and and he has lost a bit out of his game off the back of that. >> Do you think maybe then because of that and you know how he was dropped for some games and he said that he'd been thrown under the bus. Do you think if he is now feeling his age a little bit, his quotes were too far and actually it was a footballing decision? >> Um, I do think his quotes were probably too far. I think that's fair to say. I think he could have gone about that in a much better way than he did. Um, I think he was right to feel agrieved because he is the main man and maybe he was sort of shunted away to the side, but what he came out and said, you shouldn't be doing that about a manager really to be honest. Um, and it feels like that sort of been forgo