I wrote a post in the match thread, but it disappeared after it was locked… oh well, a small nuisance compared to what we’re dealing with here.
Like everyone here I’m shocked at what we’re seeing - this team CANNOT be as bad as this and yet two 3:0 losses on the bounce after a mini-revival clearly show this team is broken and rudderless. At this point the owners have to be seriously thinking about a managerial change to salvage something out of this season. It would be a miracle of miracles for Slot to turn it around at this point.
I honestly don’t think tactical or selection decisions on the margins - i.e. Ramsay or Gomez at RB instead of Szobo etc - is why we find ourselves in this situation. Every decision looks like a mistake when you’re losing. This collective loss of confidence has been coming gradually, slow and barely noticeable at first but inevitable like quicksand. Where I fault Slot is that he has been up to this point unable to provide any kind of infusion of confidence and positivity - or anger and defiance, whatever works - to shake the team out of its deadly slumber. This is where a big character like Klopp is needed, a real emotional giver rather than simply a tactician.
To fly a plane during normal conditions and to guide it out of a near stall are two different skillsets and we’re now finding out that like most managers Arne seems to lack the latter one - he’s keeping us on a steady course, unfortunately this course is pointing into the ground. Losing can never become a habit for a team like Liverpool - there is enough quality in the team to at least cobble together a group that will draw games - instead we’re seeing the same scenario game after game: prance around, miss decent chances, concede from a set piece, heads drop, get killed on the counter. For me, the individual underperformance of key players, both veterans and new arrivals, from the very start of the season is the main reason the season has turned sour, but it’s up to the manager to change things when they are not working and Arne hasn’t come close to a solution. He’s won’t get many more chances, I fear.
So yeah, it’s shite. Not how it was supposed to go after winning the title and having a 8-9/10 transfer window. No matter what there will be big changes in January.