FSG Backing Isn’t the Issue, Slot’s Choices Are

I’m not here to wave the flag for FSG, because they’ve earned criticism plenty of times. But it’s still worth saying out loud: compared to the Hicks and Gillett mess, we’re operating in a different stratosphere. And if you take the fan view that they’ve backed Arne Slot heavily in the market, then the argument shifts from “they won’t spend” to “what happens after the spend?”

Because for me, what’s really grated this season isn’t simply results. It’s the feel of it. The lack of snap. The sense that we can be a bit slow, a bit complacent, and too often not at the races when the game turns into a scrap.

The Klopp hangover: muscle memory is real

When a side has lived on intensity for years, you don’t just flick a switch and keep it forever. Under Jürgen Klopp, we were conditioned to press, recover, press again, and still have enough in the legs to finish games properly. That becomes muscle memory, and it can carry you a long way even when the football isn’t perfect.

But bring in a handful of new faces and that baseline changes. New players arrive with different training histories, different loads, different habits. If the overall regime eases off, even slightly, you can end up with a team that looks like it’s doing the right things… just half a yard late.

Where Slot has been “found out”

The gripe in this post is pretty clear: Slot has trusted a less fitness-driven approach and, whether by design or drift, it’s dulled our edge. It’s not just about the starting XI either. If your bench options aren’t hitting the pitch ready to sprint and chase lost causes, those big late swings you used to rely on disappear.

And when the first team isn’t running through walls, you stop seeing those familiar comebacks and momentum shifts. It becomes harder work, and you start leaning on perfect execution instead of sheer force of will.

Recruitment, fit, and who carries the can

There’s also a fair point about alignment. If last summer was a strong window, it only truly pays off if the manager’s ideas match the profiles being brought in. The frustration here is that Slot didn’t publicly push back on signings even if they didn’t suit his preferred style, then changed the approach anyway. That leaves the football department taking heat for a squad built for one thing, while the coaching staff tries to do another.

It’s why there’s a sliver of sympathy reserved for Edwards and Hughes in this argument. If the plan was one style and it becomes something else after the fact, everyone ends up looking worse than they are.

Ultimately, the conclusion is brutal: move Slot on, and if it’s possible, bring in Xabi Alonso with enough time to assess the squad ahead of next season. Champions League qualification should be the minimum. And if you don’t trust the manager to get you there, the conversation turns from “form” to “direction”.

Written by GrinchRed: 27 January 2026