There’s a point in a season where you stop debating “process” and start asking a more basic question: are we actually moving forward, or are we just hoping the tide turns? Because if you think the ship is sinking, you don’t stand on deck describing the water level. You fix it. Immediately.

That’s the heart of the case against Arne Slot right now. It’s not personal, and it’s not nostalgia for the last era either. It’s a fear of how quickly a big club can drift, and how hard it is to climb back once you’ve slid out of the top table.

The Hodgson comparison isn’t about the names

People bristle at any comparison to the Woy period, and I get it. Different squads, different ownership landscape, different mood around the club. But the point isn’t that the situations are identical. It’s that the principle is.

Back then, sacking Woy was widely seen as the right decision because you could see the trajectory. The football felt flat, the confidence was gone, and you were watching a club with huge expectations shrinking into itself. The argument here is that the current form under Slot has that same whiff of inevitability, that same sense of a group not fully buying in.

Klopp rebuilt the status. It can be lost quicker than it was built

The only reason this conversation even feels strange is because Jürgen Klopp dragged us back to the top and made excellence feel normal again. That’s the standard now. And to be fair, that’s also the danger, because standards don’t protect you on their own. The Premier League doesn’t care about your recent history.

If you drop a level, it’s not guaranteed you bounce straight back. The league is loaded with good coaches, well-run sides, and teams who will happily take your Champions League place and never give it back without a fight.

Champions League isn’t a luxury. It’s the baseline

This is where the urgency comes from. Maintaining Champions League status as a minimum isn’t just about pride, it’s about keeping Liverpool where Liverpool belongs, with the finances, pull and momentum that come with it. Let that slip and you’re not just dealing with a bad run of results, you’re dealing with a changed reality.

And the concern being raised is blunt: there’s no evidence yet that Slot can consistently motivate this squad to hit that baseline. You can talk about shape and structure all you want, but if the intensity drops, if the belief goes, it doesn’t matter what the whiteboard says.

So the stance is clear. Make the call now, rather than later, and if it’s a temporary solution, so be it. The suggestion from the fan view is XA coming in with a free pass this year, then judged properly next season. Harsh? Maybe. But that’s the point: Liverpool can’t afford to be sentimental with time.

Written by Westwood666: 26 January 2026

Tags: europe efl tactics