Slot Needs His Old Flexibility Back

You can’t blame any manager for trying to carve his own path. In fact, after the Klopp years, it would’ve been odd if Arne Slot turned up and simply photocopied everything we used to do. But there’s a thin line between having a clear idea and refusing to budge, and right now it feels like the stubbornness is hindering Liverpool.

That’s what makes it so frustrating. This isn’t even about longing for “the Klopp way” like it’s a sacred text. Truth is, we haven’t consistently played that way for a while anyway. Even in Klopp’s final season there were stretches where the identity looked different, and plenty of folk were happy enough to pin that on the backroom setup and have a pop at Lijnders. So the idea that Liverpool have suddenly “stopped being Liverpool” doesn’t quite stack up for me.

New ideas are fine, but the team still needs answers

If you’re changing the approach, you need solutions when the first plan isn’t landing. That’s where the worry creeps in. Slot, at his best, had a very simple but effective rhythm: assess the first half, tweak at half-time, then win the game in the second. It wasn’t magic, it was just being honest about what’s in front of you and acting on it.

At the minute, that ability to adapt doesn’t seem to be happening. It can look like we’re watching the same problems repeat: the same areas getting overloaded, the same patterns getting blocked off, the same tempo when the match is crying out for a change. And when you don’t shift anything, results tend to follow the performance rather than rescue it.

The squad changes aren’t an excuse

I actually agree with the point that, in general, the new signings feel like upgrades on the ones who went out. There are exceptions, though. If you feel Diaz hasn’t properly been replaced, that’s a real issue because it’s not just losing a player, it’s losing a type of threat. And with Trent, whatever the circumstances were, it sounds like we had no choice in the end, which leaves a hole you don’t patch overnight.

But even with all that, you still expect Liverpool to look like they’re learning during games, not only between games.

What happens next is on Slot

From here it feels like there’s a fork in the road. Slot either goes full throttle, accepts what isn’t working, and finds a better blend for the second half of the season. Or the club decides in summer that it’s not heading the right way. And if a bad run lines up with dropping out of the top four and falling away in the cups, that decision gets forced earlier.

It’s not doom, and it doesn’t need to be drama. It’s just football. The best sides adapt, the best managers adjust, and Liverpool have to get back to that quickly.

Written by Ernest Millar: 10 January 2026