Training schedule, academy concerns and soft skills - why Liverpool sacked Slot
Despite Arne Slot's debut season ending in a Premier League title, Liverpool have long showed that they were not entirely convinced by the Dutchman.
The most obvious indication that the Liverpool hierarchy were not entirely sold on Arne Slot came in the immediate aftermath of last season’s Premier League title win.
Fenway Sports Group had previously shown what it looked like when they possessed full faith in their manager, handing Jurgen Klopp an improved six-year contract less than 10 months after his appointment despite silverware having still to be secured.
Yet Slot, who had just delivered a long-awaited league title that could be celebrated in front of supporters, was - rather tellingly - allowed to go into the second year of a three-year deal after giving Anfield one of its most memorable days.
Of course, he had doubtless shown plenty to be encouraged by in those first 12 months, earning praise behind the scenes for bringing a calmer mood to the AXA Training Centre after an intense few years.
That was also reflected on the pitch in a more relaxed style of play that, early on at least, offered more control thanks to clever tweaks such as using Ryan Gravenberch in the holding role.
These changes led to the Reds winning 23 of their first 27 games in Slot’s debut season, proof that those in charge had done a pretty good job of finding an ideal plug-and-play successor for Klopp.
However, it is at that point that cracks started to appear, suggesting the Dutchman might in fact not be the ideal long-term fit.
Following the turn of the year, Slot oversaw 15 wins, six draws and eight defeats and, while the final four games of the season can perhaps be dismissed given the title was secured, there were obvious frailties on show.
Opponents seemed to have quickly worked out that being physical, going long, and denying any space with a deep defence meant Liverpool struggled badly.
That weakness was particularly pronounced in the League Cup final defeat to Newcastle, as well as the final trip to face Everton at Goodison Park.
There were also questions quietly being asked behind the scenes over whether an inability to compete as well late in the season owed anything to the manager’s approach to training.
When Liverpool were researching potential Klopp replacements, one of the most appealing aspects of Slot was his ability to keep players fit at Feyenoord, something he initially replicated at Anfield.
But it eventually emerged that this ‘superpower’ owed everything to training at a lower intensity, resulting in fewer muscle injuries but also players who could not cope with the intensity of a Premier League season.
Unsurprisingly, the players initially welcomed this, particularly in contrast to the regimented approach of former head of fitness and conditioning Andreas Kornmayer.
However, any decision that leads to more defeats and criticism won’t stay popular for long, and it is clear that the next head coach will train with greater intensity.
In this context, Slot’s complaints that his players could not compete across three games a week fell on deaf ears given it was his job to ensure that could be the case.
By way of mitigation, it was often suggested by supporters that the tragic passing of Diogo Jota had wrecked the most recent pre-season entirely, but that was always played down by those who had been close to the camps.
Instead, there was a feeling that key details were being ignored, not only relating to fitness but also set-pieces, which played a key role in damaging the first half of the season.
Of course, those above Slot also deserve their share of the blame for that, having handed Aaron Briggs the role before being forced to sack him.
But the head coach still needed to do more to prepare, and the fact that two goals were given away from throw-in situations in an April defeat to Manchester City showed that lessons weren’t being learned.
Elsewhere, academy staff were privately sharing frustration that Slot did not seem to be immersing himself in all things Liverpool, rarely paying attention to goings-on there.
And it could be argued that this attitude was reflected in the training schedule he implemented, frequent holidays, and the fact his family remained in the Netherlands.
Even if those criticisms could be considered unfair given Liverpool won the league in similar conditions, Slot did not seem to understand quite how important perceptions are at a club of this size.
As much could be seen from his constant references to Paris Saint-Germain - a great team, but still a relative minnow in European terms - and recently suggesting that reaching a Champions League quarter-final was a huge achievement.
That should never be the target for a club with six European Cups to their name and who had reached three finals in five years with Klopp at the helm.
And this feeling that the gravity of the job was being misunderstood was compounded by one of Slot’s staff being spotted laughing with friends on the Anfield pitch after a 1-1 draw with Tottenham in March - arguably the nadir of a woeful season.
