Arne Slot

[Doc_Piptorious]

Completely agree with this. As promising as they are, there are questions about the ability of Glasner, Iraola to step up and adjust their style of play to a team that will have 60% possession and facing mid / low blocks in most games, as well as the off field pressures that come as manager of one of the few truly global football clubs

If we're moving Slot on (it stills feel very surreal that I'm writing this sentence only in November after a title winning seasons and £400m spent in the summer), I'm keen to see who's gone through the ups and downs of management a little more, with a track record of rebuilding and dealing with noise / pressure, including dealing with superstar players on a more equal basis

No idea who that is, to be honest, so not very helpful - no obvious candidates out there at the moment (don't want Ancelotti, as he will be a short tem sugar hit only, may as well take Klopp back on a temporary basis)

Inzaghi is an interesting shout - I was also thinking about Spalletti

I think he is a great manager too but the reason I discounted him was down to me wanting a younger manager. Think Spalletti is in the 65 to 68 years of age bracket. Plus he is only a month or so into a new job.


Edit: Googled him and he is 66, turns 67 next March

[labourRed]

I think the recruitment guys don't get a pass on this either, we have brought in some very good players (on paper at least) but surely there has to have been a plan between them and the manager as to the types of players we wanted and how we were going to play etc. Because it was obvious to most of us fans than with the players we signed in the summer we couldn't carry on trying to play the same way, but it seems we have been trying to. While the manager ultimately has to take responsibility for the performances on the pitch we supposedly work with multiple people and a cohesive structure and at the moment it doesn't look like that has worked too well.

Yeah, i think Hughes is gone in the summer anyway.

The buying Ekitike, Isak and Wirtz who all enjoy the left half space seemed odd and its even worse now.

There's a certain amount of opportunism when it comes to transfers but this is taking it too far.

[Norbs]

Glasner, Iraola, Cesc or whatever, Slot has lost the plot, it's quite obvious, I don't even feel that the defending is the main problem, we're so slow building up play and attacking that teams can easily defend us and then pick us off and bully us. I was willing to take a transitional season but this is way OTT. He's also not looking to good at pressers tbh.

Worst part about it is that he had a winning squad last season, tinkered with £400m, and now we're ****. We didn't need a ****ing transition

[Norbs]

If we make a chance I hope it is none of those three. All look very promising and might in time be ready for a big club, but right now we are a big club in need of a rebuild tactically and mentally.

Think we need someone with experiences of the pressures of rebuilding and the pressures of winning.

Klopp I do not think is a flight of fancy, and I reckon talks of some sort have happened, but if I was to pick a manager based on the players we brought in this summer and who has a favourite formation but who is flexible with it based on the availability of players then I think Inzaghi would be worth a look.


He does like three at the back (similar to Palace) and likes to get his width from full backs/wing backs. He likes to play with two up front and likes to have an AM behind them.

When attacking or on the ball his full backs become wingser so there is five in the middle and the two strikers up front and when theteam loses the ball the wing backs become regular full backs as part of five at the back and the AM drops into the centre to keep three in the centre to help avoid runners throuh the middle getting at the back line.


Is a youngish manager at 49 so still learning, but has some cups and a league title to his name and has shown he can gel big name players into a hard working team that plays as a unit.

Amorim?

[danperkins]

The signings certainly look like 'We flexed and got the big names, yay the champs' & then realised how the **** are we going to fit them in... it all looks very Unitedesque at the moment. I suppose the question is, do you think Slot can turn it around or is there someone else out there that can do a better job?

Slot won the league last year, made a few tweaks that improved us and likes of Grav, has credit in the bank & we have loads of great players in the squad if he can just get the best out of them. Then again, he won it with Klopps team, we've been on a horrible run of form from the back end of last season, his decision making & setup has been really poor, there really doesn't seem to be a real plan to fix it & why isn't he getting the best out of the embarrassment of riches we have in the squad?

It's funny last week City were back & contenders for the title! Our headlines are crisis alert but yet we are only 4 points behind them & we've been absolutely woeful. I suppose you could argue that some of the wins we got at the start of the season were lucky & generally we've played poorly throughout which you would not be wrong but then again we still won ugly & other teams have been lucky vs us too.

It's not ideal changing a manager in November, especially if there aren't options available but at what point do we let it slide to? On one hand, you don't want to be rash with the guy who won the league last season but also, to be serial winners you have to be ruthless enough to make changes when things aren't working. Currently we are still in a competitive spot for 4th place. Do you stick with Slot and hope he can pull something out of the bag or do we cut our losses, get someone in with new ideas and try salvage the season? It's a tough decision.

Emotions have settled since the Forest game & there is the distraction of the PSV game before the dread of another league game. Imo, it's the manner of the performances that is the most concerning & the lack of ideas or willingness to change the setup which clearly not working but even more worrying... it's just very easy to play against even at Anfield & the lack of fight, heart & work rate is a genuine concern. It doesn't make sense that almost every player is under performing & fingers can certainly be pointed at them but that suggests a systemic issue & it's pretty easy to see with the eye that is true. The Jota thing imo isn't the issue, it's an issue for sure but we look a broken side. Ultimately it will come down to , is the current manager getting the best out of the players underneath him... that not the case this season.

[Fierce]

Regardless of personal feelings, what do we think is the point where the owners HAVE to make a change of manager? As in, how far down the table would we need to drop before it becomes unfeasible for him to continue?

I think that given our success last year, the money spent in the summer and the cruelty and subsequent effect that Jota's passing brought; that Slot deserves more time to turn this around. But that can't last forever

He has to drop Salah, surely.

Ali

Bradley/Gomez - Konate - VVD - Robertson/Kerkez

Szoboszlai - Gravenburch - Mac Allister

Wirtz

Isak - Ekitike

Or we go back to 433 with Chiesa on the right and Isak/Ekitike/Wirtz on the left?

[Sus]

I think he is a great manager too but the reason I discounted him was down to me wanting a younger manager. Think Spalletti is in the 65 to 68 years of age bracket. Plus he is only a month or so into a new job.


Edit: Googled him and he is 66, turns 67 next March

Ah! I thought he was much younger

[vlahka]

I just want a manager who doesnt decide a good tactic while attacking. ie passing aimlessly till we lose it, is to have our defenders in the oppositions half, the other 3/4 of the team near the penalty box, and 2 players in the middle of all that. Just ****ing stop it.

[kingfunk]

Slot has to do now what he thinks is best for the team, no point thinking what he should have done on a plane back to the Netherlands with his P45 in his back pocket. Now is the time to make some tough calls.

I get the calls to drop Salah, but do we really have someone who could do better on the RW at the moment, guess that’s a difficult question to answer if we don’t try, but that’s where Semenyo comes in in January.

Konate is an absolute cluster****, drop him, I don’t really care who replaces him.

Kerkez needs a run of games now

Gomez has to cover at RB, it’s criminal putting Dom there

Put some fight back in the team, none of this pussying out of 50/50s, get a bit of needle back, ruffle some feathers etc.

The title is gone now but we can still have a decent season, if we can’t show something is the run of games coming up then we are cooked.

[danperkins]

The setup and the square pegs in round holes worries me but going full Hail Mary with 5 or 6 up attackers when your initial tactics didn't work & then doing it in multiple times just stinks of pure desperation and panic. Szob has to, absolutely has start in midfield, he sets the tone & Gomez has to start at RB. Chiesa and Endo aren't world beaters by no stretch but they have been so over looked & at the very least will give you energy and physicality. We need heart and work rate at the moment, there's a **** load of quality but no bollox.

[Doc_Piptorious]

The setup and the square pegs in round holes worries me but going full Hail Mary with 5 or 6 up attackers when your initial tactics didn't work & then doing it in multiple times just stinks of pure desperation and panic.

That is pretty much it. Especially for midfield and the back line.


Not worried about the attack as much (even though most of us have picked holes in it) as we have scored almost as many goals this season as we did in the same number of games last season.

It is the goals against that are killing us.


Last season at this point we had scored 24 goals from 12 games, this season we have 18. A drop off but not dramatic given how our attack has been disjointed.

Goals against is another story. We had let in 8 from 12 games last season, this season it is 20 after the same number of games.

[danperkins]

That is pretty much it. Especially for midfield and the back line.


Not worried about the attack as much (even though most of us have picked holes in it) as we have scored almost as many goals this season as we did in the same number of games last season.

It is the goals against that are killing us.


Last season at this point we had scored 24 goals from 12 games, this season we have 18. A drop off but not dramatic given how our attack has been disjointed.

Goals against is another story. We had let in 8 from 12 games last season, this season it is 20 after the same number of games.

it's a real problem that Slot seems incapable of solving. Losing is one thing, conceded is one thing but the manner of the losses is the thing that really worries me. The sluggish, lethargic and frankly lazy performances make you question have the players lost faith in him.

[Exiled_red]

Regardless of personal feelings, what do we think is the point where the owners HAVE to make a change of manager? As in, how far down the table would we need to drop before it becomes unfeasible for him to continue?

I think that given our success last year, the money spent in the summer and the cruelty and subsequent effect that Jota's passing brought; that Slot deserves more time to turn this around. But that can't last forever

He has to drop Salah, surely.

Ali

Bradley/Gomez - Konate - VVD - Robertson/Kerkez

Szoboszlai - Gravenburch - Mac Allister

Wirtz

Isak - Ekitike

Or we go back to 433 with Chiesa on the right and Isak/Ekitike/Wirtz on the left?

I have seen some suggestions that we won't act rashly and that he has at least until new year, 6 PL and 2 CL games between now and then.

While we obviously want to win games and progress in the CL, but if doomsday scenario: we lose the next 6 PL games I don't thing winning the 2 CL games saves him, so from that point of view they are somewhat irrelevant to this discussion. That situation would see us 18 games in on 18 points which is relegation form (for context Hodgson got 25 points from 20 games).

While our current position in the table looks bad we are only 3 points off the top 4, and while obviously it is still mathematically possible the reality is any hope of the title is almost certainly gone (11 points behind). So we must focus our efforts on ensuring CL qualification and finishing as high up the table as possible. Not sure what the financial situation would be if we don't make the CL but that has to be in the owner/board's mind when considering things, so I guess the situation will depend how the top 4 picture evolves in the next few games. My instinct is that we need to win at least 3 of the next 6 in the league and turn performances around.

[badpiggy]

I'd like to know what the stats are on scoring/conceding goals in games where we've done this 5 up front panic shizzle. I want to see if it makes any difference or whether we are just as toothless up front but weirdly no worse at the back. That second part probably depends on how well the game has been won by the opposition at that stage.

Over to you Jaco.

[peterbread]

The setup and the square pegs in round holes worries me but going full Hail Mary with 5 or 6 up attackers when your initial tactics didn't work & then doing it in multiple times just stinks of pure desperation and panic. Szob has to, absolutely has start in midfield, he sets the tone & Gomez has to start at RB. Chiesa and Endo aren't world beaters by no stretch but they have been so over looked & at the very least will give you energy and physicality. We need heart and work rate at the moment, there's a **** load of quality but no bollox.

Endo would be good right now. His first season we saw what’s he’s capable of. While he’s not the best player he’ll battle and win the ball and do his job every time which exactly what the team needs. And how Chiesa hasn’t had a start in a proper game is ridiculous, same goes for Gomez. Look at the fort Chiesa puts in every time he’s on the pitch. Imagine having Dom and Chiesa up there starting the press with the work rates they have.

His lack of trust in the squad isn’t a good sign for me. It’s not like he took over a team of terrible players that weren’t good enough. These guys have proven themselves.