"The rotation was the right decision. Our lineup is not as big as we imagined. There is no reason to cover up the fact that we lost so many games." Slott's frustration was palpable after encountering three kills from Crystal Palace in a short period of time, and his defense for the loss seemed so feeble.
[In an unusual summer, the Red Army has had a troubled year]
They have lost 6 of the past 7 games, becoming the team with the most losses among the five major leagues in the past month. Liverpool's dark night seems to have no end. Liverpool's decline did not start this season. Slott and his disciples have been wandering in the downward range for more than half a year. After basically locking the Premier League title last season, Liverpool first lost to Plymouth in the FA Cup 1/16 finals, and then stopped in the Champions League round of 16 as the "regular season champion". Four days later, they lost to Newcastle in the EFL Cup final, and finally ended the Premier League with a record of 8 games and 3 losses.
In the 2024 summer window, Liverpool sent away enough players to put together a starting lineup, but only welcomed one new player with serious injury risks. This paved the way for a big purchase in the 2025 summer window.
Chelsea and Manchester City completed the reinforcements in the "small window period" before the Club World Cup, which objectively intensified the arms race among the Big 6 and detonated the 2025 summer window market. Liverpool became one of the teams most affected. The shortfall in the 2024 summer window needs to be filled, Jota's unexpected death has increased the need for lineup changes, and the temptation brought by the Club World Cup is irresistible. These have prompted Liverpool to make huge investments.
After experiencing the largest purchase in history, Liverpool's lineup can only barely meet the requirements of multi-line operations, and is not very wealthy.
Before starting their summer shopping spree, Liverpool renewed their contracts with Van Dijk and Salah, and sent away Arnold. After Wirtz, Kyle Ketz, Frimpong, Ekitic and Isaac joined, Luis Dias, Nunez, Kuanza and Elliott left the team one after another. Liverpool's net expenditure in the summer window was controlled to about 218 million pounds. Instead of strengthening the depth of the lineup, it was weakened compared to last season. At one time, Slott only had 3 central defenders and 3 forwards available. The head coach does not have many players to choose from, and the integration of a large number of new players has brought about rejection at the tactical level. The veterans are not able to cover the tactical experiments. The results can be imagined.
[Wash away the traces of your predecessor, it is not easy to "copy the homework"]
Before Slott, the reputation of Dutch coaches in the Premier League was not good. From Gullit, Meulensteen and Martin Jol to Louis van Gaal, Advocaat, Frank de Boer and Ronald Koeman, adventurers from the lowlands generally suffer from the problem of being too competitive and too stubborn. They have too high demands on players, have direct language expression and work style, and find themselves in an awkward position between management, players and public opinion. This phenomenon also exists with Slott.
How to continue to "copy homework" tactically, and how to get out of the vicious circle of the Dutch coach, Slott faces two major problems.
Last season, Slott took over the team left by Klopp, but he did not stand still. Instead, he completed a comprehensive "magic change" from the tactical style to the players' playing style, putting a distinct personal mark on this team. After experiencing a major reshuffle in the summer window, Liverpool's wings and forwards have changed beyond recognition, and Slott has made a significant leap forward at the tactical level.
Last season, Slott turned almost every position in the main lineup into a tactical growth point, and Liverpool completed "new wine in old bottles".
Liverpool in the Klopp era has experienced two nightmare starts to the season, and its style has gradually transformed from "heavy metal flow" to an energy-saving and emission reduction model. After Slott took office, Liverpool's average running distance per game (20th) fell to the bottom of the league, but the number of times they regained the ball in the frontcourt was still ranked 6th in the league. It became their label to build a defense line in their own half and then press when the opportunity was right. Running ability and game intensity have declined. If Liverpool wants to continue to control the game, it must improve its ball control, defense and confrontation capabilities. Slott believes that tall players can complete this task.
As long as headers are still allowed in football, there will definitely be teams that strengthen offense and defense around tall players and rely on relatively direct methods to influence the game. Tall players in the new era generally have good skills and running abilities, and the advantages formed when combined with physical fitness are very obvious. Manchester City's Triple Crown lineup (in the 2022/23 season) was full of people. Guardiola created a giant central axis and a three-centre defender defense, creating a very British-style Tiki-Taka. In the process of leading Arsenal to complete its transformation, Arteta built the best defense in the Premier League around tall players, and the offensive and defensive efficiency of set pieces jumped to the top level of the five major leagues.
Half of the main players are 1.9 meters tall. Slott is copying the work of his peers.
Liverpool in the Klopp era relied on the "Three Red Arrows" to press their opponents, and tall players in the midfield and backcourt recovered the ball. Last season, Slott transformed Luis Diaz. The frontcourt players reduced pressure and spent a lot of energy on returning to defense. When the defense transitioned to offense, they used the wing 1V1 to open up the situation. With the two high center forwards in place, Liverpool's tactical focus will inevitably shift to the center.
Last season, Liverpool would tighten its defensive formation when facing strong opponents. The presence of Luis Dias allowed the Red Army to quickly expand its formation during counterattacks and widen the offensive width.
Luis Dias and Alexander-Arnold left the team, Salah's condition declined, Liverpool's power on the wings plummeted, and the new formation (442) caused congestion in the center and frequent changes of ball rights..
Salah and Gakpo have completed contract extensions one after another. Wirtz, Ekitic and Isaac are highly valued. It seems inappropriate for any one of them to serve as a substitute for a long time. It is difficult for the 433 system to accommodate them. This may be the reason why Sloter is obsessed with the 442/4222 experiment. After the change of formation, Liverpool's side attack ability has dropped significantly. The narrow attacking formation relies on short passing cooperation. The team's current technical ability is not enough to support this style of play, and the backcourt players are unable to resolve the risk of frequently conceding the ball.
After many players from the Bundesliga were in place, Slott restarted the high-pressing style. Wirtz has not yet opened a goal account in the league, but his running ability (averaging 11.78 kilometers per game, third in the league) is what Slott values. What the Dutch coach didn't expect was that Liverpool's "Giant Formation" not only failed to gain advantages in confrontation and aerial dominance, but frequently failed due to its inability to defend against high balls. Liverpool's running distance is no longer at the bottom, but the number of ball possessions won back in the frontcourt has dropped to 14th in the league. The overly stubborn backcourt passing has amplified the technical shortcomings of Mamardashvili, Kyle Ketz, Bradley and others.
The skills of the backcourt players are not up to standard, but Slott still insists on the strategy of luring the enemy deep into the ball.
Slaughter's original plan was to have experienced technical players (McAllister & Salah) provide control, with young players (Kyle Kates and Frimpong) bringing speed and variety to fill the texture of the "Giant Formation".
After Arnold left the team, Liverpool's defense did not improve, and backcourt organization and advancement became a problem again.
Since the latter part of last season, McAllister's status has continued to decline, and Salah has become a pass-first midfielder. The arrival of Wirtz occupied McAllister's space. After the implementation of the "small ball" tactic in the frontcourt, Liverpool no longer relied on 45-degree crosses from the wing. Salah's new skills were unable to be used, and the weakness of the declining ability to attack with the ball was exposed.
Wiltz did not dare to take the initiative to seek confrontation, which led to Liverpool's disadvantage when competing for the second penalty kick.
During the oppression stage, the momentum was high, but the actual effect was far lower than expected.
When there are three players in the starting lineup who are not capable of fighting online, the journey to the Premier League is destined to be full of thorns.
When the two core players fail to meet expectations, it is difficult for the "wingmen" Kyle Ketz, Frimpong and Bradley to maximize their strengths and avoid weaknesses. Liverpool's offense lacks interaction between the two wings and cannot play on the strong side. Judging from the recent actual combat situation, Kyle Ketz and Wirtz are at a great disadvantage in terms of physical confrontation. Liverpool is very difficult to compete for two penalty kicks. The "Giant Formation" has become a wooden man's alley with leaks everywhere.
[The tactical knot is not easy to break, and the injury crisis is on the way]
Unable to control the game with bayonets, Slott can only ask the main players to continue to fight hard, and at the same time adjust the rotation system to increase the playing time of Chiesa and other substitute players and young players. In such a chaotic situation, it is difficult for Liverpool to compete with teams with mature systems and tough styles (especially in the Premier League), as evidenced by the three kills suffered by Crystal Palace.
Ngumoha and Nyoni are not the "catfish" who can save the team.
After many years of "downcoming" in the Champions League, Guardiola finally found the optimal solution for Manchester City's lineup. However, the "Triple Crown" lineup only lasted for two seasons before being destroyed by injuries. This is the inevitable result of the gathering of tall players. Before Slott's team could enjoy the tactical dividends, it was already clouded by injuries. The consecutive injuries of Hrafenbecher, Curtis Jones and Frimpong were a wake-up call.
Last season, Liverpool's performance in controlling injuries was excellent, and assistant coach Ruben Peters played a major role. Slott and Ruben Pieters have had a good cooperation in the Eredivisie, but this combination is not omnipotent. Feyenoord also demolished and built a lot after winning the championship, and ultimately lost the opportunity to defend the title early. Now the situation seems to be happening to Liverpool again.
[Overcome the difficulties and climb to the "Six Sage Flag"]
For a long time at the turn of the century, Liverpool was not among the top teams. Houllier, Benitez and Rodgers briefly gave fans hope, but in the end they all failed to escape the fate of starting high and going low. After winning the championship last season, Slott's reputation reached its peak, but if he wants to reach Klopp's height, he still needs to overcome more difficulties.
In the new era, competition in the Premier League is unprecedentedly intense, and the update cycle of tactical knowledge is constantly shortening, which places extremely high demands on the coaches of wealthy clubs who are at the forefront. Mourinho, Ranieri and Conte all fell into quagmire after winning the Premier League. Klopp's valuable feature lies in his spirit of getting more and more excited as the frustration gets worse, and his extraordinary ability to integrate resources. This is evidenced by the fact that he led the team back to the European theater twice after a collapse of the start. Liverpool needs a coach who can control the storm. What is before Slott is both a crisis and an opportunity.
Mini-game recommendations:Load The Dishes ASMR