Martin Keown has made a prediction over Arne Slot’s future after Liverpool’s humiliating 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
At Anfield, Forest condemned the Reds to their sixth defeat in seven Premier League game thanks to goals from Murillo, Nicolo Savona
and Morgan Gibbs-White.
The result leaves reigning champions Liverpool in the bottom half of the table after 12 games, eight points behind leaders Arsenal who play Tottenham in the North London Derby on Saturday.
Just months after winning the league in his debut season, Slot is under huge pressure with his tactics no longer effective and his summer signings failing to deliver.
The Dutchman spent £450million to improve his squad and broke the British transfer record twice for Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, but the team look a shadow of the side that romped to the the title.
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‘We have to give credit to Forest for what they are doing but yes, the wheels are coming off now for Arne Slot,’ former Arsenal defender Keown said on Final Score.
‘Obviously, it was Jurgen Klopp’s team, and he has tried to come in and make changes, but he has spent £450million on players, and they are going backwards.
‘They have simply been undone. Whether it’s a crisis I don’t know, it’s certainly a major problem for the manager to go six defeats from seven. Unthinkable.’
However, Keown doesn’t believe Slot is in danger of the sack, having won enough goodwill to keep his job for now.
‘I don’t think you can win the league one year and get sacked the next,’ he added.
Will Liverpool sack Arne Slot this season?
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Yes
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No
‘It’s remarkable what we are seeing with Liverpool. Their fall from grace and to lose this many games at the start of the season, they are eight points behind top spot, it is unthinkable really from this time last season.’
It is not unheard of for a manager to win the league one season and get sacked the next however, with Claudio Ranieri in 2017 the most recent casualty, losing his job just months after miraculously guiding Leicester City to the title.
Former Liverpool star Jamie Redknapp agrees with Keown’s verdict, saying on Sky Sports: ‘I look at Liverpool now, this is what I expected to happen last season.
‘After Jurgen Klopp leaving the club I thought it would have some negative effect on the team. There wasn’t. They did something absolutely extraordinary and won the league.
‘Right now, I think it’s a time for patience because they’ll be people, pundits, everyone going crazy [saying] “sack the manager”…
‘Calm, take your time, make sure you assess it, it’s been the most difficult pre-season you can imagine for those players.’
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