The big decision that Arne Slot needs to make to save his Liverpool job

Liverpool are in their worst run of form in 71 years and the vultures are circling as Arne Slot fights to save his job.

While the Dutch manager reportedly has been given time to turn things around, another few losses could force the owners to make a big decision.

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How can Arne Slot turn Liverpool’s form around?

There’s still time, just. Slot has credit in the bank for last season’s league win and the Reds are still only five points behind Chelsea in second despite their horrendous form. But the longer this run goes on, the louder the noise around his future will get. 

Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola are the only managers to have retained the Premier League title, so if Liverpool can stop the rot and have a good run in the Champions League, the season wouldn’t be seen as a complete disaster.

However, Liverpool can also count themselves lucky to not be further down the table after relying on late, late goals from the likes of then 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha for some of their early season wins.

The Reds have lost nine of their last 12 games and have been outplayed and outfought in the majority of them.

Nobody at Anfield seems to know why they are playing so badly.

Liverpool’s only first-team Scouser, Curtis Jones was blunt in his assessment of their form after yet another big loss to PSV on Wednesday.

‘I don’t have the answers. Honestly, I don’t. It’s just unacceptable,’ he said. ‘We’re going to try and get this team back to where it needs to be, show everyone again what this club is about and why people call it the best team in the world, but right now, we’re in the s***, and it needs to change.’

Admirable honesty from Jones, but not what Slot would have wanted to hear. Players look bereft of confidence, unsure of what the plan is and unable to impose themselves on a game.

Alexander Isak arrived injured and hasn’t made a mark yet, Florian Wirtz is struggling to adapt to the Premier League, Jeremie Frimpong has only started one league game due to injury and Milos Kerkez has been erratic at best so far.

Hugo Ekitike is the one new addition that has hit the ground not even running, but walking, and Slot is reluctant to play him alongside Isak.

Virgil van Dijk suddenly looks his age, Ibrahima Konate has been well off it and yet no experienced central defensive cover was brought in.

For a club that prides itself on clever recruitment, their summer business just hasn’t gone to plan.

Is Slot the right manager for Liverpool long term?

This is where the argument gets tricky. Slot was praised for his calm approach to the job when he replaced Jurgen Klopp.

His managerial style was, it turns out, perfect for a situation where big players needed motivation to go again. He handled the contract situations of Trent Alexander-Arnold, van Dijk and Mohamed Salah as well as could be expected and ultimately won the league with a confidence and ease that was a big surprise.

The Reds feel like a team stuck between two places. Salah’s brilliance over the years has made him undroppable but the club see Wirtz and Isak as the future of their attack, so at some stage Slot needs to make a decision and either commit to what worked last season and bench some of their new stars or start afresh and bench the legendary winger.

The owners are patient and are unlikely to jump into sacking the manager they felt was the right man to lead their transition, not only from Klopp, but from Salah and van Dijk too.

While both got new contracts until the end of next season, it’s hard to see either staying beyond that point – and in Salah’s case a sale to Saudi Arabia at the end of this season wouldn’t be a surprise.

But at what point do Slot’s bosses lose their nerve? They are backing him for now, but would a loss at West Ham on Sunday force their hand? How about at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light on Wednesday? Or at home to Leeds next week? All ‘winnable’ games on paper, but the kind of teams that are currently Liverpool’s kryptonite.

Aside from maybe Wolves, Liverpool are who every single manager in the Premier League would want to play next. If that doesn’t change soon, there’s no amount of goodwill that can save Slot.

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