Arne Slot took Liverpool to the top of the tree but he deserved sacking for failing to stop their disastrous decline, writes IAN LADYMAN

There was a certain symmetry in Arne Slot being sacked from his job at Liverpool just as Arsenal were about to play in the Champions League final. While other major English clubs have stepped forward, Liverpool has been left behind.

A year ago no one would have bet on this. Slot had the Premier League trophy in hand and new transfers were on the way. The decline of the Dutch coach and his championship-winning team is as worrying as the events we have witnessed in English football over the years.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have fallen off a cliff after winning their fourth consecutive title in 2024. But not like this.

The year after the 2016 miracle, Leicester tumbled down the league like a snowball. But is anyone really surprised?

Liverpool’s transformation from winners to serial losers has been something else entirely. And that, in short, is why Slot is gone.

During a difficult season of reverse journey, he lost his grip on the results, his players and, as is often the case, his own sense of reality.

Slot, a good man and a good coach who will undoubtedly come again, leaves Anfield still citing injuries and bad luck. The Liverpool team has had its share of both. But the truth is that when Liverpool fell into a slump that no one expected, their manager proved absolutely powerless to pull them out of it. It failed.

Liverpool’s season has been a disaster. Disorganized defending, particularly from set pieces, combined with a lack of ability to control games and a tendency to collapse in the later stages of matches.

Slot’s team has been defeated 12 times in the Premier League this season. The point difference between them and their great rivals Manchester United was an astonishing 53 points. Champions League qualification was in their hands because the Premier League’s quota was now five.

None of this contributes to an argument for keeping the manager. For a while (as social media raged at Slot mid-season) it seemed right to give Slot more time and actually some understanding. I advocated for this.

The loss of the summer’s big signing, Alexander Isak, to injury felt like a disaster, as did the loss of Mo Salah’s form, loyalty and interest. An even greater loss occurred last July when Diogo Jota tragically died in a car crash, leaving the club in mourning. Other new transfers such as Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong could not perform.

This would test every manager. However, the lack of any development throughout the season and the absence of any clue that solutions were found ultimately led to this situation. As Liverpool’s first winning streak (some of them incredible) came to an end, Slot was unable to stop the horror show that began to unfold before his eyes.

Over time, his players appeared unmotivated, disorganized, and out of ideas. Salah’s one-man protest, which began in November and never gave up, reflects badly on the Egyptian, but as a title defense turned into a desperate search for something approaching mere plausibility, Slot looked increasingly alone, isolated and lost in a sea of ​​public denial.

Slot kisses the Premier League trophy during the Dutch footballer’s happy times at Anfield

The final game of the season can perhaps be summed up as Liverpool’s goal against Brentford conceded a soft equalizer and held on hard until the end. For a team comprised of so-called champions and a movie the home fans had seen many times before, it was depressing.

So Liverpool are currently standing on the edge of the cliff. The team Slot left behind needs a new overhaul. It lacks youth in some areas and lacks experience and knowledge in others. Just this week, it was revealed that centre-back Ibrahima Konate would be heading out the door, joining Salah and Andy Robertson.

Liverpool not only need to recruit the right manager, but also the right players. Can Isak become a real Liverpool player? Will Hugo Ekitike return with the same sharpness after his devastating Achilles injury?

What looked like a platform for the future, with Liverpool rapidly concentrating on the market this time last year, now looks as reliable as a rubber dinghy in the middle of the ocean. So now they have to do it again and there’s no guarantee of a quick fix. Liverpool’s return may take some time.

But Slot has now gone overboard and there is some sadness about that. He took Liverpool to the top of the tree very quickly. However, it is not possible to say that this was a wrong decision. Most of what we’ve seen from his team has been rotten for too long.