10 May 2026 00:51:34
I wanted to post this as a standalone thread rather than an answer to Florian Musiala on another post that's getting buried by now.
Everyone is responsible, players, manager and the 3 stooges above them.
Florian, no one is saying the opposite. Most of us are just saying that on game day, Slot has the biggest impact of them all.
Yes, Edwards and Hughes didn't provide the right balance with transfers. We all agree about this.
Yes, players have down tools and aren't putting in the effort the badge deserves. We all agree about this.
BUT Slot has a HUGE degree of responsibility for the shortcomings that lead to the results on the pitch.
Why?
Because there are many managers overachieving with average players and unbalanced teams because those managers are better tactically, more aware of weakness and not so stubborn and prideful to make the adjustments necessary to tackle each game.
Their players are also properly fit and as managers they're dedicated to their jobs full time, not in a part time capacity for the whole season.
So much of the deficiencies we see in our team and results on game day fall on Slot and his coaching team.
They set the culture of the team and should motivate the players. They pick the squad. They set up the way we play, the style and tactics. They make the substitutions. They drop the players out of form or not putting in an effort etc etc.
Look at how Bournemouth, Brentford, Brighton etc are performing with way more limited resources and consistently having to sell players every season. Look at Everton and Leeds after they found their style and consistency. Even Nottingham after the manager change. Even Sunderland before the slump the last few games.
They're all playing better football. Have fit players who fight for the club and managers etc.
Us?
We got a part time manager. Players are unfit and also part time to suit the manager's lifestyle. Players are disorganised and look lost on the pitch, and don't fight.
Slot and co are well and truly out of their depth to manage a Premier League team, let alone a top 4 team fighting on all fronts.
Even fans at the stadium can see it. Listen to the boos when Slot took Rio off and at the end of the game. Gakpo and Isak barely touched the ball or had any impact.
Yes, everyone has a degree of responsibility but Slot has a huge one in my opinion. He and his team should've gone loooong ago.
Sorry for the essay.
10 May 2026 08:01:24
Couldn't agree more.
10 May 2026 08:17:07
Brilliant and balanced post. Thanks for taking the time to elucidate your thoughts on this disastrous situation.
10 May 2026 08:18:45
Great points, Gregarious.
Another massive issue for me with Slot is he's so detached from the fan base &
has never tapped into the unique passion &
aura of the club. He seems a pretty soulless individual, to be honest, & I think it's a factor that's rubbed off on the players, especially the new ones that need to understand the ways of a huge club.
In Flo's defence he's always been steadfast in his defence of the manager as I was until early part of the year but has called him out when needed and seems pretty acceptant on the need to change.
10 May 2026 08:20:29
I enjoy reading Florian's posts, but it's clear he has his opinion and he's sticking to it.
Great post, Gregarious, and I'm sure FM will come back with a good argument from his side even if lots of us will likely be on the other side of the fence of it.
I think we can all agree, though, that it's been an awful season and not because we haven't won anything because that's happened more often than not over the last 35 years.
It's more for me because there has been little to no fight or passion from the players and manager.
Hopefully a huge shake up in the summer.
10 May 2026 08:48:57
I agree with Gregarious, a lot of people in the club need to look in the mirror, but I do believe Slot is the biggest culprit and should've gone ages ago.
I enjoy reading Florian's posts, even though I don't agree with him a lot of the time.
People tend to get a bit personal with him, which shouldn't really happen. If u don't like what he says, ignore it!
10 May 2026 08:53:57
I don't know about fitness. Players should take some responsibility for that - Dom Szob as an example.
I do know they're coasting in matches and that's unacceptable. It happens with all managers but most managers change it quickly. This has been going on since September and it's getting worse.
10 May 2026 09:02:22
Agree, Ron. These players don't look out of shape at all.
There is a massive difference between can't run and won't run.
But unfortunately it all boils down to the manager. If the players aren't willing to run through brick walls for him then we need to find someone in charge that they will.
10 May 2026 09:18:38
Can we start a petition to get James Milner back to the club in any capacity?
10 May 2026 10:14:39
Thanks for the comments.
Bristol_Red, 100%... That's a massive issue. He's never really bought into it and has never felt like "one of us". Slot has always felt like an outsider.
Totally, JK, the no fight and no passion drives me crazy. I do feel this stems from the coach to the players, as many of them were completely different under Klopp in that sense.
Agree, Digger, and I hope it didn't come through as an attack because I don't have anything against Flo. I do think he sometimes places little responsibility on Slot and much more on the players, but I think Slot is way more responsible for the decline we've seen.
10 May 2026 11:03:21
Basically, Slot has been saying all season "I want my team to play this way but our opponents won't let us" and doesn't change it then.
10 May 2026 11:14:51
I feel like when Slot tried to plug the holes and take the sting out of games so that we would stop leaking goals earlier in the year, in the period where he took Mo out the squad and we stopped losing games, I could agree with the principle of what he was doing, and it was arguably effective despite being antithetical to us as a club and fanbase.
Now, when he instructs the team to sit off the ball and have Dom chasing shadows on his own in the front press while the rest of the team retreats, inviting the other team into our half and ultimately into the box, I don't see any sense in it whatsoever. It doesn't make us harder to play against in the least, so why do we do it?
We are so incredibly crap in one on one duels all over the pitch, we are crap defending balls into our box, we are crap closing off spaces, we are semi-decent getting the ball up the pitch but once we're there we have no idea how to reliably create chances because everything we do is firmly in front of a packed box, and it's up to our wingers to try and dribble heroically past the entire opposition for us to contrive a shot on goal or for our midfielders to try and hit the target from outside the box.
Last year we maintained control in games even without the ball, because we could force teams into areas where they were least effective. This year I'm glad that we have the ball, not because I know that we will do something positive with it, but because I am scared to death of losing it, I'd rather be bored and have them do the safest passes in the world than concede another chance. It's like we have to have the ball to keep them away from our box.
I have been as vocal in defense of the manager as anybody else on here, but the last two games I've just been shocked at how bad we have been. It honestly takes my breath away because I thought we had already weathered the worst of the season. I'm just praying that we don't play like that the last two games of the season, or we could miss out on what looked like a dead certainty after we beat Everton.
10 May 2026 12:38:56
It's not the players' responsibility to track data, analyse performance stats and design conditioning programmes. If you think it's their own personal responsibility to ensure they are fit enough to play 90 minutes, then you're completely out of touch with how training works. Yes, it's down to them to put the effort in, but coaches know immediately when they aren't. They can see it with their eyes and every little piece of data that's being tracked. Don't forget these players are literally told what to do, when to do it and exactly how long they should be doing it for. If players have to take responsibility for ensuring they're fit for 90 minutes by doing extra work, then there's something very, very wrong with the coaching.
The players are fitter now than they have been, some of them, but they weren't fit for most of the season. Everybody could see it. The fans, the pundits, the journos. There's a reason he's still being questioned on it. Even Slot himself admitted it at numerous stages throughout the season. For example, back in Feb/March he claimed "We are much fitter now than we were a couple of months ago", a couple of months ago at that time would have been Dec/Jan. Why were the players not fully fit 5/6 months into the season, by the manager's own admission nonetheless? And he was 100% talking about match fitness, not injuries.
10 May 2026 13:09:21
Just my opinion.
I never saw Cristiano Ronaldo unfit under any manager and into his 40s.
You're a professional footballer, no excuse for not being fit. Personal opinion. You won't convince me otherwise.
Why is Dom Szob fit and everyone else is unfit? I don't buy it.
10 May 2026 14:06:47
Hi Gregarious, good post. Look, I'm not getting into an argument with you on Arne, I'm past all that, it is May after all. Just a different way of looking at some of your points.
1. I have always said I thought Slot massively over achieved last season (some won't agree) by winning the league. Not one poster on here was expecting to win the league and most would have taken 4th that August. He has underachieved this season.
2. Look, this fitness and part time stuff has taken on a life of its own on here over the last few months. I fully agree with Ron on the players' fitness. If the standards are that bad and you're not happy, put extra work in yourself. Be a Mo or Ronaldo. There is no excuse as a grown man not to be fit for the 90 mins. The part time stuff is just a bit ridiculous on here if I'm honest. Don't buy it at all. (And, btw, not one person on here actually knows categorically the extent of it).
3. On coaching, I can hardly disagree with some of the performances, although I do think, and have said all season, that football isn't all coaching, it's also heart, desire and taking responsibility. Something the players have neglected to do on numerous occasions.
4. A bit like the 3rd point, players should be self motivated. That's not debatable. Don't have to like or respect your manager, you still do your job. Look, as fans we are all gonna have different ways of looking at things. It's been a long, draining season for everyone. None of us know what the club are going to do. I was of the opinion they would change the manager but now I'm 50/50. But I'll tell you this and I won't apologise for it: "if" Arne Slot is still manager come August I will back him all the way, the same as I will a new manager if they make a change.
10 May 2026 19:50:33
Florian
You really can't just admit you're wrong can you? What a load of crap you speak.
11 May 2026 00:45:34
All good, Florian. Thanks for taking the time.
I really hope Slot is not the manager next season. I think him, his coaching team, and a not so small number of players should be shown the door.
I do agree, players also have a level of responsibility, but it just seems like it's a very toxic environment right now, and these players look like the life has been sucked out of them.
Can't wait for the season to be over.