25 May 2026 09:52:32
We seem to be linked with a fair few pacy tricky wingers, which I like and believe will be great for Wirtz and Isak. However, does slots style of football make the most of such players? It feels like we spend most of the game passing sideways or backwards. Would this suggest a change in approach if he stays or am I reading the game wrong?
25 May 2026 10:28:11
Hey! We got Champions League and fifth with The Horseshoe! Grate times.
25 May 2026 11:08:22
Yes, it does. We don't have any, which is partly why the team hasn't functioned as well.
25 May 2026 11:18:13
The wingers (Paixao and Minteh) were probably the most important players at Feyenoord. Slot relies a lot on wingers isolating the fullbacks, beating them one on one and creating chances. That being said, his fullbacks were also really important, given that he didn't always like creating overloads out wide with both the fullback and the winger. Only one of them would go out wide at a time, with the other inverting (the wide attackers coming central to play in the half space like Mo last year). Given he likes wingers who favor the opposite foot so that they can come inside in this way, it's interesting that Diomande is the one we're being linked with.
That being said, at Feyenoord, the high press was probably the most distinctive facet of Slot's system.
You'd often see Klopp-like pressing traps forcing the opposition out wide and then swarming them to win the ball back (we saw flashes of this returning throughout the win against Galatasaray). The wingers were absolutely crucial to the high press. That has been the exact opposite to what we have seen this year.
It's mystifying because the Liverpool of this year is such a far cry from Slot's Feyenoord team at its peak from a tactical point of view. It does feel like not having the qualities in his wide players that he prefers does have a huge effect on his effectiveness as a coach, though.
25 May 2026 11:30:34
Big Liverpool and Feyenoord fan Pat or just big Slot fan?
I genuinely have never seen Feyenoord play a game of football if it wasn't against Liverpool.
25 May 2026 11:30:49
PB, The irony I'm seeing in salivating over Hoeness and Iraola, is that you could watch clips of Slot's Feyenoord and we would see the same thing that people are getting their thrills over at watching clips of Stuttgart and Bournemouth today.
The key for me is that the team has the players to deliver the style Slot wants to play.
Slot has to take responsibility for certain facets of this season, but in terms of the recruitment and getting the right players in, that isn't his remit. It's not an excuse, just a factor as to why the transition in the team hasn't gone as smoothly this season as we all would have hoped.
25 May 2026 11:52:49
That's the problem though, Faith.
It's a manager's (head coach's) job to get a tune out of their playing squad. And, if it isn't, then what is their remit?
25 May 2026 12:10:00
Yes, poor Slot that he got bought Ekitike, Isak and Wirtz. He sold the dream to Wirtz apparently, so he was fully in control of that transfer, and then the team played snail pace football all season with all players walking up into Wirtz space. He moved Wirtz into every forward position rather than play him number 10 and tell Gravenberch to hold back. Poor Slot. He got given Kerkez and then thrust him into the team rather than letting him acclimatise, so he could both put him under immense pressure and piss Robbo off simultaneously.
Poor Slot that he got given all this talent only make poor decision after poor decision to mismanage it and not get the best out of it. What is his style? I see slow passing for the sake of passing football, with players getting cramp on 70 minutes and vacating the midfield. That's the style, and if that's not his style then what's he been doing all season???
25 May 2026 12:31:30
To me we have the team to press though? Or largely so. Frimpong/Bradley, Kerkez, Szobo, Gravy, Ekitike and Isak from the front could all be capable of some form of press, the only one I believe genuinely couldn't with some training is Macca due to his lack of physicality.
25 May 2026 12:43:35
In fairness, though, Red-will-is Slot did turn Szobo & Jones into right backs and Frimpong a right wing.
Next season I'm looking forward to Mama playing the target man striker role with Wirtz at centre half.
25 May 2026 12:44:34
JK - I totally agree. ed1 said earlier in the season that the recruitment was such so that Slot could play like his Feyenoord team. If that was the case then I couldn't quite understand why we bought Frimpong and Kerkez to play an inverted fullback system, and then not bring in any wingers to play the kind of style to exploit getting the ball wide in space.
So, my point is only that Slot has part of the blame not all of it. But I can understand that as the most visible face of the off-field team, that he bears the brunt of everything. and perhaps rightly so as the figurehead of the club.
Red-Will-is - is Slot telling the players to slow down? We had loads of games where Klopp's team would pass the ball sideways again and again Hendo earned his name sideways henderson whilst here at Liverpool.Klopp used to be criticized for not being able to beat a low block.Was that Klopp telling the players to pass the ball around sideways around the defense?
I don't buy that myself. I see an inconsistent team trying to find their rhythm, and unfortunately they've spent all season trying to find it
25 May 2026 13:23:35
Faith, I think we'd have to agree to disagree there, mate.
No other club judges their assistant managers or DOF like Liverpool.
If Slot is being done dirty by his transfer team, then he should call them out or walk.
If he's being done dirty by his players, then drop them and stop playing them every week.
The fact Salah called Slot out on social media last week for playing slow football, and half the squad backed it, suggests that all fingers point at Slot.
In the history of football, the manager has always been the fall guy when things don't go well, and I can't see that changing anytime soon.
Nuno is about to fall on his sword at West Ham for them going down despite winning and drawing more games than they lost. Apparently, his form as manager puts them top 8.
But it's just the nature of the beast.
25 May 2026 14:12:24
How on earth are people still defending Slot, still trying to find reasons why it hasn't worked? One common denominator in that is the man who picks the team.
25 May 2026 16:05:33
I think it's the ego of the posters. It's usually the ones who boastposted over the years.
26 May 2026 00:34:03
JK - I'm just basing my thought off of what ed1 had shared about the recruitment strategy. As I've said all thought any convo about Slot, he has made decisions that have contributed.
With Dom, Jones, Frimpong - yes those all happened but it was on the backdrop of literally having no other RB available at that time (including Frimpong). Well except Ramsey, but I'm not going to fault Slot or not playing Ramsey even though i was calling for that to happen.
Frimpong then played on the wing in a period when Mo wasn't playing / available.
These weren't decisions made as part of a strategy for the season, they were adapting to the changing needs of the squad at the time.
Also regards Mo's post - genuine question and thought experiment.What if he wasn't calling out Slot? His statement before the insta post was about players setting standards in the gym. That is about the players. do people think Jurgen Klopp told Mo to be in first in last to leave. Did Jurgen tell Mo to do all the extra training? That is a player's mindset and mentality, not driven by team culture. It's an elite player driving culture.
So back to the thought experiment - what if Mo was actually calling out the new players? the guys who have to set the standard and the guy s who aren't exactly the same profile of player as the ones who were here before?
Now, before you and others jump on me for defending Slot (again lol). I am fully aware that it is likely he was referring to Slot haha. But, what if he wasn't?