12 Mar 2026 16:18:09
Arne Slot's recent performances have failed to convince Liverpool's hierarchy. The Dutch head coach has been informed that he will be relieved of his duties this summer unless he secures UEFA Champions League qualification and/or wins a trophy.
Xabi Alonso remains the clear number one target to succeed him, a preference that dates back even to the post-Klopp transition. Contract discussions with Slot were paused in mid-November due to poor results; he would likely have been dismissed then, but no suitable interim option was available beyond Gary O'Neil.
Steven Gerrard has reportedly spoken to senior figures, expressing doubts about Slot's long-term fit and offering to step in temporarily to steady the ship until the summer, though the hierarchy has rejected this approach.
A full seasonal review is scheduled for the end of the campaign. Claims (including from David Ornstein) that Slot is unequivocally "their man" are not true. As things stand in March 2026, Slot is expected to depart this summer, with Alonso lined up as his replacement unless he can win back the fans and the players whilst improving along the way.
Liverpool held exploratory talks with Cesc Fabregas earlier, but nothing materialised. The halt in contract negotiations with Slot underscores the lack of full backing from the board. As of now, March the 11th 2026, Arne Slot will be relived of his duties this summer. Major improvements needed for a save.
12 Mar 2026 17:12:57
I don't know the wishes of Xabi Alonso and if moving now or 3 months' time is an issue.
But, let's say he is open whenever. I can't for the life of me understand why Arne Slot is still here. Wouldn't it make sense to get a manager in "before" summer to evaluate the squad and see what he thinks he needs before a shortened World Cup summer?
I've put the failings down to Arne, coz he picks the line up, the formation that doesn't fit, and the most boring style we've ever witnessed at Anfield.
But the club has a lot to answer for, it's been diabolical from them.
12 Mar 2026 17:36:02
So, if he qualifies for the Champions League, he keeps his job? It is probably his best chance of securing his future with the club, as I think it will be more difficult to win the FA Cup and harder to win the UCL.
12 Mar 2026 17:50:50
4 paragraphs have the same outcome. Slot won't be here.
12 Mar 2026 17:56:58
Unless he wants to leave, and has told the bosses that he will leave in the summer, there will be a proper review of the season.
It will be a comprehensive review and analysis. It will not be purely about qualification to the CL. It will not be influenced by the opinion of ex-players like Gerrard.
I suspect he may want to leave, that is the only way any decision could have been made.
I have a feeling the tragic events of last summer had more of an effect on his mentality than we know.
I think it'll be a mutual parting and he'll go back to Holland with a bag of money.
Calling for his head now is pointless.
12 Mar 2026 18:03:33
A random guy on the internet knows more than Ornstein, yeah, right.
12 Mar 2026 18:14:21
So basically a re-wording of what Carra posted yesterday.
12 Mar 2026 18:21:28
Totally agree with you, Ron. I think, and I am only guessing, that an arrangement has been made between Slot and Liverpool, also between Liverpool and whoever the next manager is.
The outcome suits all 3 parties involved, and the new manager takes over in the summer.
The club and fans will thank Arne for bringing Number20 and move on.
12 Mar 2026 18:40:48
Maybe the owners see this season as a failure, and there are terms in Slot's contract that mean we don't have to sack him at a big cost to the club at the end of the season, and he agrees to walk away?
12 Mar 2026 19:16:50
In your usual words, Ron, we don't know what's happened, do we? Either way, Slot has been woeful. Highlighting the passing of Jota for our derisory football (which materialised at the back end of last season prior to Jota's passing) is garbage.
12 Mar 2026 20:10:07
Well, Frode, as you're sticking to your usual agenda, this time I'm calling you out.
At what point was I "Highlighting the passing of Jota for our derisory football"?
I did nothing of the sort, but I will accept your apology if you have the integrity to post it.
I'm speculating that the tragic events of last summer have had an effect on "Slot's mentality" and may have made him more eager to go back to his family home after this season ends.
Anyone with basic English comprehension can understand that.
Nothing to do with football performance.
12 Mar 2026 20:20:45
I can't be the only one who's bored of reading some "internet hardman" using every post to say the same thing and take lumps out of our head coach.
So, back on ignore you go.
12 Mar 2026 20:58:40
Tbh, I agree with Frode. Why is Ron talking about Slot as if he's best mates and knows his innermost feelings?
Internet hardman is ironic after viewing his replies to pretty much imaginary commentary.
12 Mar 2026 21:00:44
How is this direct attack allowed to be posted?
12 Mar 2026 21:03:38
Can you put someone on ignore, Ron? I hope that's true. If so, how do you do it?
Actually that means I'll only see posts from about 3 posters. ;-)
12 Mar 2026 21:06:53
@Ron, I was listening to a podcast a couple of days ago in which John Cleese was discussing the human mind. Being John Cleese, he was making quite powerful observations in a humorous way, and one of his points was that we have to show patience to stupid people, because being stupid, and even more so in some cases very stupid, people don't actually know that they are, in fact, stupid.
We need to practice patience. ?
12 Mar 2026 21:34:38
Testicles ... win a trophy? What a load of fury balls. Qualification for the CL is worth 5x as much as any trophy other than the CL. I have a sincere wish for people to stop posting s****, and get back to proper analysis and facts.
13 Mar 2026 06:14:36
My dad worked with John Cleese for years. He's a basketcase, who married a psychiatrist because the cost of therapy was making him skint. On more than one occasion, dad went to Cleese's house and ended up having the meal just with the psychiatrist as John was upstairs being odd.
There are better examples to follow in life, and stupidity comes in all forms, as seen in this thread.
13 Mar 2026 06:17:17
For example, a lot of IT guys excel in their field, but probably spend hours trapped in the office revolving doors as their practical intelligence is nil.
13 Mar 2026 06:20:03
Honestly, this must be an AI-generated rework of other posts on Slot's position.
There is nothing here not posted in the last week by Carra!
13 Mar 2026 08:30:44
Comedy gold.
John Cleese isn't the only one who could use a shrink right now.
13 Mar 2026 08:32:48
All I want to know is why Florian Musiala hasn't commented on this post yet in defence of Slot's job?
13 Mar 2026 08:52:42
Think we should leave off FM. I may not agree with him, but he has his opinion like us all. A different view or outlook should always be welcomed. Seems to be called out a few times last week or so.
13 Mar 2026 09:23:06
At this point, I hope we give Slot an extra 6 years just so we don't lose all the fiction and drama on these pages, you couldn't write it, but people do anyway.
13 Mar 2026 09:45:22
I'd rather have the drama on the pitch, so no to six more years of Slot, thanks.
13 Mar 2026 09:59:40
The Incredible Bulk.... Nail and Head. Well done, good spot.
13 Mar 2026 10:58:35
I really don't understand why posters call out other posters just because they have different views.
Besides, if I want an opinion from a specific poster, I'll give it to them. ?
13 Mar 2026 11:09:26
To be honest, I'm having nothing to do with threads involving Slot, Edwards or Hughes between now and May, not worth it.
13 Mar 2026 11:59:18
Even if he wins the Champions League, would you still want him to stay? If Hodgson had won it, would he have kept his job?
imo no one would have wanted him to stay, and Slot's football is as bad as his.
13 Mar 2026 14:42:18
Getting a bit toxic this thread. Borne out of frustration from fans, I guess. But I think we are stronger together and not arguing. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and no one's opinion is more valid than any other. It's a rumours site.
For me personally, it's the performances that worry me, and the massive drop off in form from players that were almost perfect the last couple of seasons. Salah doesn't even look like he is trying anymore. VVD is too arrogant and not a good captain. Seeing him pose with his sunglasses and LV bag after a shambolic performance at the back sums up what is wrong with our team. Slot and the management team have shaped a squad where there is no competition for places. He can only use the same players every week, and Salah can operate at 50% because he knows he will be picked every week regardless of effort. For me, Salah is playing for records now, and does not have the team's interest first. The midfield is not working; MacA and Gravenberch have been terrible, and the defence has been garbage too, as we concede 2 goals in most games we play.
This can't all be a coincidence. The head coach is responsible for this. Why does he keep picking Gakpo when he is so poor and predictable? Why does he persist with Salah when he isn't working for the team? Why does he continue with Konate (who actually has improved)? The answer is poor squad management and a head coach that is being pushed around by senior players. If he wants to keep his job, he needs to take Salah and Gakpo out of the team. Introduce some younger players into midfield in the hopes of getting a performance out of MacA and Gravy. He is a good coach, but something has happened, that is clear, and it just looks disorganised and limited. Ultimately he will go in the summer, but I certainly do not believe that he already knows or has been told. That doesn't make sense, and I am sorry if that offends ITK's, but why would any business tell a manager that they are getting sacked in a few months but, in the meantime, ask them to make us lots of money by winning and qualifying for things? I know what my answer would be and it ends in "off".
13 Mar 2026 15:31:55
Wdw, a little saying from my grandad.
If you know you're stupid, you're not stupid. It's when you're stupid and you don't know you're stupid that makes you stupid.
13 Mar 2026 16:34:52
Is there a point in calling out posters because of the degree of their tolerance, respect, or courtesy towards Slot? Imagine if this board was nothing but people talking about how useless he is, how he should p*** off back to his family and Holland, and how angry we are that he hasn't been fired yet.
It wouldn't be much fun, now would it. I think it's nice to hear from fans from different ends of the Slot out spectrum, to try to understand why things have gone wrong this season.
13 Mar 2026 18:23:57
Ron don't rise to it mate. Ed001 what do u think has happened with Slot? I remember last season u were being asked how things were going so well and u said about Slot giving simple instructions and explaining them in a way the players understand (or something like that) but obviously the bloke has fell off a cliff.
Do u reckon the players turned on him? Losing Heitenger? To many players being bought? because I really don't get it
{Ed001's Note - it is a mix of things, Slot taking his eye off the ball at the end of the season, his inability to understand the need for power and pace, his tactics, the training, loss of Heitinga etc etc. Added to that, we have a captain who is no leader and a general lack of leaders within the squad. The players have lost faith in him, which is not helping.}
13 Mar 2026 18:49:01
"My dad worked with John Cleese for years, he's a basket case..." Was this when Cleese was at Cambridge or Rector at St Andrews University? Trying to discredit a character aside, you are actually missing the point. It is the idea that is the point of the conversation. I could argue the case that it's possible you actually proved the point Cleese was discussing.
14 Mar 2026 05:14:30
So, because Cleese is a basket case, anything he says is invalidated (and by extension anybody who cites Cleese is invalidated)?
Not sure I follow the logic.
14 Mar 2026 07:36:20
And look at how patient I'm being with you, WDW. Is he right?
14 Mar 2026 07:51:41
Your original complaint about direct attacks, Barnesy, I take it that you think that posts that are a hair's breadth away from being direct attacks are perfectly okay?
13 Mar 2026 22:11:47
ed001, your response is spot on!
Thanks
{Ed001's Note - thank you.}
14 Mar 2026 07:33:25
It's quite simple. For Cleese to be used as a lodestar for cleverness is stupid. He may have gone to Cambridge (as did I) but he has made a great many stupid business, romantic, career and interpersonal decisions in his life.
He was a family friend but has few allies left, despite his academic and comic brilliance. The period I was taking about was the mid 80s for the record. He has very little practical intelligence.
14 Mar 2026 09:00:11
Except nobody on here was claiming Cleese was clever? It was simply a quote that you can take or leave, without giving us a family history, a list of his marital woes and psychoanalysis of the man himself.
{Ed001's Note - why have you taken such exception to a vile man being criticised? Great comedy actor but absolute prick of a man, why is it an issue for someone to talk about that? If you don't want people to discuss things, I suggest you look elsewhere than a discussion forum mate.}
14 Mar 2026 09:34:37
I personally don't care if Cleese is being dragged through the mud, ed, that's entirely not the point at all, and I'm sure that you're right that he isn't a nice man, but to me I'm not entirely sure how it became about the man in the first place? My point is that Barnesy suggesting that somebody quoting Cleese hasn't a clue (when the point is Cleese the person, but the point being made in the quote), and then indirectly calling WDW stupid that I find irritating.
Not the first time Barnesy has gone out of his way to be mean spirited, either. I apologise if I've taken the bait and cluttered the forum with posts unrelated to LFC, of course.
{Ed001's Note - WDW made out like the quote was from some worthwhile person to be taking life advice from. I think it is fair that it is pointed out what Cleese is like - bit like posting a quote from Hitler or Gandhi, the person who said it and what kind of person they are matters. Believe me, WDW is a lot worse things than stupid.}
14 Mar 2026 10:47:20
Mental thread that. ?
Put your keyboards down, gents, and get some fresh air.
14 Mar 2026 11:03:04
Just for those who weren't around at the time, the things that make me much worse than stupid are based on Ed01 misreading what I wrote when Ed02 very sadly passed away.
In his understandable grief at the loss of a friend, he misconstrued what I said and, even though I apologised at the time for any, totally unintended offence, I was promoted to public enemy number.
That's ok with me, if you want to dislike me I'll struggle on but I would say though that the suppression of the apparent bristling anger is sad and can't be healthy for you, especially as it is something that was a genuine misinterpretation on your part.
For the record, I wasn't citing John Cleese as the originator of the idea. I mentioned him because he was the person who brought the idea to my attention via the podcast. Unlike @Barnesy's dad I have never met the bloke and can't offer a reliable opinion on his being a good, bad or indifferent personality and if you go back and re-read what I wrote I never offered a critique if his character.
All that said, life's too short. Let's get back to making stuff up about Slot. Of course most of us have never met Slot either but it's ok in our fantastic little world of the forum.
{Ed001's Note - you did no such thing and you know it, but carry on lying to everyone and pretending you really are a decent human being rather than an Internet troll.}
14 Mar 2026 15:07:04
Having just read your reply. I'll quote your usual rubbish: "you're speculating". Either way we've been garbage no matter how you spin it.
14 Mar 2026 23:29:39
Is it a full moon? Some serious handbags going on here.
14 Mar 2026 21:06:15
You are mistaken Ed01 - I actually did actually apologise for any unintended offence relating to the passing of Ed02.
It was at the same time that I called you a plagiarist, which I actually stand by.
If you want to feel insulted for either thing, go right ahead, that's fine with me but you are factually incorrect on the first one and I honestly don't give a stuff if you think I'm a troll or not.
You have never met me, have no idea of who or what I am and I'm happy to accept that you'll never get the chance.
You have an astute eye for football tactics and players' potential. You should stay in your swim lane.
{Ed001's Note - plagiarist? And what have I copied? You wished death on the site, so why don't you help us all out and piss off somewhere else.
My swim lane? You can't even get in the pool, so why you think you can be so condescending constantly is amazing. You are a detestable little child, who tries to pretend it was a mistake, rather than having the balls to admit they were just a nasty piece of work. Not just a troll, but a coward too.}
15 Mar 2026 11:54:58
Jesus, guys, take a step back.
It's meant to be a lighthearted bit of fun.