Slot not out of trouble yet with Liverpool

At the outset of this Premier League season, there were a couple of major contenders to win the ‘sack race’.

The first manager to lose their job in any given season is usually relatively easy to pick out, perhaps from one of the promoted teams who inevitably find the going tough on their ascent to the top tier.

Sunderland’s Regis Le Bris, a relative unknown who helped guide the Black Cats back to the big time, led many of the lists to go first this season with Keith Andrews at Brentford also a popular choice.

The ‘winner’ of the race this season, however, shows just how unpredictable football can be.

Having helped Nottingham Forest achieve European qualification last term, Nuno Espirito Santo was shown the door at the City Ground on the 9th of September, barely three weeks into the start of the new campaign.

Having said that, perhaps it was bound to happen given the murmurings coming from the hierarchy at Forest with owner Evangelos Marinakis having a very public falling out with the gaffer on the pitch towards the end of last season.

Indeed, Nuno’s replacement, Ange Postecoglou, lasted only 39 days in the gig before he was promptly disposed with; Forest fans will be pleased that Sean Dyche has brought some stability, for now.

Graham Potter and Vitor Pereira have also paid the price for underwhelming starts to the seasons at their respective clubs (West Ham and Wolves), but I don’t think too many people would have expected that, at any stage this season, the possibility of Arne Slot leaving Anfield would be a live possibility.

Not only is it a live possibility right now, it feels as though he’s only another two poor results away from being handed his P45.

Liverpool’s fall from grace this season has been nothing short of staggering.

The way in which they have slumped to defeats in recent weeks, either side of the international break, to Manchester City, Forest and PSV is reflective of a side on an irreversible decline. Something just isn't right.

Perhaps the most shambolic to date was the PSV loss last week in the Champions League, when you only have to look at the concession of the goals they leaked for an insight into a troubled situation at Anfield.

Virgil van Dijk’s handball would not have been out of place if he was playing in midfield for Mayo at MacHale Park and attempting to break a kickout in the direction of a teammate.

Mo Salah’s non-attempt at a challenge on Mauro Junior allowed the Brazilian to slalom forward and set up PSV’s second, while Ibrahima Konate’s clumsy failure to deal with a routine looking loose ball allowed PSV prosper before netting their third goal, which put the game beyond all doubt. The fact that Real Madrid’s interest in Konate has reportedly cooled so significantly should come as little surprise given the defender’s decline in form this season.

The nadir of Salah’s decline came on Sunday, when he was left out of the starting line-up for Liverpool’s trip to the London Stadium. The fact that Liverpool won lends some credence to the theory that Salah has been holding the team back so far this season, which seems like an incredible thing to even think given his class in recent campaigns.

Nigh on unplayable at times over the last eight years, the Egyptian king has been a pale shadow of his former self this season. His disinterest in helping out defensively, coupled with an uncharacteristically poor first touch and a real loss of his finishing ability has been noticeable.

All of this, of course, is fixable.

Liverpool have too many good players not to improve - and they have a good manager as well.

For all the struggles the team has endured so far this season, Arne Slot remains the right man to lead the club forward.

While there is some truth to the notion that he won last season’s league title with a ready-made side left to him by his predecessor, Jurgen Klopp, he still had to manage the transition. Take the departure of some other totemic figures from big clubs over the last 20 years - Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal - and you’ll get a sense for how difficult it is to replace such a revered figure. Slot has done a good job in that regard.

This season has been a puzzling one so far on Merseyside, but Sunday’s 2-nil win at West Ham will help settle a few nerves. The fact that Alexander Isak got on the scoresheet too, with a rather tidy finish, will calm things even further.

Isak’s blockbuster signing in the summer became something of a saga, and his underwhelming displays so far would suggest Liverpool erred in paying so much for the Swede. Florian Wirtz has also failed to live up to his price tag, with the adjustment to the ferocity of the Premier League becoming a challenge for him, while Milos Kerkez has come nowhere near the form he produced last season for Bournemouth. Both players were much improved in the trip to the London Stadium.

Slot must be given the opportunity to find the right mixture moving forward.

The club could be criticised in many departments, not least their failure to address the centre back situation. A late burst to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace failed to result in his signature, but perhaps that should have been prioritised earlier in the summer.

For all of Liverpool’s struggles, they still remain just four points off second spot, and nine off an Arsenal team that has been superb this season so far. They look like the title winners in waiting.

Sunderland visit Anfield tomorrow evening, before a tasty trip to Elland Road comes around on Saturday.

Things can change quickly, especially in the month of December when there are so many points to play for.

Liverpool need to hold firm and give Slot the time to turn the ship into calmer waters.