IF Arne Slot has the answers to Liverpool’s current predicament, he’s hiding them well. Saturday’s 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest was startling in how comprehensive it was, but the loss followed a consistent trend for a team that can’t get a handle on the number of issues that have emerged since the summer.

Last season, Liverpool were a force of nature. They surged to the Premier League title, winning 11 of their first 13 fixtures. At the same point of the 2024/25 campaign, the Reds were nine points clear at the top of the table. Nobody would catch them as Slot became a champion in his maiden season in charge.

This season, it’s been a completely different story. Liverpool are a shadow of their former selves. The intensity has vanished from their play. Mistakes are being made all over the pitch. The forward line has been disrupted by the arrival of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz while the defence is all over the place.

The way things are trending, Liverpool will do well to finish in the Champions League places this season, never mind successfully defend their Premier League title. Having lost six of their last seven league games, this is a team in crisis, leading some to ponder when Slot’s job might come under threat.

 

Slot was wise enough not to reinvent the wheel after taking over from Jurgen Klopp. The Dutchman made some minor tweaks last season, particularly to his central midfield unit, but Liverpool won the title generally playing the same brand of football that characterised the Klopp era at Anfield. 

Now, though, Slot is being asked to impose his own identity on the team, and the process has been a messy one so far. Isak has been a bust since joining in a Premier League-record transfer from Newcastle United. Wirtz has failed to find the sort of form that had many of Europe’s biggest clubs scrambling for his signature.

Milos Kerkez has struggled badly as Liverpool’s new first-choice left back while Jeremie Frimpong can’t stay fit. Even when Frimpong has been available, he has been a defensive liability. In possession, Liverpool are too slow and sloppy. Out of possession, they are sluggish and imprecise. 

“We are definitely letting him [Slot] down, but we’ve let ourselves down as well,” said Virgil van Dijk after the loss to Forest. “You look at yourself first and then you help each other, you help each other get out of this mess because at the moment it is a mess – that’s just a fact. As the champions we can’t be in the situation we are in right now. What are we going to do about it? We’re going to try to turn it around, and that’s the mentality everyone should have.”

Slot has enough credit in the bank to ride this out for a while longer, but Liverpool might have no choice but to consider his position if this slide continues into 2026. This begs the question – who could possibly take over from Slot if it comes to it? Who might Liverpool ask to save their season?

Would Klopp consider a return to Merseyside? Might Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann consider it after the 2026 World Cup? Oliver Glasner and Andoni Ireola both favour a more conservative style of play, but would either be capable of pointing Liverpool in the right direction again?

This is all tentative speculation at this stage, but the discussion around Slot’s job security has started. It’s time for the Dutchman to prove why he deserved to replace Klopp in the first place. Slot can no longer count on the muscle memory of the Klopp era. It’s on him to turn Liverpool around.

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