They always say you can start to see how a season will pan out after 10 games. 10 games in, I’m fully invested into the Arne Slot era. There’s been some disappointments so far, but there’s been an overwhelming amount of positives to take that that outweigh them.
I’ll start with what’s disappointed me because I want this post to end on a high. Firstly, I’ve been really gutted about Quansah this season. His form has been quite patchy and getting hooked against Ipswich on the opening day and against Brighton in the Cup last week kind of sums up his season. He started the first game of the season after basically knocking Konate out the team at the back end of last season, but his performance on the pitch has let him down. On the bright side I’d rather a young player have patchy form as he develops, than start having attitude issues, and his attitude seems to be impeccable still.
Secondly is Chiesa. I’m not writing him off yet because he’s barely played and I think he’s a great player, but it seems he was severely unfit. I knew he’d missed pre-season but from what we’re hearing out of the club he’s basically rocked up miles off the levels required from a pro athlete.
Lastly is Robertson, who concerns me when he plays. His form has been ropey for nearly 2 years but it went under the radar for a lot of that time due to him having a long spell of injury that allowed people to forget how poor he’d been and start to miss him. He’s been on a rinse and repeat this season though. Every winger with any physicality or pace seems to tear him to pieces. His tenacity and effort cannot be called into question at all but he looks shot. His attitude and leadership qualities make him a great player to have in the squad, but I think the time has come we look to find a new starting LB.
Now onto the positives and there’s only one place to start; Ryan Gravenberch. Wow, transformational. It’s seriously like watching a different player now he’s in a system and position that suits his natural game. I think 90% of fans had more or less give up on him before Slot, yet now he’s arguably our best player so far this season. He is the heartbeat of the team and credit goes to him as much as it goes to Slot. He’s drawing comparisons to Vieira and whilst they’re probably premature, at what stage do we start to acknowledge that he’s been the best midfielder in the Premier League for months now?
Next up I owe Konate an apology. I’d fully had enough of his erratic and calamitous performances, and there is a reason he lost his place to Quansah straight out of league 1. But credit to the guy because he didn’t sulk or make waves, he knuckled down and when the chance came he took it. He’s been a colossus this season and it’s clear Slot has improved his game a lot in a very short space of time. He looks more assured on the ball but he’s also been much better positionally. Sorry Ibou, I’ll gladly eat this humble pie.
Diaz is another who I think has gone up a level under Slot. He was a 4-8 league goals a season player under Klopp and here we are only a quarter of the way into the season and he’s absolutely flying with 5 league goals already, and he just put 3 past one of the most solid teams defensively in Europe. His work rate and flair was never in question, but his end product was inconsistent at best. Now he actually looks like a serious goal threat, and his competition with Gakpo (who’s also looking very good by the way) for a place in the team can only be a good thing.
I think the squad players also deserve a mention. Players like Kelleher, Jaros, Bradley, Tsimikas, Gomez, Jones, Endo, Nunez etc have all been called upon at times this season for whatever reason and they’ve smashed it out the park. I thought Endo, Tsimikas and Gomez in particular would be diabolical in Slot’s style of play and yet Endo has come on to help see out a fair few games, Tsimikas has arguably been better than Robbo so far, and Gomez had his best 45 minutes for us against Brighton that I have seen from him since before his 1st knee injury. Jones arguably looks like he should be starting now! Whatever Slot’s doing to keep them all so motivated, long may it continue.
Lastly is Virgil and Salah. I’ve run out of superlatives for the pair of them. We’ve not had many world class outfield players at Liverpool in the Premier League era but these 2 guys are the cream of the crop. Virgil looks as good if not better than he was pre-injury. He’s not relying on his pace as much now which seems to make him react quicker mentally. He’s been immense alongside Ibou. Salah is just a phenom. Every year a loud minority of people write him off and say he’ll start to decline or defenders will work him out etc. Every year he makes them look ridiculous. These 2 guys are on a level we’d only seen this century from Gerrard and Suarez and they don’t look like slowing down. I’d love it if we could keep hold of them 1 or 2 more years please!
Conclusion? Arne Slot is a Liverpool FC masterstroke. The guy has got our best players firing, he’s got players who were struggling to make an impact back to their best, and he’s got our squad players filling the gaps more than adequately when required. There’s literally nothing else you could ask of the guy. His tactics are usually spot on, and when they’re not he usually gets his subs correct nice and early. His whole demeanour is incredibly calming and reassuring. He’s only lost it on the side line once and I think that composure is felt by the players on the pitch. It’s not the heavy metal and emotionally charged entertaining rollercoaster we called football that we have had for the last 9 years, but Arne’s won me over already to be honest.
Written by MK Scouser November 07 2024 10:03:39
