Former West Ham and Bolton midfielder Kevin Nolan believes Liverpool have lost the fear factor behind the scenes after Arne Slot replaced Jurgen Klopp:
Since Arne Slot took the Liverpool job in the summer of 2024, it was always going to be a difficult act to follow once Jurgen Klopp left Anfield.
The German had done a wonderful job on Merseyside, building a fallen giant into one of the best teams in the land once more. From famous European nights to league title success for the first time in over 30 years, it was a special nine-year stay.
The Dutchman delivered success immediately when he moved to England, with another league title through the doors of Anfield just nine months later. He came close to making it a double, though the Reds would lose the Carabao Cup final 2-1 to Newcastle.
Now, the success of last season feels like nostalgia after regular defeats and poor cup runs. Some Kopites have even called out for the legendary German to make a return, and put the club on the right track once again.
Slot has a different personality from that of the former manager, whose warm smile was infectious to almost everyone, including rivals. While the current head coach is a colder character, similar to that of Rafael Benitez, whose emotions are rarely on show for those to see.
The 58-year-old did have some tough seasons as well at Liverpool, including 2020-21, where they just scraped into the Champions League late on in the season, and 2022-23, where they failed to qualify, and went on to play Europa League football the following campaign.
The feeling is very much different, though, with a serious lack of faith in Slot to turn things around as Klopp was able to. The German built a fierce machine, while the Dutchman’s has come screaming to a halt.
Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, former Premier League footballer and scouser, Kevin Nolan, highlighted the benchmark that was set by the former boss, which got the best out of his players, and in turn, got what was best for the club.
He said, “Jurgen was like, this is my club, I’m going to run it, and I’m going to run it with an iron fist because we want these standards because we want success day in, day out, week in, week out, year in, year out, trophies at the end of it, everything.”
It took time to build the team into the beast that he envisioned, but once he did, they became the unstoppable machine they are notorious for today.
From winning the Champions League final in 2019, they continued their crusade through football, lifting as much silverware as they could, while passing the keys off to Slot in an incredible fashion.
Those standards seemed to have dropped since the Dutchman arrived, and one of the main issues some Liverpool supporters have is surrounding the players’ training.
It’s become regular to see players on holiday during the week while other teams are training. There can be an argument made to suggest that it’s keeping the squad in the best shape ahead of matches, though they have suffered several injuries this season, and they look very disjointed together.
Even with one game of the campaign remaining, this is something Nolan was keen to express when speaking on the league victory last year.
“He (Klopp) would have won it by about, with 100 points plus, and it wouldn’t have been the lads going off to Dubai with two or three weeks to go at the end of the season.”
They will bow out at Anfield this Sunday for their final match of the Premier League season, though no one truly knows what will happen.
They still need a result to ensure a place in the Champions League, though their recent game against Chelsea saw the team, or perhaps just the manager booed three times. Those standards may be slipping, but Liverpool can’t afford for that to happen as the quality of the English league may see them fall quicker than they climbed.
