Former Liverpool star Sander Westerveld brands FSG’s treatment of the sacked Arne Slot “disrespectful,” exposing major recruitment errors by Richard Hughes.
Despite the bad season Liverpool endured, many supporters and pundits believed Arne Slot had just done enough to save his position at the club after qualifying for the Champions League on the final day of the season, as reports suggested he would remain. Though that has not been the case.
The crumbling structure has been cast on Anfield this season under the Dutch head coach, with the famous old ground booing their team’s performances multiple times throughout the season, something unheard of from Kopites, perfectly signifying the built-up frustrations of a side too good to be battling for a place in fifth.
As the news broke on Saturday that the 47-year-old was relieved from his duties as head coach, it came as a shock to almost everyone, though plenty were happy to see him leave despite the previous Premier League title success.
One of those who was stunned by the news was a former Reds player.
Westerveld reacts to Slot sacking
Former Liverpool goalkeeper Sander Westerveld spoke about his terrible feelings over the club when they drew with Chelsea earlier this month. Speaking with BBC Merseyside, he said, “Last season, I think what Slot did was get that 100% forward play, that aggressive pressing from Jurgen [Klopp]”
“But this season it seems the balance has gone the other way; too passive, you play the ball around the back for too long.”
This has been a large criticism the former Reds head coach faced throughout the entire campaign, mainly from supporters. Speaking with Sky Sports after the news broke that he had left the club, the former goalkeeper said there were multiple reasons why this season had gone wrong.
“I still think that there were so many reasons, not excuses, but good reasons why it didn’t go so well this season, and they were not all down to Slot, so I’m a bit disappointed that they gave him the sack.”
A large part of the fanbase can agree that while the Dutch head coach played a significant role in their drop this past year, he isn’t the sole reason why it hasn’t worked, with one of them being the recruitment from Richard Hughes.
They spent £450 million last summer, though it still left areas exposed in the squad, with Luis Diaz and Jarrel Quansah not being adequately replaced, a key point to Westerveld’s argument.
“The season would have been totally different if they would have signed (Marc) Guehi, and they didn’t do that in August. They had agreed on personal terms with (Antoine) Semenyo in December, but the owners didn’t want to invest…. It’s a little bit disrespectful, I think they should have gave him at least half a year with new players.”
Liverpool failed to provide the tools
The way the club acted around the Guehi deal on deadline day last summer was embarrassing in retrospect, as they had three months to move forward with a deal, though instead they let it slip through their grasp, which Manchester City intercepted.
The feeling in the summer in comparison to the winter window regarding Slot was almost the opposite, following several defeats at Anfield in November, as they lost 3-0 to Nottingham Forest, 4-1 to PSV and 3-0 to Guehi’s Crystal Palace, with the direction they were heading in, the idea to not introduce more personal to fit his ideal structure could have been telling of what was to come six months down the line.
Liverpool couldn’t afford another season like this. With leaders already leaving the club and others expected to say their goodbyes by next year, they were left in a vulnerable position, without an achievable goal in mind under Slot.
No one can take the league success away from him, just like they can’t take away this year’s failures from him. With fresh players needed to offer a new beginning to the team, perhaps a new outlook on the squad was also required, something Slot could no longer offer.
