Recently, Liverpool legend Carragher talked about Liverpool's current situation in the Telegraph column. He said that introducing players through high prices cannot be a shortcut to the team's success.
When Liverpool encounters a setback, Slot may borrow a famous saying from Bob Paisley (former Liverpool coach): "Yes, despite all kinds of problems, we are still at the top of the league."
Liverpool lost to Crystal Palace and Galatasaray respectively in the last two games, which not only ended the team's previous perfect record, but also raised doubts about Slot's lineup balance and recent signing performance. As a top coach, Slot knew that these problems were not sudden, but had been around since the beginning of the season, just a matter of time.
Next, it will be very interesting how Slott solves these problems, because obviously something must be changed or Arsenal will be secretly happy. As a former player, I always hope Liverpool will win, but at the same time I think it's a good thing for the Premier League, because it means there are some issues that Slot needs to solve against Chelsea on the weekend.
On the one hand, I am worried about Liverpool's current performance. On the other hand, I am looking forward to it and feel at ease. This expectation stems from my desire to see how Slott adjusts and improves the team. And peace of mind is because building and maintaining a victorious team is not only achieved by spending money, but also building a tacit understanding and investing a lot of training time to ensure that everyone knows what to do with and without the ball, so as to achieve the best balance.
Liverpool spent nearly £450 million in the summer transfer window to bring in new players, regardless of how much money is recovered through the sale of players. If this huge investment immediately brings a brilliant record, it will instead make English football a bit frustrating. As Chelsea has discovered over £1.5 billion in spending over the past three years, there is no shortcut to success.
As a fan, you always want to see your team beat your opponent, improve every season, and compete for the top stars in the market. However, as a football lover, football is the most exciting when those top teams face tactical challenges and strive to tap more potential from high-level players.
This is how I felt when I saw Guardiola coaching Manchester City a year ago. While dealing with injuries, declining condition, he also had to create an environment for new players to adapt. Now, Slot needs to readjust the starting lineup, with only Ekitic quickly integrating into the team for seven new players.
The key to building great teams and players is that they can make everything look easy, Guardiola did this when he won the league championship for four consecutive years at Manchester City, and Slot did it in his first season.
Some of my comments last week were misunderstood, and Slot took over legendary coach Klopp and won the Premier League title on his first attempt, which was one of the toughest tasks. Every big decision he made worked, whether it was choosing not to put pressure on the board to change the existing lineup or fine-tuning the positions of Herafenberg and Diaz.
Under Slot's leadership, Liverpool has become more stable and the game is no longer so tense and intense. Although the team lacks some of the exciting offensive styles of the Klopp era, it is unusually solid on the defensive end, with Alison and Kelleher having little to do in many games.
Despite such success, Slott was not completely satisfied with his performance last season. “Romanticizing last season was incorrect,” he said last month. “Every game last season was tough, most wins were just a small win, and we had to try our best to win.”
So, ironically, in trying to build a more offensive team to win more easily, Liverpool found it more difficult to win now, and they relied on last-minute goals in six of their seven wins in all matches.
Since the first game defeat of Bournemouth, Liverpool has reminded people of the team Klopp coached from 2015 to 2018, when the game was more like basketball than football. Liverpool's biggest problem at the moment is not the backline, and despite Konath's unstable form and the lack of experience in first-choice full-back Kolkerz, Bradley is still like a youth graduate who is struggling to adapt to the Wednesday game. In the midfield, Wiltz's addition completely changed Liverpool's style of play. Sobosloy performed in a mediocre offensive position last season, which I mentioned and Slot noticed. But his work when he was out of the ball, such as limiting opponents' offensive opportunities and helping Salah defend on the right, may now be more important than a year ago.
It sounds strange. Wiltz was actually signed to replace Arnold. As a No. 10 player, he provides a unique full-back pass range and creativity. However, he has not filled the vacancy left by Arnold, and the team has also lost the intensity that makes the opponent unparalleled.
This means that Slot faces a dilemma in defending his title, and this transition period may be longer than many people think. He had to decide whether to return to last season's strategy temporarily, find a different role for Wiltz or temporarily abandon him until he adapts to English football.
It is still necessary to stick to your vision and believe that the pain in the short term is necessary until everything works smoothly. The latter can be dangerous because even if he wins the championship, the pressure remains huge, especially when you spend £230m to sign two players who are considered to be able to take the championship team to the next level.
Slott has built a better team by running-in Klopp's signings, and now he needs to repeat the feat with his new player.