James Pearce believes Arne Slot is now facing the kind of pressure at Liverpool not seen since the final days of Roy Hodgson’s disastrous spell in charge, following another hugely frustrating display against Chelsea.
The Reds were booed at full-time after a 1-1 draw at Anfield against a Chelsea side who had lost six consecutive Premier League matches before travelling to Merseyside.
Despite an encouraging opening and Ryan Gravenberch’s early goal, Liverpool once again lost control of the contest and drifted into another passive, disjointed performance.
Writing for The Athletic, Pearce compared the current mood surrounding Slot to some of the darkest periods of the modern era at Anfield.
“The parallels are undeniable.”
The journalist referenced Brendan Rodgers’ difficult end to the 2014/15 season before explaining why the reaction inside Anfield on Saturday felt even more alarming.
“A Liverpool manager hadn’t faced this level of dissent on home turf since the final throes of Roy Hodgson’s tenure in late 2010.”
That is an extraordinary comparison to make given how much goodwill the Dutch coach built after winning the Premier League title last season.
However, patience among supporters is clearly beginning to evaporate as performances continue to deteriorate.
Pearce described a “mutinous mood” inside Anfield and pointed towards the loud boos that followed Rio Ngumoha being substituted midway through the second half.
Slot explained after the game that the 17-year-old winger was suffering from cramp, but supporters wanted Cody Gakpo removed instead as frustration boiled over.
The worrying aspect for Liverpool is that the criticism is no longer isolated.
Clinton Morrison admitted he was becoming “sick and tired” of Slot’s management, while Jermaine Pennant labelled the current football “zero press, zero intensity”.
Pearce acknowledged the sympathy within FSG regarding Liverpool’s injury crisis, especially after losing Diogo Jota last summer and then suffering setback after setback throughout the campaign.
Still, the wider concern is obvious.
Liverpool no longer resemble the aggressive, intense side supporters expect to watch, and the atmosphere at Anfield now reflects that growing disconnect between fans, manager and team.
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It’s not nice to see Liverpool supporters booing the players or the manager, but when you see it you know that the football club is heading in the wrong direction. At the moment the manager, slot, is in denial, he doesn’t see much wrong with the team, and everything will be fine because we will bring in players to sort it out. Look what happened last summer. There’s a world cup to contend with this summer.
Then there’s the owners FSG who show no leadership, they are content with mediocrity at Liverpool, but they wont stand for it at the Boston red Sox. Which sums up FSG. You only ever see FSG and j w Henry if there’s a trophy to lift, in time’s of a crisis he hides away. This is now a crisis at Liverpool, supporters have lost all confidence and faith in the manager.
Unless there’s change expect the booing to get worse next season.
Fsg out, slot out, Edwards and Hughes out. Terminal decline unless there’s change.
There are really only two ways supporters can express disapproval: vocally or not going. Nobody wants to boo but sometimes some fans get frustrated. It was the chant for Kenny that did for Hodgson, a chant for Xabi would do something similar.
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