Liverpool's Season of Drift: Slot's Future in Question

Liverpool’s season of drift has reached the point where polite backing no longer masks the strain. Publicly, the club continues to stand behind Arne Slot. Privately, the ground is shifting beneath him.

Senior figures at Anfield are now braced for serious internal talks over the Dutchman’s future in the coming weeks, with concern rising sharply as a grim campaign limps towards its conclusion. What began as a difficult title defence has turned into something more troubling: a year without trophies, without clear identity, and without convincing answers.

A title defence in ruins

Liverpool have not so much surrendered their Premier League crown as watched it unravel. The push to secure a top-five finish remains in doubt, and the sense of a project stalling has become hard to ignore.

The numbers cut through any lingering optimism. Nineteen defeats in all competitions already match the club’s joint-highest tally of this century. One more loss in their final game would drag this team level with a modern low: 20 defeats, a mark reached only once since Liverpool returned to the top flight in 1962, during the bleak 1992/93 season.

Inside Anfield, that statistic has become a symbol of a wider malaise. Fenway Sports Group are said to be increasingly alarmed not only by results, but by the mood around the squad and the broader direction of the project heading into a crucial summer.

Salah’s grenade and the Boston echo

If the defeats set off alarms, Mohamed Salah’s words detonated them.

The Egyptian’s recent public comments on Liverpool’s direction and performances were described by Gary Neville as a “grenade” – and the impact has ricocheted all the way to Boston. The post, liked by 17 Liverpool players past and present, has been pored over inside the club.

Sources indicate Salah’s remarks have triggered serious reflection at the highest levels. Senior figures are understood to sympathise with his frustrations after a hugely disappointing campaign. His message, and the reaction to it, has underlined a truth that can no longer be dodged: key dressing-room voices are uneasy with where this team is heading.

FSG are not hovering over every football decision, but the football operation is being closely monitored. Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes are continuously assessing the situation, weighing up scenarios and outcomes as pressure tightens around Slot.

Slot under strain as review looms

Liverpool have long insisted that any verdict on the manager would follow a full end-of-season review. That line still stands in public. Behind the scenes, though, concern has escalated in recent weeks as performances have sagged and defeats have piled up.

TEAMtalk’s Graeme Bailey has detailed the mood inside the corridors of power.

“Edwards and Hughes have some serious thinking and talking to do,” he revealed, adding that not everyone internally is convinced Slot should definitely stay. Liverpool do not like to be seen as emotional or impulsive, but the ownership recognises the situation is becoming “very concerning”.

Salah’s intervention, Bailey reports, “hit home in a massive way”. There is “a lot of sympathy” for what he said, and an understanding of why he chose to voice those frustrations so publicly. For a club that prides itself on unity, that acknowledgement carries weight.

The end-of-season review is now shaping up as one of the most significant internal assessments Liverpool have conducted in years. Slot remains in position, and the club insists no final decision has been taken. Yet the tone around that review has changed. It no longer sounds like a routine debrief. It sounds like a crossroads.

Alonso gone, questions remain

The pressure on Slot has been sharpened by what might have been. Liverpool’s failure to land Xabi Alonso – who has now finalised his move to Chelsea – has deepened frustration among sections of the fanbase and raised fresh questions internally about long-term planning.

Alonso had been widely viewed as a natural heir for a new era. His decision to go elsewhere has left Liverpool reassessing the market and their options, should they decide to act.

The candidates in the shadows

Behind closed doors, alternative managerial options have been discussed, even as the club maintains its public backing for Slot.

Sebastian Hoeness has drawn strong admiration for his work at Stuttgart, where he has built a vibrant, overachieving side. Julian Nagelsmann remains on the radar, a coach whose tactical acumen continues to attract elite clubs. Matthias Jaissle is another under consideration, with Liverpool’s hierarchy intrigued by his tactical approach and developmental work.

One name, though, keeps coming back: Andoni Iraola.

He is potentially available. He favours an aggressive, high-intensity style that aligns neatly with Liverpool’s traditional football identity. Crucially, he already knows the Premier League. The Richard Hughes connection only strengthens his case – Hughes played a key role in bringing Iraola to Bournemouth and holds him in high regard.

None of these candidates are being presented as imminent appointments. But the fact they are being discussed at all underlines how far the conversation has moved from the early-season assumption that Slot would simply be given time.

Media noise and a manager under fire

The debate is no longer confined to boardrooms and WhatsApp groups. Pundits have turned up the heat.

Jermaine Pennant’s recent comments on Slot have been particularly scathing, stripping away any lingering sense of deference to a manager still in his first season. Neville and Jamie Carragher have split on the issue, with Neville arguing that Slot deserves to stay, while others, including James Pearce, have openly questioned whether the project is failing.

Pearce has spoken of a growing “clamour to sack the Dutchman”. That phrase captures the mood. What started as isolated grumbles has swelled into a chorus.

For now, Liverpool stand by their man. Slot remains in the dugout, the official line unchanged: no decisions before the review, no knee-jerk reactions.

But with a record-equalling 20th defeat looming as a grim possibility, a disillusioned fanbase, a star forward publicly questioning the direction of travel, and alternative managers already being weighed up, the reality is stark.

This summer will not be about fine-tuning. It will be about whether Liverpool still believe Arne Slot is the man to lead a revival – or whether the search for their next era has already, quietly, begun.