Many factors have collided into this season so despite their individual culpability, can Edwards, Hughes or Slot be solely at fault?…
IF RICHARD HUGHES was starting to feel unwelcome at Liverpool, he’ll have done well to avoid the comment threads from pieces linking him with a move to Saudi Arabia this week.
News of his supposed departure were greeted with hope and excitement, a far cry from the memes of him cropped with cigars and sunglasses during Liverpool’s summer transfer splurge.
Those with more sympathy for Arne Slot have pointed fingers in the direction of the Sporting Director for leaving Liverpool understocked in key areas this season.
Hughes can’t really have any complaints. He can point at injuries to the likes of Alexander Isak and Geovani Leoni as hard lines, or pull the net spend deficits up, but where there’s disappointment, blame lurks. Not everything can fall at Slot’s door.
The Scotsman is as enigmatic as any modern day Sporting Director. He has an office at the training ground. He dictates the entire transfer policy and pay structure of the squad, but he remains free from public accountability, apart from when Standard Chartered needs a round table feature.
Slot continually bears the brunt of micronised scrutiny into his every response, word or bodily movement.
There was a train of thought that should Hughes depart in the summer, then he is the inevitable blood sacrifice the club have decided on.
I’m not sure it’s ever that simple. We don’t know if there’s any truth in the Hughes rumours, let alone the motivations behind how or why that move would come about. We don’t know whether, internally, the pitchforks are out at all.
Above Hughes, Michael Edwards remains as CEO of football. Reports today that FSG have shelved plans of a multi-club model – a task primary to Edwards’ job description – led to the line that Edwards is frustrated by the lack of progress on this front.
Edwards was also responsible for implementing Liverpool’s post Jürgen Klopp structure, bringing in both Slot and Hughes to initial success.
However, if one or both Slot or Hughes leave this summer, FSG will undoubtedly be looking at its previous Sporting Director for guidance regarding Liverpool’s football operations.
Edwards, Hughes and Slot all have contracts until 2027. Intrigue about how this plays out is increasing, especially given Fenway’s previous penchant for stability and patience.
Such patience is in short supply among supporters. We’re struggling to see the chess moves. Liverpool have carried the mantle of smartest people in the room for a while now, but those smarts have turned into arrogance for some.
Slot, meanwhile, gets some respite from the 4-0 demolition of Galatasaray on Wednesday. He rolls into Brighton still under pressure and with many seeing him as the ultimate reason for Liverpool’s ills this season.
The demand for managerial change is ultimately where football ends up when things are tough. Liverpool has proven itself susceptible to the same football discourse many thought it was immune to.
Displacement is a funny thing in football. People need someone to blame when times are hard. Liverpool have seemed in freefall at times this season, only to give you the odd injection of competence that inspires hope.
But what if there isn’t one single thing or person to blame? Despite all their individual culpability, can Edwards, Hughes or Slot be solely at fault for this season?
They’re probably as frustrated as us when Liverpool mess up a four-versus-three counter-attacking situation.
Many factors have collided into this season. Time may not be all that’s needed to fix things and therefore a fresh start in key areas could be required. But it’s not inevitable yet.
For so many years, the only problem was that FSG apparently didn’t back the manager in the transfer market. When that happened and didn’t work, the narrative changed.
Wherever the truth lies, nights like Wednesday remain the ultimate pacifier.
If they can somehow find form from now until the end of the season, people might go back to trusting the process, however it plays out.
