Liverpool: Severity of drop-off is unacceptable, says Gary Neville, as pressure builds on Arne Slot to make changes
Gary Neville has said the “severity and immediacy” of Liverpool’s recent downturn is a major concern for head coach Arne Slot, calling it “unacceptable”.
Liverpool suffered a sixth defeat in seven Premier League games by losing 3-0 to Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Saturday, their worst start to a campaign since 2014.
Captain Virgil van Dijk implored team-mates to “look in the mirror”, while Slot himself insisted he must “look at myself”, given his side have lost 50 per cent of their league games this season and are 13 points worse off than at this stage last term.
“What is unusual is the severity and immediacy of the drop, and the worrying signs that are appearing,” Neville said on his podcast. “A blip is losing one or two games, when you start losing three and four you have to do something.
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“You can’t lose six games in seven if you are Liverpool Football Club. It’s unacceptable. The manager has to change the style or the system and help them. It means being more solid, personnel changes. [Milos] Kerkez is struggling, [Ibrahima] Konate is struggling.
“I called on it a few weeks ago, I said maybe Joe Gomez should play right-back, Andy Robertson at left-back and play as a narrow back four. Be a bit more pragmatic. Something has to change in the collective.
“From an individual perspective you have to strip it right back to the foundations, whether that’s sleep, stretching, eating, the tiny details. Do everything better.”
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Neville admits he was stunned that Liverpool lost at home to Nottingham Forest
Such a special first season in charge – romping to the Premier League title after taking over from Jurgen Klopp – means Slot has plenty of “credit in the bank”, Neville believes, but says the Dutchman has got to make “difficult decisions” to reverse this recent trend.
“I thought Liverpool would experience what they are experiencing this season last year, after Klopp left. What Slot did was out of the ordinary. Liverpool expect to win titles, they don’t expect to lose six of seven in any season. He’s causing himself a problem.
“Slot is a brilliant manager with real class, but he’s got to reverse and do something different – maybe make some difficult decisions. He’s going to come under pressure, let’s not get too carried away with that. The players have to step up, or it will become a problem.”
Liverpool’s big players go missing
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Highlights from the Premier League game between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest
Analysis by Laura Hunter at Anfield:
No doubt Murillo was the star of the show at both ends of the pitch as Liverpool sunk to new lows against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, but what will be of chief concern to Slot are the anonymous stars of his show. Liverpool’s big players have gone missing.
Mohamed Salah started well and quickly faded – Federico Chiesa generated more xG value than him and played 68 minutes fewer. Alexander Isak was non-existent. By the time he was hooked for Chiesa, he had lost every one of the seven duels he had contested. He is the only Liverpool player in the Premier League era to end on the losing side in each of his first four starts. Performances will tell you that is for good reason.
Alexis Mac Allister fluffed the one big chance Liverpool created, which arrived before Forest took the lead and could have easily led to a different outcome. The Anfield crowd were tolerant to a point but were audibly fed up by the end, too. How can a team with a 74 per cent share of possession concede enough chances to ship three goals? The hosts finished the game with two midfielders playing across their defensive line – perhaps that explains it.
There is no doubt that crisis has morphed into catastrophe, with no signs of slowing. Slot needs a comprehensive review of failings and a plan to stem the flow before this quickly turns into one of the shoddiest attempts at a title defence the Premier League has ever seen.
Liverpool’s next five fixtures
Sunday 30th November 1:00pm
Kick off 2:05pm
Nov 26: PSV Eindhoven (H), Champions League
Nov 30: West Ham (A), Premier League, live on Sky Sports
Dec 3: Sunderland (H), Premier League, live on Sky Sports
Dec 6: Leeds (A), Premier League, live on Sky Sports
Dec 9: Inter Milan (A), Champions League
