I’ve always felt that building a business should be judged on how well it runs when you’re not there. If it’s over-reliant on one individual and performs badly without them, it can’t be construed as successful.
In that context, Liverpool’s impressive rise to the Premier League summit is as much a reflection on the tremendous work Jurgen Klopp did during his stint at Anfield as those who are there now.
That’s no slight on the current manager. This is still Klopp’s team but with Arne Slot’s polish. It’s a combination you do see ending up with Liverpool as champions in May.
Klopp was already one of the best managers of the Premier League era. He’s now shown himself great enough to have left a legacy which his successor has been able to capitalise on immediately.
When Manchester United and Arsenal lost their legendary leaders – Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger – the baton wasn’t handed over in the same way, for different reasons and circumstances.
In contrast, Klopp has given Slot the chance to run the best last leg any relay runner could imagine. As a result, Liverpool are moving forward at a pace few would have predicted. They are winning in the Premier League, Champions League, Carabao Cup, everything!
Arne Slot has found immediate success at Liverpool as they sit top of the Premier League table
However, a lot of credit must go to Slot’s predecessor Jurgen Klopp and the work that he did
Klopp’s final campaign ended as a bit of a damp squib; after having thrillingly won the League Cup against Chelsea with kids, the big prizes then went to Manchester City and Real Madrid.
However, despite any pessimism which might have been hinted at, the departing manager hadn’t left a collection of Minis in the garage for Slot, but Ferraris.
Liverpool didn’t need to make any summer signings because of what Klopp and the recruitment team did in 2022 and 2023, bringing in Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch.
It’s left an embarrassment of riches for Slot to choose from – the best gift any manager could be given.
Even if the jury is still out on Nunez, Liverpool had established a very formidable forward line and depth all over the pitch; a very strong squad. And Slot has had the acumen to point it all in the right direction.
He certainly inherited a better situation than Klopp did when he arrived following an innocuous last season under Brendan Rodgers in 2015. Then, through his charisma and skill, he super-charged Liverpool again by bringing in a new profile of player and establishing a connection with the fanbase that harked back to the days of Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and Kenny Dalglish.
Slot has seen the opportunity given to him at Liverpool and taken full advantage. He’s been sensible and tweaked some of the edges off Klopp’s rock and roll to make the team more sophisticated. There is less freneticism about them if that’s the right description!
Neither could anybody have legislated for Manchester City’s form falling off a cliff or Arsenal being less consistent than expected. It’s created a perfect storm for Liverpool.
Liverpool didn’t need to sign anyone in the summer due to the strength of their squad
Being top of the league by four points and a game in hand, with Leicester City at home today (Boxing Day), they have got this momentum which makes it feel like nothing can derail them – not even the noise over contract talks with Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dyke and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Liverpool keep rolling on and my suspicion is Salah and van Dijk will decide to stay, and they will win the title. All the stars are aligning.
United and Arsenal fans might ask why their transition was much harder. United was a poisoned chalice for David Moyes, partly because they lost the intellectual capital, not only in the dug-out with Ferguson leaving but also in the boardroom when the highly-influential David Gill departed as CEO as well.
Arsenal had reduced both transfer spend and wages over time to facilitate the new stadium which meant they’d become a participation club rather than actively challenging for the biggest trophies.
The ownership model at Liverpool has been better prepared and the way clubs are run has changed even in the last decade; there is more substance, expansive thinking and detailed data across all departments.
They also had Klopp, who was considerably younger than either Ferguson and Wenger when he left, and was able to hand over a squad of players still entering or at their peak.
Klopp doesn’t strike me as the type who will have spent Christmas basking in other people’s achievements. But even though he’s no longer on Merseyside, this season is definitely partly his achievement. For Liverpool, he is the gift that keeps on giving.
Slot has seen the opportunity given to him at Liverpool and taken full advantage so far
Even though Klopp is no longer on Merseyside, this season is definitely partly his achievement
What next for Fury?
When a friend showed me the esteemed American magazine Sports Illustrated had included me in a boxing power list for 2024 alongside names like Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn, I thought it was a misprint.
Whether I’m worthy or not – and it’s probably not – I did worry for Fury’s chances at the weekend’s big fight from the moment he did his ringwalk. To me he looked intense but without showing intensity.
The eyes were, at the allotted moment before round one, still demonic, just a tad emptier.
There is talk of Anthony Joshua being his next opponent. It’ll be a big payday and would come with bragging rights but I don’t feel a desperate need to see the match made. In an ideal world, I prefer there to be real jeopardy when it comes to big fights, not just significant bank balance increases.
In the end, despite neither being in their pomp, having both been vanquished twice by Usyk, it will still be a spectacle the new found saviours of boxing in Riyadh will no doubt bankroll.
Tyson Fury (left) fell to a unanimous decision loss against Oleksandr Usyk (right) on Saturday
I did worry for Fury’s chances at the weekend’s big fight from the moment he did his ringwalk
Boxing Day fixtures
As a club owner, I loved the feast of football over Christmas and New Year. To have match-after-match was fantastic, it was the January transfer window afterwards I disliked…
The season we won promotion at Crystal Palace, we beat Reading on December 23, played Millwall on Boxing Day, Ipswich two days after and then went straight into the FA Cup.
Now I see there are no games on Saturday to give players an extra day off after today’s games. They must have been listening to Martin Keown’s argument about player welfare!
My response to players and managers who complain about too many games at this time of the year is to remind them that fans do like it, and they’re the ones who give footballers the platform they have.
The Friedkin Group, led by Dan Friedkin, have been confirmed as Everton’s new owner
Friedkin’s Dyche decision
New Everton owner Dan Friedkin would be wise to keep an open mind about Sean Dyche. It shouldn’t be a fait accompli to walk in the door and automatically assume he needs a different manager to take the club on the next part of their journey in the stadium at Bramley Moore Dock.
Dyche is an experienced and realistic operator and will know he’s auditioning for someone else, not the people who first employed him.
My view is that he’s very capable and should be given serious consideration by the American ownership albeit it’s a two-way street of course and Dyche has to also show his new boss what he can produce.
I take Friedkin as a sensible man. I’d be amazed if he didn’t take his time over assessing what is best for the club long-term. It might yet include Dyche in the hot seat.
