Mailbag: Mohamed Salah, Arne Slot, Pep Guardiola and More
Answering some Liverpool-related questions submitted by my beautiful subscribers.
So it’s the first international break of the new season, and on this Substack, you know what that means. It’s Q&A time on my podcast. You can’t have thunder without lightning. And you can’t have international football without a Q&A special in this house.
I asked my paid subscribers to submit questions last night, but you guys are getting a bit too good at submitting questions nowadays. You always ask too many to such an extent that I can never get through them in one episode.
I’ll do my best to address them all when I record next week, but just to gain a little head start ahead of time, I’ve decided to answer a few in this post. If you’ve already submitted a question, thank you for your support. It means everything.
Zarak Singh asks:
“What are your thoughts on Arne Slot's first three games? Three clean sheets, was that something of a surprise for you?”
I don’t want to exaggerate here, but aside from the first-half performance against Ipswich Town on the opening weekend, I think Liverpool have been largely flawess. Slot, in particular, has full marks so far.
The recipe for success in football is creating a lot while restricting your opponents from creating much at all. The Reds have pretty much done exactly that to date. Liverpool keep generating worthwhile chances to score, and they aren’t giving away anything at the opposite end.
Ipswich and Brentford both created shots worth a measly 0.5 xG in their games against the Reds. Manchester United produced a few decent opportunities in the second half, granted, but only once the game was virtually done.
The three matches haven’t been the hardest on paper, but Liverpool found comparable bouts tricky last term. Slot has installed more control, and it is paying dividends, just as expected.
By showcasing more care for the ball, you concede less, because when you accelerate the game, all of your players are ready to accelerate the game. Last season, Liverpool tried things whenever and wherever. That’s cool to watch, but good luck to your defence.
Here’s a take for you: I think Liverpool might concede less than 30 goals in the Premier League this season. That number was 41 last term. I’ll come back to this shout in May.
Scott Currie asks:
“There has been a lot of talk about Slot’s change in style and our ability to manage football games better. Where do you think this new playing style will fall down in comparison to the ‘heavy metal’ football from Jürgen Klopp?”
So I initially thought the whole building from the back thing might sting Liverpool in certain games, but then Slot changed everything after 45 minutes against Ipswich and the Reds basically went direct, scoring twice. I loved that.
The Dutchman has a philosophy. That’s clear, but he’s also adaptable, and that’s really important. I feel reassured by a lot of what I’ve witnessed so far, but I do have one-and-a-half concerns.
Above all, I’m very intrigued to see how Liverpool cope when they concede first. We haven’t saw evidence of that yet. Keeping control and exhibiting patience is easy when you’re in command of the result. But when your opponents have no reason to press because they already have the lead, things will get a little harder.
When Liverpool eventually have to chase a game, will they revert to their old habits by forcing the issue and consequently conceding too many counter-attacks? Let’s see.
The other minor concern, I think Klopp was just far more suited to ruffling Pep Guardiola’s feathers. The Spaniard is obsessed with control. Like, the man is borderline unwell, but that’s why he’s the best ever.
Klopp was kryptonite to Guardiola. You couldn’t put that man in a cage. You couldn’t control his Liverpool at Anfield. Introduce a little anarchy, upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. Klopp was an agent of chaos.
The German will go down as the only manager to have faced Guardiola ten times or more with more wins than losses against him. Incredible, but styles make fights. How will Slot cope?
Mark McCaffery asks:
“How far away do you think Liverpool are from challenging for the Premier League? Or do you think we are in a position to do so this year?”
So in this preview of the new season that I wrote 24 hours before Liverpool’s first game against Ipswich, I said:
I don’t think Liverpool will finish below third. But in terms of the ceiling of the team, it feels like that depends entirely on Slot’s management considering we’re yet to see any new faces at Anfield.
You never know in this sport, but I think Liverpool are more likely to be challenging for the title in March than fighting for a place in the top four. In my head, we’re unlikely outsiders. Underdogs. Dark horses. And that’s all you need.
Since then, I’ve been seriously impressed by Slot, and we’ve also signed my son, Federico Chiesa. We’ve won three games in a row without conceding a single goal, and the underlying numbers are good.
I still think we’re unlikely outsiders to a degree, but I’m more confident now than I was last month. Liverpool can win the league this season, but whether they will or not depends on three major things for me, as well as various other micro factors.
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