Arne Slot stood in front of the Anfield press room on Saturday and said out loud what most Liverpool fans are already thinking — this squad isn't good enough. The difference is he believes he can fix it.
"If we can have the summer that we are planning to have, then I'm 100 percent convinced that we will be a different team next season," said Slot after a 1-1 draw with Chelsea that was greeted by full-time boos. "Different in terms of results, different in how things look."
He also made clear the fans' current mood isn't something he expects to reverse between now and May. "Not this season by the way. This season they will have their opinion and it will not change." That's an honest read of the room — and not an easy thing to say publicly.
How did it get to this?
Less than 14 months ago, Slot was being serenaded as a Liverpool hero, having won the Premier League title in his debut season in charge. The turnaround since has been ugly. Diogo Jota died in a car accident before pre-season began. Injuries have gutted the squad all year. Against Chelsea, Mohamed Salah, Florian Wirtz, and Hugo Ekitike were all missing, and £450 million club record signing Alexander Isak could only manage a cameo off the bench.
That's not a thin excuse — that's a season that was derailed before it started and never recovered.
Still, Liverpool sit fourth. Champions League qualification remains within reach, and Slot's job appears safe if they get there. Whether the fan base buys another season of patience is a different question entirely.
The Ngumoha substitution that lit up Anfield
The boos weren't just about the result. Slot's decision to withdraw 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha drew howls from the home support — the teenager has become something of a cult figure in what's been an otherwise grim campaign.
The explanation, at least, was straightforward. "He played a good 65 minutes," Slot said. "As it is so often in football, people don't know everything — he was suffering from cramp."
Slot didn't shy away from the noise. "I'm the manager, I need to make decisions. And sometimes people are happy with them, sometimes they are not and today clearly they weren't."
Liverpool's season odds for a top-four finish remain alive, but the title conversation feels like a different era entirely. Right now, Slot's credibility rests entirely on whether that promised summer overhaul actually materialises — and whether it works faster than it did this year.
