Arne Slot Under Fire: Liverpool Echoes of Roy Hodgson’s Dark Days
Liverpool boss Arne Slot has drawn fierce criticism following a series of baffling press conference comments that have left supporters disillusioned and pundits incredulous. On Anfield Index’s “The Daily Red”, contributor Dave Hendrick did not hold back, launching a scathing assessment of Slot’s recent statements and managerial decisions.
Hendrick branded the comments “absolutely staggering” and described Slot’s latest media appearance as “Hodgson levels of stuff,” drawing painful comparisons to the bleak Roy Hodgson era at Anfield. The frustration was palpable as Hendrick unpacked the damage being done both on and off the pitch.
Press Conference Spin and Statistical Falsehoods
Among Slot’s most contentious claims was the suggestion that he had never lost two games in a row before this season. Hendrick dismantled this myth with forensic precision, detailing specific examples across Slot’s managerial career:
“They lose to Sparta Rotterdam and then in the next game they lose to Willem II… then later in the year they lose to NAC Breda and they lose the next game to Twente.”
Slot’s revisionism wasn’t limited to personal records. Hendrick also took aim at his comments regarding transfers, especially the suggestion that Liverpool’s European status limited their ability to recruit:
“To lie about ‘we could only sign Federico Chiesa because we’d been in the Europa League the year before’… it’s nonsense. It’s absolute nonsense.”
Slot, according to Hendrick, was involved in a conscious decision not to strengthen the squad — a claim backed by sporting director Richard Hughes in earlier comments.
Player Management Woes: Calvin Ramsay and Others
If Slot’s comments were frustrating, his treatment of players was “atrocious,” said Hendrick, singling out the bizarre handling of Calvin Ramsay. The young right-back was publicly dismissed, despite being arguably the best option available:
“He’s been given one opportunity to play and he was our best player on the day.”
Instead of support, Ramsay has been “constantly thrown under the bus,” a pattern Hendrick notes was also evident last season. Slot’s man-management came under heavy fire:
“This is awful man management. Absolutely awful man management.”
Hendrick added that Slot had erased Ramsay’s contribution altogether when listing the number of right-backs used this season, saying:
“You’ve had seven because Ramsay has played a game… but you’ve just tried to erase it.”
Performances Compared to Hodgson Era
Slot’s assertion that performances have recently improved was ridiculed by Hendrick, who said:
“It’s nonsense. We’re not playing well. We’re just not playing well.”
He described the unbeaten run as “the saddest unbeaten run anyone has ever seen,” highlighting that it came against weaker opposition and was peppered with uninspiring draws.
The defensive structure is still leaking, the midfield is porous, and the attack “looks completely disjointed.” Hendrick concluded that unless Liverpool’s stars “combine to do something,” the team “doesn’t function.”
The comparison to Roy Hodgson is not used lightly in Liverpool circles. Hendrick made it clear:
“So much of what we hear from him is so similar to what we were hearing from Hodgson 15 years ago.”
That is damning.
What Comes Next?
As it stands, Liverpool have won just one of their last seven league games, with only six wins in their last 20. Sitting sixth in the Premier League, 17 points off the top and just 16 from 18th, the club is at a crossroads.
Hendrick pulled no punches in assessing the gravity of the situation:
“It is at the point where if we lose tomorrow night against Sunderland and they don’t make a change, maybe they need to go too because they’re all complicit in it.”
He ended with a brutal truth:
“This season is just completely unacceptable from so many different angles.”
As pressure mounts, Arne Slot finds himself not just fighting for form, but for his future. And the ghosts of Roy Hodgson loom large over Anfield once more.
