Liverpool manager Arne Slott has admitted he will not be able to have fans back at his side this season after Saturday’s booing at Anfield, but remains confident of regaining supporter trust after the summer transfer window.
Slott’s team were booed after a struggling Chelsea side came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw. Liverpool took the lead after just six minutes through Ryan Gravenbirch, and after Enzo Fernandes’ equaliser, the visitors began to dominate the game.
It was a disappointing showing, but Liverpool’s xG was 0.51, their lowest for a Premier League home game since March 2021. Liverpool have also dropped nine points from their points at Anfield this season, their highest at home since the 2015-16 season (14 games).
After winning the league title in his first season last season, a frustrating campaign has left some Liverpool fans questioning Slott’s position, especially after spending a record £446.5m in last summer’s transfer window.
But when asked if he was confident he could win back disaffected supporters, Mr Slott suggested positive summer terms would change the mood.
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Clinton Morrison believes Arne Slott hasn’t solved Liverpool’s problems after drawing with Chelsea
“Yes,” Slott said.
“By the way, that’s not the case this season. They’ll have their opinion this season and they won’t change. But I’m 100 percent sure that if we can have the summer we’re planning, we’ll be a different team next season than we are now.”
“It’s different in terms of results and in terms of how things look. But it’s not always that simple, because even though you know what you have to do, you can’t always get exactly what you want. But for us, for me, it’s really clear what we’re missing this season.”
“And we’re trying, because one of the things we’re missing is healthy players. But I think the players that we have available right now, like they did last week, showed a willingness to push as hard as they can in the second half.”
“But we didn’t do enough last week and we didn’t do enough this week to score that goal. Maybe it was to be expected given the way the game played out.
“Because for me the games were mainly played in our own half and that’s what we’ve seen many times this season. But we’ve also seen many times this season that being a dominant team doesn’t create chance after chance.”
Slott’s decision to substitute Rio Ngmoja was booed.
Slott’s decision to substitute 17-year-old Rio Ngmoja was also booed by the Anfield crowd. The Liverpool manager told TNT Sport that he was forced to make the decision because Ngumoha was experiencing “muscular problems”.
Asked to clarify whether Ngmoha was injured, Slott told reporters after the match:
“Maybe three minutes before that, he had a seizure and then I contacted him and he said he didn’t have an option (to continue playing).
“A player who is playing well, it makes perfect sense to take off an assist, but people don’t expect you to take that player out, but that’s not my intention.
“He’s a good player, but I don’t think he’s at the level yet where he can play at 60 or 50 percent and make a difference. But maybe the fans have a different opinion. They think he could have played at this level at 50 or 60 percent or some other percentage, but he’s not healthy enough to sprint or take action anymore.”
“So, yeah, if you don’t know that and feel like why did you take him out, I understand that reaction. The moment his numbers went up, I knew that would be the reaction. But that’s not a reason not to do it, and you don’t have to keep a player on your team who says he can’t continue.”
“And after the game, I think that’s understandable too, because I don’t think this club should be satisfied with the 1-1 result against Chelsea. We always want to win and we don’t win. And it’s disappointing, especially in a season where we haven’t won as many or as many as people would expect. There’s just a lot of frustration and it probably showed after half-time.
Graben Birch: We don’t deserve to be booed.
Ryan Gravenbirch celebrates early goal against Chelsea
Manager Grabenbirch also responded to the boos, urging Liverpool fans to support their team instead of booing.
“We need them behind us,” Gravenbirch told TNT Sports.
“What they’re doing is, okay, we’re not going to win, but I don’t think we deserve this. I think the fans have to be behind us like they were for 90 minutes because I think in the second half, when they got behind us, we were pressing them quite a bit, so I hope they don’t do the same thing in the next few games because we need that.”
Liverpool fans’ reaction to Chelsea’s draw
Josh1: “Slot won’t be around next season. It was slow and boring to watch and there was no urgency to get forward from the defensive corners, everyone just running out of the box. The club needs a more attack-minded manager.”
Paul: “It’s natural for fans to boo this team and this coach. They’ve been awful all season. Slott is over the limit and needs to go. He can take a big part of the team with him.”
Mattbrown97: “It’s so boring to watch. A lot of talent on the pitch is underutilized by the slot’s terrible style. He just has to go. We’re not going to take games against teams anymore. Trust me we’ll put an end to Chelsea’s pointless run.”
Stephen: “We were booed and the fact that it was a draw and not a loss says it all. Liverpool fans have had enough. It’s time for FSG to act.”
Shanepancho778: “If Slott had performed like that at another club, made poor tactical decisions, made bad substitutions and had the fans booing the team, there’s no doubt he would have left. I’ve been an LFC fan for 41 years and apart from the Hodgson era, this is the worst I know.”
