Liverpool manager Arn Slott will find it “very difficult” to win Reds fans back to his side, according to Jamie Carragher.
Slott’s side were held to a 1-1 draw with relegation-threatened Tottenham at Anfield on Super Sunday, with former Everton forward Richarlison scoring a vital equalizer in the 90th minute.
As a result, Liverpool were booed at the final whistle. It was the second game in the league without a win, following a shocking 2-1 loss against Wolves on March 3.
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Free to watch: Premier League highlights of Liverpool vs. Tottenham Hotspur
“It’s worrying given the way Liverpool have been going this season,” Carragher said on Monday Night Football.
“The bigger point is how worrying it is for the manager. I think there’s a difference in most of the support between the support you see online and the fans watching the games.
“For much of this season, when people were clamoring for Arne Slott, the fans going to games kept thinking of him. Even behind what happened with Mo Salah, the next game was away at San Siro and the fans were chanting for Arne Slott.
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Tottenham Hotspur interim manager Igor Tudor appears to have confused Spurs player liaison officer Alan Dixon with Liverpool head coach Arn Slott ahead of the Premier League match at Anfield.
“It’s not easy for the Liverpool crowd to turn against a manager who won the title less than a year ago, but I felt there was a big change on Sunday in terms of how the crowd felt about the team and the manager.
“The boos at the end were well-deserved boos from a disgruntled and disgruntled fan base.
“I think it’s really hard for Arne Slott to get them back now. Once you lose that audience, it’s really hard to get them back.”
As a result of the game against Spurs, Liverpool are now 21 points behind leaders Arsenal.
But Mr Carragher said the blame did not rest solely at Mr Slott’s feet.
“Some really special things could happen – winning the Champions League, winning the FA Cup, qualifying for the Champions League – but a lot of our fans have left this week,” he added.
“We got one point from Wolves and Tottenham and lost the first leg against Galatasaray. I’m not confident of winning the Champions League either.
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Dominik Szoboszlai said Liverpool’s performance level needs to improve after their 1-1 draw with Tottenham in the Premier League, suggesting they would otherwise have to settle for playing in the Conference League next season.
“The style of football didn’t help, but it goes back to the fact that there are players and talented players who have joined the club this season for big money, but are they Liverpool players?
“I’m not going to throw all this at the manager. He’s probably been involved in reinforcements, so yes he’s responsible for bringing them in, but is he similar to Jurgen Klopp in terms of pressing all over the pitch? No. He wanted a bit more control, but we saw last season that if he had the right players they could still win the league.”
“Now he has a different player profile and is not equipped to do what he needs to do in the Premier League.
“But as every team knows, the manager carries the can.”
“Liverpool is not a team, it’s a team of individuals.”
Jamie Carragher on Monday Night Football:
“There are a lot of problems with this Liverpool team. Nothing is working up front or in defence. But for me the biggest thing Liverpool have lost is their pressing.
“And for Liverpool, pressing wasn’t just Jurgen Klopp’s thing. He took it to a completely different level than we’ve seen Liverpool teams do before. There’s no doubt about that, but at Anfield The point of people saying it’s tough to go is not because Liverpool are always great on the ball or because they have the best players in the world, it’s because the pitch is tight and the crowd is on you and Liverpool are chasing you.
Arne Slott’s Liverpool were booed after a 1-1 draw with Tottenham.
“That’s something that’s sorely lacking. For me, that’s Liverpool’s biggest problem at the moment.
“Throughout the season I kept asking myself, is this the fault of the manager or the profile of the players?
“Liverpool’s hierarchy will continue to think, ‘We won the league last season and when we brought in players we thought we had better players than before.’ You might argue that in terms of talent, but Liverpool are not a team. They are a team of individuals.”
“Obviously they’re quality players, but they’ve just been brought in. There’s no cohesion. That’s what they’ve lost and that’s the most important thing for Liverpool.”
“I’ve never thought of Liverpool as a flashy team with superstar players. It’s always about the top players, but it’s about the team.”
