Jamie Carragher was shocked by Arne Slot’s sacking but believes an elite manager could have fixed Liverpool last season.
Slott was sacked on Saturday after leading the club to their 20th league title and a disappointing fifth-place finish in his second year in charge.
Liverpool secured Champions League qualification with 60 points, their lowest points since the 2015/16 season, and said “change is needed if the club is to continue to move forward”.
Liverpool had no intention of parting ways with Slott during the season, but after reassessing the situation towards the end of the season they came to the conclusion that a change in leadership was needed, which surprised Carragher.
“I’m torn from Arne Slot,” he said. “I would have almost supported any decision and could see both sides arguing, but it’s shocking.
“I think a top football manager, an elite football manager, probably found a way to fix Liverpool and make them better at some stage last season, but he didn’t get help with player recruitment.
“Look at those players. Has any of them done well? The only one who has done well is (Hugo) Ekitike, the rest have not done well. You can leave it to the manager. Should he get more from them?”
“Should those players have done more? A lot more, yes. Should the people above them have given them a better squad this season? Yes.
“A lot of people are pointing out where Liverpool were last season, and the performances of the players who were there the year before are a complete contrast.”
How Liverpool handled Arne Slot’s two Premier League seasons
Kara: Salah’s situation didn’t work out.
Carragher believes many Liverpool supporters chose the slot, and Mo Salah’s public falling out with the manager has not helped.
“There’s no doubt he’s lost most of his supporters this season,” Carragher said. “Sometimes I thought that was a bit harsh considering what happened 12 months ago.
“The supporter base now has a huge presence online as well, and that very quickly turned against the manager.
“So you’re talking about player quality, which can’t help. I don’t like the situation with Mo Salah. I never want Liverpool to be a club with players who speak publicly about player quality or a manager who won the league a year ago. That’s not it. Of course that won’t help.”
“All those things combined probably forced the club’s hand.”
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Jamie Carragher has revealed his concerns over the possibility of former Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola becoming the new Liverpool manager following Arne Slott’s sacking.
Coach Andoni Iroala, who recently left Bournemouth, is likely to be Slot’s successor. Sky Sports News It is expected that formal talks will begin.
Carragher believes Iraola’s philosophy could rediscover the high-tempo style of play favored at Anfield, but his appointment would still be risky.
“He has been brilliant in the Premier League and what Bournemouth have done is fantastic, but there are still big question marks.”
“The way he plays is definitely the way Liverpool want to get back to high-intensity football. We know he’s fantastic in that area, but that’s not everything when you’re a Liverpool manager.”
“Off the ball was a big problem for Arne Slott and that really worried me. I’ve been saying all season that Liverpool’s off the ball has been very poor.”
Compare Andoni Iraola’s playing style with Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot
“It’s a big part of the Liverpool DNA, not just Jurgen Klopp. The reason we talk about the Anfield factor is a lot of it is on the ball as well as off the ball, so he’s fantastic in that respect.
“My worry is whether we can play at that intensity when we play every three days, but at Bournemouth we only played once a week. That’s completely different.
“Every time you bring in a manager to a top club in England, you think, ‘Can he win me the league?’ There are big question marks around that manager or whatever manager comes in, I’m always conflicted because Liverpool have had a manager who has won the league.”
