Liverpool plumbed new depths with a hapless draw in opposition to struggling Spurs, and Arne Slot’s decision-making has come beneath fireplace from a former Champions League finalist
Jermaine Pennant has each proper to have a bee in his bonnet about managerial decision-making. He stays the one Englishman to have performed in a Champions League last with out ever getting a call-up for the nationwide crew.
Most just lately, the player-turned-pundit has turned his attentions to Arne Slot’s choice decisions. Pennant believes that errors had been made each with the preliminary line-up to face Tottenham after which with the in-game changes made by the supervisor.
Some of the earlier criticism of Slot has centered on his reluctance to change style and personnel. In that respect, it was an unusually thrilling teamsheet, with Rio Ngumoha given his first Premier League begin, and the tempo of Jeremie Frimpong employed down the correct.
READ MORE: Jamie Carragher questions Arne Slot’s use of two Liverpool players after Tottenham woeREAD MORE: Dominik Szoboszlai tells teammates to ‘wake up’ after Liverpool booed off vs Tottenham
Few might argue with the Ngumoha name. The 17-year-old was the one positive on an otherwise dire day, and there’ll now be sturdy calls for him to start again versus Galatasaray.
In reality, one among Pennant’s three gripes is that Slot selected to withdraw Ngumoha early whereas leaving Cody Gakpo on the pitch. The teenager made manner for Hugo Ekitike with 25 minutes to play, having been a continuing risk down the left flank.
Pennant wrote on X: “Someone please help me, help me understand, help me understand why 1 ekitike doesn’t start, 2 takes Rio off leave gakpo on, and 3 takes frimpong off and then leaves Szoboszlai at RB…”
There is actually a wider Gakpo vs. Ngumoha dialog available (and it’ll come to the fore on Wednesday), however criticism of this specific change could also be huge of the mark. Slot has been managing the younger star very fastidiously, and counting on him to see out the end result with a full 90 minutes in his very first league begin might not have been the wisest transfer.
The manner that Ngumoha has been constructed as much as this second truly deserves credit score. Hopefully, it’ll stand him in higher stead to make a long-term affect on the crew, beginning with Galatasaray in midweek.
Rio Ngumoha shone in opposition to Tottenham, however Arne Slot took him off halfway by means of the second half(Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
On one other day, there’s little doubt that Ekitike might have discovered the online from the bench and settled the competition; he spurned a few alternatives to do exactly that. But Pennant’s subsequent query is why the striker was not within the lineup from the beginning.
This one is pretty merely answered. Ekitike was only fit to start from the bench, having skilled for the primary time the day earlier than the match.
You might maybe argue that if he was deemed match sufficient to play an element, then Slot ought to have rolled the cube. Maybe on some stage, he was responsible of pondering he might get previous Spurs with out the assistance of his solely in-form goalscorer.
But accidents occur, and Slot ought to have been capable of belief his ahead line to ship in Ekitike’s absence, particularly in opposition to such a makeshift Tottenham protection. So we are able to transfer on to Pennant’s third query, which could nicely be essentially the most pertinent of the three.
The former Liverpool star questioned why Frimpong was withdrawn within the second half, with Dominik Szoboszlai left at right-back. And it is in all probability truthful to recommend that this was one thing of a turning level.
Jeremie Frimpong was taken off in opposition to Spurs, and Slot’s ensuing reshuffle proved ill-advised(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
With all due respect to Frimpong, the problem was not a lot together with his withdrawal, though his tempo down the correct had been giving Liverpool a welcome new dimension. The downside was the weird reluctance to place Szoboszlai in his pure place, even with right-backs out there.
Szoboszlai thrived at right-back out of necessity earlier within the marketing campaign, nevertheless it was odd to see him beginning there whereas Frimpong operated on the correct wing. As the Liverpool midfield started to flag, shifting Frimpong again into protection would have appeared an apparent transfer, releasing the Hungarian to inject some power into the core of the crew.
Instead, introducing Curtis Jones for Florian Wirtz appeared to make issues much more open. And when the Spurs equalizer got here, there was a way of inevitability.
Admittedly, Liverpool would in all probability have had a greater season if Slot might have cloned Szoboszlai ten occasions and used him in all places. But he failed to acknowledge in opposition to Tottenham that the best want was in midfield.
Breaking down Pennant’s criticisms does present how not the whole lot could be laid at Slot’s door. But frustration with the supervisor is understandably constructing, and he seems to be as if he has no solutions at current; except he can flip issues round in a giant manner, it is more and more laborious to see a world the place the vast majority of followers are completely happy to see him keep past the top of the marketing campaign.
