When Arne Slot replaced Jürgen Klopp as manager of Liverpool, there was a general sense of optimism that things would go okay. But fans – and the Liverpool board – could not have dreamed that Slot would start life in the Anfield dugout quite so positively.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the Dutchman’s great start to life at Liverpool. Then we’ll suggest what he will need to achieve if he is to go down as one of the Liverpool legends. Hint: It involves winning plenty of trophies!
Slot’s Positive Start as Liverpool Boss
The pre-season friendlies gave Liverpool fans hope that Klopp’s departure would not destroy the club, as the Reds beat Real Betis, Arsenal, Manchester United and Sevilla. Looking at the domestic scene first, when the Premier League kicked off, Slot’s Liverpool hit the ground running, beating Ipswich Town, Brentford, and Man United without conceding a single goal.
The first real blip came when Liverpool lost to Nottingham Forest… at Anfield. At the time in mid-September, it looked like a very poor result. Though the Reds will never be happy losing on home soil, Forest’s form since has shown they are a side to be reckoned with this term. Slot’s men soon bounced back though with a 3-0 league win over Bournemouth and then a confidence-boosting 5-1 drubbing of West Ham in the EFL Cup.
Away victories over Wolves and Crystal Palace followed before the Reds overcame a tough home test against Chelsea, prevailing 2-1. They followed that with a well-earned 2-2 draw at the Emirates against title rivals Arsenal, and then – after another EFL Cup win, this time against Brighton – they beat Brighton in the league too for good measure. In their last game before the international break, an assured Liverpool side overcame fellow Champions League side Aston Villa 2-0 at Anfield.
Speaking of the Champions League, Slot and Liverpool have barely put a foot wrong. An impressive 3-1 away win over multiple European champions AC Milan got the European ball rolling. Then a home win over another Italian side, Bologna, was followed by a pair of wins over German opposition: 1-0 away against Leipzig and the best of the bunch, a 4-0 home drubbing of Bayer Leverkusen.
Clearly, things have started brightly for the former Feyenoord boss. What does he have to do to compete with some of the legendary Liverpool managers who’ve strutted their stuff at Anfield in years gone by?
Best Liverpool Managers Ever
Here we present the main stats for the managers who most Liverpool fans would consider to be legends.
| Bob Paisley | Bill Shankly | Kenny Dalglish | Jürgen Klopp | Gérard Houllier | Rafael Benítez | Tom Watson | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | 535 | 783 | 307 | 491 | 307 | 350 | 742 |
| Win Percentage | 57.57 | 51.98 | 60.91 | 60.9 | 52.12 | 55.43 | 44.34 |
| Top-Flight Titles | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Second Tier Titles | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| FA Cups | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| League Cups | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Community Shields | 6 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Champions Leagues/European Cups | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Europa Leagues/UEFA Cups | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| UEFA Super Cups | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| FIFA Club World Cups | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 20 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
Of those featured, neither Gérard Houllier nor Rafael Benítez managed to win the Premier League title, but both won European trophies. Obviously, winning a top-flight title almost assures a certain status at Liverpool. So although Joe Fagan misses out on true legendary status, he’s certainly highly thought of at the club. Others have won the old Division One title but who have perhaps fallen out of the fans’ consciousness in recent times, mainly because of the amount of time that’s passed since they sat in the dugout: David Ashworth (1919 to 1923), Matt McQueen (1923 to 1928), and George Kay (1936 to 1951).
The minimum Slot must achieve to get anywhere near legendary status at the club is to win the Premier League title or perhaps the Champions League. Winning both would certainly cement his legacy with fans. But he’s got a long, long way to go to compete with the likes of Bill Shankly, Kenny Dalglish, and Jürgen Klopp, each of whom won the top-flight title and the FA Cup at least once. Klopp and Shankly also won European trophies, and Dalglish almost certainly would have, had Liverpool not been banned from European competition during his reign.
Of course, when it comes to legendary Liverpool managers, one man stands head, shoulders and top hat above the rest: the great Bob Paisley.
Bob Paisley’s Liverpool Honours
Bob Paisley’s playing career was massively curtailed by the Second World War. He signed for Liverpool from Bishop Auckland in May 1939 when 20 years of age. However, after completing pre-season training, war was declared on 3rd September 1939, and football was effectively cancelled. Paisley played in 34 friendly matches for Liverpool, scoring 10 goals, before he was called up to the army and served in North Africa and Italy.
In the first full season after the war, Paisley won his only piece of silverware as a player with Liverpool as the Reds won the First Division title. He would certainly need a bigger trophy cabinet when he turned his hand to management.
After he hung up his boots, Paisley actually started his post-playing days as a physio for Liverpool, despite not having any qualifications in the subject area. He then moved on to become the reserve team coach and, alongside Reuben Bennett and Joe Fagan, Paisley became a key component of Bill Shankly’s backroom team. When Shankly retired after the 1974 FA Cup triumph over Newcastle, Paisley was appointed as the new boss. After 535 games and 20 trophies, Paisley retired at the end of the 1982/83 season, having just won the league for the sixth time, along with a League Cup and Charity Shield to boot.
Here’s a summary of the rest of the great man’s trophies:
- Football League First Division: 1975/76, 1976/77, 1978/79, 1979/80, 1981/82, 1982/83
- FA Cup Runner-Up: 1976/77
- League Cup: 1980/81, 1981/82, 1982/83; runner-up: 1977/78
- FA Charity Shield: 1974, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982
- European Cup: 1976/77, 1977/78, 1980/81
- UEFA Cup: 1975/76
- UEFA Super Cup: 1977; runner-up: 1978
- Intercontinental Cup Runner-Up: 1981