Arne Slot has a week to save his job at Liverpool, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher says.
Liverpool are enduring their worst run of form for 71 years after Wednesday’s 4-1 Champions League loss to PSV at Anfield left Slot’s side with nine defeats in 12 games. The Premier League champions sit 12th after 12 matches and face a trip to West Ham on Sunday, followed by matches against promoted Leeds and Sunderland.
Writing in his Telegraph column, Carragher warned that “anything fewer than seven points will make an already unacceptable situation untenable.” He said the club cannot sustain the drop in standards seen over the past three months and that, although Liverpool have historically given managers time, the recent slide leaves Slot “hanging on” just six months after winning the title.
Carragher criticised Slot’s tactical changes, arguing they have taken the team away from the defensive solidity that underpinned Liverpool’s success and fuelled a mistaken belief the club should be “an all-out attacking team” regardless of the risks. He said the changes “felt wrong on day one of the season” and have contributed to the current mess, including Liverpool losing by three or more goals in three consecutive matches for the first time since December 1953.
Carragher was also critical of Liverpool’s summer spending, arguing it produced an “unbalanced squad.” He singled out the signings of Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike for big fees as a mistake, saying buying two forwards who compete for the same position is like “betting on two horses in the same race.” He added that failing to do “whatever it took” to sign Marc Guehi compounded errors, suggesting that for the cost of another £10m the club might have avoided a situation that could cost them over £100m if they miss next season’s Champions League.
Carragher conceded Slot still has a chance: with the upcoming sequence of opponents, “he could not have picked a better sequence of games to win back trust and save himself.” But he warned that if results worsen and Slot cannot find answers, the club would have to look elsewhere.
On CBS Sports, Carragher said Liverpool remain a club that tends not to sack successful managers, but he acknowledged the current situation could become “untenable.” He said he was not personally at that point yet but recognised many supporters would be.
Carragher argued the PSV defeat exposed Liverpool’s ageing spine. Virgil van Dijk conceded a penalty for handball, Mo Salah again failed to score or assist, and Alisson was absent through injury. He suggested the other players have not stepped up, warning the club may be seeing “a glimpse of the future” without Salah, Van Dijk and Alisson.
He emphasised the impact those three had on Liverpool’s rise and said injuries and decline have reduced their influence: “Alisson’s injured a lot now… Van Dijk now can’t help other players. He needs help himself… and Salah looks like his legs have gone.” Carragher urged senior players to communicate with supporters and provide reassurance, saying he wanted Salah to speak to the fanbase about what the players are doing to improve.
Carragher criticised some squad members for failing to carry the team when the leading figures are not at their best. He questioned whether several players remain good enough to win the top trophies and pointed to recent poor performances, including at Newcastle in the Carabao Cup and at PSG last season, where the team looked woeful and were carried by the club’s greatest players.
Key context and stats:
– Liverpool have lost nine of their last 12 games across all competitions, their most defeats over a 12-game spell since November 1953 to January 1954 (also 9).
– They have lost three consecutive matches by a margin of three or more goals for the first time since December 1953.
Carragher concluded that while Liverpool are not typically a “sacking club,” the combination of tactical missteps, recruitment questions and the apparent decline or injury of key players has created a precarious situation. If Slot can turn the next run of fixtures into strong results, he may have begun a recovery; if not, the club may feel compelled to seek a different solution.