I Love Gambling

An article by Matty

My best friend Ryan shouts “I love gambling” sarcastically every time there’s a casino advertisement at any of the many sporting events we’ve gone to together over the past year. Since Arne Slot is the new manager of Liverpool FC, the jokes write themselves. We’ve decided on the new structure of the club as we move towards a post-Klopp era that looks more and more uncertain as the results continue to circle the drain. Perhaps the biggest question I have for Slot is what kind of stabilizing presence can he provide, seeing as the entire foundation of Klopp’s rebuild seems to be built on pillars of sand.

The defense is terrible, the midfield full of hard workers but not real quality, the forward line wasteful and lackluster at best. Players we’ve bought for record fees have been nothing short of disastrous. Calling Nunez the Uruguayan Andy Carroll is an insult to Andy Carroll. Klopp chose the right time to leave. He was exhausted and a new manager coming in means we have an excuse to tear the squad down to the studs and build a new team for the manager to mold it how he sees fit.

So what does Arne Slot think a team should be like? In all honesty, he’ll make the scouting department’s job a bit easier in that he likes to play a similar way to Klopp, with some subtle differences that could change a lot of things. Like Klopp, the newly installed slots machine at LFC enjoys itself a good high press, playing a hybrid system between man marking and gegenpressing. His preferred system, the 4-2-3-1, lends itself well to his philosophy of players working together in packs of four, whether it be working their way up the field using short passes in possession or hunting the ball like a pack of wolves when out of possession. Fullbacks like Robertson will thrive both in and out of possession in Slot’s system, he keeps a compact back line but allows the fullbacks freedom to create from the flank and hunt down the opposition’s defense as part of the first line of the press.

When out of possession, Slot likes to press high using a back three, allowing the other seven players to hunt down the opposition. The double pivot pushes high, while the winger and fullback attack the ball carrier in tandem. Depending on the opposition, Slot will use three or four forwards to attack the opposition defense to force turnovers. With how aggressive the high press is, it does mean that there is danger present if teams are able to break through the first line of the press. However, against tougher opposition Slot tends to stay away from the high press and go into a low block with two banks of four. His team is comfortable with either form of defending. Slot encourages aggressive defending within the low block, however, with fullbacks regularly stepping out to deal with wide threats, their place in the low block being filled by the wingers who drop back to form the higher bank of four.

In possession, Slot prioritizes slower buildup through short passing in the midfield areas. The double pivot in midfield dictates the pace, with fullbacks attacking on either flank providing both width and a means to speed up attacking movements. The buildup is similar to De Zerbi’s Brighton, using passing triangles to advance the ball up the field in an aggressive, yet sustainable manner, bouncing the ball around the opposing pressure rather than trying to dribble through it. Fullbacks remain deep in the initial buildup phase, then move into more attacking areas as the ball progresses up the field. They are mainly used to provide width in possession, which doesn’t bode well for Trent. With how structured Slot likes to play, Trent’s forays into midfield likely wouldn’t be allowed. He could be used in the double pivot but again, he must be disciplined if he is to play for the new manager.

Similar to Pep and Arteta, Slot would use one of his inverted wingers and the CAM to provide a numerical advantage in midfield and form a box of four, which allows both control and progression in the attacking phase.

Further up the field, Slot goes back to his philosophy of groups of four, using each player in a different way. He had his left winger stay wide and attack defenders 1 on 1, while he had the right winger and CAM interchange positions quite often. Sometimes the left winger would form a strike partnership with the main striker, sometimes he would stay wide. He would use the fullbacks as a means to provide diagonal crosses into the box, keeping them slightly deeper and allowing the double pivot more freedom to advance around the box. The fullbacks would push up into these wider positions to counterbalance the inverted wingers making the attack more narrow.

It seems Slot’s system is both versatile and reactive to what the opposition tries to do. At its peak, this system is compact enough to defend at a high level and create sustainable possession within structured buildup. In the attacking phases, it is fluid enough to create advantages in both the midfield and attack, with the high press able to force mistakes and keep the pressure on the opposition. Ideally, this system can win trophies and we’ve seen it have significant success recently in the Premier League. Even though Man City and Arsenal have slightly different formations, the principles are the same, from the controlled possession in buildup to creating numerical advantages that make it easier to progress the ball through the midfield. It’s an evolution from Klopp’s system, one that I believe is needed if we are to challenge for titles again.