Football Daily - The Debrief: Arne Slot out, Luis Enrique in?

Episode Date: May 30, 2026

Matt Upson, Chris Sutton, John Murray and Julien Laurens join Steve Crossman to react to Arne Slot being sacked by Liverpool. The panel discusses whether the decision is harsh after Slot won the club's 20th Premier League title in his first season, before performances on the pitch declined the next season, before discussing how the passing of Diogo Jota impacted the season, and whether current PSG manager Luis Enrique could take over.

On the Football Daily podcast, Champions League debrief with Steve Crosman. Arna Slot sat by Liverpool. The statement came out thanking for him for his work, which of course included that magnificent Premier League title last year. So this is just a bit of the statement because it's very long. They said this was a difficult decision for us. That goes without saying. The contribution Arna has made in the time that he's been with us has been significant,

meaningful and most importantly to all supporters and ourselves. successful. Our appreciation for everything he's achieved could not be greater, underpinned by a work ethic, diligence and expertise, which underlines our view. He is a leader in the field. We have collectively come to the conclusion that change is necessary in order for the club to keep moving forward. And they go on to talk about the great work that he did with Liverpool players and fans and family after the awful tragic loss of Diogo Jotta and his brother. They talk about his compassion. They talk about his humanity. And then they go on and finish with that doesn't disminate.

Nothing diminishes the work that Arna has done here. This decision is not a reflection of his talents. It's indicative of the need for a different approach. So we've got Matt Upson correspondent, John Murray, Chris Sutton and Julianne, all with us. It's a strange one, Chris, because to lose your job 12 months after winning that title doesn't feel like a long time. And yet a lot of people won't be that surprised. No, I mean, football's absolutely ruthless.

isn't it? And the fact that, you know, Liverpool, let's get it right. I haven't been accustomed to winning Premier Leagues and he wins one. And then unfairly, I think people out there are saying, well, that was Eugen Klop's team. Well, you know, that was deeply unfair, I felt. But there's no doubt this season with all the money they'd spent over the summer, what, $450 odd million, the team had really gone backwards this season and regressed. And then there was the fan unrest.

and I think all things being equal. Liverpool, what they have been in this situation, they have been decisive. And, you know, it's probably a question of who's next and the name being bandied around is Andoni Areola. You know, he's a guy out of a job now. It brilliantly at Bournemouth. Maybe, you know, he's made himself available.

And Liverpool will go down that proof. But, you know, just going back to the start of what you said, I think, you know, after winning a Premier League, you know, a season after that to get the boot. That seems slightly harsh. I wonder, Jules, what the moment was for you when you thought, ah, could well be in Bobbi here. I mean, we were together at the Liverpool PhD game,

second leg, Annefort, right? And we went on a round of beer with Stephen Warnock, me especially. If you look, and I know I hear what Chris is saying. And in a way, it was the organ clubs' team. And Anish Lord tweaked why he had to tweak and he won the title good. They were the better team that season.

But over two seasons, really, the first six months were very good and very successful. From February of this first season, things starting to go downhill from there. There's that defeat in the FA Cup. There's a defeat against PhD in the last 16 with the second leg at home in the Champions League.

Then you go into this season. With all that investment, but do you... Are we doing... Are we like calling for... things half seasons now. They're either a season or they're not the season. Yeah, but they were starting to go downhill from that moment. Their second half of the first season was not good and they still won the league because they were

better than everybody else and they were were ahead at the turn of the year. But already back then you could see things are not that great. Salah went off a little bit. Defensively, they went off a little bit. Ravenberg was maybe not as good. And then this season with all the investment, he never found the right formula. He never found the solution. And then he made mistakes in his team lineups. And we said against PSG, where Isaac starting was a complete nonsense.

And too many times between March and May, there was too many of that. And I think the fans lost faith. The players, more importantly, lost faith. And I think that's what did it for him. The fans, you can maybe win them over. The players, if they're gone, they're gone. Do you feel he misjudged what the Premier League season was going to entail this year? because it has been different.

I know it was angling towards this direction, but I feel that the teams that have been successful in the Premier League this year have been completely different to Liverpool in terms of their approach. I feel that I just don't think that they were prepared for that kind of physicality, set plays, all of those things. They appear to be a little bit behind the curve. Yeah, you're right. And maybe doing the similar things to maybe what won them the title.

But football moves very quickly, doesn't it? And the next 12 months will be sitting here next year going, oh, how about this, this season? And I feel like they just didn't get ahead of what that was. The other thing is nobody could have complained when they signed Saleron again because of his numbers. I mean, he's had a terrible season. Van Dyke hasn't been the player.

You know, it's been a man for Liverpool at the back. This season, he's gone backwards. And everything has sort of transpired to go. against SWAT which is why I know Jules is absolutely ruthless and why have you but I do I do think I just can't I just can't in my head just get that that I met the fact that he won a Premier League but nobody cares what he did last year Chris and I get that but nobody cares what did last month yeah but here's well well Mikel Artecna won a COVID F8 Cup and his first couple of seasons finish eight I mean football's a ruthless

game I'm just saying I think that's particularly ruthless Liverpool the the great history they have at the club haven't been accustomed to winning Premier league the guy wins one and he gets sacked after one big blitz we said we said at the start of the season on on Sunday shows with with Steve and Nadem the first season and maybe he was not club's team but that team picked itself up there was no new signing and really in a way you can't give him a kicking no no but let me finish Chris let me finish but we said in the summer with all those new arrivals now he's going to be very interesting to see why he does because now

going back to finding solutions and finding the right formula. Before that, you know, the back four, again, you were not going to change. That front three, you were not going to change it. Damitfield, Gravenbush as a six was a great idea from Slot and that worked really well and we gave him credit for it. Great. But that second season, suddenly, how do you bring Isak in this?

What do you do with Vets? How do you play? This is not most Sala's team anymore. So he had all those question marks to answer and he never did it. And at some point, I can't see why you would do it now more investment in the summer because they're going to go and sign new players, more players, because they need their transition team, they're going to lose Conate, Jacques, he's arriving,

all of that. If he didn't find the solutions with the new squad last summer, he's never going to do it this summer. Jules, she said that you think he might have been able to win back the supporters. I'm not sure he could. Maybe you are, yeah. And I think when you're the manager of Liverpool and you lose what I would perceive to be the majority of the fans, I don't think you're ever going to win them back because they've said, you know, they've had their opinions. They say what they do. And I think that you could have limped on into next season. You know, it could have.

And who knows? He might have been able to turn it around and make a different looking Liverpool team. But they decided it feels the majority didn't like the way his team played and had lost faith in him. And I think that's why we've reached this point. You're right, this team was outrun 90% of the season. In Europe and in the league, they lacked intensity. Absolutely. Remember that Bournemouth game in January when they lost 3-2 over there,

where they were completely the third goal. It goes from one box to the other, nobody stopped. It was just ridiculous. And you think, okay, after that, he's going to watch this. And like all of us saying, like, this can't last. We can't continue having basketball matches where we are so open, we can't run, we're second-based in a lot of the things. And yeah, nothing changed.

You're naming so many things against it working, new signings, the whole ESAC, how that transfer came about and the process that went through, it was always going to be emotionally difficult for him to come and deliver straight away. How unlucky he was with him. Unbelievably unlucky. And then, you know, I don't think you can actually quantify the impact of Jota. And there's no way of measuring what that has done to the squad and the club. That's a huge thing to overcome, not just you know, the emotion of that. But obviously, he was a fantastic player in a position that, you know, he drove intensity and energy. And that was him.

So all of these things, I do feel for him. It really has gone against him. But 12 months is a long time in football. I agree. And we had a really, you know, a really interesting conversation with Rory Smith earlier about grief and how grief works. We were talking about Lewis Enrique, having lost his daughter. With Diogo Jota, with his teammates, there is no one way to react.

No. everybody reacts differently and at a different time. For some people, something like that, you feel it and it sinks in immediately. Some people won't feel it for a month or six months or two years. So nobody is underestimating that challenge. Jules, you're going to nip off for a second in a moment just before you do. John, I want you to sort of make the case for this before Jules, I imagine, completely shoots it down. So we had an interesting conversation earlier about Louis Enrique.

So Hazis Casas, his assistant, was with us on the Euroleaks the other night. And he said the reason Lewis Enrique learned English is because he wants to go to England. If PSG, wait, Jules, if PSG win the Champions League tonight, no more mountains left to climb, Liverpool job available. I don't know. What's two and two? Well, I think our colleague and friend Sammy Mockbell is about to come on, isn't he? Sammy, who might well be telling us that Andoni Irole is most likely to be the next Liverpool manager. However, it does seem quite a coincidence, doesn't it, that this news has happened this morning on the day of Champions League final.

And unbeknownst to you, Steve, I've already bumped into Jules and talked to him about this. And I said, what about it, Jules? And you said? I said, no, I don't think so, right. I can be wrong, but he's about to sign his extension with PhD, with a massive pay rise. I think he deserves whether he wins today or not. It doesn't matter so much. He's onto something very special, a project that he's building, that he has. has built that has a great years.

Two years, maybe, I don't think he's there more than another two years here. Which team do you support just? Ah, here we go. It took you that long, but I think he will come to England at some point and I wouldn't be surprised if that some point was after when this PhD job finishes, again, it could be in two years a year, three years,

this summer, I don't know, but I think he's very happy there. He's got everything. He's the boss of this club. They gave him the keys, he's got total freedom. And I think he's enjoying that. but he loves the Premier League. His English is very good. And he wants to coach in England one day.

So watch the space because I think he will happen one day, not this summer, I think. However, we know how football works on the other side, don't we? And these days at football clubs, people, sometimes lots of people, are employed in very high up positions to identify the best person who could possibly be the manager of your football club. And very often they come up with exactly the same names that you and I would do. I would do sitting and talking over a beer about who would be the best manager.

And surely at the top of your list, if you are compiling a list and your Liverpool Football Club, you are thinking Lewis and Ruth.