Carragher surprised by Slot sacking but says an 'elite' manager would have lifted Liverpool

Liverpool great Jamie Carragher believes Arne Slot's sacking was somewhat harsh but also feels an "elite" manager would have found a way of arresting their slump in 2025-26.

Slot was dismissed on Saturday, just over a year after he became only the fifth boss in Premier League history to win the title in his debut season in the competition, after Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini and Antonio Conte. 

The Dutchman's exit came after a hugely disappointing 2025-26 season, as Liverpool finished fifth in the Premier League and went trophyless despite a £450m summer spending spree.

Big-money additions Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike and Giovanni Leoni missed significant portions of the campaign due to injuries, while Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez all struggled to find consistency. 

After collecting 84 points in 2024-25, Liverpool picked up only 60 in 2025-26, with their 24-point drop the largest recorded by any ever-present Premier League team in that time.

And while former Reds defender Carragher was surprised to see the club make a change, he admits Slot underperformed.

"I was torn on Arne Slot," Carragher told Sky Sports. "I would have almost backed any decision and I could see both sides of the argument, but it is a shock.

"I think an elite football manager, the absolute creme de la creme, probably finds a way of fixing Liverpool last season at some stage and making it better, but he wasn't helped with recruitment.

"You look at those players, have any of them done well? There's only Ekitike who's played well; none of the others have done well. You could put that on the manager; does he need to get more out of them?

"Should those players have done more? A lot more, yes. Should the people above them have given them a better squad going into this season? Yes.

"There's a lot of people to point fingers at where Liverpool were last season, and also the players who were there the year before, a complete contrast in their performances."

Former Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola is believed to be the frontrunner for the job, after ex-Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso agreed to join Chelsea earlier this month.

Carragher believes the fact Slot lost the support of Liverpool's fanbase was a major factor, also suggesting his public row with departing forward Mohamed Salah may have played a part in his downfall.

"There was no doubt he lost most of the supporters this season," Carragher said. "At times, I thought that was a little bit harsh on the back of what had happened 12 months before.

"Supporter bases now have a huge influence online as well, and that had turned really quickly against the manager.

"Then you talk about player power... that can't have helped, the situation with Mo Salah. I'm not happy with that, I don't ever want Liverpool to become a club where there are players that speak out publicly about a manager who won them the league the year before. 

"That's not on, but of course that wouldn't help. All those things put together, maybe they forced the club's hand."