Slot is sleepwalking towards the sack: The issues Liverpool boss can't fix

As Manchester City fans briefly averted their starry-eyed gazes from the pitch to perform their famous Poznan dance, the 7,600 Liverpool supporters up high in the away end decided to follow suit.

Around they turned. For the exits they headed. An early train home. Beat the traffic. Sneak in a couple of swift halves in the Northern Quarter to drown their sorrows before the watering holes become flooded with gloating locals.

This was the travelling Kop voting with their feet. Turning their backs not just physically but metaphorically. They pay their money, follow this lot around the country and time and again have not been repaid on the pitch.

Not that any fan is entitled to success, they know that. But they are entitled to question what on earth is going on with this mess of a season. Liverpool are not learning and none of them, especially the head coach, seem to have the answers to fix it.

This week was billed as a season-defining period for the Reds, who now go to European champions Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday. It could not have started much worse with this humiliating, morale-wrecking 4-0 loss.

Luis Enrique’s men will be rubbing their hands watching this. Having knocked out a formidable-looking Liverpool side 12 months ago, they could breeze past this rabble. Lose badly in Paris and the season is over.

A season that, do not forget, started with them spending £450million on new signings from a position of strength having won the league. Forget any talk of a ‘transition’ year, that is a lame excuse only used in hindsight. This was supposed to be the time when they began building a dynasty.

They were the best team in the land and were meant to only get better. Instead, they got worse. And they are still plunging lower now. There has been the odd glimmer of hope and then it is blown away. The FA Cup is not top priority but it was the manner of this defeat that was most worrying.

Where was the fight? Where was the belief? Where were the signs of hope, even in defeat, that fans could cling on as they trudged back across the East Lancashire Road?

Slot turned for the home straight of the season wanting to show the doubters wrong, aiming to silence the dissenters, trying to earn back some trust with fans and demonstrate why he is the man to lead this team forward.

All he did was add fuel to the flames as said backing in him eroded even further, from the stands at least. He is now sleepwalking dangerously at the cliff edge.

Liverpool’s hierarchy are behind Slot but how long can that last?

There are plenty of mitigating circumstances for this rotten campaign, not least the passing of Diogo Jota and the incalculable impact that must still have on the team every day, a factor we must never ignore.

Injuries and not putting chances away are also top of the list of on-pitch excuses.

But it is hard to see how Slot turns this around now. It is tough to envisage how this loyal and understanding fan base changes their mind on him. In the eyes of many, he was already past the point of no return but this week, a loss in Manchester followed by who knows what in Paris, could seal that.

Whatever happens, he will still bow out a league-winner and that will never be taken away from him, like a music artist who has a best-selling first album followed up by a letdown second record. The early hits will still be remembered fondly but this year? The less said, the better.

A Premier League champion, he is trying his best and should not be disrespected with undeserved insults but it is fair for fans to question him.

Slot may wear a smile on his face but he looks like a politician who knows the voters are turning against him. The walls are caving in and nothing he tries is working. Like the Prime Minister, the damage is done now and whatever he does will not win back those who have already decided his government is doomed, especially when better candidates in their eyes (no names) may be available.

This was the lowest ebb of a season full of demoralising moments. It was the third defeat to City but this would have hurt fans more. They were not just beaten but embarrassed as Liverpool were left to chase shadows.

‘Ole, ole, ole’ was the cry that greeted every pass as the Reds were suffocated in a bruising second half. ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning,’ sang the home fans, getting one back on their modern rivals for chanting the same at Pep Guardiola last year.

Remembering that day, when Liverpool were a class above City, should give dejected fans reasons to be cheerful given how quickly the tables have turned this season. Football is cyclical so why can’t Liverpool soon be back on top again?

Well, there have been umpteen episodes this year to demonstrate the gaping gap between Slot’s men and the elite teams such as Arsenal, City and Wednesday’s opponents PSG.

Slot is not the only man to blame, of course. This squad is brimming with talent but none have performed to the standards they set last year. Some incidents, like Hugo Ekitike giving Rayan Cherki his shirt or Dominik Szoboszlai appearing to be annoyed at fans leaving, are not a great look.

Mohamed Salah, who is starting his farewell tour, seems devoid of confidence as City keeper James Trafford denied him multiple times, once from the penalty spot. The defence wilted and City played through the Liverpool midfield like a hot knife through butter.

But the buck ultimately stops with Slot, who has overseen 12 months of stinking performances, starting with the Carabao Cup final last spring. Does he have the answers to change the trajectory of this team? Right now, it does not seem like he does.

The hierarchy at Anfield are measured and not trigger-happy so may retain backing of Slot right now. But as they watched 7,000 fans voting with their feet by turning their backs to leave early, is it time for the head coach’s position to be seriously scrutinised?