'Slot at least provides a decent imitation of Klopp'
If you'd have asked 1,000 Liverpool fans who our next manager would be on the day Jurgen Klopp said he was leaving, not one of them would have said Arne Slot.
Supporters wanted Xabi Alonso, were starting to get to grips with the Ruben Amorim idea, but are now mostly perplexed.
Arne Slot...? Who?
But there was no point in giving Michael Edwards the keys to the kingdom if we then did not let him and his spreadsheets do their thing.
Slot is not Klopp. Nobody will be. But it is important to realise no manager on the planet is capable of replicating his personality and exact tactical perspective.
The Dutchman at least provides a decent imitation.
His teams press and win the ball back high. They are used to coming from behind. He speaks very well in the media and he comes across as both composed and intelligent. Slot also has a very good record of developing and improving young players.
His football is more similar to Klopp's than Alonso or Amorim's, according to the metrics.
And he is used to working on a shoestring budget, which will please FSG and infuriate internet-only Reds at the same time.
It is a gamble. Of course it is. He has only managed in his native Netherlands.
But it is important he is not judged too early. Give him a chance. There is a reason those who know way more than we do have chosen him.
Jordan Chamberlain can be found at Empire of the Kop
