Today marked a rather interesting development in the Premier League managerial landscape, with Liverpool sacking Arne Slot just one year after winning the Premier League.
Liverpool finished 5th in the Premier League this season. They managed to secure Champions League football for the 2026/27 campaign, albeit by the skin of their teeth. It was deemed an underperformance for Slot. Especially given the money the club spent on new players last summer, and unfortunately, he saw his tenure come to an end.
But Slot’s situation is far more than just Liverpool sacking a manager. In fact, the reasonings and implications of the Reds’ decision are perhaps most pertinent to the current situation of Eddie Howe at Newcastle United and raise some interesting questions around the Magpies’ decision to keep him after last season’s shortcomings.
The here and now
It would by no means have been bewildering to see Slot retain his job for at least the early stages of next season, especially given the first-season heroics. Fans were loud in their concerns about the Dutchman’s suitability to take the club forward. But they did still manage Champions League football, even in a poor season, so there wasn’t yet the panic of a sinking ship.
But, instead of reminiscing on the previous Premier League triumph and allowing that to rule over his obvious shortcomings, Liverpool’s hierarchy instead looked at the facts in front of them and made what, on the surface, looks like a decidedly brutal decision.
However, if you actually analyse Slot’s influence over the last year, it is almost entirely negative. A massive amount of money spent on players unable to make an impact. A system consumed by chaos and a sense of fragility under the slightest pressure. A lack of any real impact from his tactical decisions and personnel changes.
When you put it like that, sacking him becomes almost the only plausible option. Despite the Premier League trophy he placed in the cabinet.
Now, I ask you to think for a second, does that list of concerns remind you of anyone?
Because, quite frankly, it has some rather damning comparisons to Eddie Howe’s current impact at Newcastle.
Living in the past
The situation is different given Liverpool’s stature in comparison to Newcastle; there is no disputing that. But Newcastle United are a club with ambitions to reach the elite echelon in the coming years.
Howe has been given a pass on this season due to his Carabao Cup win and Champions League qualifications in previous years. If he were the manager at one of those elite clubs that Newcastle are trying to become, would he still be in a job?
If Slot’s departure is anything to go by, there would be no hesitation in moving on and looking for a new direction. So why aren’t Newcastle doing so?
All of the signs are there that it could be time for a change. A side that looks devoid of ideas tactically. One that has a plethora of new big-money talent that is, in many ways, not being used correctly. But perhaps most damningly, one which is under the control of a manager who has seen this exact trajectory unfold before and ended in relegation.
Now, of course, that is the most extreme outcome of keeping Howe in charge, and the likelihood is slim. But input the data of the current scenario into any one of the clubs the Magpies are trying to become, and it raises big questions about the motives behind keeping Howe around.
Liverpool in for Iraola, Newcastle not for Glasner
One of the more pressing questions around an Eddie Howe departure is who Newcastle would hire instead. But that may actually be a simpler answer than it seems.
In line with Liverpool’s Slot sacking, it was almost immediately confirmed that they were in for Andoni Iraola, and it seems as if that will be a done deal before long.
The Merseyside club has moved quickly to secure a manager who not only knows the league but has also shown his capabilities with a much lesser budget and set of players, finishing just three points behind Liverpool with Bournemouth.
Relatively speaking, Newcastle could have almost the exact same situation on their hands if they act now.
Oliver Glasner has decided to leave Crystal Palace at the end of the season. As of yet, there is no obvious decision or even links as to where he may end up. One of the main reasons for his Eagles’ departure was the lack of backing when losing players, which he claimed didn’t match his ambition.
Does that not feel like the perfect sort of manager for Newcastle?
The club would back him and would match the ambition given the plans to transition into an elite-level club over the next decade. Whilst also being able to navigate the trials and tribulations that come with not yet being at that level, as he has done with Crystal Palace during his time there.
Glasner has won both an FA Cup and now a European trophy whilst in London. He has proved he’s got the pedigree to win and balance multiple competitions with a squad much less equipped to do so than even Newcastle’s is. He appears to have a hefty chunk of the attributes the Magpies are currently absent of under Howe.
Whilst it is not certain whether Glasner is the right man for the job, it never will be with any manager.
But the current situation with Liverpool and Slot proves that you have to take a risk sometimes. That sort of blueprint is exactly what it takes to be a club at the elite level, and, as of now, Newcastle United don’t seem to have the ruthlessness to do so.
