Tony Evans Column: New Era at Anfield Feels Stable and Serious

Slot Brings Clarity, Power, and Progress to Liverpool

This is a brilliant time to be a Liverpool fan. Having passed my 60^th anniversary of becoming a matchgoer, I can say this with some authority.

It’s not just winning. It’s the scale of the challenge.

This time last year most of us were nervous. Jurgen Klopp became a managerial giant in his nine years at Anfield but, when we reflect on his tenure in 10 or 15 years’ time, we will be amazed at what he achieved and, at the same time, disappointed at the relatively small trophy haul.

By then the verdict on Manchester City’s 115 charges will have been reached. Hopefully, anyway. I wouldn’t guarantee it, personally.

The truth is that Pep Guardiola’s team were as near to unbeatable over a season as possible during Jurgen’s term. Yet Klopp did it. Just once, but that was a remarkable feat and its magnitude will become more apparent with time.

Slot Steps In, Guardiola Fades

The stress of battle broke Klopp. The question 12 months ago was could Arne Slot compete in the same manner as his predecessor. We know the answer now.

What we weren’t aware about was that the same pressures that broke Klopp had also broken Guardiola. And in Slot, Liverpool had the perfect man to put the boot in when the Catalan was down.

The Dutchman is more pragmatic and more tactically adept than Klopp. He inherited a very good squad and got the best out of them. What’s really exciting is waiting to see what Slot does with a team he’ll rebuild in his own image.

The 46-year-old has earned a bigger say in the recruitment process than he might have expected when he joined the club.

Power Shifts Behind the Scenes

Many of us thought Klopp made life easy for Michael Edwards by having such a clear template. Slot is less obvious but his attitude is more like, “get me the best players we can afford and I’ll make them better.” Richard Hughes, who has been impressive so far, must be rubbing his hands together.

There is plenty of money available, too, as shown by the early activity in the transfer market. Jeremie Frimpong is done and everyone in football expects Florian Wirtz and Milos Kerkez to join him. There will be others, too. The days of doing things on the cheap are over.

Liverpool have plenty of room to spend under the profit and sustainability rules and Fenway Sports Group’s eagerness to put distance between Anfield and the Etihad shouldn’t be underestimated. The Americans despise City.

Klopp and Guardiola struggled to find their feet in their first Premier League campaigns. Slot barely had an issue. As good as he was, the head coach knows he can improve.

We’ve endured too many summers of angst over the past few years. Let’s enjoy this one.

Liverpool are England’s dominant club again. Long may it stay that way.

Songs, Sentiment, and Moving On

Look, sing what you like, but the Chiesa song leaves me a bit queasy. There’s a try-hard element to it; it feels as if it’s an attempt to manufacture a cult hero. He’s been crap and a disappointment. Let’s not pretend otherwise.

But that’s not my concern.

The “fuck off Juve, I’m a Kopite now” line has a particularly ugly resonance 40 years on from Heysel. We can do better than this.

The sooner Chiesa’s fucks off back to Italy, the better. Let’s hope the song goes with him. It’s an embarrassment.

Exit Without Apology

Look, I’m one of those people who can see why that full back fella from West Derby moved away from Anfield. Loyalty gets you nothing in football. Ask Steven Gerrard, who everyone talks about as a one-club man.

He wasn’t. He wanted to retire as a Liverpool player but the manager was keen to bomb him out so the club made him an offer that was frankly insulting.

There was barely a murmur from the fanbase. Supporters recognised that he was past his best and were ready to move on, even if Gerrard wasn’t.

But once a player leaves Liverpool, unless it’s someone like Caoimhin Kelleher, who has to depart to grow in his career, then it’s pointless even thinking about them. If you’re wetting the bed because someone’s done a bit of GCSE Spanish, I’ve got two words for you: No mas.

Get over him. He’s over you. You’re not even speaking the same language any more.

Save your anger until we bump into him and his new mates at some point. That’s the time to let him know how you feel.

I’m with Kenny Dalglish. He told Fernando Torres he wanted the striker to stay at Anfield. “Do you want to leave?” the Scot asked. “Yes,” Torres said.

“Don’t let the door bruise your arse on the way out,” King Kenny said. It’s that simple.