Report: Arne Slot keeps being heard shouting just one word towards his Liverpool staff during first-halves
Today at 04:00 AM
Liverpool have become known this season for being far better in the second-half of games compared to the opening 45 minutes.
The Reds have regularly been slow to start games, even going into the break behind on ocassion.
However, more often than not, Arne Slot has come up with a way to figure things out and for Liverpool to be better in the second period.
The Dutchman and his Liverpool coaching staff appear to have a knack of putting things right during the half-time break.
Obviously, while many fans would rather the Reds simply be better from the start of games, sometimes that is just not possible, and it’s heartening to know that the second 45 is rarely as bad as the first.
While Slot deserves huge credit for that, it’s clear that the Liverpool head coach is not the only one behind these turnarounds.
Arne Slot urges staff to ‘clip’ first-half moments
Slot has slowly been building the right coaching team at Anfield. A number of influential staff members left alongside Jurgen Klopp in the summer.
And although Slot has praised Sipke Hulshoff and John Heitinga recently, there are plenty of others who work hard behind the scenes, too. Much of them are brand new into the club.
The newest is tactical analyst Roderick van der Ham, who has joined only recently from Feyenoord. Van der Ham was spotted sitting next to Slot in the stands for Wednesday’s win over Southampton.
And according to The Athletic, the analyst is being used by Slot to identify and implement in-game changes this season.
READ MORE: Liverpool players are privately saying something very interesting about Arne Slot and Jurgen Klopp
The Liverpool boss is said to have taken a ‘thorough approach’ to video analysis since his arrival, and reportedly interprets information given to him by Heitinga and opposition analyst James French before games.
Meetings with players to go over the videos are claimed to always end with a positive example, while Slot is said to continue searching for instances to show the Liverpool squad during games.
In order to do this, the Dutchman can often reportedly be heard shouting ‘clip’ to his coaching staff during first-halves of games, and will then use the footage obtained to implement ‘radical system changes’ if need be at the break.
Slot shows his chops
Although Slot will be far from alone in practices such as these, the 46-year-old is certainly showing himself to be one of the best at it.
The way he has been able to change games and swing them in Liverpool’s favour this season has been remarkable.
| Game | Score At Half-Time | Final Score |
| vs Arsenal 27/10/24 (A) | 2-1 | 2-2 |
| vs Brighton 02/11/24 (H) | 0-1 | 2-1 |
| vs Newcastle 04/12/24 (A) | 1-0 | 3-3 |
| vs Fulham 14/12/24 (H) | 0-1 | 2-2 |
The Reds have been behind at half-time in four matches so far this season.
Until now, they have not lost any of those, drawing three and winning once. More wins would be good, perhaps, but that is a very good record.
As time goes on, maybe opposition managers will start to work out what Slot is doing with his players at the break. But on the evidence so far, we’d back Arne to be one step ahead.
