Nah, Arne Slot has made a brilliant start but it’s way too early to tell.
He’s using Jurgen Klopp’s players, Klopp’s template, Klopp’s Liverpool.
And he hasn’t had to deal with Man City at their pre-meltdown best.
Besides, he’s not building on the German’s foundations; he walked into an Anfield already several floors up.
Klopp is not the type to remove the lightbulbs when he sells his house: he left the lights on, food in the fridge and music playing.
All Slot had to do was turn down the volume and shift a bit of furniture.
He couldn’t get the sofa he wanted but found one in the spare room.
And it’s all working like clockwork.
Who on earth thought Liverpool would lead the table by four points with a game in hand at Christmas?
At the end of October, City were top and cruising.
Making the case for Slot, it’s worth recalling the last time the Reds were at Tottenham: they finished with nine men, had a goal wrongly disallowed and lost to a last-kick own goal.
Some 15 months after being cheated, with Klopp gone and no new signings, they’re feeling a bit miffed with a 6-3 win that felt like 8-1.
Instead of an anticipated drop-off, there’s been a bounce and for this Slot deserves the plaudits.
Following a legend is one of the game’s hardest tasks.
If the successor does well, as Slot has, his predecessor still gets credit. If he messes up, the predecessor gets even more.
But let’s give credit where credit is due.
Klopp was already building Liverpool 2.0. He had signed a contract to take him to 2026 and he had every intention of fulfilling it. He wanted another crack at City.
But with owners FSG taking their eye off the ball and one football director after another quitting his post, his portfolio had widened.
Helped only by a German mate with a laptop in Majorca, the burden of being an old-fashioned manager-cum modern coach took its inevitable toll.
Sensing burnout, he quit before it was too late.
Shaken, FSG rejigged the backroom, even persuading transfer guru Michael Edwards to return.
Slot inherited an improving side but it was not the finished article. His inspired choice of Ryan Gravenberch to fill the No 6 role was a masterstroke.
The 22-year-old had not really found his place under Klopp who used him mostly as a No 8. But now the jigsaw is closer to completion.
Another Dutchman, Cody Gakpo, was in and out of the side under Klopp.
But after shining in the Euros, the former PSV striker has continued to be a valuable component of the Reds attack.
In getting more out of his compatriots, it’s fair to say Slot has done better than Klopp.
But where he has undeniably had it easier is that City have gone into meltdown.
No longer the invincible monster, they are being picked off by mere mortals.
Like City, Liverpool have had injuries but they’ve gone under the radar.
Still, Allison, Diogo Jota, Ibrahima Konate, Harvey Elliott, Conor Bradley and Kostas Tsimikas have all been out for significant periods.
And the lesser-spotted Federico Chiesa is in danger of becoming another Arthur Melo.
But these absences are not as troublesome as the contracts of three virtual ever-presents.
Few would dispute that Virgil van Dijk, Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold are Liverpool’s three most valuable players.
The thought of even one walking out for free at the end of the season would be enough to take the shine off a title triumph.
And for this impasse, there’s absolutely no blame to be attached to Slot.
Klopp? Only in the way that his departure may have encouraged them to follow him out of the Shankly Gates.
Conversely, Slot’s smooth start might be encouraging them to stay.
But clearly the club has made a huge mistake. Even if all three ultimately remain, it should never have come to this.
Doubts about their future could still damage the title charge, not to mention the financial hit if even one of them goes.
Ironically, it’s local boy Alexander-Arnold who appears the most likely which could mean a £70-80m asset leaving for free.
Because of their age, neither Van Dijk nor Salah would command such a sum but replacing them certainly would.
The pair are impossible to replace anyway.
So, who is to blame?
The “FSG Out” brigade have already heaped it upon the owners.
But isn’t it the job of the football director? And if not, shouldn’t the manager draw attention to it?
Klopp’s vast army of devotees won’t hear anything said against the great man but it shouldn’t happen – least of all to ‘moneyball’ and hedge fund merchants.
It is massive testimony to Slot that he has engineered 21 wins out of 25 games in all competitions so far.
And he’s done it via a more orchestrated approach than Klopp’s “heavy metal”.
This season Liverpool are making more passes in their own third and taking fewer shots. It’s more wait and see than gung-ho.
And Slot, quick to sense complacency when 5-1 up against Spurs, is as meticulous in keeping hopes in check as he is in preparation.
More than most, Liverpool know that being top at Christmas is no guarantee of the title: they’ve been Santa Claus leaders seven times in the EPL era but have won the title only in 2019/20.
Slot has made improvements, but Klopp was king for eight and a half years in which he won everything and gave the Kop its voice back.
He also inherited a mess from Brendan Rogers. Nothing worked, the players needed an upgrade and those famous envelopes were strewn all over the floor.
Klopp’s achievements and style evoked comparison with the immortal Bill Shankly and some are suggesting Slot – quieter and more of a tactician – might be the new Bob Paisley.
He needs to win three Champions League trophies, six league titles and three League Cups for a start.
Yes, Paisley won more than Shanks, but Shankly had built the club – from the second tier. Klopp roused it from mediocrity and also had to deal with City at their peak.
Nope, Slot is not “better” but he’s making a Paisley-like start.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
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