Alan Hutton: Slott is a bit like Guardiola in his early years, Edwards needs to find the "next generation"

Liverpool won the Premier League championship this season in advance, and Slot became Klopp's perfect successor. You should know that before the start of this season, no one is optimistic that this "rookie coach" can lead the team to win the league championship. After all, most of the Premier League are strong teams, and the internal competition is too fierce. Mid-Tour Clubs are also very competitive. Sports director Edwards did not have substantial signings in the summer. Many people predict that Anfield's record will suffer a Waterloo this season, just like Manchester United after Ferguson retired and Arsenal after Wenger left the team. Fortunately, Slot did not let the nightmare come back, and he also became the champion coach in one fell swoop. Former Scottish star Alan Hutton said: Slott is a bit like Guardiola in his early years, and the model of both sides is very suitable for the round-robin system.

Why was Guardiola able to win the Triple Crown in his early years? Alan Hutton explained that Barcelona's lineup was too luxurious at the beginning. If Slot also had the same lineup as Barcelona back then, Liverpool would have the chance to win the triple crown, and he was indeed a bit like Guardiola in his early years. It is worth mentioning that Liverpool's lineup depth is still far from Barcelona that year, especially in the reserves of substitutes at key positions. If the management can give Slot more support in the future and introduce players that meet his tactical needs, perhaps he can make up for his lack of experience in knockout stages like Guardiola, with enough lineup thickness. After all, football is a team sport after all, and no matter how outstanding the tactics are, they need to be executed by the right players.

So Alan Hutton also raised a key question - Edwards is looking for the "next generation". You should know that Anfield can usher in the Barclays Cup this season, relying on Salah and Van Dijk, a group of core players of the Klopp era. Sports director Edwards needs to search and build a "next generation" around Sobosloy in terms of transfers, so that Liverpool can truly rise in the next few seasons, otherwise Slott's team will face more difficulties in the fiercely competitive Premier League. In terms of "next generation", Alan Hutton said that Manchester City seems to be ahead, De Bruyne and Gundogan's generation are gradually saying goodbye, and the prototype of "next generation" of Haaland and Marmush has appeared, so the Blue Moon will soon regain its competitiveness next season.

Edwards' top priority is to lock in several young cores with both potential and combat power in the summer window. Although Sobosloy's midfield creativity is impressive, Liverpool needs to build a more layered age structure like Manchester City creates the Forden-Alvarez combination. According to Le Echo, Portuguese sports midfielder Vitinia and Leverkusen winger Wilz have been on the inspection list. The former is known for his accurate long pass at the age of 22, while the latter contributed 12 assists in the Bundesliga this season. This kind of young talents who can immediately supplement the tactical board may be more suitable for the current transition period than pure lottery signings.

In Alan Hutton's view, Slott is a bit like Guardiola in his early years, because they don't seem to be good at the knockout system. You should know that Liverpool established a leading position in the Premier League standings early this season, especially when they defeated Paris Saint-Germain away in the first leg in the Champions League quarter-finals, many people suggested that Slotte focus on the Champions League and domestic cups, and maybe he has the chance to become the triple champion.

However, when returning to home, Liverpool lost to Paris Saint-Germain, which led to them ending the Champions League process early. Moreover, Slott and the players were also hit at this time, and they also lost to Newcastle in the League Cup final. In other words, Slott is also a bit like Guardiola in his early years in terms of weak projects. However, Guardiola's lineup was too strong at that time, covering up many of his shortcomings. However, the author believes that the similarities between Slotte and Guardiola in his early years are not limited to the problem of tactical style or adaptability of the match system. The deeper commonality lies in their persistence in football philosophy. Guardiola's success in Barcelona is certainly inseparable from the support of talented players such as Xavi, Iniesta, and Messi, but more importantly, he has established a dominant pass control system to allow the team to output stably in the round-robin system.

, and Slott's coaching at Liverpool also demonstrates his persistent pursuit of high-pressure and rapid conversion, which allows the team to continue to pressure their opponents in the league, but in the face of the accidentality of the knockout stage, the risks of this style are also magnified. In addition, after leaving Barcelona, ​​Guardiola experienced the coaching careers of Bayern and Manchester City, gradually adjusted his tactical philosophy and learned to be more pragmatic in the knockout round. Slot is still in the early stages of his coaching career. Perhaps like Guardiola, he will continue to optimize his tactical system in the future to adapt to the challenges of different competition systems. After all, the growth of top coaches is often accompanied by setbacks and adjustments, Guardiola is like this, Klopp is like this, and Slott may be no exception.