Liverpool’s very own Erik ten Hag?! Why Arne Slot slot’s appointment as Jurgen Klopp’s successor has turned believers back into doubters

The comparisons with Ten Hag were inevitable, but also unfair. Indeed, it feels like much of the scepticism around Slot is rooted in the fact that he is also Dutch, and also bald. For those reasons alone, he is seemingly destined to struggle as much on Merseyside as Ten Hag is in Manchester.

It's a ludicrously reductive argument, of course. There are unquestionably parallels between their respective coaching careers and both were shaped by their nation's rich footballing heritage, including the 'Total Football' of the 1970s played by Netherlands and Ajax, with whom Ten Hag won three Eredivisie titles before moving to Old Trafford in 2022.

"Arne was influenced by Johan Cruyff's philosophy and loves to set his teams up on the front foot," former Dutch international Johnny Rep explained.

There's also a Pep Guardiola connection. Ten Hag worked at Bayern Munich during the Catalan's spell in charge at the Allianz Arena and was nicknamed 'Mini-Pep' because of his similar style of play with the Bavarians' B team between 2013 and 2015.

Slot, meanwhile, has never hidden his admiration for Guardiola, whom he previously described in an interview with Voetbal International as "a control freak just like me". He's also admitted that watching Manchester City is "the ultimate joy in football" and that his Feyenoord side is loosely modelled on the Premier League champions.

"It is not my intention to compare us with them," Slot said, "[but they] have a similar style of play to how we want to play with Feyenoord: 4-3-3, building up from the back, wanting to apply pressure quickly."

However, while it's clear that Slot has been greatly influenced by the Cruyff-ian principles of play that Guardiola learned as a player at Camp Nou and has arguably since taken to a whole other level as coach, it's not as if he isn't married to one approach.

"He's always studying other teams and thinking about how his team can improve and evolve," former Feyenoord and Liverpool attacker Dirk Kuyt told The Athletic. "Tactically, he’s very strong. What people like most in Holland, where his reputation is so high, is that he has his own vision, his style of play...

"What struck me about Arne was his ability to make the players believe in what he believes in. I talked to some of them when I was there and they all spoke so highly about him. They love how he organises the training sessions and how he gets his ideas across. Watching Feyenoord in recent years, you can see his signature on the team in how he wants football to be played. He gets the best out of people...

"The news that Liverpool had decided to go for Slot came out of the blue. I was surprised because since Jurgen said he would be leaving at the end of the season, other names had been mentioned as possible contenders. But it makes a lot of sense."

Certainly, nobody who has followed Slot's coaching career is in any doubt Anfield will enjoy the offensive brand of football he has successfully implemented at not only Feyenoord, but also AZ Alkmaar on shoe-string budgets. Indeed, it's worth noting that before Covid-19 curtailed the 2020-21 Eredivisie season, Slot's AZ were level on points with Ten Hag's Ajax at the top of the table.

Furthermore, when the latter won the title again in 2022, it was Slot who won the Rinus Michels Award for coach of the season having led Feyenoord to a surprise third-placed finish at the end of his first campaign in Rotterdam.

He claimed the prestigious prize again after masterminding a stunning league win the following year. It was Feyenoord's 16th title triumph, but one of their most surprising, given they had nothing like the same resources or strength in depth as traditional rivals Ajax and PSV, and had been forced to cash in on several key players before the season had even begun.

Consequently, while Slot's appointment, which was confirmed on Monday, took many by surprise in England, the news was greeted with optimism rather than scepticism in the Netherlands. The legendary Marco van Basten has long been convinced that Slot is capable of achieving even greater things at one of Europe's elite.

"I am convinced he can [succeed] anywhere. I really think he is that good," the striking icon told Ziggo Sport. "He handles players very well and, obviously, he is well-versed tactically. If you get AZ and Feyenoord to play [good] football, you will also get the big clubs to play [good] football. I think it would only become easier for him because you have better players who understand quicker what you want.

"Those players are also more stubborn, but I think Slot is smart enough to manage that. He is calm and intelligent, a top trainer who is very clever with his choice of words."

Rep, meanwhile, is even tipping Slot to make an instant impact at Anfield. "Arne has what it takes to fill Klopp's big boots and it’s possible he'll win the Premier League in his first year," the legendary Netherlands winger said. "Arne has done great things at Feyenoord, winning both the league and the cup, and I can’t wait to see him do the same in Liverpool. He has all the credentials to manage a club as big as Liverpool because he's simply an excellent coach."

Of course, there were plenty of plaudits and positive predictions when Ten Hag took charge of United two years ago - and yet it wouldn't be a surprise to see him sacked this summer. However, Slot shouldn't be deemed guilty by very loose association.

He won't arrive with anything as impressive a CV as Klopp, who had already won two Bundesliga titles with Borussia Dortmund and reached the final of the Champions League. But it's clear that Michael Edwards & Co. see similar traits in Slot, who has already proven himself capable of beating teams with far bigger budgets thanks to super-intensive pressing, and is renowned for his excellent communication and man-management skills.

It's also worth pointing out that, in Liverpool, he will be taking over a team - and indeed a club - in a much healthier state than the toxic wasteland Ten Hag walked into back in the summer of 2022. Even the fact that Liverpool's 2023-24 campaign fizzled out is actually a positive for Slot. "I'm even helping by not finishing on a high," Klopp acknowledged himself, "so there is space for improvement."

Following one of the most beloved managers in the club's history will still be immensely difficult. Uncertainty abounds at Anfield, and Carragher is correct when he says that expectancy has given way to anxiety. But Klopp turned doubters into believers; Slot has already shown enough in his relatively short coaching career to suggest he could too.