Football, by its nature, is cyclical.
Few clubs know that as well as Liverpool.
From Bill Shankly returning the club to the top flight after eight years in the second tier, to Bob Paisley leading the side to European glory and domestic dominance, to three decades without a league title, to returning to the summit of world football... as the song goes, they're never gonna stop.
But the sacking of Arne Slot may signal a temporary pause on the conquering.
Michael Edwards was technical director when Brendan Rodgers, the man who’d come closer than any other to ending Liverpool’s title drought, was dismissed and replaced by Jurgen Klopp, who would depart after nine illustrious years.
In the Premier League era, the arrival of Klopp was about as impactful as any other managerial appointment, ranking alongside the likes of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal and Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. The German brought a thrilling style of football, immediately built a deep connection with the fans and the city, and ultimately built one of the best sides of the Premier League era.
Of course, none of that would have happened without Edwards’ input.
After just over a year as technical director, Edwards was appointed sporting director in November 2016. While Sadio Mane, Joel Matip and Georginio Wijnaldum arrived the previous summer, it wasn’t until after Klopp secured UEFA Champions League football that things stepped up a notch. Liverpool were no longer signing good players that could strengthen the team, they were building a squad to challenge for titles.
Mohamed Salah, recognised by many on these shores as little more than a Chelsea flop who was shipped out to Italy at the first opportunity, had scored 29 goals in two Serie A seasons. An impressive return, but Liverpool’s revamped recruitment philosophy -- well ahead of the curve at the time -- spotted a player who could become one of the best in the world.
The team Klopp fielded in his first game as Liverpool manager on 17th October 2015 read: Mignolet, Clyne, Skrtel, Sakho, Moreno, Milner, Lucas, Can, Lallana, Coutinho, Origi.
Three years later, on 24th October 2018, Klopp named a team that read: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson, Shaqiri, Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Salah, Firmino, Mane.
It was a total revolution. More impressive was the fact the squad was completely overhauled with a net spend of around £35m per year for four years, and Liverpool had Edwards to thank. While Klopp was making the case to bring Germany’s Julian Brandt to Anfield, Edwards told him no and that Salah was the right call. Salah went on to become one of the Premier League’s greatest players; Brandt never reached double figures for Bundesliga goals in nine subsequent seasons.
Everything Liverpool touched turned to gold for nearly a decade. Even when Klopp’s influence sidelined Edwards, leading to Edwards spending two years away from the club, Liverpool remained competitive thanks to the foundations in place at the club.
Edwards returned in 2024 after Klopp’s departure. Against all odds, with fans clamouring for signings and only seeing Federico Chiesa come through the door, Liverpool won a second Premier League title, this time under new boss Slot.
It’s what made their summer spree in 2025 all the more surprising. Liverpool under Edwards had always tried to buy players for less than what they deemed their true value to be. They weren’t scared of spending big money and did so on the likes of Alisson and Van Dijk, but were rarely wasteful with it.
Richard Hughes joined the setup in 2024 after Klopp’s departure having enjoyed a relatively successful spell at Bournemouth.
Hughes’s inbound recruitment was largely good on the south coast, bringing the likes of Milos Kerkez, Illia Zabarnyi, Marcos Senesi and Antoine Semenyo to the club. Senesi will leave on a free, but the other three were all sold for hefty profits. Interestingly, however, Hughes’s record at selling players was never particularly impressive, and Bournemouth typically spent more money than they brought in under Hughes. In his final two seasons at Bournemouth, Hughes oversaw net spends of around £85m and £110m.
Which leads to one of Liverpool’s biggest issues over the last few years.
Trent Alexander-Arnold was allowed to run his contract down and leave for free, even if they did recoup around £10m in the end. Mohamed Salah could have earned the club a nine-figure sum if sold at the right time and will leave for nothing, with Ibrahima Konate and Andrew Robertson also departing on free transfers. The injury-plagued Naby Keita, Roberto Firmino, James Milner and Wijnaldum all went for free. Sadio Mane was sold on the cheap.
While Liverpool have been excellent at identifying players available to buy for less than they’re worth, they’ve too often failed to sell at the right times. Salah alone could cost upwards of £80m to replace, turning down a lucrative Saudi bid in 2023, and eventually giving him a massive new contract to keep him at the club.
Liverpool spent an eye-watering £400m+ last summer, bringing Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and Giovanni Leoni to Merseyside. Only Ekitike so far can be considered a success, and even he cost £85m and will miss the rest of the year through injury.
The gung-ho squad building was uncharacteristic of Liverpool, who seemingly wanted to splash the cash while they could on a series of stars, but the gamble has backfired. Slot was unable to fit all these players into his team, and an underwhelming fifth-place finish saw him pay with his job.
Even the nature of Slot’s dismissal felt un-Liverpool. Once so decisive, Liverpool now appear hesitant. They hesitated with Marc Guehi and paid the price, and took until September to finally bring Isak in. They hesitated with new contracts for the likes of Salah and Van Dijk before handing them mega pay packets.
The decision to sack Slot has felt like one of the longest-running sagas of the season. Stumbling through the campaign, the Dutchman’s departure felt inevitable, even more so when Xabi Alonso was sacked by Real Madrid.
But Liverpool persisted, and Slot achieved the bare minimum of finishing fifth to secure UEFA Champions League football. Reports then emerged that Liverpool would keep Slot in situ, even allowing him to hire a new assistant before an apparent change of tack.
It shouldn’t be a surprise to see Slot go all things considered, but with the way it’s been so drawn out means that the 47-year-old was expected to stay in many quarters.
Even waiting until Alonso was hired by Chelsea felt like a deliberate ploy, but with so few top-quality managers available, what should have been an easy decision now looks like a spectacular gamble.
Football, by its nature, is cyclical, and while Liverpool won’t have another 29-year title drought, this generation appears to have come to a rather unceremonious end.
