Arne Slot has become the 10th Dutch manager in Premier League history after being appointed by Liverpool. While the silly season is now officially upon us. Gary Lemke highlights a few talking points ahead of the weekend’s football.
ENTERTAINING, BUT SHOOTING BLANKS
Liverpool might have “only” finished third on the EPL table, but they had the joint most draws (10) of any team in the top half. Their “problems” stemmed from their defence, where they conceded 41 goals, as opposed to Man City’s 34 and Arsenal’s 29. Or were their “problems” up front? Their 790 shots in the League were the most of the season and the third most in EPL history. Only Chelsea (in 2008-09 and 2009-10) have had more shots. However, Liverpool scored with only one of every nine shots. Darwin Nunez attempted 108 shots, and netted 11 times, but his shooting accuracy was 43% and he missed 27 “big chances”.
SLOT MAKES IT 10 DUTCH EPL MANAGERS
Now that Jurgen Klopp has left the building and bid an emotional farewell to Anfield and Liverpool, the task facing his replacement Arne Slot is huge. Some say it’s similar to what David Moyes faced after taking over from Sir Alex Ferguson at Man United. Slot becomes the 10th Dutch manager in EPL history. He therefore adds to a list that has Ruud Gullit (Chelsea), Martin Jol (Tottenham), Guus Hiddinck (Chelsea), Rene Meulensteen (Fulham), Ronald Koeman (Southampton and Everton), Louis van Gaal (Man United), Dick Advocaat (Sunderland), Frank de Boer (Crystal Palace) and Erik ten Hag (Man United).
EPL DUO SACKED ‘OUTSIDE’ OF SEASON?
Question. Does Mauricio Pochettino’s departure from Chelsea this week constitute him being fired as an English Premier League manager in the 2023/24 season? Especially given the actual league finished last week. Apparently, it does, and he joins four other managers to depart an EPL club in 2023/24. The FA Cup is being staged this weekend, which means the season hasn’t officially come to an end. Pochettino’s sacking has parallels with that of Wolves’ Julen Lopetegui. The first EPL match kicked off on 11th August, but he was axed three days before it started. Pochettino suffered that fate two days after the last match.
‘SILLY SEASON’ IS NOW UPON US
While one season officially comes to an end, another one starts. And that’s silly season. The period between now and the start of the 2024/25 campaign is a period that agents love. They feed stories to media, who generate sought-after clicks as the rumour mill of player transfers hots up. Players appear on the radar, as do managers. This is the time of year to treat a lot of the things you read as if it was the 1st of April. Don’t be fooled by the rumours.
BAYER’S UNBEATEN STREAK STOPS AT 51
All good things come to an end and so was the case with Bayern Leverkusen. Yes, it took until their final match of the season, but it came, nonetheless. After 51 unbeaten games in all competitions – a European record – they came unstuck in the Europa League final, losing 3-0 to Atalanta. Still, it’s some benchmark they have set going forward. They now top the list ahead of Benfica (48), Rangers (44), Juventus (43), AC Milan and Ajax (42) and Fiorentina Notts Forest, Inter Milan, and Real Madrid, all on 40.
VAN DE VEN QUICK OUT THE BLOCKS
Tottenham’s Micky Van De Ven might not be able to match Usain Bolt, but he clocked the top speed of all EPL players in a single game this past season. If stats are to be believed, he sprinted at 37.38km/h, faster than Luton’s Chiedozie Ogbene (36.93km/h) and Forest’s Anthony Elanga (36.91km/h). That’s rather impressive though, given Bolt touched 43.99km/h when he times 9.76sec for the 100m. That top speed came some 67m into the race. And Bolt wasn’t running in boots on a grass field.
