Is Slot the Best New Manager of the Premier League Era?
There are more than a few people who must be quietly seething with how well Liverpool have adapted to life under Arne Slot and not just because they hate the Merseyside club. Yes, the likes of Gary Neville have had a clear agenda against the Reds for years, abusing their position in the media to try to destabilise the club wherever possible.
“A different opinion to the start of the season!”
Liverpool boss Arne Slot’s response to @gnev2 calling the Reds “huge favourites” for the title this season pic.twitter.com/1iEuhSg1lm
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 3, 2024
Yet there have also been plenty of so-called Liverpool supporters who declared that Fenway Sports Group, the owners, would be ‘found out’ after Jürgen Klopp left Anfield. Instead, the Reds have been in fine form, sitting at the top of any table you want to look at. Has Arne Slot’s start to life at Liverpool been the best of the Premier League era?
How Slot has Done so Far
Before we look at how other managers have done after arriving in the Premier League, it is worth considering how Arne Slot’s time in charge of Liverpool has gone so far. The Dutchman arrived in the summer as the replacement for Jürgen Klopp in the Anfield dugout, making no great proclamations or promises. He didn’t try to replicate his German predecessor or act in a bombastic manner that was against his personality type, instead simply taking on the task of replacing the Premier League and Champions League winning manager in his own way, which was immediately calm and honest.
@tifofootball_ The difference between Slot and Klopp at Liverpool #liverpool #lfc #premierleague #footballtiktok #soccer
Between the start of the season and the end of 2024, Liverpool played 27 games, winning 23 of them. They drew three matches and lost just one, which was a home game against Nottingham Forest. It meant that they went into 2025 with an eight point lead over Forest in second, having played a game less, whilst also being nine points clear of Arsenal and ten away from Chelsea, having played the same number of games.
The Reds were also in the semi-final of the League Cup, plus they sat at the top of the Champions League with a three-point lead over Barcelona, having won all six of their games up to that point in the campaign.
Looking at Other Managers
Obviously there are countless managers who have come into a Premier League side since the competition’s launch in 1992. There is no point looking at all of them, given the fact that most will have achieved very little of note and some will have arrived at their club midway through the season. Instead, we’re just going to look at the ones that did as well as Arne Slot had in his first 11 games in charge, seeing how well they were doing by the time the first few months of the season had reached their conclusion.
José Mourinho
Given the sheer amount of money spent by Chelsea over the years, with Roman Abramovich laying down the marker for other sports-washing owners to follow, it is perhaps not all that surprising that there are a number of the London club’s managers on this list. José Mourinho is the first worthy of a mention, considering the fact that the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ led the Stamford Bridge side to their first top-flight title of the Premier League era. They had conceded just three goals by the 11 game mark, yet they had 26 points by that stage compared to the 28 that Slot had.
As the bell struck midnight to see in 2005, Chelsea had played 20 games, winning 15, drawing four and losing one, sitting on 49 points and having a lead of five points over Arsenal. In other words, Mourinho hadn’t done as well as Slot has, even when you take into consideration the fact that they had played more matches. Mourinho won the Premier League and League Cup at the end of the season.
Carlo Ancelotti
There is an argument that Guus Hiddink should be on this list, considering he had a decent start to life as Chelsea manager, but he only ever took over midway through the season and therefore doesn’t qualify. Carlo Ancelotti does, however, having arrived at Stamford Bridge on the first of June 2009. By the time everyone was getting ready to celebrate the arrival of the New Year, his Chelsea side had lost three times in the Premier League and drawn the same number of matches.
A victory on Sunday would see Slot become the joint-fastest boss to reach 10 wins from the start of a Premier League career (12 games), alongside Guus Hiddink in May 2009 and Carlo Ancelotti in November 2009 (both with Chelsea).#LFC #SOULIV
At the start of the first of January 2010, Chelsea sat at the top of the Premier League with a two-point lead over Manchester United, having notched up 45 points after 20 games. Once again, then, a manager had done well but not as well as Arne Slot at Liverpool. Ancelotti ended the season with a Premier League title and an FA Cup.
Frank Clark
A name that not many people will remember, Frank Clark is also lucky to make this list considering he had been Nottingham Forest manager for a season prior to the club’s return to the top-flight for the 1994-1995 campaign. Nevertheless, his start after 11 games put him within touching distance of Arne Slot, having won eight and drawn three without any losses. Of course, that started to unravel a touch as the New Year approached, meaning that the club was in fifth at the start of New Year’s Day 1995.
What a beautiful sight for any Forest fan. No fluke either – best football I’ve seen from any #NFFC side since Frank Clark’s team (30 years ago!) pic.twitter.com/ajJkuv3yci
— Daniel Taylor (@DTathletic) November 2, 2024
They had played 22 games, winning 11, drawing six and losing five, with Forest sitting on 39 points and ten off the top. It goes without saying, therefore, that Slot’s start this season is significantly more impressive. For the record, the club ended the campaign in third place, with no silverware to speak of.
John Gregory
John Gregory is considered by many to be one of the finest Aston Villa players of the modern era. He arrived at the club in 1998 and won eight of his first 11 matches in charge, losing none and drawing three times. By the time the New Year was being celebrated, things were looking slightly different for him, even if they were still decidedly rosey.
@utvfanchannel You won’t believe this CRAZY Aston Villa away STAT
Aston Villa began 1999 on the top of the Premier League table, having won 11 of the 20 games that they’d played. They had added another three draws to their tally and lost three times, sitting on 39 points, which was two more than Chelsea and, as you might have imagined, not as good as Slot’s record. When the season reached its conclusion, Villa finished sixth and won no silverware.
Maurizio Sarri
Cigarette eating Maurizio Sarri was given the Chelsea manager’s job ahead of the 2018-2019 campaign, with his first 11 matches including eight wins and three draws. By the time 2018 reached its conclusion, however, the wheels had begun to come off the Italian’s wagon a little bit, with the Blues having played 20 games, winning 13 of them with four draws and three defeats. It meant that they were in fourth place, 11 points away from Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
As you will no doubt have figured out by now, that wasn’t as good as Slot’s start has been. They did at least end up with some silverware at the end of the season, finishing in third in the Premier League and losing both the FA Cup and League Cup finals, but defeating London rivals Arsenal 4-1 in the Europa League final.
Ange Postecoglou
Modern supporters will know all about Ange Postecoglou and the Australian’s success at the start of his Tottenham Hotspur managerial career. In fact, there are more than a few that will point towards what happened as a cautionary tale that Arne Slot and Liverpool supporters should bear in mind. After 11 games in charge of Spurs he had racked up eight wins and two draws, with just a single defeat. Having been turned down by Slot in the summer that ‘Ange’ arrived, Spurs might well wonder what might have been.
That 4-2 loss to Liverpool won’t change the fact that Spurs won the title already back in September pic.twitter.com/kJcZ2mAvan
— Lucho (@Yugdeep_LFC) May 5, 2024
Over the following months the London club began to fall away from the leading pack. They entered 2024 having played 20 games, winning 12 of them and drawing three, with five defeats. It put them on 39 points, three off the leaders Liverpool. When the season reached its conclusion, Tottenham finished fifth in the Premier League, with no silverware.
Luiz Felipe Scolari
The final manager who can claim any sort of relevance in the conversation around the best starts to life in the Premier League is Luiz Felipe Scolari. The Brazilian arrived at Chelsea in the summer of 2008 as a replacement for Avram Grant, spending big on players like Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda. By the time they had played 11 games, Chelsea were sitting pretty with eight wins, two draws and just one defeat. For Scolari, though, the campaign would not end well.
Managers to Win Their First Five Premier League Away Games Bobby Gould John Gregory Luiz Felipe Scolari Arne Slot Enzo Maresca has the chance to join this exclusive list today if Chelsea secures a victory at Anfield!#PremierLeague #Chelsea #Anfield #EnzoMaresca #Football
— Talk Football (@talkfootball.bsky.social) 2024-10-20T12:49:51.611Z
By the time all of the football had been played in 2008, Chelsea had played 20 games, winning 12 of them and drawing six whilst suffering two losses. That meant that they were in second with 42 points, three behind leaders Liverpool. In other words, he hadn’t done as well as Slot. When the season had played out, Chelsea had finished third in the Premier League and won the FA Cup, but Scolari had been sacked at the start of December and replaced by Guus Hiddink.
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