Jurgen Klopp dropped his bombshell, he later revealed, in November 2023. In January 2024, he went public. Liverpool's search for a manager could begin; not publicly, given their preference for doing their business as quietly as possible, but at least with one layer of secrecy removed.
They were soon informed that Xabi Alonso was minded to stay at Bayer Leverkusen for another year. To many in the wider world, Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim assumed a status as the frontrunner after that. Not so, Liverpool would say; he was merely one of several they looked into. There was no preferred choice, they insist, until they alighted on Feyenoord’s Arne Slot. But he seemed to emerge from the shadows. The high-profile nature of the Portuguese’s candidacy contrasted with the lowkey approach adopted by Slot. He got the job by stealth, almost without warning.
Five months after he might have done, Amorim will make it to Anfield on Sunday; but in charge of Manchester United. A meeting of managerial opposites has given them very different experiences in charge of England’s two biggest clubs. Slot has had the smoothest of starts at Liverpool, Amorim the rockiest of beginnings at United. Slot has taken his team to the top of the Premier League and Champions League tables. Amorim has warned his new employers are at risk of dropping into the Championship. “This club needs a shock,” he said on Monday.
Which it is getting. United lost six times in December, their most defeats in a month since 1930. Amorim has become their first manager – or head coach, the title afforded to both him and Slot – to lose six of his first 11 games at the helm since Walter Crickmer in the 1930s. Slot has only been beaten once in half a season.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Lily's big moment of truth
After splitting from her husband and spiralling, Lily Allen has checked herself into a clinic. Zoé Beaty looks at what led the actor and singer to crisis point and where she goes next
Unity Mitford was Hitler's 'Baby Reindeer' stalker
The publication of the British socialite’s diaries has revealed that her infatuation with the Nazi leader went much deeper than many historians had realised, writes Guy Walters
Spurs undone as Everton rediscover scoring touch
Goal-shy Everton embarrassed injury-hit Tottenham with their first Premier League goals since Boxing Day, a one-sided opening 45 minutes paving the way for a 3-2 victory at Goodison Park that piled pressure on Ange Postecoglou.
Labour voters value closer EU ties instead of with US
Sir Keir Starmer has been warned not to \"cosy up to the White House\" as a new poll shows nearly two in three Labour voters believe he should build closer economic and security ties to Europe as Donald Trump returns to power.
Farming drama ploughs on but yields only frustration
Starring Martin Clunes, Out There’ is a dramatic pancake where the rambling plots and core tension are as slippery and inscrutable as some of the local accents, writes Nick Hilton
Reeves put on the back foot after exodus of non-doms
Labour has been accused of trying to have it both ways as Rachel Reeves jets off to Davos to try to attract foreign investment while new figures show a millionaire leaves the country every 45 minutes.
'Beating Australia gives us a lot of belief for Six Nations'
Could this be the year Scotland’s golden generation turn hope into glory? It’s my goal to win something, but that’s also my job,’ fly-half Finn Russell tells Harry Latham-Coyle
Calamitous misfits could be United's 'worst ever team'
As Manchester United celebrated and commemorated their past, they made the wrong sort of history, the sort that led Ruben Amorim to wonder if this is their worst-ever team.
Meet the Maga insurgents taking over at White House
How much damage could the anti-establishment agitators in the new administration do? Gabriel Gatehouse reports
'Putin will not stop and ... so neither will the killing'
Sam Kiley speaks to a former Ukrainian resistance fighter about his operations and why he is sceptical of peace talks
