There are some managers who vow to win a trophy in their second season. And then there are those such as Arne Slot who might consider anything less than two in their debut year a missed opportunity. Different clubs, different coaches, different standards. Welcome to Liverpool versus Tottenham.
Liverpool and Spurs are traditionally considered among the ‘big six’. One exists for winning trophies. For the other, the word ‘big’ is currently doing some heavy lifting.
Others of similar wealth and resources to Liverpool appear to be in a state of perpetual reconstruction. Since the day Slot moved to Anfield, the phrase ‘transitional period’ has barely been referenced. The only transitions he is interested in is the quick-fire counter-attacks which end in Conor Bradley teeing up Dominik Szoboszlai as he did for Liverpool’s third goal.
As with Slot’s illustrious predecessors, no trophy is allowed to be branded low priority, especially one so synonymous with kickstarting glory years at those clubs where winning becomes a habit.
Follow the trail of the greatest Premier League coaches of their generation and you will find photographs of them holding the League Cup. George Graham and Sir Alex Ferguson did so before they became title winners – pivotal early steps on a journey to a more glorious and celebrated destination.
Perhaps more relevant to Liverpool’s current position is how Brian Clough, Joe Fagan, Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola all won this competition a few months before adding the championship with their respective legendary sides. They may cherish bigger honours which followed, but will never forget the first time their captains climbed those Wembley steps.
There has been so much attention on Slot being ‘the new Bob Paisley’ to Jürgen Klopp’s Bill Shankly, it is being overlooked that he may, in fact, replicate Fagan who won a treble in his debut management season, the League Cup being the first of the trio.
Those golden years established why this competition has so much meaning to Liverpool.
“If you come to this country you know the history of the FA Cup and the League Cup,” said Slot. “The FA Cup is rated a bit higher, but this is a trophy to win and one that we won last year. If you won it last year, you want to win it again.”
Liverpool have won this competition a record 10 times and made the final on five other occasions.
Klopp almost won it a few months into his reign, beaten on penalties by Manchester City in 2016. He would wait a further three years before winning silverware, the scale of the rebuilding work much greater than that required by Slot. The Dutchman is the first to recognise that as he tries to go a step further than Klopp in his first year.
What is clearer every week is the ceiling of the team he inherited may be higher than many imagine.
Liverpool and Spurs may be close in the Deloitte money league, but in the sporting arena the gap is even more substantial than those between Tottenham’s defenders as Slot’s attack ripped through them in the second half, the 4-0 scoreline one of the most flattering of Ange Postecoglou’s miserable season. Liverpool could have had three more without breaking sweat. So dominant were they, there was a temptation to reinterpret their first-leg loss as the shock result of the season.
And yet not for the first time, for all the praise there are likely to be caveats. This was, of course, ‘only Spurs’ – a team whose injury list will be used as mitigation for those who will say while Liverpool were good, the quality of the opponent must be duly considered.
This has been a theme of Liverpool’s campaign. There are some who will have you believe it was mid-November before they played anyone half-decent. So be it, Slot might think. The hints of Liverpool being seriously underrated may be more help than hindrance as his side calmly and efficiently keeps winning.
The truest assessment is Liverpool are getting better, stronger, fitter and more dominant. The periods of control are more sustained, opponents barely landing a jab.
“The more games you play, the stronger you become. Some people think you get tired but as long as you manage it well some players will get stronger,” said Slot.
It took Spurs 80 minutes to have a shot, a special source of pride for Slot.
“That tells you a lot about our work rate,” he said.
Now Slot’s coveted first Wembley trip beckons. If he can complete the job against a dangerous and exciting Newcastle United, he knows it can be the lift-off for another era which is promising more with every emphatic performance and victory. Eddie Howe will feel likewise at St James’ Park, of course.
Whoever is victorious. Wembley’s winning coach is entitled to declare it the ‘first of many’ when they lift the Carabao Cup.
