A 51-point swing - will Slot get to rebuild?
· Yahoo Sports
As I sat watching Aston Villa destroy Liverpool on Friday night I had an unexpected internal reaction: I wasn't surprised.
The defending champions have fallen so far that a 4-2 defeat in which their brilliant, if ageing, centre back Virgil van Dijk was their most potent attacking weapon no longer had any real shock value. It's a huge fall considering their comparative position last season.
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They may well get into the Champions League again by the skin of their teeth but they are a massive 25 points behind where they finished last season, with only one game to go.
There are a list of difficulties facing Arne Slot: replacing half the defence, getting the new forward line fit and gelling, getting an increasingly dissatisfied fan base back on side, and the list goes on.
Their form was so poor that at one point Everton looked like they were going to catch their neighbours. It isn't the Toffees who Liverpool fans compare themselves with. Manchester United are of a similar worldwide stature but Liverpool have lorded it over them for a while. In the past decade, Liverpool have been contenders, have two league titles and one Champions League win, United have none.
Last year Liverpool finished 42 points ahead of United, as the Manchester club had internal wars everywhere and Rubin Amorim dragged the team into his failing monoculture.
Now United are nine points ahead Liverpool – that is a staggering 51-point swing and they are making good decisions.
Michael Carrick looks certain to land the manager's job and the backroom team are just what the club has needed for years. There is buy-in from the fans with an upward trajectory very likely. The opposite could be in store for their rivals along the M62 if they are not careful.
While neutrals actually look forward to watching United now, they are beginning to watch Liverpool through their fingers.
Please tell me anyone who had even a flicker of a suspicion that this might happen in less than nine months. Then again, in this mad football world it is just as likely to wing back Liverpool's way again – if they have a good summer getting the right new players.
The rest of my Monday column has a new home – on the BBC Sport website.