Manchester United icon Roy Keane has taken aim at Arne Slot and Liverpool in the wake of their celebrations after clinching the Premier League title in the Dutchman’s first season
Bizarrely suggesting Liverpool have lacked a little ‘class’ recently, Roy Keane has said the Premier League champions are ‘irritating’ him.
He was referring to the fact Arne Slot gave his players extra days off and permission to go on a break and enjoy some down-time. He was referring to the fact Slot has fielded some fringe players and failed to win any of the three matches they have contested since completing their Premier League triumph.
Of course, what is really irritating Keane is that Liverpool have won the title in a canter. What is really irritating Keane is that Liverpool are enjoying the fruits of their labour.
And, this season, no-one has put in more hard labour than Arne Slot’s players.
Prior to the last three Premier League games, Slot’s rotation has been minimal. In fact, the Liverpool manager has recently been wondering if that is what cost his side a deeper run in the Champions League.
For the first seven games of the eight-match qualification programme, Slot fielded what he considered to be a full-strength team and was ‘rewarded’ with a first-placed finish in the group phase. Alas, that ‘reward’ meant a last-16 tie against a rapidly-improving Paris St Germain side. If Liverpool looked a little leggy in that contest, it was no surprise.
Never mind the stats, the visual evidence from most of the season told you no Premier League team worked harder than Liverpool. And that is normally the case. Physical fitness and commitment is always a cornerstone of a title-winning campaign and it was no different in Liverpool’s case.
That Slot has allowed his men some down-time after securing the title is not only understandable, it is a no-brainer.
The demands on the modern-day elite footballer are becoming silly. No wonder Phil Foden feels as though he needs a mental and physical break. And don’t trot out the stuff about how much money they earn – that is irrelevant.
Most Liverpool players will have international commitments in June and will head out to Asia on a summer tour towards the end of July. The next Premier League season starts in mid-August. In the modern-day calendar, you grab any moment for rest that you can.
Anyhow, it is not as though Liverpool have turned up for the matches against Chelsea (an away defeat), Arsenal (a home draw) and Brighton (a narrow away defeat) half-cut.
If, at the start of the season, you would have said Liverpool would lose 3-1 at Stamford Bridge (the last goal being a late Cole Palmer penalty), draw 2-2 with Arsenal at Anfield and go down 3-2 at Brighton to a late home winner, no-one would have raised an eyebrow.
And it is a real insult to the quality of footballers such as Jarell Quansah, Harvey Elliott, Wataru Endo and Federico Chiesa to suggest their inclusion in games amounts to Slot undermining the integrity of the competition.
There are plenty of things that undermine the integrity of the Premier League – ridiculous fixture scheduling and inter-club loans chief amongst them – but selecting players who do not quite make the first-choice starting line-up is not one of them.
And, of course, the managers who should really be coming under scrutiny are those who allowed Liverpool to win the title before the end of April and go to Dubai and Ibiza for a rare chill-out.
Now THAT is what should really be ‘irritating’ Roy Keane.
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