We’ve seen over the years that Ronald Koeman isn’t slow about offering a candid opinion in public, and his latest comments on Arne Slot can be added to that list.
Earlier this week, the Netherlands head coach accused Ryan Gravenberch of ‘laziness‘ in the past, and he also damned the new Liverpool boss with faint praise after he watched the Reds destroy Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United last Sunday.
Giving his thoughts on that 3-0 win, the 61-year-old said (via Daily Star): “I watched because of the many Dutch players. Of course, I also looked at it from a manager’s point of view. Arne Slot is doing a slightly better job, but if you have the front three that he has, you must realise you are lucky.”
Although Slot has a group of attackers at his disposal which must be the envy of almost every club in world football, Koeman’s remarks still seem disrespectful towards the Liverpool head coach.
It’s one thing to have a collection of top-quality players to call upon; it’s another to get them performing on the pitch and living up to their reputations. In that regard, our new boss is already proving to be a roaring success.
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Luis Diaz netted just 13 goals in all of last season but already has three at the start of this campaign and has been playing magnificently. Meanwhile, Mo Salah has three goals and three assists to his name, coming back revitalised over the summer after an uncharacteristically subdued finish to 2023/24.
Perhaps Koeman is just sore that Cody Gakpo has been reduced to substitute outings so far this term. That’s not an indictment of the Dutch forward, who was excellent at Euro 2024, but rather an admission that the Colombian has been too good to omit on the left flank.
There’s certainly been nothing ‘lucky’ about the authoritative manner in which Liverpool have started the 2024/25 season, and while it may be very early days yet, Slot is so far doing a stellar job of building upon the incredible legacy of his predecessor Jurgen Klopp.
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Koeman is, and always has been, a thoroughly unlikeable chap. His opinions, as a truly unexceptional manager who has achieved very little but has been lucky enough to manage some of the biggest clubs in Europe (and Everton).
His greatest managerial achievement to date is getting Southampton to finish in 6th place!
I would say that out of the two (Koeman and Slot), Koeman is the lucky one! Managing the Dutch team with a club manager record only worsened by Gareth Southgate!
So Ronald believe Slot is lucky and Gravenberch is lazy.
Ronald seems to have a problem in giving praise where it is due.
What am I missing?