Robbie Fowler’s recent admission about Arne Slot has riled one Netherlands-based football journalist, who launched a scathing attack on what he perceives to be an insularity among UK media.
In his column for The Mirror on Sunday, the Liverpool legend wrote that he resorted to Google to find out more about the Feyenoord boss, who looks very likely to take over as the Reds’ new head coach after Jurgen Klopp’s imminent departure.
Speaking on a Voetbal International livestream after hearing of that, Süleyman Özturk retorted (via FC Update): “You can say about the English that they are islanders and they have the habit of not looking further than the island.
“The English clubs are more advanced than the public and the analysts, because a lot of nonsense comes out. The fact that you don’t know Arne Slot is a reason for me to take you off the air. Whatever country you live or work in, that’s just crazy.
“You are a Liverpool fan and you don’t watch Feyenoord, then you have a strange hobby. If you don’t know someone, you go and see what he looks like.”
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While Fowler’s admission about googling Slot’s name might sound as if he was unaware of him, in context he wrote that he didn’t know much about the 45-year-old’s tactical traits, something which probably rings true for all but the most obsessive of Eredivisie enthusiasts in the UK.
Now that the Dutchman seems poised to take over from Klopp, we’ll likely see Liverpool fans taking an increased interest in Feyenoord’s remaining matches this season to get a closer look at the man who could be next to grace the home dugout at Anfield.
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Özturk didn’t name the Reds legend outright, and his ire was directed at British punditry on the whole, in particularly those who’ve been instantly dismissive of Slot because he doesn’t have the personality or CV of a Xabi Alonso, for example.
Regardless of who’s appointed as the next LFC head coach, they’d have a tall order on their hands to replicate the success that the German has brought, and the new man deserves time and patience to work wonders on Merseyside.
It was Klopp himself who said that it matters not what fan perception is at the time of a manager’s arrival, but rather what the supporters think when he leaves the job. That’s something for his replacement to keep in mind whenever the successful candidate first take charge of Liverpool.