Why Liverpool fans should be excited about the next seasons under Slot - A Feyenoord fan's perspective

Feyenoord and Liverpool fan here. I've been closely following Liverpool ever since one of my favorite Feyenoord players, Dirk Kuyt, made the switch in 2006. It’s been incredible to watch how well Liverpool is performing this season—and the job that Arne Slot is doing.

Lately, I’ve noticed a shift in the narrative around Slot’s performance, especially from fans of other teams. Some are suggesting that next season will be much harder for him when he has to replace key players and integrate his own signings - and that he is just lucky to have inhirited such a good squad.

I wanted to make this post to give a better perspective on just how incredible Slot’s achievements at Feyenoord have been — one of the main reasons he’s now Liverpool’s manager — and why I believe we should be excited for the coming seasons. If anything, I expect him to do even better than this season, because that’s exactly what he has proven at Feyenoord.

One of Slot’s greatest strengths is his ability to seamlessly integrate new players, quickly instill his playing style, improve individual performances, and achieve better results year after year. Here’s a breakdown of what he has accomplished at Feyenoord:

Season 2021/22

In his first year, Slot inherited a team that had finished 5th with 59 points, playing poor football under Dick Advocaat. That summer, we also lost our captain and best player, Steven Berghuis, to our biggest rivals, Ajax, for just €5 million. The atmosphere around the club was far from great.

Twelve new players arrived, including Trauner, Jahanbakhsh, Guus Til, Dessers, and Nelson. Five of these were loan deals, as there was very little money to spend.

Despite this, Slot’s team performed exceptionally well. Players improved, the football became more attractive, and Feyenoord had a remarkable European campaign. Starting in the third qualifying round of the Conference League, we won every round and eventually reached the final after eliminating a strong Olympique Marseille side.

Reaching a European final for the first time in 20 years was huge for Feyenoord, even if it was ‘only’ the Conference League. We narrowly lost to AS Roma in a classic José Mourinho-style final, but we played well despite their superior squad. Seven of the players who featured in that final were new arrivals that season.

In the league, we improved on the previous season’s 5th-place finish by securing 3rd place with 71 points and a goal difference of 76-34, qualifying for the Europa League.

Season 2022/23

Feyenoord’s success in Europe didn’t go unnoticed. Seven of the starting XI from the Conference League final left the club—some were sold, others returned to their parent clubs after loan spells. Essentially, Slot had to rebuild the team from scratch.

That summer, 16 new players arrived—a mix of loans and permanent transfers, possibly a club record for new arrivals. The most expensive signing was David Hancko for €8 million.

Despite this massive squad overhaul, Slot quickly turned Feyenoord into a well-oiled machine again. The result? We won the Eredivisie title, securing only our second league championship in 23 years—no small feat at Feyenoord.

In Europe, we reached the Europa League quarter-finals, our best European result since winning the UEFA Cup in 2002.

Final results:

1st place in the Eredivisie (82 points, 81-30 goal difference) Europa League quarter-finals

Season 2023/24

This season, we lost another key player as our captain, Orkun Kökçü, moved to Benfica. At the start of the campaign, we were unlucky to draw a few matches, while PSV had an unbelievable start, winning their first 13 league games. The gap created early on proved too big to overcome.

Final results:

2nd place in the Eredivisie (84 points, 92-26 goal difference)—technically a better season than the title-winning year, but PSV was simply too strong. KNVB Cup winners, finishing the season on a high note.

Conclusion

Long story short—Arne Slot is a fantastic coach who consistently gets the absolute best out of his squads. And let’s not forget, he achieved all this while losing his best players every single year.

I hope he wins the title with Liverpool this season, and I’m looking forward to the coming years with confidence, no matter who leaves LFC.