Liverpool are the champions of England for the 20th time at the end of a remarkable first season under manager Arne Slot, who immediately went to work after replacing Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool players were in their hotel rooms in Philadelphia while asking some questions from their own teammates. They had the form of WhatsApp messages and they were about the new manager and his coaching staff.
What are they like, what are the sessions? Nothing unusual, but a sign that those who were still on vacation after summer tournaments camped on the bit to participate. They all spoke with Arne Slot. That's because he called the first team to introduce himself and talk about his thoughts about them and the team.
Captain Virgil van Dijk had said that not long after Jurgen Klopp had announced his departure and the questions about his contract had begun that he wanted to see the direction in which the club went.
But once Slot was chosen by Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards to take over, there was never a feeling under the Liverpool team that the manager had something to prove. Sometimes that happens when the players have won everything and the head coach enters a fixed dressing room.
It was even the opposite. Senior players could not wait to show the new boss what they could do. They wanted to make an impression on him. Like enthusiastic school children who want their golden stars from the teacher.
Those sessions in Philadelphia were different from what had gone before. The use of rugby blocks for ball exercises in the eye. There were screams of “they kill with passes”. A sign of how Slot would concentrate on possession football.
This season it is often more described as orchestral than the 'heavy metal' football from Klopp. Those who are closer to the team have seen the playing style much more subtle with a hybrid mix instead of a revision.
Slot held media tasks until the absolute minimum during the tour. Only items that he was contractually obliged were fulfilled. The message from him was his focus on football and he had little to talk about, since he had not done anything like Liverpool. He has now.
Hughes and Edwards worked on transfer goals. Martin Zubimendi would come forward as their most important, but he chose to stay in real sociedad. Those outside the club wondered which no. 6 the club would focus their attention, but they never did that. The only signing was winger Federico Chiesa.
Slot already had a plan. When he had made his call to Gravenberch as part of his introduction, he called the No. 6 position to the Dutch midfielder. The No. 8 would be his primary role, but he wanted him to be an option in a deeper position. Ultimately, it is the no. 6 place where Gravenberch is excited. It was a masterstroke of the Liverpool coaching team.
Slot postponed the goal for the season early. There were no discussions about the transition and building up challenge for trophies. The message was to win the Premier League and go for glory in the Champions League. Slot had looked back the previous season and saw a team that no longer had gas after he had been chased due to injury problems.
He noted that this was during the juggling with a Europa League campaign, a competition that made rotation possible that would not be the case in the European Cup. So injury prevention and recovery were high on the agenda. He brought Ruben Peeters to Feyenoord and the Irish company Statsports that was used to control every small detail with a policy without risk when fatigue strikes.
Yet one thing that taught slot machine in the course of the campaign was that he had no complete confidence in some squadron players, which led to an exaggerated dependence on important men. That may have contributed to a season in which they could be remedied on the transfer market this summer and this summer.
He has not been shy in calling on players who do not meet the standards. Darwin Nunez got the victim of such an honesty more than once this season.
Slot is obsessed with video analysis. You can regularly see him on the touchline that turns to his staff, sat on the couch and shouted to get certain phases of playing to show interval. While he walks through one-on-one and team video sessions with the players. It all contributed to a remarkable debut season in the Premier League.
He showed his ruthlessness in his first competitive match when he cut Jarell Quansah against Ipswich during the break because he had a hard time. That has sent a message that if you do not meet the standards, no time will be wasted to change.
Contract discussions for Van Dijk, Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold would always dominate the agenda and it was something that was informed when he took the job. After he had met all three players, he was not worried about the trio.
In the campaign, a victory at Old Trafford further contributed to the faith among the team that Slot was a worthy successor to Klopp. When she lost in the Nottingham Forest campaign early, it was a learning curve for the end that no team could be underestimated in the Premier League.
From that moment they rarely looked back. All external noise was ignored, contract discussions continued, but were no problem. They went on an unbeaten run of 26 games to the defeat of Fulham this month and Arsenal just couldn't keep pace.
Do they kill with passes? Liverpool has slaughtered their Premier League rivals.