Liverpool fans were expecting a period of transition when Arne Slot arrived last summer to replace Jurgen Klopp, but they've experienced anything but in 2024/25.
Slot is well on course to leading Liverpool to the Premier League title in his debut season in England, with a League Cup final against Newcastle on Sunday presenting a good opportunity for a trophy double this season.
When considering that Jurgen Klopp, rightly revered at Anfield for the incredible work he managed in nine years, only lifted one Premier League title during that time, could Slot's success ultimately tarnish the German's legacy?
Liverpool manager Arne Slot isn't tarnishing Jurgen Klopp's legacy
For Jamie Redknapp - who will be part of the Sky Sports team for the Carabao Cup Final live on Sunday from 3pm - and who spent over a decade of his career at Liverpool through the 90s, the two jobs each manager has produced can't be matched.
Highlighting how Manchester United and Arsenal have both failed to win top honours since Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger left their respective clubs, Redknapp argues Slot has just continued with Klopp's legacy rather than make massive changes.
"I don't think so at all," Redknapp responds when the question is posed to him by FourFourTwo. "And the reason why is because of what Klopp did and how he changed the mentality of the club, because the club was really drifting before he came in.
"He didn't inherit a great squad, but then they recruited really well, knowing what they needed. Klopp was more than a manager. But what Slot has shown is that we didn't know was there was going to be life after Klopp - there's not still been life after Sir Alex at Manchester United, not at Arsenal and Arsene Wenger in terms of winning trophies.
"The job that Slot has done has been in a very calm, unassuming way - he's not a fist pumper, he doesn't really hype the crowd up. He just does it in his own way. And I've just been incredibly impressed."
Defeat to PSG in the Champions League and Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup certainly won't have been how Slot envisoned his first season at Anfield going, but to potentially walk away with two honours is certainly more than many expected when he turned up at Liverpool last summer.
Indeed, the Dutchman only managed to bring Federico Chiesa in during the two transfer windows, and even then the Italian has only played a small part in the season, highlighting just how well Slot has done to rejuvenate the squad.
In FourFourTwo's opinion, Redknapp is spot on with his suggestion that Klopp and Slot ultimately had completely different jobs when first arriving at Liverpool. Slot's success is just a continuation and refinement of Klopp's work, whereas the German boss had to make wholesale changes to yield a positive result.
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