Next Liverpool manager: How Slot compares to other Dutch Premier League bosses
Arne Slot is to become the next head coach of Liverpool, by all accounts. He’ll be the 10th Dutch boss in Premier League history - here are how the first nine fared.
There is now every expectation that Arne Slot will become the next coach of Liverpool. The Reds have reportedly agreed a compensation package with Feyenoord, leaving just personal terms on the agenda.
Those shouldn't be a problem. Slot has publicly announced that he wishes to be the next Liverpool boss - it should be a formality from here.
His appointment would bring the first Dutch manager to Liverpool. Slot would be the 10th in Premier League history to get the top role - so how have the others fared?
Here's what the other nine Dutch managers achieved in the Premier League.
Ruud Gullit - Chelsea & Newcastle United
- Matches: 113
- Points-per-match: 1.43
Gullit was the first Dutch Premier League boss, getting the job at Chelsea in 1996. Notably, the Ballon d'Or winner was named player-manager at Stamford Bridge.
Things actually went incredibly well, too. Gullit delivered their first trophy for 26 years, while his second season saw Chelsea in second place and in two quarter-finals. Then he was sacked after a disagreement with the board.
Gullit joined Newcastle in 1998 and reached the FA Cup final in his debut season. However, things fell apart and he left shortly into season no.2.
Martin Jol - Tottenham Hotspur & Fulham
- Matches: 201
- Points-per-match: 1.37
There wouldn't be another Dutch appointment until 2004 when Jol got the Tottenham job. He was successful there, leading Spurs to their highest league finish since 1990 and generally having them on the right track.
However, things would fall apart a bit and Jol was replaced with Juande Ramos in 2007 (who would endure a shocking time). Jol was back in English football with Fulham in 2011, though.
Jol was decent if unspectacular with Fulham, leading them to a couple of midtable finishes before being sacked after a poor run of form in late 2013.
Guus Hiddink - Chelsea
- Matches: 34
- Points-per-game: 1.94
Hiddink is one of the most unique appointments in Premier League history. He has been with Chelsea twice, both times as an interim manager until the end of the season.
Only, both times he was wildly popular. It largely stems from Hiddink's first spell in 2009, where he won a ridiculous 72% of his games. That included just one defeat in the Premier League, marginally losing to Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League semis, and winning the FA Cup. He did all of this while also the Russian National Team manager.
Hiddink then returned to Chelsea in 2015 after Jose Mourinho's spell fell to pieces. He wasn't quite as successful this time around, but he did help them climb six places in the Premier League (from 16th to 10th).
Hiddink was never actually a permanent manager in the Premier League, but he was a great one.
Rene Meulensteen - Fulham
- Matches: 13
- Points-per-game: 0.77
Meulensteen had a strange start to life in management. He'd been an assistant to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United but left with David Moyes' arrival. Then he went to be an assistant to Guus Hiddink at Anzhi Makhachkala but Hiddink left after two games, allowing Meulensteen to take the role. He was sacked after 16 days.
The Dutchman then went to Fulham as an assistant to Martin Jol. Three weeks later in December 2013, Jol was sacked and Meulensteen was in charge. Again, he didn't last long. Fulham replaced him in February after just 13 matches.
Louis van Gaal - Manchester United
- Matches: 76
- Points-per-game: 1.79
Van Gaal is by far the most successful manager on this list for their overall career. No one comes remotely close, in fact. By the time he took over at Old Trafford, the Dutchman had won the Eredivisie with two different clubs (including unfancied AZ), La Liga with Barcelona twice, and the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich.
Above all, Van Gaal won the UEFA Champions League with Ajax in 1995, and reached the final again the following year.
But he never really got the respect he wanted and arguably deserved at United. He put the club back on track after David Moyes's reign and won the FA Cup in 2016. He was then immediately sacked for Jose Mourinho.
Ronald Koeman - Southampton & Everton
- Matches: 123
- Points-per-game: 1.56
Koeman had been a very successful manager in the Netherlands before taking over at Southampton in 2014, winning three Eredivisie titles, two with Ajax and one with PSV Eindhoven, and a Copa del Rey in Spain with Valencia.
He was a huge success at Southampton, too, as he took over from Mauricio Pochettino. Koeman guided them to seventh and sixth - their highest Premier League finishes. It earned him the Everton job in 2016.
Koeman was initially successful at Everton and got them into Europe in his first season. However, the Toffees sold Romelu Lukaku that following summer and didn't replace him. They plummeted down the table instantly, leading to Koeman's sacking shortly into his second campaign.
Dick Advocaat - Sunderland
- Matches: 137
- Points-per-game: 0.88
Advocaat arrived at Sunderland in 2015 needing to save them from relegation. He was at the tail-end of his career (or at least, seemed to be), but had won several league titles in his time. Keeping Sunderland up was a tall order at the time for the interim manager, though, with over half the season done.
But he achieved it and earned himself a full contract as permanent manager. Things fell apart in his first full season, however, and Advocaat was gone after matchweek eight.
Quite incredibly, the 76-year-old is still in management as of 2024. That's despite technically retiring after his first half-season at Sunderland.
Frank de Boer - Crystal Palace
- Matches: 4
- Points-per-game: 0.00
De Boer won the Eredivisie four straight times between 2011 and 2014 with Ajax. It was enough that he was asked to interview for the Liverpool job in 2012 - but turned the opportunity down.
Honestly, Liverpool dodged a bullet. De Boer joined Inter in 2016 but was sacked after a few months for losing 50% of his matches. From there, Palace came calling.
De Boer is statistically the worst manager in Premier League history. He also has the shortest tenure - four matches. How do you get sacked after four matches? By losing them all without scoring a goal. De Boer 'achieved' that feat - the first time it had been seen in English football for 93 years.
Erik Ten Hag - Manchester United
- Games: 72 (at time of writing)
- Points-per-game: 1.79 (at time of writing)
The only Dutch manager currently in the Premier League and one that's incredibly difficult to judge. Ten Hag has certainly not had the impact United hoped he would, and performances have been dreadful at times, but it's also a club that's looking increasingly impossible to manage.
Ten Hag has won the Carabao Cup in charge, and racked up a decent points tally. In fact, he has the second-best points-per-game on this list and the best of any permanent manager.
It's expected by many that United will move on from Ten Hag in the summer, creating a strange situation. He's brought in several former Ajax players, after all - players he knew well but haven't replicated their form in new surroundings. United are inviting a squad overhaul by sacking him.
Arne Slot almost certainly won't do the same at Anfield, nor will he hold much sway over transfers. The comparisons will be there, of course, but we'd back Liverpool's new manager to come out of them well.