Former Liverpool coach hits back at claims he ‘ruined football’ while with the Reds

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Liverpool have noticeably struggled when faced with teams who play a more direct style of football under Arne Slot.

Slot has regularly bemoaned that his team try to play ‘proper’ football and come unstuck against those who prefer a more rough and ready game.

“In the last four or five games we’ve played, we were not able to press the opponent because the ball wasn’t on the ground, it was in the air,” the Liverpool head coach said after Wednesday’s win over Eintracht Frankfurt.

There has been a real shift in recent years across football in general, from the passing, ball on the ground style favoured by Pep Guardiola, to a more back-to-basics game drive towards winning set-pieces.

Although these tactics are perhaps more widespread than they used to be, Jurgen Klopp also had to find a way to beat teams who loved nothing more than to break up the play and launch the ball into the box.

Klopp did so by employing specialist throw-in coach Thomas Gronnemark during his time at Anfield. Hired in 2018, Gronnemark felt like a novelty, but with set-pieces coaches now the norm across the Premier League, the Dane has been accused of paving the way to the current climate.

Thomas Gronnemark defends throw-in work at Liverpool

Klopp was a manager who was always looking for marginal gains. The use of a specialist to coach the way Liverpool took their throw-ins was an example of this.

The German was ridiculed a little at the time, but it turned out that Klopp was ahead of the game. Fast forward to 2025, and throw-ins and set-pieces in general are back in fashion.

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Not everyone is happy about that, with one fan on social media site X sharing a headline from August 2018 about Gronnemark’s hiring at Liverpool. “They ruined football with all this,” said the supporter.

Ever-willing to defend his work, Gronnemark hit back, sharing another article from one year later praising the ‘huge impact’ of his time at Anfield.

“Some people don’t remember. In Liverpool FC I worked with the fast and clever throw-in… and took the team from 18th to 1st on throw-in possession under pressure,” he said.

“Just because I had the longest throw-in in the world doesn’t mean I only coach the long throw-in!”

Gronnemark open to Liverpool return

With Slot openly disapproving of a more set-piece heavy style of football, it feels unlikely that he would put as much focus on throw-ins as Klopp.

However, Liverpool should wise up to the current trends within the game. Doing so can only help them, as Gronnemark explains.

Asked whether there’s any chance of him returning to help Slot’s Liverpool, the coach says he’s certainly open to doing so.

“They are always welcome to call me. I’m open for (almost) all teams,” he replied.

With Liverpool facing a team managed by a former set-piece coach on Saturday, can Gronnemark be here for Friday’s session?