How many truly elite players are we talking about? Alisson, Trent, Robbo, Van Dijk, Salah, Jota and maybe Konate and Gomez our truly elite players in that they have got us to league and CL trophies and also finals and pretty much all bar one or two start if fit.
The rest of the squad with all due respect have it all to prove. Pretty much everyone signed from Diaz onwards have yet to properly step up consistently and show that they can emulate the players they replaced.
I think the most obvious position is the forwards. We have 5 forwards who have all been signed for big fees. The kind of fees that mean those players are expected to start the majority of games. There is no clear pecking order. We don't have three obvious starters and a couple of backups.
They are all major players for their countries and are at an age when they expect to be starting week in week out. Crucially they were all signed by Klopp and knew they were wanted by Klopp. They trusted that if they didn't start the along the line they would get their chance and if they performed they would get more opportunities.
All bets are off with a new manager. If Slot had the opportunity to hand pick five forwards then chances are it would not be the current five. Different coaches prioritise different attributes. There will be players in the squad that Slot just doesn't fancy as a player. It is inevitable.
Players know that. Slot doesn't have a relationship with the players and they don't trust that they will be given opportunities. They will have seen new managers come in and simply not rate players. They will have seen other players or even themselves be given more opportunities by a new coach either at club or international level.
That is why it is so much harder for a new coach to keep everyone involved. Then you get little cliques formed in the dressing room of dissatisfied players. All the players will start pre season or what is left with a clean slate and be desperate to impress the new coach. Unfortunately at the start he can only select 11 players and will be looking to bed in a starting 11. Keeping everyone involved will be a big task.