Michael Owen is afraid that Liverpool could fall into decline under new manager Arne Slot.
The Reds hired Slot to take over the vacancy created by Jurgen Klopp, who stepped down at the end of last season after a decade in charge at Anfield.
Liverpool thrived during Klopp's tenure, winning the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League under the German boss, and Owen fears that there will be an inevitable downturn as Slot takes the reins.
Speaking to Genting Casino, Owen stressed that his concerns are not specific to Slot, whom he believes will attempt to continue Klopp's established style of play. Instead, Owen's trepidation comes from watching other big Premier League clubs suffer after their respective longtime managers moved on.
"I fear it's a possibility for Liverpool [to have a similar decline as Man United when they appointed David Moyes], but I hope it's not and by the time the season kicks off, everyone will be full of optimism again with a new manager, a new way of playing perhaps and one or two signings, but I don't think there will be wholesale changes," Owen said.
"I don't think he plays in a vastly different way to how Liverpool did under Jurgen Klopp.
"But of course every Liverpool fan will be nervous looking at what happened to Manchester United and Arsenal, even Chelsea, although they didn't have that consistency for a long time. But once it does start slipping it's hard to get it back, we're talking fine margins and you need to be an absolutely brilliant team to be competing now.
"It's the highest standard there has ever been, you literally can't make a mistake these days. They will be nervous. Are Liverpool going to remain a powerful force or has their era of greatness slipped and will it take time to build back up again? It remains to be seen.”
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