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Jamie Carragher was shocked by the sacking of Arne Slott but believes an elite manager would have fixed Liverpool last season.
The Saturday slot was dropped after a disappointing fifth place finish In his second year in charge after leading the club to their 20th league title.
Liverpool said “the club needs change going forward” after qualifying for the Champions League with just 60 points, their lowest total since 2015/16.
Liverpool had no intention of parting ways with Slott during the season but concluded that a change of leadership was necessary after reassessing the situation at the end of the campaign – and that surprised Carragher.
“I was torn on Erne Slott,” he said. “I would support almost any decision and I can see both sides of the argument, but this is a shock.
“I think an elite football manager, the absolute crème de la crème, could have found a way to fix Liverpool last season and make it even better, but he wasn’t helped by recruitment.
“You look at those players, did any of them do well? Only (Hugo) played well, nobody else did well. You can put it on the manager, does he need to get more out of them?
“Should those players have done more? More, yes. Should the guys above them have given them a better squad this season? Yes.
“There are a lot of people pointing the finger at where Liverpool were last season and the players who were there a year ago, the complete opposite of their performance.”
How Liverpool have performed in Arne Slott’s two Premier League seasons
Cara: The salah situation isn’t on
Carragher believed many Liverpool fans were open when the slot was on Salah went public with the head coach Also didn’t help.
“There’s no doubt he’s lost most of the fans this season,” Carragher said. “At times, I thought it was a bit harsh on the back of what happened 12 months ago.
“Supporter bases now have a huge influence online too and it turned against the manager really quickly.
“Then you talk about player power, the Mo Salah situation doesn’t help it. I’m not happy about it, I never want Liverpool to become a club where player power or players talk publicly about a manager who won the league the year before them. It’s not on, but it certainly doesn’t help.
“Putting all these things together, maybe it forces the club’s hand.”
Recently departed Bournemouth head coach Anthony Irola is in the running to succeed the slot, Sky Sports News It is understood that formal talks are expected to begin.
Carragher believes Errola’s philosophy could rediscover the high-tempo playing style favored at Anfield, but his appointment would still be risky.
“He has done a fantastic job in the Premier League, what Bournemouth have done is absolutely fantastic, but there are still huge question marks,” he said.
“The way he plays is definitely the way Liverpool want to go back: high-intensity football. We know he’s great at it, but when you’re Liverpool manager it’s not just about that.
“Off the ball was a big problem for Arne Slott, that’s what really worried me, and I’ve said all season that Liverpool were very poor off the ball.
Andoni Erraola’s style of play compared to Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slott
“It’s a big part of Liverpool’s DNA, not just under Jurgen Klopp. The reason we talk about the Anfield factor, a lot of it is off the ball, not just on it, so he’s great at it.
“My concern is, can you play at that intensity when you’re playing every three days, and it was once a week with Bournemouth. It’s completely different.
“Whenever you bring in a manager for a top club in England, you think, ‘Can he win me the league?’. It’s a big question mark around him, or any manager coming in, but Liverpool had a manager who won the league, so I was always torn.”
