Liverpool to Andoni Irraola: Arne Slott replacement a risk but Dutch coach doesn’t have answers to their problems | football news

Arne Slott’s position as head coach of Liverpool was unbearable. The decision-makers at Anfield took a little longer to realize this than the supporters, but eventually it became clear that they could not risk disrupting next season with autumn sackings.

Liverpool’s lowest point total for a decade could not undo the feat of winning the Premier League title in its first season. But that undermined the argument that he was the best man to oversee the ongoing overhaul. Fans demanded different directions.

Going back to Andoni Iraola would be a deliberate attempt to change the mood and approach. Liverpool’s statement makes that clear. “The conclusion we came to is built on a belief that team trajectory is best dealt with by changing direction.”

There can be no regrets for hiring Slott in the first place. This title win in 2025 proved that he was the right man for the moment. His subtle changes maximized what Jurgen Klopp had left. Ironically, in hindsight, he helped get more from Mohamed Salah.

Any fair analysis of Slott’s time at Liverpool must admit that he too was tackled. Yes, he inherited a talented team from Klopp but the last 12 months have been full of challenges. The tragic loss of Diogo Jota last summer casts a long shadow.

More generally, the summer’s massive spending has caused far more chaos than expected. Alexander Isak never got going and Florian Wirtz didn’t make the expected impact, meaning Luis Diaz was sorely missed. And then there was the whole Salah story.

While Liverpool fans will never see Salah as a problem, he undoubtedly favors the slot. The Egyptians could not go on forever. In a sense, Salah was unlucky to be coached by Salah’s rejection – even if Salah himself thinks Slott made it worse.

But Slott’s utter inability to solve any problem on-pitch is his bane. Whether it was facing set-pieces or low blocks, he never failed to solve problems – just describe them. As a result, the press conference he would call honest was like a long list of excuses.

He suggested injuries were the story of their season but that didn’t stop him blaming the referees, fixture list and cup draw for their woes. He only recalls the decision given against his side for Other – games Liverpool were not even involved in.

This has grated with supporters who have seen standards slip and is encouraging those who have lost faith in football to play. “I want to see Liverpool go back to being a heavy metal attacking team,” Salah argued in his provocative speech.

Could Xabi Alonso have given that? It was an obvious option to some, although the briefings are to be believed, but not necessarily within the club. It will be interesting to see the reaction of the fans if the former Liverpool midfielder can make it a success at Chelsea.

Alonso, the theory goes, not only had the support of the fans but was more likely to unlock Wirtz’s true potential than even Jeremy Frimpong, two of his former players at Bayer Leverkusen. But did he deliver the style they desired?

Iraola is the more obvious heir to Klopp in that regard. Liverpool’s number of direct attacks this past season fell to their lowest level in five years, a metric that Iraola’s Bournemouth topped. His intense, fast football.

His Bournemouth side finished second in the Premier League for a sprint in his first season and finished first in each of the last two campaigns. Their is a clearly defined method. While Slott wants to pass the ball to the final third, Iraola wants to win the ball there.

This thinking is in line with the old Klopp principle of pressing more effectively than any playmaker. If Iraola is able to restore that kind of play at Anfield, his football will be embraced by those who felt Liverpool had become too slow, too boring.

But it would be wrong to call the appointment without risk. Iraola may be a known quantity in the Premier League but he is not in European competition and that represents a gamble. Managing Bournemouth is not the same as managing Liverpool.

This is not a statement about the vague demands of running a club that size but the practical issues raised by the schedule. At Bournemouth, like Rayo Vallecano before him, Iraola was never in contention to play in Europe. It was a light burden for his players.

Bournemouth played just 40 games last season. Liverpool played 57 times. Having qualified for the Champions League, Liverpool are already committed to playing more than Iraola faces next season as top-flight coach in England or Spain.

How will this affect his ability to succeed at high speed? Pep Guardiola – and to a lesser extent Klopp himself – chose to adjust their own style of play to reflect how much their team needed to sustain these 60-plus matches.

In the end, however, it seems almost everyone at Liverpool would prefer to try something more in line with these values ​​than continue on the path Slott was on. The more the Dutchman put his own stamp on the team, the less they liked it.

Hence the course correction, explained by Liverpool’s hierarchy as being due to increasing demand for jobs. Whether seen as a natural progression or a restoration of Liverpool’s values, change always comes with risks. Not risky enough to allow slots to continue.