Andoni Iraola has been handed the Liverpool job as a reward for his excellent work at Bournemouth, but Jamie Carragher has warned the Reds that a new manager is still under consideration.
Jamie Carragher has expressed concerns over Liverpool’s decision to hire Andoni Iraola (Image: Sky Sports)
Jamie Carragher has expressed concern over Liverpool’s decision to hire Andoni Iraola as their new manager, warning that the Spaniard has been “rushed into” one of the “most demanding roles in world football”.
Iraola quickly emerged as the overwhelming favorite to succeed Arne Slott when the Dutchman, who won last year’s Premier League, was brutally sacked by Liverpool hierarchy after a disappointing second season in charge. While Slott and his team failed to live up to expectations last season, Iraola somewhat exceeded them before leaving at the end of his contract, earning Bournemouth their highest finish in European football and league history.
Bournemouth won many fans during Iraola’s reign with his brave and attacking style. This has made Iraola’s appointment popular with Liverpool fans, some of whom are keen to see a return to the “heavy metal” style of football that saw so much success under Jurgen Klopp.
But Carragher warned that it was dangerous to go down the path of trying to replicate the style that made Klopp so successful, and said Liverpool had appointed a head coach in Iraola who was still a work in progress.
Writing in the Telegraph, Carragher said: “The main qualifications for coaching Europe’s best players should be based on what the candidate has won, at what level, with what style of play. Iraola ticks one of those boxes. His strongest argument for joining Liverpool is that the Bournemouth team resembled the way Klopp likes to play.”
“It’s also clear that all the noise coming out of the club reflects an eagerness in the upper echelons to find someone they think is closer to the German’s style than Slott. All managerial appointments come with risks, but profiling future Liverpool managers based on how they respond to the populist idea of ’heavy metal football’ is dangerous.”
“Reducing Klopp’s success as a world-class manager to high-pressing, aggressive, front-footed football seriously misunderstands why he was so great and why he and Liverpool were a perfect fit.”
Iraola has signed a two-year contract with Liverpool to replace Arne Slott (Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Carragher, like many other players, has been impressed with Iraola’s body of work at Bournemouth and admits he could employ “one of the great coaches of his time” at “perfect timing”.
But after Iraola was offered the job at Chelsea, it felt like a different move would suit the Spaniard rather than suddenly stepping into an elite role. He also maintains that stance.
“My impression when Iraola was strongly linked with Chelsea was that it was premature and that he would benefit from joining a club in European competition, adapting to the demands of three games a week for his next step. Instead, he would face challenges unlike anything he had faced before at Liverpool.”
Iraola did a great job at Bournemouth (Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Carragher went on to point out that Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes had said that Slott’s Feyenoord side met all the key indicators the Reds were looking for in terms of their front-foot attacking style.
“The Dutchman’s death at Anfield highlighted that there is more than tactical vision,” Carragher continued.
“Throughout his two-year tenure, Slott may argue that he never fielded a team or players with the same mentality on the pitch to play quite as well as he did at Feyenoord, or to maintain the level of his first winning season at Liverpool.”
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