Andoni Iraola comments to Steven Gerrard should spark worry of slow post-Arne Slot transition

OPINION: Liverpool coach Andoni Iraola's comments to Steven Gerrard about his player's "tendency" in possession from the Arne Slot error tell that the Spanish boss has plenty of work to do

Andoni Iraola famously took 10 matches to earn his first Premier League victory with Bournemouth in 2023. He will have to wait until at least his second contest with Liverpool after a 2-2 opening day draw against Newcastle.

The Reds were outrun by the Magpies and looked woefully disorganized at times. During the club's American preseason tour, Iraola bemoaned the team's lack of "energy" in perhaps a thinly-veiled dig at the Slot-era.

Speaking with Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard in an interview for TNT Sports, the Spanish manager stressed another disconnect. He feels that his team is seemingly caught between Arne Slot's possession-oriented identity and Jurgen Klopp's "quick" and "vertical" transitional approach, the latter serving as a better stylistic match for his own.

When asked by Gerrard if he feels he's "closer" to Klopp or Slot, Iraola picked the Champions League winner. “Probably closer to Jurgen, probably, I would say. But I loved a lot of the things that the team had with Arne also," he answered.

”There has to be a balance. Things are going to evolve differently because the first game we had 60, 61 percent of possession straight away," Iraola said of his team's approach against Newcastle.

“Naturally, because the natural tendency of the players is towards that side, and I need to adapt also towards that side. ... But we also need to keep being vertical, keep attacking, keep taking sometimes some risks.”

The "natural tendency" comment is concerning, particularly as players like Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch, Jeremie Frimpong, and Milos Kerkez looked content to sit near the attacking third while Liverpool was on the ball.

Under Slot, this was the aim: methodically try to chip away at the low block. But Iraola wants his side to play faster, and leaving too many players forward means more counterattacks for a 35-year-old Virgil van Dijk and a novice Jeremy Jacquet to defend in space. This was an issue in both goals Liverpool conceded against Newcastle.

Iraola has two Slot-era issues to iron out to play the football he wants. It shouldn't come as a surprise if and when the team's improvement in performance — and results — takes some time.

Previous comments on fitness

Here were Iraola's comments on Liverpool's fitness after his side's preseason match against Leeds in early August. "I think we played really good [in the] first half, especially the first 30 minutes, but right now probably we don't have much more in terms of the level required to play like this," he said. "Then they were much better in the second half.

"The problem is right now probably they don't have the energy for 90 minutes and they start to get tired. It will take time with them, we need more training with them."

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