With the tour of America complete, now is as good a time as any to examine our hopes and fears for the coming Premier League campaign.
While Arne Slot deserves praise for the remarkable success of his first season in charge of the Reds, his sophomore campaign was a failure despite achieving a Champions League place.
In year two, Slot’s Liverpool offered up football that lacked intensity and creativity. He rarely looked as if he had a coherent plan at kick-off. Matches were riddled with avoidable defensive errors.
The football was too often slow and meandering, with the ball moving sideways rather than being progressed forward. Slot’s substitutions, so frequently game-changing in his first season, reeked of desperation and rarely changed games for the better.
Other teams no longer feared us as they had under Jurgen Klopp, and instead went into matches knowing they could get at us, even at “Fortress Anfield”.
Despite this, it seemed that Slot would be given an opportunity to redeem himself in the upcoming season. His shock dismissal and the subsequent hiring of Andoni Iraola have given many of us hope for a return to the relentless pressing football of the Klopp era.
While this may be a case of wishful thinking, there is some statistical evidence to underpin our hopes. Under Iraola in the 2025/26 season, Bournemouth caused 298 “high turnovers” compared to Liverpool’s 285 under Slot. Iraola’s Cherries won possession 1,725 times, and of these, 174 were won in the final third of the pitch.
Contrast that with Slot’s Reds, who won possession 1,453 times, with only 155 coming in the final third (Sky Sports). Despite having a squad with a wage bill less than 40% of Liverpool’s, Iraola managed Bournemouth to a sixth-place finish (only three points back from the Reds) and a Europa League spot, all while playing on the front foot (Spotrac).
It is no wonder many of us are excited by the idea of what “Iraola ball” could look like with a Liverpool budget.
We must, however, be patient. Time on the training ground and in the gym will be key. Klopp’s teams were able to play games with intensity because they trained with intensity, something Slot’s teams, by many accounts, did not do.
In America, Iraola was heard repeatedly yelling “faster, faster” at his players both in training and during matches. There have been flashes in pre-season games of what this might look like once the season begins in earnest, the pressing and progressive ball movement in the first half against Leeds being a good example.
Iraola faces a number of daunting obstacles, chief among them being injuries. At the time of writing, Virgil van Dijk is Liverpool’s only senior centre-back who is fit.
Moreover, he trained with the new manager for the first time this week, having just returned from a well-deserved holiday after World Cup duty. Joe Gomez went down literally minutes into the first pre-season match against Sunderland, joining Giovanni Leoni, Jeremy Jacquet, and Conor Bradley on the list of injured defenders.
The sale of Jarell Quansah and the loss of Ibrahima Konate on a free to Real Madrid reflect incompetence on the part of upper management in light of the current injury woes.
Add Jayden Danns, Wataru Endo, Stefan Bajcetic, and especially Hugo Ekitike to the list, and it becomes clear that Iraola will struggle to implement a high-intensity playing style across four competitions while having a short bench and injury-prone players.
Then there is the matter of filling squad spots left vacant by players who have moved on. Chief among these is Mo Salah, who has left an enormous hole to fill on the right side of the attack.
With the loss of Andy Robertson and his remarkable leadership, along with the aforementioned exit of Konate, Iraola not only lacks numbers, but he is also missing important Premier League and Champions League experience.
There is always the transfer market, but it has been over 40 days since the signing of Victor Munoz. The Bradley Barcola rumours are not going away, and his signing would give Iraola’s squad a remarkable injection of world-class talent.
However, it seems as if the management team is bent on finalising the cost of this signing before spending on the other pressing needs at the club.
Despite all of these challenges, there have been some positive developments during pre-season. In the absence of Virgil and Alisson, Dominik Szoboszlai stepped up to lead the squad in America, modelling hard work on both the training ground and in games. He has spoken positively of Iraola’s early impact, and of his excitement for the coming campaign.
Despite a few missteps with the fanbase last year, Szoboszlai seems to be maturing into a leader, and many expect him to fill one of the vice-captain spots left by Salah and Robertson.
In addition, despite only having a short number of minutes together against Leeds, there appears to be an effective partnership brewing between Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak.
Both men will be desperate to prove themselves to the Liverpool faithful after less than auspicious first seasons for each of them. Indeed, Wirtz, Isak, Ekitike, Munoz, Barcola, Gakpo, and Rio Ngumoha make for exciting attacking options.
Rio also reflects another pre-season positive: the performance of the “kids”. Rio has looked exciting in the matches in America, and other young players such as Luke Chambers and Ifeanyi Ndukwe acquitted themselves well.
However, it was the play of Trey Nyoni that really stood out in midfield. He showed poise and the ability to progress the ball, earning himself the opportunity to feature far more frequently this season than last.
Slot showed little confidence in Nyoni or any of the other young players. If Iraola can follow the Klopp model of trusting and improving young talent rather than Slot’s approach, he will give himself many more options as cover for the inevitable injuries that will come from implementing his high-intensity style of football.
Lastly, the best reason for Reds to feel positive about the 2026/27 season is Andoni Iraola himself. Here is a manager who only signs two-year contracts because he wants to continually earn his place. The thought of signing for longer to have financial security if sacked is anathema to him.
Iraola has also spoken eloquently of the importance of the “collective” in sport. While some players may be better than others, it is the collective of the team that brings success.
All of this, combined with Iraola’s proven record of making players better, bodes well for Liverpool’s prospects in the coming season. He deserves our support and our patience.
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