The doubts and the positives - Iraola dissected

Liverpool fans have met news of an approach for Andoni Iraola in a mixed manner - with plenty of excited discussion and some concerns over his level of experience.

>BBC Sport asked fan writer Lola Katz-Roberts to unpick some of the key talking points.

[BBC]The words of doubt...

"He's never won anything significant"Andoni Iraola may not come with a glittering CV stacked with silverware, or an already iconic status on The Kop, but the Spaniard does come with one guarantee - he will, wholeheartedly, and no matter the scoreboard or opposition, commit to the most front-footed, attacking, aggressive playing style in the division. And it is a style that is, in the post-Jurgen Klopp era, engrained deep in the DNA of modern Liverpool.

"Two games a week will test his style much more"Liverpool managed to play two games a week quite successfully with a very similar style under Klopp.

"His style of play will be too demanding and Liverpool's squad isn't built for it"Across the pitch, Liverpool have players for whom playing pedestrian football is an alien and limiting concept. Milos Kerkez, who thrived under Iraola's stewardship, has looked out of place in Liverpool's strangely ponderous set-up.

>Jeremie Frimpong, on the other flank, may find himself the biggest beneficiary of Iraola's appointment, released to attack at will down the right side.

>Dominik Szoboszlai, who has cut a forlorn figure leading a one-man press at times this season, will surely be suited by a higher intensity.

>And perhaps most importantly, for Liverpool's second-most-expensive signing of the summer - who never quite looked like he fitted in in the midfield or attack last season - Iraola's preferred formation of 4-2-3-1 should provide Florian Wirtz with the platform needed to establish himself as one of the league's leading lights.

"He drew a lot of games at Bournemouth and went on winless runs - he can't do that at Liverpool - so it's a massive step up"Liverpool is a step up for almost all managers in the game. Bar Klopp, every managerial appointment made by Liverpool in the modern era came with a significant degree of risk.

>There are only two managers in world football, who at this moment, could walk into the Liverpool job and expect to dominate - and those names are Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique. Neither are available, and neither have proven their ability to remain competitive without almost unlimited financial backing.

>Iraola, on the other hand, has proven repeatedly that he can extract the absolute maximum from whatever resources he is presented with.

[Getty Images]The upbeat side of the fanbase

"His teams make you work when you face them"The minimum requirement when donning the red shirt is to run until you can't any more. Too often this season, Liverpool have been outworked and outfought by lesser opposition. A hard-working, physically robust team, will quickly endear Iraola to the Kop.

>Under Iraola, Anfield will not be muted. Instead, the football will bring the best out of players and fans. This is a club that needs to attack, to chase, to strike fear into its opponents. And whether or not Iraola succeeds in his monumental mission to establish Liverpool as England and Europe's dominant force, he will unite the fanbase and resolve the club's messy identity crisis.

"The style of play will be enjoyable to watch"Ultimately, for Arne Slot what told was the style of football.

>Something broke around March 2025 - a bruising League Cup final defeat by Newcastle was followed by a high-octane, energy-sapping Champions League last-16 tie with Paris St-Germain.

>After that, Liverpool were not the same. The eye test and the numbers reached the same conclusion.

>As autumn turned to winter and then spring, week by week, the atmosphere inside Anfield turned more apathetic, until apathy was replaced by outright mutiny.

>The football on the pitch bore no resemblance to the identity of the club. This is the issue that FSG identified - with media briefings post-Slot's sacking emphasising the importance of refinding an aggressive, attacking football identity.

>In a season dominated by set-pieces, long throw-ins and timewasting, Iraola's Bournemouth were the tonic.

>Find more from Lola Katz Roberts the Goal Difference podcast