Coach Arne Slot's position at Liverpool was ultimately unable to be maintained. The Kop leadership took more time than fans to come to that conclusion, but they also realized that continuing to put faith in the Dutch strategist could put the next season at risk.
Liverpool winning the Premier League title in their first season under Slot is still a remarkable success. However, the 2025-2026 campaign has weakened the belief that he is the most suitable person to lead the reconstruction process taking place at Anfield. A large number of fans are starting to call for change.
In that context, moving towards Andoni Iraola is seen as a move to change both the atmosphere and philosophy of the team. The announcement from Liverpool also emphasized this when affirming: "We believe that changing direction is the best choice for the team's future.
However, it would be unfair to look back and think that Slot's appointment was a mistake. The Premier League title in 2025 shows that he was the right choice at that time. Slot's tactical adjustments helped Liverpool take full advantage of the foundation left by Jurgen Klopp. Even, in some ways, he also contributed to helping Mohamed Salah maintain his peak form for longer.
Any objective assessment of Slot's term also needs to consider the difficulties he faces. It is true that he inherited a quality squad, but the past 12 months have contained many fluctuations. Diogo Jota's sudden departure last summer created a significant gap both in terms of expertise and spirit.
Besides, Liverpool's massive shopping campaign is also not as effective as expected. Alexander Isak has not shown his best form, Florian Wirtz has not created the desired influence, while Luis Diaz's departure leaves a significant gap in the attack.
And then there is the story of Salah. The Egyptian star has always been a symbol of Liverpool, but his decline over time has also become a difficult problem for any coach. From a certain perspective, Slot is unlucky to face that transition period. However, there are also opinions that his way of using players has contributed to making the situation more complicated.
What caused Slot the most criticism was that he could not find a solution to the problems existing on the field. From the ability to resist dead balls to how to deal with deep-lying defensive teams, The Kop continuously encountered difficulties but did not show a clear improvement.
Slot's press conferences are increasingly making fans impatient. Instead of offering solutions, he often mentions factors such as injuries, scheduled matches, referees or unfavorable decisions from outside.
He even mentioned controversial situations in matches not directly related to Liverpool, which made public opinion even more dissatisfied.
Disappointment not only appeared in the stands but also spread to the dressing room. Many players seemed to lose faith in the playing style they were asked to perform.
In that context, the question is whether Iraola is the right choice? For many people, the answer is yes. The Spanish strategist is considered one of the coaches with the closest style to Jurgen Klopp in the current Premier League.
While Liverpool under Slot increasingly prioritized ball control and slow deployment from their own half, Bournemouth of Iraola stood out with high pressing intensity and fast-paced transitions.
His team is always in the leading group of the Premier League in terms of the number of accelerations and direct attacks. If Slot wants to bring the ball to the dangerous area with organized passes, Iraola wants to win the ball right in the opponent's half to create opportunities.
