Iraola

[sydenham red]

Ando will lead us to glory, he will outwit fellow Spaniards Enriqu and Arteta and lift European Cups. This is going to be a golden period again

[Daffydd]

I'm optimistic but a lot will depend on H'Edwards new signings (and sales) and I think Iraola may have to bring through some youth players.

I read that there was some bad feeling between Slot and the academy staff but Iraola has shown he is willing to actually coach and develop and trust young players.

An ideal time for Jayden Danns to get fit. Although I fear it's too late for Stefan Bajcetic barring miracles.

[Steveo]

Ando will lead us to glory, he will outwit fellow Spaniards Enriqu and Arteta and lift European Cups. This is going to be a golden period again

I like this...

and...

...I like the cut of his jib.. Looks every inch a Liverpool 'manager'

[jozza800]

A really good break down of both Slot's set up and what we're likely to see under Iraola.

This Josh Williams fellow seems to have been on every LFC video i've watched in the last few weeks! But he knows his beans.

[Steveo]

Hmm. Tactics didn't just break down last season - the entire club did.

Everyone's arguing about low blocks and isolated wingers - but the another major culprit here is the new F$G corporate committee. Look at the setup... Michael Edwards at the top - Richard Hughes as Director of Football - and a neutered "Head Coach" on the touchline. We’ve gone from a unified club with a true leader to a fragmented spreadsheet operation... and when everyone is responsible for "the model" - nobody is actually accountable for the results on the pitch.

Josh even admitted it himself... Hughes is just recruiting "blindly" for a data profile of speed and transition. They bought players - it didn't work under Slot - so they just swapped the coach for Iraola to match the metrics. It’s soulless.

I have high hopes for the man... but IF Iraola’s chaotic press leaves a 34-year-old Virgil exposed next season... is that on the coach - or is it on the boardroom for forcing a square peg into a round hole? Stop blaming the tactics... start looking at the structure. Until this committee takes actual accountability - I fear that changing the fella in the dugout is just rearranging deckchairs.

We shall see soon enough.

[jozza800]

Hmm. Tactics didn't just break down last season - the entire club did.

Everyone's arguing about low blocks and isolated wingers - but the another major culprit here is the new F$G corporate committee. Look at the setup... Michael Edwards at the top - Richard Hughes as Director of Football - and a neutered "Head Coach" on the touchline. We’ve gone from a unified club with a true leader to a fragmented spreadsheet operation... and when everyone is responsible for "the model" - nobody is actually accountable for the results on the pitch.

Josh even admitted it himself... Hughes is just recruiting "blindly" for a data profile of speed and transition. They bought players - it didn't work under Slot - so they just swapped the coach for Iraola to match the metrics. It’s soulless.

I have high hopes for the man... but IF Iraola’s chaotic press leaves a 34-year-old Virgil exposed next season... is that on the coach - or is it on the boardroom for forcing a square peg into a round hole? Stop blaming the tactics... start looking at the structure. Until this committee takes actual accountability - I fear that changing the fella in the dugout is just rearranging deckchairs.

We shall see soon enough.

I appreciate all that and i'm not in the FSG's 'model' is the bestest in the world camp ( I wouldn't have paid £120m for Isak..), but fundementally it comes down to 11 players collectively and individually carrying out the manager's instructions on the pitch.

There was more than enough talent on the pitch last season. Slot just didn't set them up well from game one, and nor did he want or try to change throughout the season.

One thing that I think was massively under-appreciated about Klopp was his tactics/system. I think he was often and unfairly sometimes seen as a just a bit of 'chest thumper' but he knew what he was doing with his team. Klopp would have figured out how to get the most out of them and wouldn't have just through motivation/inspiration.

As you say, we'll see.

[pob]

I like this...

and...

...I like the cut of his jib.. Looks every inch a Liverpool 'manager'

Really? I like his style of football, but he doesn't come accross as a particularly strong leader. From what I've seen of him anyway. Will he be able to control that dressing room? We'll see.
Hope I'm wrong, but it smells like another Roy Evans type appointment to me.

[Insidious]

This Josh Williams fellow seems to have been on every LFC video i've watched in the last few weeks! But he knows his beans.

Josh is a Data nerd and a lot of how he sees the game overlaps with how I see it, though he is more articulate than I am.

I highly recommend his book actually, which analyses (almost entirely positively) our use of Data to supplement our work under FSG. He discusses the rise of Data use, how we started to ask the "right questions" of Data (an area where we were ahead of the game) and how cutting-edge we were in the application of it.

The book is a few years old now and Iraola is mentioned in the closing pages as someone who is openly more welcoming of data than most, which is interesting given how things have panned out.

As an aside, a little conspiracy theory for you - Iraola announced he was leaving Bournemouth on the same day that we had our second leg against PSG.

[Insidious]

Really? I like his style of football, but he doesn't come accross as a particularly strong leader. From what I've seen of him anyway. Will he be able to control that dressing room? We'll see.
Hope I'm wrong, but it smells like another Roy Evans type appointment to me.

He says "mana-herr" and "skwad" like Rafa does.

Press conferences and post-match are going to be so nostalgic.

Regarding any dressing room egos, if we have any arrogant f**kwits at the club, we should actively ship them out.