Why Andoni Iraola is a better fit for Liverpool than Xabi Alonso

Arne Slot arrived at Liverpool carrying one enormous advantage. He inherited a title-winning team, a stable dressing room and a squad built by Jurgen Klopp. In his first season, everything worked. Liverpool won the title comfortably, the Dutchman adapted quickly and the club’s decision-makers resisted the temptation to heavily reshape the squad.

Then came this season.

Liverpool became one of the busiest clubs on the market, perhaps too busy according to many observers. New expensive players arrived, the squad changed significantly and the challenge facing Slot suddenly looked completely different. The result was brutal. Liverpool lost 19 matches in the 2025/26 season, and by the end it became increasingly obvious that the title-winning coach had lost control of the project.

The biggest problem was not simply results. It was repetition.

Liverpool looked almost identical in May to how they looked in September. The same structural problems remained unsolved, the same tactical limitations reappeared every week and Slot never really found convincing solutions. His possession-heavy approach became predictable, slow and easy to defend against, especially in a league increasingly shaped by structured defensive systems and compact low blocks.

Watching Liverpool became strange.

The club that once terrified opponents with transitions, pressing and chaos turned into a team circulating possession without purpose. Some responsibility also falls elsewhere. Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, outstanding during the title-winning season, suffered dramatic declines. Salah especially became increasingly frustrated publicly, while performances from both veterans dropped sharply.

Slot’s biggest failure was not encountering problems.

It was showing almost no signs that he knew how to solve them.

That is why Liverpool now find themselves searching for a different type of coach.

Many supporters will argue the club should have moved for Xabi Alonso before he joined Chelsea. The emotional argument makes sense. The football argument is more complicated. Alonso, fundamentally, shares many ideas with Slot. Structured possession, control, carefully managed buildup. Liverpool already tried that route.

Andoni Iraola offers something completely different.

The Basque coach has quietly become one of the most influential tactical figures in English football. At Bournemouth, he pushed a squad with limited resources beyond expectations and created one of the league’s most aggressive teams. Fast attacks, vertical football, pressing and constant intensity became his trademarks.

More importantly, Liverpool’s squad still looks more suited to that style.

If supporters want the return of Klopp-era energy, unpredictability and chaos, Iraola represents a far more logical continuation than Alonso. He knows the league, understands its demands and already proved he can build competitive teams under difficult conditions.

There are obvious risks.

The jump from ambitious clubs to elite clubs destroys many coaches. Thomas Frank struggled at Tottenham. Ruben Amorim found life difficult at Manchester United. The pressure at Liverpool will be completely different from Bournemouth.

Still, tactically, the fit looks obvious.

Next season’s Premier League will become even more fascinating because change is everywhere. Xabi Alonso inherits Chelsea’s strange sporting project. Enzo Maresca steps into huge expectations at Manchester City. Roberto De Zerbi begins rebuilding Tottenham. Even Michael Carrick faces a completely different world at Manchester United after moving from playoff football into elite-level expectations.

That leaves one obvious benchmark.

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.

At first glance, if Iraola succeeds quickly, Liverpool might be the only team naturally positioned to seriously challenge them.

Football rarely follows logic, of course.

But one thing feels clear.

With Slot, Liverpool were becoming increasingly difficult to watch.

With Iraola, at least the heavy metal might return.