What Will Andoni Iraola Do With Liverpool’s Fringe Players?
This post started as a lengthy reply to the many comments from yesterday’s article about Federico Chiesa possibly getting a fresh start under new Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola. Somewhere around the two hundred word mark, I remembered that I’m actually a writer here in TLO Towers, and fuck it, I can just write a full column instead.
I’ve also been listening to—and enjoying!—The Anfield Wrap’s annual “Transfer Committee Game” series this week. It’s a good thought experiment, but of course at the end of the day, it is just that. The real world is not nearly so simple as buying and selling players on a whim. Negotiations can drag on, or as we saw with Marc Guehi last year, break down completely in the last hours of the transfer window.
When the summer transfer window slammed shut last year, there was a feeling that we had left ourselves short, both in attack and defense. As it turned out, we were probably also short in midfield as well. Some of this was Liverpool’s fault: see Guehi, above, and Alexander Isak not being fully fit to start the campaign. Some of this was tragic: Diogo Jota. And some of this was terrible bad luck: devastating, long-term injuries to Giovanni Leoni, Connor Bradley, Alexander Isak, and Hugo Ekitike. And some of this was a knock on effect of the above: having to deploy midfielders at rightback, for example.
There was also the matter of Arne Slot effectively freezing players out of the squad, in a way that we really didn’t see under Jurgen Klopp’s leadership. As I wrote about yesterday, starting in March 2025, the squad’s legs simply fell off. In midfield, they seemingly never recovered throughout the 25/26 campaign.
Slot’s refusal to rotate, and give fringe players consistent minutes, only exaccerbated our struggles all over the park. Not only were Liverpool severely lacking in energy last year, which managed rotation would’ve helped allieviate, but when players did come out from the cold for a 10-15 minute cameo, they were lacking rhythm and an understanding with their teammates. This led to a vicious cycle, where the fringe players did not contribute, so they got less game time, and therefore contributed even less.
I’m sure the lack of roation also wasn’t good from a squad morale point of view.
My feeling last summer was that we should’ve kept more fringe players around the squad, especially after losing such a quality attacker in Diogo Jota. I would’ve kept the likes of Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott around last year. Sure, Darwin might’ve burned our heads out at times, but he was always dangerous and exciting to watch. And he could create a dangerous situation out of nothing (and probably hit the crossbar, but I digress). Elliott, on the other hand, could’ve easily filled in for 30 minutes here or there in midfield or attack, and we know the talent is there to contribute goals and assists.
While Isak and Ekitike were exciting signings, we were still obviously short in attack.
And we still are.
Hoewver, when you mention the likes of Darwin, Elliott, or Chiesa, many will reply about the overall fit of these players for a high-pressing manager like Iraola. They might not be obvious Iraola players.
But do you know who wasn’t thought of as a Klopp player? A player who wasn’t particularly quick or athletic? A player that wasn’t putting up huge numbers of goals and assists? The player that Klopp most credited with being the first to “get it” after the German’s arrival? The player that collapsed into Klopp’s arms when being subbed after his first match under his leadership? The player that Klopp kept around the squad years after the team seemingly “moved on” from needing his services?
Adam Lallana.
Klopp was not so naive to think that it would be the likes of Adam Lallana that would bring Liverpool the top honors. No, he would need to dip into the transfer market—and he did, over several key windows in the following seasons. But he also knew that he had to build that base using the players that were already there. “Coach ‘em up” if you will.
I’m hoping that Iraola will be a manager who will actually use our more fringe players. Even if the “fit” isn’t abundantly obvious on the surface, you can make up for a lot with a solid system in place. Also, pressing isn’t just about speed or athleticism, it’s about positioning, intelligence, and having the legs.
So I don’t see Chiesa (or Elliott) as being automatically “not Iraola guys,” especially if they can be happy as a rotational player, picking up lots of 30’s and the occasional 60 (which was never the case under Slot). But we need legs. And we need numbers. Once again:
We need legs.
We need numbers.
Like with Klopp’s early days, I think Iraola will be happy to work with what he has until they can be improved in the transfer window. With no disrespect to Bournemouth, Liverpool’s fringe players will very likely be better than what Iraola previously worked with.
Liverpool have once again left themselves with a lot of work to do in the transfer window. And unlike Football Manager or a mock Transfer Committee game, it’s not a quick or easy fix. The more players we let go, the more players we need to recruit—either this summer, or next—in order to build a squad that can once again compete for the highest honors on multiple fronts.
Chiesa and Elliott (along with any other fringe players you wish to bring into the discussion) might not be the long-term solution, but they should be seriously considered as short term solutions: players who can come in and do a job, and put 90 minutes of pressing into 30, giving some players some rest, and contributing if and when they can.
Klopp always kept those kinds of guys around the squad, and also gave them enough minutes to keep them happy and give them a feeling of contribuing, and keep the squad harmoniously ticking along. I think it would be wise for Iraola learn from the past two managers (and naturally, when in doubt, emulate Kloppo).
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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