Liverpool fans have all been asking the same question after Arne Slot was sacked on Saturday: why on earth are they not appointing Xabi Alonso?
Having long since signalled his desire to one day manage the Reds, Alonso was finally available to take on the job this summer.
That Liverpool stood by as he joined Chelsea suggested that Slot would be in the job come the start of the season. That he will not be has left many supporters completely confused.
What does Andoni Iraola need to do to get Liverpool players on his side early on?
Slot has left some wreckage behind…
As a storied former player of the club and a title-winning manager of some repute, Alonso looked like the perfect fit to follow Slot. The Liverpool owners‘ decision to overlook his candidacy has led to conspiracy theories that Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes did not want to employ a manager who would put their authority in the shade.
However, according to journalist Oli Kay, the truth is a lot less racy. Instead, it’s reportedly as simple as the fact that Liverpool want a faster, more front-footed style of play that will arrive with the likely appointment of Andoni Iraola.
Alonso’s style not suited to Liverpool wishes
Having watched Slot’s slow-paced, risk-averse football turn supporters against their club this season, you cannot blame FSG for wanting to bring in a manager who could guarantee the opposite of that.
Iraola fits the bill, and that is why he is the overwhelming current favourite to take the job. As Bundesliga commentator and Liverpool fan Kevin Hatchard points out on X, that should not be a surprise.
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“I think this idea that LFC missed out on Xabi Alonso because they sacked Slot too late is wide of the mark,” he says. “He’s a great coach and a Liverpool legend, but if you want aggressive, fast-paced, up-and-at-em football, he’s not your guy. Iraola much closer to Klopp’s “vollgas” style.”
Athletic editor Kay soon weighed in, revealing some insider discussions he’d had in March which proved Hatchard to be correct.
“It was spelt out to me in March that if they were looking for a new coach (which wasn’t their intention at that point), it wouldn’t be Alonso – pretty much for the reasons you mention,” he replied.
“If they’d wanted to, could very easily have spoken to him before he took the Chelsea job. (He has the same agent as Iraola after all.) They didn’t.”
Merseyside-based reporter James Pearce chimed in as well, adding that Hatchard was ‘spot on’ in his assessment. There you have it, then. Time to put the conspiracies to rest. Let’s just hope that the decision-makers have got it right here, because now that he’s at Chelsea, it will be very hard for Alonso’s Liverpool dream to ever be realised from here.
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