Bournemouth icon suggests Iraola is unlikely to deviate from ‘kamikaze’ football at Liverpool

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Liverpool fans have been advised that Andoni Iraola is unlikely to deviate from his ‘aggressive’ style of play at Anfield, even if it can be ‘a little bit kamikaze’.The Basque saw his reputation soar during a three-year spell at Bournemouth in which he took the Cherries to their highest ever finish of sixth in the top flight last season, all whilst remaining committed to a tactical blueprint of high intensity and rapid verticality.That forward-thinking commitment has been in evidence during his early weeks with the Reds, who began the Premier League campaign with a 2-2 draw at Newcastle in which moments of attacking brilliance were offset by defensive frailties.Iraola ‘won’t change his style of play’ at LiverpoolBournemouth’s all-time appearance maker Steve Fletcher – who worked with Iraola at the Vitality Stadium – has backed the 44-year-old to succeed at Liverpool once the players fully commit to his enterprising brand of football and begin to deliver results on the pitch.He told Flashscore: “He [Iraola] won’t change his style of play; I know what he’s like. He’ll play a certain way; he likes fast, attractive, aggressive football, and he’ll press from the front.

“You could call it a little bit kamikaze football at times, but he likes a bit of the chaos in the middle of the park, and he trusts his players to be 1v1 in certain situations. He’ll definitely entertain the crowds.(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)“Can he succeed?

The players have got to buy into what he wants to do, and he needs to get off to a good start. Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustCan Iraola get the balance right at Liverpool?Having seen how Bournemouth played during their three years under Iraola, it comes as no surprise to us that Liverpool have been a lot more enterprising in his first few games at the helm than they had been under Arne Slot last season.The Basque’s vertical, counterpressing approach is in marked contrast to the more measured style of football that the Dutchman preferred, with the Anfield crowd audibly tiring of the latter during a wretched 2025/26 campaign.(Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)The current head coach’s tactics are reminiscent of the early part of Jurgen Klopp’s Merseyside tenure, with fans loving the all-action aspect but having valid misgivings over a lack of security in the Reds’ half of the pitch.The German ultimately got the balance right during his 2018-2020 peak at Liverpool, although it took him three years to reach that sweet spot, and the team will likely be a work in progress in Iraola’s first few months in charge as well.As fans, we’d like to see the Reds becoming more secure by signing a top-level defensive midfielder to close off the gaps in the middle of the park which have been glaring.If Iraola can remain committed to his general tactical blueprint whilst making his team harder to play through and winning most weeks, we’ve no doubt that Kopites will very much take him to their hearts.