Liverpool news: FSG and Richard Hughes given food for thought as 3 legends target Iraola
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Three Liverpool legends have expressed doubt that he is the man for the job, giving the club's owners, Fenway Sports Group, and sporting director Richard Hughes, much to ponder.Jamie Carragher makes Xabi Alonso claimReds legend Jamie Carragher believes Iraola may not be the right fit for Liverpool, suggesting new Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso would've been the ideal candidate for Anfield.Speaking on The Overlap ahead of Iraola's appointment, he said: "I would have changed him (Slot) for Xabi Alonso. I know it didn't go well, but he is used to that pressure and scrutiny."If Liverpool chose Iraola over Alonso, it is very worrying for Liverpool.
But I am not sure Liverpool has the players to play Iraola's high-pressing game."Glen Johnson's concernsFormer Liverpool defender Johnson maintains that the Basque coach will have to grapple with a club of Liverpool's stature while getting consistent results on the pitch. The unknown is always going to be a question mark until he gets his chance to manage an elite club, he has that chance now.
The former midfielder isn't sure Iraola will be able to smoothly translate his attacking football to Liverpool so easily, claiming the Reds currently do not have the players to pull off his favoured style of play.Like Johnson, Murphy is also worried Iraola will struggle at a club of Liverpool's size. "He's never managed a club of this size before, and he will be a little bit surprised at how intrusive it will be on his life when you manage Liverpool," Murphy said."Even as a player, that changes overnight because it's one of the biggest clubs in the world and everything you do will be scrutinised and talked about, locally and globally."The only other reservation is whether he will be able to play high-intensity football every few days because that will require a certain level of fitness - which we saw with Jurgen Klopp's teams with the flying full-backs, the midfield dynamism and the work-rate of the attackers."It's difficult to see how to create that with what he's got at the moment so the summer transfer window is huge for Liverpool in that respect.