Jamie Carragher says Liverpool's current crop may be remembered for being a "failed galacticos era" if they struggle to perform for Andoni Iraola
Sky Sports TV pundit Jamie Carragher during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur
Jamie Carragher has slammed Liverpool's transfer strategy(Image: (Photo by James Baylis - AMA/Getty Images))
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Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool's squad will be remembered as the "failed galacticos era" if they struggle to perform for Andoni Iraola this season.
And Reds legend Carragher, who made 737 appearances for the club, has challenged the current crop to "run through brick walls" for head coach Iraola.
Iraola returns to his former club Bournemouth on Sunday unbeaten in his six games across all competitions since replacing Arne Slot over the summer.
However, the Reds have been held back by disappointing draws at home to Nottingham Forest and Fulham, while the Premier League campaign began with a 2-2 result at Newcastle United last month.
Liverpool added £123m Bradley Barcola to their ranks in the summer window and last Saturday the France international started his first game for the Reds alongside £116m Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, who moved from Newcastle for a British record £125m on September 1 last year.
Carragher admits the level of spending across the last two summer windows - which exceeds £660m at Anfield - sits uneasy with him as he challenged the players to justify their reputations under new head coach Iraola.
"As things stand, we are in the midst of Anfield’s failed galacticos era," Carragher writes in his weekly Telegraph column. "For Liverpool to become the first club in the world to field three £100m footballers is bewildering. To me, it was wrong.
"The foundation of the club’s success has been signing those with the talent and hunger to become Premier League and world stars after their arrival.
"Spending record fees on those who already have that reputation did not sit well with me a year ago. Nothing has changed my mind. Whatever Iraola achieves, no one will convince me that Liverpool have executed a well-conceived plan.
"No big club which has just won the title and is equipped to strengthen from the top expects to spend what Liverpool did and drop to fifth the next season.
"Now, the realistic and modest aim is to finish in the top four. That is why I recently argued that unless Iraola exceeds expectations and fights for the biggest prizes without further significant changes to the squad, Liverpool’s 2025 recruitment will go down as one of the worst transfer windows by a Premier League club.
"Incredibly, Liverpool have won only 18 of their 46 league games since the day they won the title."
Carragher adds: "My initial response after Slot’s sacking was that, in time, there would be a reassessment of his work and recognition of how many factors led to Liverpool’s underperformance.
"He did not deserve to be held solely responsible. That reappraisal will happen quicker than expected without a radical upturn.
"During last weekend’s goalless draw with Fulham, the first murmurings of the Kop’s discontent confirmed what I and many Liverpool supporters anticipated coming into this season.
"Slot proved a useful scapegoat for too many players. There will be no hiding place for them at Anfield if they do not run through a brick wall every week for Iraola."