Photo by Robin Jones - AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images
Photo by Robin Jones - AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images
Liverpool players are steadily adapting to the demands of Andoni Iraola, working hard to become a team in the image of the Basque coach.
When the Reds appointed Iraola, they knew they were getting a coach who likes to play football a certain way, meaning a period of transition may have to be observed.
That has certainly been the case so far, and over the weeks it has become clear which players are more suited to Iraola’s intense, press-heavy style of football and which ones may need longer to adapt. Though everyone will be given time by the new boss, Bournemouth midfielder Tyler Adams has sent a warning to those who are struggling to get used to his style of play, claiming that if they do not fall into line, they will simply be replaced.
I agree! It hasn't been spectacular, but maybe that is somehow a good thing? We need solidity, not fireworks, and I feel much, much more positive about the future than I did four months ago. I do think if things click we can challenge this season, Arsenal are nothing special and neither are City. The next game will be a big indication of where we are
I’m gonna say B. Nothing special but still unbeaten. It’s not as exciting as I first thought the football would be, but hopefully that’ll come with time. I’m not unhappy tho!
Tyler Adams warns Liverpool players they’ll be replaced
Liverpool fans have already seen Iraola’s slightly ruthless streak in action in how he has dealt with Ryan Gravenberch and Jeremie Frimpong. Both players began the season in the Reds’ starting XI, but after some sloppy displays they have already been relegated to the bench.
This has led to improvement for Liverpool, with Alexis Mac Allister and Ronald Araujo proving themselves to be more suited to the way Iraola wants his team to play.
And according to Adams, this is a regular feature of life under Iraola. Speaking to Men In Blazers about his former manager at Bournemouth, the American says that if you can’t do what the Spaniard is asking of you, he will simply find somebody who can.
“He’s a madman when it comes to the tactics and the understanding, but it’s also so simple. It’s pretty black and white the way that he wants to play. It’s chaotic when it’s on the field and you want to suffocate your opponent and make them really feel that way, but it’s so simple, it’s black and white,” he said.
READ MORE: Why Andoni Iraola deserves far more credit for his unbeaten start with Liverpool
“The amazing thing about him is that if you don’t do it, then he’ll find the person that will do it. For me that’s where I found that he showed a lot of belief in the way that I play and the way that I did things, because I was able to adapt to the way that he wanted to play. But if you don’t do it, then it’s next man up and he’ll find the players that want to do it and they’ll be successful.”
Adams hails Iraola’s work with young players
As well as his clear willingness to take underperforming players out of the team, another thing which Liverpool fans have liked about Iraola has been the way he has dealt with the club’s young players.
The likes of Lewis Koumas and Trey Nyoni have been trusted with bigger roles – and are so far delivering – and as Adams says, this is also very typical of his former boss.
“He has a unique way of really pulling talent out of players and really developing them, and I think that’s just through giving them opportunities in games,” he said.
“For a lot of teams they might not give the 19, 20 year old an opportunity, whereas he doesn’t look at you as a 19, 20 year old, 21 year old, whatever you are at a young age with a lack of experience, he says the games are going to be the experience, whether they go amazing or terrible, it’s going to be an experience that is good for you. So, he gives you this opportunity and I really think that’s where he got the best out of so many of the young players in our group.”
Under Arne Slot it often felt as though the same, struggling players were in the team no matter how badly they played the previous week, while talented youngsters were left to kick the heels on the bench or out of the squad. On both counts Iraola has come in and ripped up the playbook. Liverpool players, you have been warned.