15 Jun 2026 08:23:22
Question: So Iraola wants high energy, non-stop running.
Isak and Ekitike, are they this type of player?
For me, they are both very talented individuals but they don’t seem to have that in them and that’s a £200,000,000.
15 Jun 2026 08:46:45
They can run.
They should have enough energy.
They are professional footballers.
There's a difference between 'not being able to', 'not wanting to' and 'not being expected to'.
Iraola will instruct them on how they will play and they will have enough energy.
15 Jun 2026 08:52:51
I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have said that many of the players at Bournemouth when Iraola came in were suited to high octane pressing football. You probably also wouldn't have imagined that the likes of Ryan Christie or Lewis Cook could play as one of Iraola's 6s and do an outstanding job. You wouldn't have thought that James Hill could take Zabarnyi's place, or that Truffert would make a good, albeit very different, replacement for Kerkez. Iraola does brilliant things working with the players he has and tweaking his system to match the players, to get something out of them that we would never have expected before he worked with them.
True, he has core principles and his way of playing is still in the process of evolving, the amount of learning that the players will have to take onboard is enormous and the intelligence they have to exhibit is huge (like it was under Klopp, who gave the players a lot of freedom to interpret what they have to do at any moment). It's a matter of how much and how quickly Isak and Ekitike can learn to play Iraola's football.
15 Jun 2026 09:06:30
I didn't watch the Sweden game last night, but, by all accounts, Isak and Gyokeres tore apart a defence that didn't concede a single goal in World Cup qualifying with their constant movement and runs.
15 Jun 2026 09:07:51
Off the ball, there is no type of player. The manager sets the team up to do it how he wants it done.
Yes, Ekitike and Isak can do it just as well as anyone else.
15 Jun 2026 09:18:37
Tunisia were very very lucky with their qualification group though, they are not very good, they conceded 4 to Nigeria in AFCON, they just shipped 5 vs Belgium before the World Cup, so even though I'm very happy for Isak, much tougher tests are on the horizon.
15 Jun 2026 09:29:50
You don't have to run around like a madman to be a good presser - pressing is much more about intelligence than sheer mobility. You just need high fitness to ensure you can do it throughout and have less dropoff.
Isak's body type/frame simply won't enable him to contend with the stop/start motion of a constant press, but as long as he knows when to press versus when not to, he will have no issues.
Plus, people forget that Isak is in the team for his lethal quality in front of goal - he is, first and foremost, a high-caliber player there to win matches.
15 Jun 2026 09:32:30
Statto, this is simple. Such players (even tho Eki and Isak pressed at their former clubs) will need to get their houses and get fitter and stronger to handle whatever it is that is coming their way.
When Klopp arrived, that is exactly what happened and players had to do as said above. There is nothing to be worried about. As Ron said eloquently, "There's a difference between 'not being able to', 'not wanting to' and 'not being expected to'.
When Slot was here we didn't press at all and when we did, only one player pressed and the rest just stood there watching. That won't be a thing next season."
Now, we will press high and imo, we got the players like Eki, Isak, Wirtz (all pressed at their former clubs), Szobo, Jones, Elliott, Gakpo (if the last 3 are still here and all 4 played under Klopp) who can press high and do the hard yards cos they've done it before.
I ain't sweating it, personally.
15 Jun 2026 09:34:16
An @Arne is right re: Tunisia. They are useless and how they even made it to the finals from that cliff-hanger of a qualifying phase in Africa is still a mystery to me.
15 Jun 2026 10:37:00
Just look at the running stats of Isak (last season at Newcastle), Darwin (last season at Liverpool, Ekitike last season, Diego (any season) Diaz and Mo) and their running stats are all quite similar.
Darwin is the only one supposedly deemed as a world class presser, so either the rest were super fast walkers or Isak & Ekitike are capable.
{Ed001's Note - running stats are irrelevant, it isn't about running to press.}
15 Jun 2026 11:19:46
"Get their houses".
Sorry, I meant get their houses in order. Sorry about that.
15 Jun 2026 11:39:19
Ed001 what would you use to identify a good presser then apart from the obvious eye test.
Only asking mate as i watched Darwin live over 3 seasons and i didn't see him as this world class presser others did, but i suppose we all see the game differently.
{Ed001's Note - it is all about positioning.}
15 Jun 2026 12:29:04
As @Lowe said above, running about all over the place isn't pressing.
Game awareness, anticipation, and the closing down of space and options for the player on the ball and potential receivers of the ball are what it's about. The key is everybody buys into the press and its execution.
15 Jun 2026 12:46:06
Also, if the team are pressing together, there is less space to cover, meaning they run less whilst also playing higher tempo football.
15 Jun 2026 12:09:17
Aggression and intensity is also important in my opinion Ed001. But i agree positioning making is the top requirement because you have to understand when to press and where to press as a unit in order for it to be successful. When you do go though I always think that in order to win the ball high up with an actual turnover, somebody needs to put a boot or make an interception in eventually, otherwise you're relying on the opposition panicking and putting it out for a throw in or kicking it long to your CB's. Which is actually more effective in terms of regaining possession frequently but far less likely to result in a counter pressing situation.
On the topic of running stats, I remember Peter Crouch used to always have a 10-11km per 90 distance covered throughout most of his career but it was mostly just from him constantly moving around to find space as he was a target man who didn't want to mark himself by standing next to a CB. This is as much proof as you need that distance covered does directly correlate to being good at pressing because Crouch was an average presser at best.
{Ed001's Note - that is not proof at all. How is that proof? It is utterly unrelated, you even said that yourself that it was nothing to do with his pressing.}
15 Jun 2026 12:28:34
I'd agree with that Ed but I'd add it's about positioning, timing, intelligence and structure. You can't just blindly run after people as without back up they'll just pass around you, it's a waste of energy.
When a player presses the ball the entire team need to recognise it and position themselves accordingly. Blocking easy passes, squeezing the play, condensing the pitch so it's easier to get close to people. The press has to be aggressive so the player on the ball can't get their head up and pick out a pass over the top.
Last season we failed on all fronts. The attackers did press at times but it wasn't aggressive enough and the defence actually dropped off creating too much space in the midfield. The midfield were then caught between a rock and a hard place. If they support the press they leave a gap in behind, if they don't support the press it's just becomes completely ineffective and gets easily bypassed. They then had to come out to engage the player running through the heart of the midfield. Whilst all of this is going on, Virgil would invariably be running back towards his own goal giving the opposition more space to play.
One pass through the middle of the pitch and they were at our back 4. Even a lump up to the CF worked as Virgil would normally win the header but it would just drop into acres of space in the midfield and they are at the back 4. If Virgil didn't win the header they were in on goal because the defence had no cover from midfield as they were too far away.
It's baffling that we played this way all season without Slot, his coaches, analysts, players noticing it and doing something about it.
15 Jun 2026 12:41:34
Ed001 I should be leading the line then as my Mrs said I'm decent to average in a number of positions
15 Jun 2026 15:51:59
Ed001, it was a typo mate. I was meant to type that it's proof that it "does NOT directly correlate". My whole point was that Crouch putting up high distance covered statistics showed the lack of correlation because he couldn't/didn't press at all but I accidently forget to type the "not". Face in palm moment from me.
{Ed001's Note - ah that explains it! I was a little confused as you seemed to agree with me in the rest of the paragraph, but said the opposite with that one sentence.}