11 Jul 2026 07:53:23
You do wonder how Isak, Ekitike, Wirtz etc would have performed if Klopp was in charge.
When Klopp was in charge, there were rarely poor signings and many great ones.
Were they great signings or was Klopp just a great coach who got the most out of his players individually and collectively? Feels more like the matter to me.
I may be being overly glass half full here, but Iraola showed signs of this at Bournemouth. Getting the most out of his players.
If you also look at them, they move on from Bournemouth, they don’t seem to be as effective for wherever they move to.
Semenyo may be the exception but even towards the end of the season I felt his form tailed off and Pep seemed to trust him less.
I’m genuinely excited to see what Iraola does with the higher calibre players he’ll have to choose from and by the higher level calibre players LFC can attract compared to Bournemouth.
11 Jul 2026 09:19:25
Klopp even praised Andoni's coaching when he first arrived at Bournemouth.
Iraola is a good coach, I think he will elevate our individuals to the next level and the collective will improve dramatically.
11 Jul 2026 09:25:34
I'm super excited to see what the new manager does at the club, but football is a fickle game with a short memory.
This time 12 months ago Slot was a legend, Isak was world class, Wirtz was a generational talent and Ekitike was deemed too slight and not good enough for us on here.
Also, I'd quite happily bet no one was mentioning Iarola as the future man for Liverpool, as he gets the best out of player.
No doubts, someone will tell me they did and knew his blueprint from 11 thousand miles away.
As I said, super excited about him coming in and changing how we played last season. I just don't think it's a sure fire thing.
{Ed001's Note - I got pelters for saying something similar to that mate about Iraola before last season. Got even more grief when Bournemouth went through a rough patch, but by the end of the season most people had come round. There was one other on here that did agree with me at the start of the season, it might have been Ron Keague, but my memory is poor.}
11 Jul 2026 09:34:19
Actually @Long term, we were looking at all these players when Klopp was still here but as Ed01 said, Klopp did not want Isak because he felt he couldn't handle the intensity of Klopp-ball hence, he took Darwin instead who was a physical animal who could cope with it, whatever. Eki went to PSG while Wirtz stayed at Bayer as Havertz's replacement (who went to Chelsea).
Now if Klopp had signed them hypothtically, they would have performed better because there would have been a plan, a structure of play that the players would have fit into.
As for Doni, he has a plan, a structure and a way of playing that the playerscan adapt to and with Klopp endorsing him as well, what's not to like? Klopp may see himself in him a lil' bit, in my view.
11 Jul 2026 09:40:50
I've no doubt about Iraola's coaching, I think he's going to do wonders, but can he keep Isak fit, that's the million dollar question.
11 Jul 2026 09:46:59
Isak has played a lot during the World Cup, I think a lot of the injury issues were down to the awful training standards set by the previous manager.
11 Jul 2026 10:03:36
Lad's, I absolutely cannot wait to see the team under Iraola.
11 Jul 2026 10:15:53
JK, It was quite sobering to read that and reflect on where we thought where we were at before the season started!
11 Jul 2026 10:32:11
Irealo will give us a style of play we will like and what we used to in last few years.
We will work very hard, 1 of the best teams in league at pressing, and football will be attractive to watch.
No doubt in my mind, fans will get behind him and the team as they will give us something to get behind, unlike last season.
He will be expected to win trophies in time, and I suppose that's the unknown, whether he can do that are not.
Really looking forward to season now.
11 Jul 2026 10:55:26
I'm upbeat about the season ahead (I always am). Hopefully we enjoy the football and maybe win something. As for Isak, Wirtz and Ekitike, I don't think Klopp would sign the first two. Eki maybe. As for great signings or great coach, I think it was more down to Klopp.
11 Jul 2026 10:55:30
Amen to that, Digger.
11 Jul 2026 10:57:08
No chance we would have signed Isak under Klopp. Not sure we'd have signed Ekitike either - he's not a 90-minute man, not the ideal profile for hard-pressing heavy metal football. Wirtz would have excelled because Klopp would know how to get the best out of him, and of course he's a fantastic man-manager.
11 Jul 2026 11:45:38
Any coach in the world would've signed Isak given half a chance. He is/was one of the very best strikers in the world.
Klopp had tried, and failed, to introduce a proper striker when he signed Nunez after having a false 9 for the majority of his tenure. He knew that Salah was on the decline, and we would never get another right winger with his goals output, so had already tried to transition to a goal scoring striker.
If he could've replaced Nunez with Isak he would've jumped at the chance. To suggest anything else is actually quite ridiculous.
{Ed001's Note - he turned down the chance to sign Isak to get Nunez. So you are just being ridiculous as usual. You really do spout utter cack constantly.}
11 Jul 2026 10:28:40
Ed001 nudged me to check out Iraola's coaching when he praised him so highly.
Before that I hadn't considered him at all but a recommendation from Ed001 meant I had to look deeper. I'm so glad I did look into him and so glad we've got him.
Football is a fickle game and sometimes it doesn't work out but he seems to have a lot of the tools needed to succeed.
Last summer I praised Slot for his game management. It seemed we were cagey in the first half and then he'd change the game at half time. I lost count of the number of games we won from a poor first half.
However, when he tried to impose his own style on the team it failed badly.
It happens, but he played his part in our title win with his game management, no doubt about it.
11 Jul 2026 11:35:01
It was me Ed. I ve been on the Iraola train for donkeys. Think he is class. People underestimate what he has done at Bournemouth.
{Ed001's Note - yes, you're right, so sorry Davey.}
11 Jul 2026 12:05:38
The one thing we know is the new manager won't be using slow football. We can at least expect a more exciting watch, which, after last season, is a good start.
Thanks for the title win, Arne, but unfortunately last season the proof was deffo in the pudding.
If this squad hasn't forgotten how to train hard and get back to pressing, then we might have a challenge on our hands again.
Interested in who ends up as the Mo replacement.
11 Jul 2026 12:09:46
Agreed, Lord Nukem, he's started all 4 games, played 90 minutes in all, and given that the games were on average 5 days apart, means he's back to full fitness. Hopefully AI fits into AI's system.
11 Jul 2026 13:27:39
I don't think he will make it through preseason. I will give some extra money to charity if he starts first game of the season.
11 Jul 2026 13:30:31
Yeah, Rios. The man who created the great Robert Lewandowski and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang as CF's did not know how to integrate a CF into the team. What that football?
As for Darwin, he had enuff opporunities to score the goals he needed to justify his price tag under Klopp.
He didn't and that was all down to him. Klopp had nothing to do with any of that, at the end of the day.
11 Jul 2026 13:46:43
I think Klopp and Iraola would get more, as when those players were fit, it would create more attacking play. Question will be whether they can keep up either the intensity or the work rate without breaking down.
11 Jul 2026 14:38:15
The fact that Klopp wanted Darwin (a big mistake) over Isak, even when the team wasn't playing heavy metal football, is telling.
To be honest, I wouldn't have signed Isak or Wirtz to a lesser extent, but they are both here now, both massive money signings. I'm hoping Iraola can get a system where both show their capabilities on a regular basis. Fingers crossed. ?
11 Jul 2026 15:39:01
I'm with Chewy, there is no way Klopp or 90% of Liverpool managers would have signed Isak. One reason Hughes is leaving the day after the window closes.