Iraola can save Liverpool’s ‘failed Galacticos’ as Carragher lauds five HUGE calls the boss got right
Jamie Carragher is convinced Liverpool have picked a winner in Andoni Iraola with the Basque tactician already showing he has the brass neck needed to make the big decisions at Anfield, with five brutal selection calls earning wholesome praise.
When the Reds appointed Iraola over the summer there was a fear that Liverpool were taking a bit of a punt into the unknown. Yes, the Spaniard had performed admirably during his spell in charge of Bournemouth, leading to their highest-ever Premier League finish and transforming the Cherries into one of the most high-octane and entertaining sides around.
One of those doubters was Carragher, with the pundit concerned at how Iraola would handle the step up in class, the bigger personalities to manage and how he would fare given his lack of European, let alone Champions League, experience.
But some six matches into his reign, which has seen the Reds remain unbeaten and clock up three wins and three draws across all competitions, Carragher has been forced to change his tune.
And he believes that the early signs of Iraola’s reign are extremely promising, pointing not just to results, but also the manager’s bravery in making a series of tough selection calls.
“You could say that Liverpool, last season, were the ‘failed Galacticos’,” Carragher wrote in The Telegraph.
“Encouragingly, Iraola does not strike me as someone who will delay making the necessary corrections,” he added. “He has already shown he is not shy of making big decisions, regardless of reputation.”
Rating five selection calls in particular, Carragher commented: “Both full-backs have been dropped, with one recalled because the back-up Kostas Tsimikas was so poor against Fulham he was not even in the squad on Tuesday night.
“Iraola left out Ryan Gravenberch because of form, while deciding, barring injuries to others, Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo will not play Champions League football this season…”
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Carragher also welcomes Iraola’s decision to put his faith in youth with Trey Nyoni, Lewis Koumas and James McConnell all having picked up valuable minutes to far this season.
“Backing the youngsters in midweek was brave. That felt like an important night for the club and Iraola,” Carragher added. “He is empowered to make big calls early in his reign because the defects in the squad are so obvious.
“Such decisiveness has helped relieve some of my initial scepticism when Iraola was given the job. The longer this season progresses, the tougher and more consequential his decisions will become given how far away Liverpool are from being title material.
“The new coach must diplomatically navigate through the repercussions of a Liverpool transfer policy which took the club down a risky and unfamiliar path more in common with Real Madrid.”
As touched upon by Carragher, Iraola has quickly worked out that last summer’s signing, Jeremie Frimpong, is not up to scratch defensively.
And, rather than persist with something that is broken, the manager has quickly settled on a solution in the form of centre-half Ronald Araujo being moved to play there.
Carragher likes what he sees in Araujo and reckons the on-loan Barcelona man can already be considered the new cult hero at Anfield.
“Liverpool have had an issue at right-back. That was the point in bringing him (Araujo) in. He wasn’t just brought in at centre back; it was to do a job at right-back,” Carragher said.
“He’s almost, in two games really, he’s become a cult hero. The fans have absolutely fallen in love with him straight away.
“Sometimes you have players like that, you know, they’ve come, they’ve got a bit of a backstory, at Barcelona maybe they were happy to see him go, but the Liverpool supporters opened their arms and gave him a big cuddle, and he seems to be enjoying it.”
In a press conference on Friday, Iraola was asked about Araujo’s place on the right side of defence and gave a teasing response when asked if the Uruguayan was a fixture there now.
