Guardian writers’ predicted position: 4th (NB: this is not necessarily Andy Hunter’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips) Andoni Iraola did not have to be sold on Liverpool when they came calling for a coach courted also by Milan, Bayer Leverkusen and Crystal Palace after his sterling work at Bournemouth. This is just as well as the sales pitch did not come with bells and whistles attached. Liverpool were enticed by Iraola’s style of play, but his ability to step back and problem-solve – taking Bournemouth into Europe last season despite losing most of his defence in the summer and Antoine Semenyo in January, for example – will have also appealed.
Arne Slot was assailed by unprecedented challenges last season, including the death of Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah’s attempts to undermine his manager in public, and lost his way as a result. How much of last season’s regression can be pinned on the former head coach will become apparent in the months ahead. Similarly to Slot in 2024, Iraola has been bequeathed a rich inheritance in terms of individual talent.
Unlike his predecessor, however, he is starting from a lower base in terms of constructing a team. With Salah gone and no replacement installed, as yet, responsibility has increased on Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak to produce after their underwhelming debut seasons. Wirtz has been deployed just behind Isak in pre-season and the early signs have been promising.
Central midfield options are strong and Dominik Szoboszlai’s new five-year contract removes one distraction. Questions remain over Liverpool’s threat from out wide, their defensive resources and leadership within the team, but having worked towards this moment throughout his coaching career Iraola will be confident of finding answers. In contrast to last summer there has been more upheaval behind the scenes with a change of head coach, Michael Edwards departing as chief executive of football for the owner, Fenway Sports Group, and the sporting director, Richard Hughes, expected to follow suit once the transfer window closes.
But one issue dominates: the arrival of the Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, the Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and Amit Bhatia, son-in-law of the Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, as part of a consortium that has bought 30% of Liverpool for £1.65bn. That several of the world’s richest people have bought into Liverpool underlines the attractiveness of the club, commercially and otherwise, but beyond Bhatia becoming vice-chairman on an expanded board it remains to be seen what the deal truly means for the club and its fans. FSG’s habit of annoying and then appeasing the Liverpool fanbase returned last season when it abandoned plans to lock in ticket prices rises over a three-year period.
The owners were thanked for engaging with supporters, after widespread protests , but there are now weightier conversations to be had in light of its deal with the 1892 Holdings consortium. As the supporters union, Spirit of Shankly, asked in an open letter: “Is this part of a planned wider sale, or a one-off? What due diligence is being done on the potential investors/owners?
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