Andoni Iraola

[MosRay]

Great watch & thanks mate for sharing. I sense he can’t wait to get started.

You can see the excitement in his eyes, but what strikes me is how privileged he feels.

This feels like one of those fits like a glove appointments, like all the great mangers of the past. By that I mean he gets the club, the base and he will get the city too.

Let's hope he can become successful during his time at the club.

[Kenneth]

Agree that the vibes are spot on. I heard that he lost something like 5 out the first 7 games at Bournemouth before the players got to grips with things, and results similar to that would really dampen the excitement, but I’m expecting inconsistency early doors and am prepared for the long haul, as long as we’re putting in a shift and produce moments that properly entertain the fans.

[memzey]

I'm not trying to be contrarian and the biggest part of me hopes I'm wrong but I just don't share the same sense of optimism that is being expressed here. As much as I like Iraola as a person and rate him as a coach I can't escape the fact that he seems lacking for the task. He's probably adequately competent but this role needs something more and I just don't see it in him. Sorry.

Like I say, I hope I'm wrong but I can't deny my instinctive reaction to his appointment. This doesn't mean he won't get my unqualified support, of course he will, I just feel that I can already see the way his tenure is going to end and it doesn't look good.

[Yozza]

I'm not trying to be contrarian and the biggest part of me hopes I'm wrong but I just don't share the same sense of optimism that is being expressed here. As much as I like Iraola as a person and rate him as a coach I can't escape the fact that he seems lacking for the task. He's probably adequately competent but this role needs something more and I just don't see it in him. Sorry.

Like I say, I hope I'm wrong but I can't deny my instinctive reaction to his appointment. This doesn't mean he won't get my unqualifies support, of course he will, I just feel that I can already see the way his tenure is going to end and it doesn't look good.

Could you say what this feeling is based on? Just curious as I can't wait to see him sort us out - I think he'll do very very well

He was always going to turn up at a big club; I'm delighted we've got him

[memzey]

Could you say what this feeling is based on? Just curious as I can't wait to see him sort us out - I think he'll do very very well

He was always going to turn up at a big club; I'm delighted we've got him

That's a good a question. I'll try to put it into words as best I can.

Essentially, based on all past indicators to date, being a competent coach and man-manager tends to be good enough to make a coach stand out at a smaller club, but does not determine whether a coach is going to be successful at a mega club like LFC. It's rather that these are the minimum standards that anyone being considered for such a role needs to have. There are plenty of examples like, Moyes at Utd, Emery at Arsenal, Resenoir at Chelsea, Brendog at LFC, etc. etc., when a good coach and motivator can't cut it at the next level up. The real differentiators at that level seem to be more ephemeral than straight forward tactical nous/motivational skill and include things like how well they can cope with the pressure, can they galvanise and mobilise a global fan base, do they have something special/unique/desirable/advantageous about them that delivers a material advantage, and so on. I have lazily summarised this as "Gravitas" in other posts. As much as I like Iraola and want him to be a success, I can't escape the sense of a gaping hole in that aspect of his overall package, and it's one of the reasons why I thought Nagelsmann would have been a better appointment.

I will still back him 100% and sincerely hope he proves me wrong but, if he does so, it will be by showing these qualities which he hasn't in his career to date, at least, not at a level that is relevant to LFC.