Andoni Iraola’s – Mohamed Salah demanded Liverpool become a heavy metal attacking side again—and the end of Arne Slot’s reign appears to be the first step. With Andoni Iraola now lined up after his Bournemouth work, the question shifts to whether his ruthless, high-press counte
By the time Mohamed Salah walked away from Anfield last month, he was already telling everyone what he wanted from the club he helped build: “I want Liverpool to go back to being the heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear.”
It was the clearest demand he could make—especially after he had just prepared to depart following 257 goals and eight major trophies. Salah’s message wasn’t just about entertainment. It was about fear. About tempo. About the kind of football Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool delivered so often that opponents started to dread the next transition.
Then Arne Slot’s Liverpool was swept away. Slot is gone, and it looks as if Sporting director Richard Hughes changed his mind and moved to remove him. The next chapter now points toward Andoni Iraola. the former Bournemouth boss appointed on the south coast by Hughes and charged with the kind of identity Liverpool haven’t consistently managed since the Klopp years.
Bournemouth’s record under Iraola provides the strongest clue. In the Premier League. they finished sixth under him and were only three points away from pipping Liverpool to the final Champions League spot. Even after losing most of their best players last summer, and then Antoine Semenyo mid-season, Bournemouth kept moving forward.
Liverpool, though, have been sliding. The gap that hurts most for supporters is simple: 24 points fewer than Slot’s first season, 23 fewer league goals scored, more conceded than in any season under Klopp, and three times as many defeats as their 2024-25 title win.
It’s why the “heavy metal” talk matters. Not because it’s poetic, but because the numbers around Slot’s Liverpool—shorn of Klopp’s certainty—haven’t matched the feeling of control supporters associate with winning sides.
When you look at the raw output. Slot’s Liverpool last season still sat close to Klopp’s title-winning levels in certain ways. Shots were basically the same as Klopp’s 2019-20 side, with possession at 59.3% compared to Klopp’s 63.5%. Attack speed up the pitch was listed as exactly the same. as were direct attacks and sequences of ten or more passes that ended in a shot.
But there was a disconnect that still showed up in the way Liverpool played. Slot’s Liverpool produced significantly higher fast breaks than Klopp’s title winners—385 compared to 385 for Klopp’s 2019-20?. The figures given show fast breaks of 385 for Klopp, 747 for Slot, and 7?. (the source table lists “747” and “749” across the latter columns). What stands out from the comparison is that fast breaks and the shots they produced weren’t delivering the same ruthless efficiency Klopp’s side did.
Slot’s Liverpool also had far fewer sequences of ten or more passes than Klopp’s team. And while Liverpool topped the list last season for goals from turnovers high up the pitch, supporters still didn’t get the consistent “this is who we are” pulse that Klopp’s squads carried.
The most revealing part might be the trying-to-find-it phase under Slot. The formations came and went: a 4-2-3-1. a 4-4-2. a diamond. three at the back. with wingers and then without them. There were two No10s at one point, then no No10s. By the end, the situation described was stark—neither Slot nor anyone else knew who Liverpool were.
That contrast is where Iraola’s Bournemouth become more than a brand comparison. Their football is described with the same kind of inevitability Klopp’s teams once had: a high, relentless press that squeezes opponents into corners, forces mistakes, and—crucially—punishes them when they happen.
This is where the press has specific shape. Only Manchester City and Chelsea had more shots after winning the ball back high up the pitch than Bournemouth this term. The season before, no one did. No side won possession in the final third of the pitch at least eight times in a Premier League match more often than Bournemouth. And no team recovered the ball anywhere on the pitch as much as Bournemouth.
The kind of moment Bournemouth can manufacture isn’t theoretical either. Their style delivered the 2-1 win over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in April through Alex Scott’s goal, part of a run of high-ball turnovers leading to danger.
Even when comparing how both teams attack directly, the source numbers point to a difference in what happened after the ball was won. Slot’s side produced only a couple fewer direct attacks than Bournemouth, but scored half as many goals from them. Klopp’s side were devastating from theirs.
Iraola’s press also comes with a willingness to foul and a willingness to go long when it needs to. Bournemouth made more fouls in the opposition half last season than any other team—and those fouls were generally the least likely to draw a yellow card. according to the figures cited. Before Paris Saint-Germain popularised rugby-style kick-offs, Bournemouth were already using them to punt the ball upfield from the first whistle.
When the ball is won, the movement is quick and forward. No team mustered as many direct attacks as Bournemouth, nor scored more goals from counter-attacks. Opta’s measurements are even sharper: Bournemouth attacked the fastest of all Premier League teams at 1.95 metres per second during Iraola’s reign. Only Everton averaged fewer passes per sequence.
Out of possession, the same approach stays consistent. Under Iraola. Bournemouth allowed opponents among the fewest passes before attempting to win the ball back. showing how ruthless they are when defending. Liverpool fans—specifically the ones who’ve missed this kind of bite—will recognise what that means: fewer second chances. fewer safe sideways passes to relieve pressure.
There is also a footballing comfort Salah likely won’t get this time. In many ways, the source argues it’s good for Salah that he won’t be there—because there’s no way Iraola would let him off from the pressing, running and “dirty work” that Slot at times did not demand in the same way.
If Iraola arrives, full backs become part of the pitch’s engine too. He will be looking to get more out of them than Slot managed. The comparison here points back to the creative double acts of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson, with full backs bombing forward as outlets.
Slot struggled to utilise Milos Kerkez, the former Bournemouth full back, though Bournemouth pushed hard enough to make Kerkez central. Liverpool paid £40m to bring him to Anfield last summer. Under Iraola, the expectation is that Kerkez’s game fits the system again.
Jeremie Frimpong is in the same category: better suited to thrive under Iraola than under Slot’s use. Adrien Truffert—Kerkez’s replacement at Bournemouth—was highlighted as among the most creative defenders and highest crossers in the league last term. Only Lucas Digne provided more assists than Truffert’s five among defenders. Kerkez and Frimpong combined for two assists.
Truffert’s role is described as constant involvement, with him having the second-most touches of any Bournemouth player all season. His positioning even in a draw with Manchester City last month was used as an example of how advanced Iraola wants full backs to get. including with Truffert’s “three” touches shown high up the pitch.
In the middle of it, the creative hub matters just as much as the press. There’s hope. the story suggests. that Iraola can help Wirtz thrive in a way Justin Kluivert and Junior Kroupi have already formed between them for Bournemouth. Kluivert and Kroupi. in this description. had to be part of the team press. but once in possession were given freedom to create. flourish and set the tempo between the lines—like the band’s bass player while team-mates bomb around them.
And there’s a football language behind it, too. Ander Murillo—former team-mate of Iraola and sporting director of AEK Larnaca—once described his style of football as “rock and roll.” Sounds about perfect for a Liverpool crowd that has been waiting for their identity back.
So the question moving forward isn’t whether Liverpool can play fast. The numbers have never been the only issue. It’s whether they can be fearsome in the way opponents fear Klopp’s teams, and ruthless when Bournemouth’s version of heavy metal forces mistakes and then cashes them in.
Liverpool Andoni Iraola Arne Slot Mohamed Salah Bournemouth Premier League heavy metal football Richard Hughes Milos Kerkez Adrien Truffert Junior Kroupi Justin Kluivert Wirtz counter-attacks