Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has spoken out after the Reds sacked Arne Slot as manager on Saturday less than a week after the season ended
Jamie Carragher has admitted he was surprised at the timing of Liverpool's decision to sack Arne Slot and given his verdict on Andoni Iraola potentially takin . The former defender believes there is blame to be issued across the Reds' hierarchy and playing squad following their poor Premier League title defence.
Less than a week on from their 1-1 draw with Brentford, the Dutchman was relieved of his duties despite guiding the club to Champions League qualification on the final day. It was a poor Premier League title defence from Liverpool as they suffered 20 defeats in all competitions.
Andoni Iraola, who is set to depart Bournemouth and become a free agent when his contract expires next month, has emerged as the leading candidate to become the Reds' 23rd permanent manager. Nevertheless, Carragher was taken aback by the timing of the Premier League-winning boss's exit.
He told Sky Sports: "I was surprised, a lot that has been coming out of the club was that the manager was saying. Arne Slot was saying that in his press conferences, he was close to appointing a coach, so there's no way the club has sanctioned that if he thought he wasn't going to be in charge. I think it's sudden, caught everyone off guard including Arne Slot.
"I was torn on Arne Slot, I must say, I would've backed any decision and I can see both sides of the argument but an elite football manager finds a way to fix Liverpool to make it better but he wasn't helped with recruitment, have anyone of them done well?
"You could put that on the manager, does he need to get more out of them? Should them players have done more? Yes. Should the people above him give him a better squad? Yes. There's a lot of people to point fingers at."
Iraola turned Bournemouth's fortunes around with an outstanding run during the second half of the season that propelled them into European competition for the first time in the club's history.
The Cherries' style of play has drawn widespread admiration, with many drawing comparisons between their attacking approach and the philosophy required at Anfield. Carragher was full of praise for the Spaniard but stopped short of backing him for the role, pointing to potential shortcomings - including the demands of his high-intensity methods during a gruelling fixture list.
He said: "He's done a brilliant job. There are still huge question marks, the football is something Liverpool want to get to, high intense football, but it's not all about that when you're Liverpool manager. That was what worried me, Liverpool off the ball were so poor. He's fantastic at that but with the ball, dealing with low blocks."
Carragher added that Liverpool's next manager will be expected to win the league title: "My worry is can you play at that intensity when you're playing every three days? Whenever you bring in a manager for a top club at England, can they win the league? Liverpool had a manager who won the league, that's why I was always torn, whoever comes in is a risk but Liverpool did have a manager who won the league."
What became Slot's final months in charge were overshadowed by Mohamed Salah's very public criticism of the head coach, as he cut short a lucrative two-year deal at Anfield.
The Egyptian said an emotional goodbye to Liverpool supporters after a record-breaking nine years last Sunday, yet still managed to fire a parting shot at the Reds' hierarchy, warning of a decline in standards at Anfield.
Carragher was vocal in his condemnation of the Liverpool icon's behaviour. The former defender made clear his disapproval of Salah's conduct towards the manager.
He continued: "There is no doubt that he lost supporters, I think that was harsh on the back of what happened 12 months before. Supporter base has a huge influence, when you talk about player power, that can't have helped with Salah. I'm not happy with that, I don't ever want Liverpool Football Club to have player power to speak out about a manager who won the Premier League.
"What manager does it help when a star player comes out publicly criticising the manager, that shouldn't happen no matter the situation.
"Maybe it's forced the clubs' hand but the performances have been poor, my fear was that Liverpool might have a situation where Man United have been where they have a manager they're unsure about, stick with him in the summer and end up changing it two months later, you almost wasting a year.
"I don't know what goes on in the dressing room, I didn't like Mo Salah's post, I didn't think he should come out publicly. Who does get on with every manager?
"Players have lots of different managers but you don't go out on social media and do it publicly or put clapping emojis when someones having a go at your own manager. That probably tells you what's going on in the Liverpool dressing room right now. It shows it's not as easy of a job as it is from the outside so the new man coming in will have to sort that dressing room out."