Michael Owen says there’s a sad reality Liverpool fans need to realise about Andoni Iraola
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Liverpool fans are about to get their first real view into any progress made under Andoni Iraola so far when they face Manchester City on Sunday.Though they are unbeaten in their seven matches with their new head coach, the Reds are yet to win a Premier League match at Anfield this season, drawing disappointingly with Nottingham Forest and then Fulham.Those two results drew understandable frustration from supporters, who were perhaps expecting a quicker return to the good days under Iraola. There has been steady progress and good results elsewhere, but according to former Liverpool striker Michael Owen, fans are going to have to approach this season with a little more patience.
Would you make any other changes to the team too? 👀 Owen urges patience from Liverpool fansRewind 12 months, or a little over, and many had expected that Liverpool were on the verge of building a dynasty under Arne Slot.Somewhere along the way, things went very wrong under the Dutchman, though, leaving Iraola to pick up the pieces and start again from virtually zero.While fans understand that it can take time to build again, especially under a coach whose demands are as specific as Iraola’s, many will be frustrated that what Jurgen Klopp and then Slot initially implemented have been allowed to fall by the wayside. According to Owen, however, supporters will just have to suck it up and accept that there may be a few bad days at the office to come.“I think there’s positions in the team that are just not quite good enough,” the former striker told Premier League Productions as part of their preview into Liverpool’s clash with Manchester City on Sunday.“There’s a style of play that he needs to implement, and that’s going to take time, sadly.
They don’t want anything to take time, but I’m afraid it’s gone so badly wrong for the last year that it’s going to take a little bit of fixing.”As long as Liverpool supporters can see things moving in the right direction under the Basque coach, they are likely to be understanding of a re-building process. But if things do not show any signs of improving, there will be plenty who begin getting agitated.So far, it has generally been positive for Iraola, despite one or two poor performances, and if he continues on that trajectory, then Owen might be surprised by just how many Liverpool fans are willing to accept a lull.