John Barnes’ view on Andoni Iraola at Liverpool

The World Cup is almost here but we're already starting to cast our eye at the next Premier League season. We're delighted to have Liverpool and England legend John Barnes on board as our official World Cup Ambassador throughout the tournament and it would be remiss of us not to ask his thoughts on the current situation at Anfield.

We asked John about the sacking of Arne Slot, the announcement of Andoni Iraola as new manager of Liverpool and everything else in the news on Merseyside...

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New customers only. Register, deposit with Debit Card, and place first bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get £30 in Sports Free Bets & £20 in Bet Builder Free Bets within 24 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility & payment exclusions apply. T&Cs Apply.

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We spoke to 62-year-old John recently and our first question was around the appointment of Iraola. Does he believe it's a positive that the club has appointed a manager with Premier League experience? And does he believe that experience could be invaluable?

“Well Arne Slot didn’t have Premier League experience and he won the league. Thomas Frank had Premier League experience and went to Tottenham and look what happened, so it doesn’t matter if you have Premier League experience or not. 

I think he could be a good appointment, but we need to back him because what would happen if we lost the first two games of the season? Are we going to sack him? We don’t want to end up like Manchester United hiring manager after manager, so you need to come to a situation where you back the manager and put the players under pressure to perform for the manager. The players can’t just blame the manager, otherwise we could go down the same route that Manchester United have been down. 

Mikel Arteta finished eighth twice and fifth in his first three seasons at Arsenal. They didn’t sack him and look at what they’ve done now. The players need to take responsibility and we need to back Iraola all the way.”

John Barnes

“Liverpool have a squad full of good players and good characters, so I’m excited that a new season is coming along and they have a great squad and a good manager, but it means nothing if the fans are not going to support the manager and the club through thick and thin.

“They need to look at Arsenal and how the club’s fans and hierarchy backed Mikel Arteta and I hope that’s the same for Andoni Iraola at Liverpool.”

John Barnes

We moved on to ask about Ibrakima Konate's move to Real Madrid. Did his form last season warrant such a big move? He was frequently criticised by the Anfield faithful during the campaign...

“Nothing surprises me in football. Things may have not worked out last season, but that doesn’t mean he’s a bad player because you don’t become a bad player overnight. A new environment could suit him and I’m sure he’ll do well.

You need to look at whether the environment of Real Madrid will suit him and you look at how it’s gone for Trent Alexander-Arnold there and it hasn’t worked out. Trent’s a fantastic player, but it highlights that you need to find an environment that suits you. 

Players come and players go but the club is always here.”

John Barnes

"Last week you told us that Liverpool didn’t need to bring in anybody new this summer, but now with Konate leaving, do you now think your former club needs to dip into the transfer market?"

“Yes, even though I’m not sure who that’ll be. They have some young centre-backs already at the club, but are they ready to replace Konate? If not, then they will have to look at bringing someone in.”

John Barnes

And lastly we moved onto Reds midfielder, Curtis Jones. "He's once again linked with a move to Inter Milan this summer. Do you believe Liverpool need to keep a hold of Curtis?"

“Of course I’d want him to stay at Liverpool because I love Curtis. Curtis has to decide though whether he wants to be a player that plays every single week or stay at a club and be part of a squad. 

He played more under Arne Slot than he did under Jurgen Klopp and it suited him. However, at 25 years old, he needs to decide whether he wants to play every week. He loves Liverpool, he’s a local lad and even if he doesn’t play every week, he’d be a great asset to the squad, but for his own career and if he wants to play every week, the best thing for him will be to go.”

John Barnes