After an epic few years with Jurgen Klopp and a miraculous first campaign with Arne Slot at the helm, things fell apart quickly last season, and the Reds' board decided to act decisively and cut ties with the Dutchman.
Though that wasn't necessarily a surprise, the Merseyside outfit hadn't really been known as a 'hire 'em and fire 'em' type of football club in the past.
Clearly, those at Fenway Sports Group felt that Slot had served his purpose, and that there was little to be gained by keeping him in a job that he was, evidently, failing at. Even if that came just 12 months after he'd taken them to their first Premier League title in front of supporters in over three decades.
Iraola has been in charge for precisely four league matches, and whilst the Reds are still unbeaten, the mutterings have already started, given that three of those four matches have been draws.
If there was one thing that characterised Iraola's final season at Bournemouth aside from the brilliant football played, it was the sheer number of draws in the 2025/26 campaign.
The Cherries ended the season with 18 of them, 13 wins and just seven losses. Only Arsenal and Man City lost fewer games, and on the strength of Iraola's way of working on the South Coast, he was afforded the opportunity to work his magic on Merseyside, though as anyone will tell you, that isn't as easy as it seems.
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Firm hand required to control the dressing room
Aside from any issues he will need to be able to deal with on the field of play, there's also the question of him being a big enough personality to command respect in the dressing room.
When problems arise, players have to know they're dealing with someone with a firm hand and not someone they can dominate and ridicule.
With respect to Liam Rosenior, for example, he was never going to last at Chelsea for just that reason.
One problem that's bubbling under the surface at Liverpool is with regard to Alexis Mac Allister not being offered a new contract, something that the Argentinian clearly isn't enamoured with.
Mac Allister unhappy with Liverpool's stance
"As everyone knows, I received the news that the club was not in a position to offer me a new contract, which makes me very, very sad," he said recently.
"Everyone can see I give 100 per cent for this football club, every single day in training and games. Of course I can have very good games, very bad games like everyone. I always give my best.
"I see Dominik (Szoboszlai) and Ryan (Gravenberch) renewing their contracts, and that makes me very happy because they deserve it, but at the same time it makes me a little bit sad that I didn't get mine."
Mac Allister's current deal doesn't run out until June 2028, so there's plenty of time for his situation to change; however, do the Argentinian's numbers give cause for Liverpool to be hedging their bets at this point?
Great defensively and as a supplementary attacker
Since signing for the club, he's scored 12 goals and provided 14 assists in 105 Premier League appearances, whilst his totals in all competitions are 21 goals and 23 assists in 152 games.
He's made 610 ball recoveries and contested 1,345 one-on-ones, as well as attempting 196 aerial duels.
Though there's a slight negative balance in both ground and aerial duels, the sheer number would suggest that Mac Allister is a player who certainly doesn't shirk his responsibilities in the middle of the park.
Of the 334 tackles he's attempted, he's won 185 of them, and his percentages in this regard have generally been around 50% to 60% success.
103 interceptions and 119 clearances made, as well as possession won back 328 times in midfield, are also figures that speak of Mac Allister operating at the highest levels.
When not working hard in a defensive sense, he's been adept at assisting his attacking colleagues, and not just by scoring or setting up goals either.
He's created 182 chances, and his pass completion rate has never dropped below 82.35%.
All in all, there's not a great deal more that the World Cup winner can do to impress his new manager, and he may just need to accept that Iraola wants to go in a different direction if the club are still unwilling to extend his deal at the end of this season, if not before.
Given he's never hidden his love for the club, that would be a bitter pill to swallow, and he's got every right, thanks to the level of his output and performance, to feel aggrieved that Liverpool haven't already secured his services for the next few years.
Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for Flashscore since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high-profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits. You can read more of his pieces here.
