Robbie Fowler sees Alexander Isak as key to Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool rebuild
Liverpool enter the new season in a state familiar to all major clubs and yet uniquely tense when it happens at Anfield, poised between memory and reinvention, between the authority of what came before and the uncertainty of what comes next. In an interview with GiveMeSport, Robbie Fowler believes that uncertainty can become opportunity, particularly under Andoni Iraola, whose appointment has brought the promise of energy, aggression and a more direct sort of ambition.
Fowler’s remarks, made at the launch of the Topps Flagship Premier League 2026/27 collection, sketched out an intriguing picture of where Liverpool might be headed. There was realism in it, because there had to be. Liverpool have changed manager, changed shape as a squad, and changed, too, in the wider imagination of the Premier League. Arne Slot’s title-winning first season in 2024/25 now feels a long way away after the collapse of 2025/26 and the upheaval that followed. Iraola arrives with a reputation for intensity and coherence, but also with the burden that attends any coach stepping into one of English football’s most exacting jobs.
Fowler sounded energised by that prospect. “I mean, the obvious one is Liverpool,” he said.
There is a telling simplicity in that answer. For all the noise that accompanies transition, Liverpool remain compelling because they have chosen a coach with a clear identity. Iraola’s Bournemouth side played with courage and without apology. They pressed hard, moved the ball forward early and asked questions of opponents before those opponents had settled into their own patterns. That sort of football can stir a crowd quickly. At Liverpool, where emotional momentum can become tactical momentum, it may matter more than most.
Andoni Iraola brings clarity and risk
Fowler’s assessment of Iraola was shaped by the same qualities many observers admired at Bournemouth. “Probably excited, actually. When I watched Bournemouth last year, I think they were obviously a team who were easy on the eye, they were very attack-minded, the press was brilliant. So how they play the game is probably the way I want to see a team.”
The phrase easy on the eye can sometimes be used lazily, as shorthand for something decorative. In this case, it feels closer to structural coherence. Iraola’s teams are legible. You can see what they are trying to do. The distances between players make sense. The pressing triggers are visible. The verticality is intentional rather than frantic. For Liverpool, after a season in which too much felt ragged and dislocated, that sort of tactical order may be every bit as important as any individual signing.
Yet Fowler also acknowledged the obvious. “Obviously, coming to Liverpool from Bournemouth is a little bit different. The expectations and the pressures are probably a little bit different, so hopefully he gets a great start, gets a good run of results.”
That is the unavoidable condition of elite management. Ideas are judged, eventually, by results. Time is always requested and rarely granted. Fowler, to his credit, made the case for patience, noting that any manager needs an opportunity to establish his methods. That is sensible, even if football has become increasingly hostile to the concept. Liverpool’s challenge will be to resist the temptation to interpret every awkward afternoon as evidence of deeper failure. Under a new coach, friction is not always a flaw. Sometimes it is the process by which a side learns a new language.
Alexander Isak could define Liverpool’s attack
The most interesting section of Fowler’s comments concerned Alexander Isak. Liverpool’s £125m striker remains one of the most gifted forwards in the division, though his first campaign at Anfield never fully settled into rhythm. There were injuries, interruptions and the broader instability of a team that never found its own. What Fowler appears to see is a player whose skill set fits the new coach almost perfectly.
“I think there’s a few. I’ll probably point to Rio, young Rio Ngumoha. I think he’s a wonderful player, very exciting.
“But I think probably an outstanding player for me, who could probably progress under Andoni, is Alexander Isak. Probably didn’t have the greatest of first years as a Liverpool player, but we know how good he is. We’ve seen his form at Newcastle.
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“I think the way Andoni wants to play, he wants his team to be massively on the front foot, get that ball forward as quickly as we possibly can, and someone like Isak could thrive on the way he wants his team to play.”
This is where the tactical conversation sharpens. Isak thrives in stretched games. He is a striker of glide and incision, a forward who can receive early, attack space and turn transitional moments into something devastating. If Iraola can create repeated situations in which Liverpool recover the ball high and release quickly, Isak may find himself in the precise environment that best serves him. He does not need endless touches. He needs the right ones.
Fowler went further, identifying pre-season conditioning as a decisive factor after an injury-hit year. “Yeah, massively excited. Look, I genuinely think he’s a wonderful player. I think when we saw him at Newcastle, I think any club, not just in the Premier League, but I think any club in the world would have taken him.
“He’s a very, very good player, great goalscorer and, look, for whatever reason, it never materialised last year. I think that was maybe down to the conditioning of how he missed a lot of the pre-season.
“It took a while, then we saw him starting to hit a little bit of form, and then unfortunately he gets that leg break. I’m glad he’s getting a pre-season behind him now because I think his fitness is good. He’s come out and said that himself; I think that’s documented. But as a forward, I think you need to be conditioned and getting the right sort of condition to play football.
“I think getting that alertness and that liveliness into his game is massively important, so pre-season is massively important for him. He can be a difference.”
That final phrase is a neat one. Difference-makers in title races are often discussed as abstractions, stars who somehow tilt seasons by force of aura alone. In reality, the difference is usually made by players whose qualities align with the team’s structure at precisely the right time. If Iraola’s football sharpens Liverpool’s transitions and raises the volume of service into dangerous areas, Isak may not merely improve, he may become central to the entire project.
There is enough uncertainty around Liverpool to make the season compelling. There is enough talent to make it dangerous for everyone else. Fowler’s view seems to be that the path back to the top may not be immediate, but it is visible. In the Premier League, that is often the first requirement. The second is having the players to bring that vision to life. If Isak is healthy, if Iraola’s structure takes hold, and if Liverpool find just enough patience for the process, the story of their season may develop faster than many expect.
Our View
As a Liverpool supporter, this report leaves you feeling curious more than anything, and that may be the right emotion for this team right now. There is obvious excitement around Andoni Iraola because his sides play with purpose, and after last season’s drift that matters a lot. You want to see Liverpool look like Liverpool again, aggressive, brave, direct when it is on, and organised without the ball.
The part that really stands out is Fowler on Alexander Isak. That feels spot on. There is still a sense that many people have forgotten how good he is because his first year at Anfield never got going properly. If he gets a clean pre-season and the side starts feeding him in the right areas, he could explode. He has the movement, the touch and the calmness to become the focal point of this attack.
It is also encouraging to hear Rio Ngumoha mentioned. Supporters always connect with young players who bring a bit of unpredictability. Liverpool need that spark in the squad.