Has Liverpool’s famous masterplan deflated in the post-Alonso scramble?

For a club that has long prided itself on having a plan, Liverpool suddenly seem to be making things up as they go along.

Not so long ago, the succession roadmap appeared crystal clear. Xabi Alonso was the golden boy. The former midfield maestro was cutting his teeth in management, winning admirers across Europe and seemingly travelling a road that led directly back to Anfield.

The only problem was that Liverpool blinked. Then they blinked again.

Now, after deciding Arne Slot's reign had run its course, the Reds are strongly linked with a move for Andoni Iraola, a manager who has undoubtedly done excellent work at Bournemouth but whose appointment feels less like the culmination of a carefully executed masterplan and more like buying that luminous pink footlong Russian around the corner from your favourite nightclub at 4am because all the good options have already gone.

That is perhaps unfair on Iraola. In fact, it almost certainly is. Getting the Cherries into Europe for the first time is no mean feat.

The Spaniard has transformed Bournemouth into one of the English Premier League's most entertaining sides. Slot, by comparison, had become more Kenny G than Jürgen Klopp's heavy-metal football.

But plenty of managers before Iraola have discovered that succeeding at a well-run mid-table club and managing one of England's giants are two entirely different jobs. Perhaps he should have a chat with David Moyes, who arrived at Manchester United carrying Sir Alex Ferguson's blessing and still ended up being shown the door.

At Bournemouth, a run of four defeats can be explained away as an unfortunate spell. At Liverpool, it becomes a crisis requiring 72 hours of TV debate, three emergency podcasts and at least one former player demanding answers. The pressure, scrutiny and expectations are different.

Managing Bournemouth is like expertly piloting a speedboat around Durban Harbour (just don't fall in). Managing Liverpool is like being handed the controls of a cruise liner while 60 000 passengers shout contradictory instructions.

History is littered with coaches who looked like the next great thing before discovering that the leap from overachiever to serial contender is considerably larger than it appears from afar.

That does not mean Iraola will fail, should he take the job. It does, however, mean Liverpool supporters are being asked to place an enormous amount of faith in a manager whose biggest achievement to date is turning Bournemouth into a side nobody enjoys playing against.

He did get the better of Slot in their most recent meeting – but then again, so did plenty of managers this season. And lurking over all of this is the unavoidable shadow of Alonso.

Every stumble will invite comparisons to the new Chelsea boss. Every disappointing result will raise awkward questions. Every trophy won at Stamford Bridge by the man many believed was destined for Anfield will give the red half of Merseyside the blues.

Liverpool may have convinced themselves that Iraola was always the preferred choice. Football clubs are remarkably good at rewriting history once circumstances change.

Yet, from the outside, it feels as though the club spent years admiring Alonso through the shop window before turning up one morning to discover somebody else had already bought him.

That is perhaps the most intriguing aspect of this appointment.

For years Liverpool were held up as an example of clarity and conviction. They identified targets early, moved decisively and rarely appeared flustered by events around them. Lately, however, there are signs of hesitation creeping into the decision-making process – first in the transfer market and now in the decision to dump Slot after publicly backing him as the man for the job.

Maybe Iraola proves to be another masterstroke and this column looks ridiculous in a year's time. Liverpool supporters would gladly accept that outcome.

But if the club really did view Alonso as the future, only to watch him slip away before scrambling towards an alternative, then the bigger question is not whether Iraola is the right man. It is whether Liverpool still know exactly what they want to be when they grow up.