Florian Wirtz Needs Our Belief, Not Our Backlash

The performances haven't been good enough, but writing off Liverpool's £116m talent after a difficult start would be a mistake.

People have called and want Florian Wirtz out of the Liverpool team, and with the fanbase growing increasingly frustrated, some supporters want him gone altogether. I'm not one of them.

Let me be clear about where I stand: I back every player who pulls on a Liverpool shirt, and I back them most when they're struggling. Wirtz hasn't been playing well. Everyone can see that, including the player himself. But demanding better performances and writing a player off are two very different things. I'd much rather spend my energy helping him rebuild his confidence than kicking him while he's down.

The numbers aren't pretty, and I won't pretend they are

Let's start with what cannot be disputed. Last season, Wirtz finished with five Premier League goals and three assists in 33 appearances, falling well short of what a £116m signing is expected to deliver.

This season has yet to bring the improvement many hoped for. He has registered just one assist in six Premier League appearances, while the goalless draw with Fulham at Anfield summed up the frustration surrounding his performances. Three shots, none on target and two chances created.

Then came Manchester City. A 3-0 defeat at home, another subdued performance from Wirtz and Carragher declaring on Sky that the midfielder needed to come out of the team, reiterating a point he had made the previous week.

That's a significant verdict from someone who understands exactly what playing for Liverpool demands. It would be disrespectful to dismiss it outright.

The context the noise leaves out

Football is rarely as straightforward as the numbers suggest, and Wirtz's Liverpool career has barely had a moment of stability. He arrived in the summer of 2025 for a fee that could reach £116m, joined a club still reeling from the death of Diogo Jota and spent his first season in a side that struggled to defend its title.

Jürgen Klopp, now Germany's manager, has argued that this context must be considered when assessing Wirtz.

Now, Wirtz is working under his second manager since arriving. Andoni Iraola wants him operating as a genuine No.10 and the team's creative leader, but injuries to Isak, Gakpo and Szoboszlai have disrupted the forward line. Iraola also attributed the Fulham performance to fatigue. This is an attacking unit still trying to establish an understanding.

The underlying numbers also challenge the lazy label of Wirtz as a lightweight. After the first six league matchdays last season, no Premier League player had created more chances across all competitions than Wirtz. He went on to create 60 chances in 33 league appearances.

This season, he had created 14 chances by the time of the City defeat, the second-highest total in the squad. On Champions League matchday one, he also recorded 84 high-intensity pressures, level with one other player for the highest total.

Those are not the numbers of a player who is simply hiding.

And on Wednesday night in Linz, with the criticism at its loudest, he responded in the right way. He was central to a first half in which Liverpool recorded 19 shots, a record for an away side in a Champions League half, and threaded a pass for one of Barcola's three goals as Liverpool won 6-3.

Of course, the opposition was LASK rather than Manchester City. But performances like that can help rebuild confidence, and Wirtz showed signs of what he can offer when playing with greater freedom.

He isn't short of support, either. Iraola has reiterated his faith in Wirtz and Barcola, acknowledging that both have experienced good and bad games, as every player does. Jonathan Tah, who played alongside Wirtz at Leverkusen, has also defended him, as has Klopp.

Fair play to the critics

The argument against Wirtz isn't without merit, and it deserves a proper response.

Carragher's position is straightforward: Liverpool's problem this season has been scoring and creating chances, and those are precisely the areas Wirtz was signed to improve. Danny Murphy made a related point over the summer about his performances in big games, and the statistics provide some justification for that concern.

Wirtz did not score against a Premier League top 10 side last season, with his highest-placed league opponent among those he scored against being 11th-placed Fulham. A record transfer fee brings an entirely different level of scrutiny, and that's the reality of becoming Liverpool's first £100m player.

Where I disagree with the critics is their conclusion. "Not good enough yet" and "not good enough" are two very different statements.

If Iraola decides that a game on the bench would benefit Wirtz, that's a footballing decision, and I'll respect it. Dropping a player to protect the team is one thing. Turning against him altogether is another.

Cutting ties is the wrong call

Wirtz is 23. Writing off a player of his talent barely sixteen months after he moved to a new country, a new league and a different style of football, amid a period of transition, is precisely how clubs risk losing a future great.

Kevin De Bruyne was allowed to leave Chelsea as a young player before going on to become one of the finest midfielders the Premier League has ever seen. European football journalist Kevin Hatchard made a similar argument at the end of last season, suggesting it would be crazy for Liverpool to give up on a player with Wirtz's technical ability. He pointed to De Bruyne, Gündogan and Firmino as examples of why patience can pay off.

The transfer speculation surrounding Wirtz has added to the noise. German reports have suggested Liverpool will assess their options next summer if his performances don't improve, while TEAMtalk has reported that there are no immediate plans to sell. Former Liverpool midfielder Vladimir Smicer has also argued against selling him to Bayern Munich or anyone else.

I can't tell you which reports are accurate. I know which outcome I want to see.

And I'll say this as a football fan, rather than a pundit: creative players need the freedom to fail.

Wirtz's game is built around the clever pass, the flick and the willingness to take risks. When the crowd groans every time one of those attempts doesn't come off, it doesn't necessarily produce a better player. It can produce someone who opts for the safe sideways pass instead, afraid to make the mistake that invites another round of criticism.

To me, Wirtz looks short of confidence, and kicking him while he's down is hardly going to solve that problem.

Back him