Florian Wirtz Faces Criticism After Poor Performance Against Bournemouth
Jamie Carragher did not bother dressing it up. For him, this was Florian Wirtz’s lowest point in a Liverpool shirt.
Across Liverpool’s scrappy 1-0 win at Bournemouth, with Carragher on Sky Sports co-commentary, the verdict was cutting and constant. The former Liverpool defender watched Wirtz drift through the first half and snapped: “Wirtz has been really poor again. It’s just nothing. Nothing is happening there at all.”
The performance didn’t grow. The criticism did.
‘One of the poorest I’ve seen him’
On his bonus Jamie Carragher Podcast for Sky Sports after the game, the tone hardened.
“That was one of the poorest I’ve ever seen him in a Liverpool shirt,” Carragher said. He has long questioned Wirtz’s output, but this time it was more than a numbers debate.
“I’ve been critical of the fact that he hasn’t got the numbers. But normally when you watch Wirtz, he’s neat and tidy, he keeps possession, there’s things that you like. He gets out of a tight situation where you’re normally expecting your player to lose the ball.
“But the reason I worry is, I don’t think Wirtz is in poor form since he came to Liverpool. I actually think what we’re seeing is what he is.”
That line lands heavily. This isn’t, in Carragher’s eyes, a slump. It’s the baseline.
He admitted the doubts have been there for a while. “I was worried for Wirtz probably 12 months ago. And maybe that was a little bit early to say that, but I didn’t say it. It was just in the back of my head.”
He went back to a trip to Burnley to explain. Liverpool won that game late through a Mo Salah penalty, but Wirtz left no mark on him.
“When I was watching that game it was what I’ve seen for the last 12 months: I don’t see how he’s going to hurt you. It’s just neat and tidy. And in some way, the price tag for that type of player should be half of what Liverpool have paid.”
The problem, Carragher argues, is no longer just about underperformance. It’s about expectation versus reality.
“The worry for Wirtz now is that his performances so far, or what he’s given Liverpool, is so low. Where we were expecting him was to take Liverpool to another league title, to take Liverpool to a Champions League.
The gap he’s got to get to almost justify what people were expecting, I almost think is too big. You can’t get there. Even if he improves a bit and gets there, it’s still not what Liverpool thought they were getting.”
The knock-on effect on Szoboszlai
Carragher’s concerns stretch beyond Wirtz’s individual level. He sees a structural problem.
“And it’s not just Wirtz, it’s the knock-on effect. So when he plays at No 10, it means Dominik Szoboszlai has to play central midfield. I don’t think Szoboszlai is a central-midfield player, I don’t.”
In other words, one underperforming signing is, in his view, dragging others out of their best roles. For a Liverpool side trying to chase Manchester City again, that matters.
And the fixture list will not wait.
City looming – and Carragher’s brutal selection call
After a three-week international break, Liverpool walk straight back into the fire. Enzo Maresca’s Manchester City come to Anfield on October 11, live on Sky Sports, in a game that will instantly test Andoni Iraola’s early work on Merseyside.
Around that, the schedule is relentless. Brentford and Brighton in the Premier League. A trip to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on October 1. Champions League assignments against LASK and Villarreal. A Carabao Cup fourth-round tie with Chelsea.
Carragher’s view is stark: Wirtz should not be anywhere near Iraola’s XI for City.
“I think going forward Iraola’s got a decision to make here. Wirtz would not be in my Liverpool team,” he said.
He felt Bournemouth away was a crossroads for the midfielder.
“I thought this Bournemouth game was a big game for Wirtz. Because if he doesn’t produce [against Bournemouth], he’s then going to have a three-week break. By the time we come back, we’re into October. Before you know it, it’ll be Christmas in six to eight weeks, or it’ll feel like we’re getting to Christmas. He has to do something!”
Then came the comparison that will sting. Carragher pointed at players operating for mid-table sides, on far smaller fees, but delivering more.
“If you go through the Premier League and think of players in his position – not just for the top teams, forget the top teams who we should be judging him against, I’m talking about normal Premier League players in the middle of the table – who have done more for their clubs.
“I think of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall at Everton. No one out there would say Dewsbury-Hall is a better player than Wirtz, or would go for more money than Wirtz, or would cost £120m. But every three or four weeks he scores a goal.
“I watched Morgan Gibbs-White for Nottingham Forest last week at Aston Villa, and in the second half he put in a performance in 45 minutes that Florian Wirtz has never done before for Liverpool.
“I’ve seen a goal Emiliano Buendia scored for Aston Villa at Tottenham. Again, these players aren’t going to get over £100m, or £120m, but they’re still giving their clubs bits every few weeks.”
The conclusion was unforgiving.
“Wirtz wouldn’t be in my Liverpool team. Manchester City at home, for me, he can’t be in the team.”
Iraola’s big calls – and the next one
Carragher does, though, see one reason for optimism: Iraola’s willingness to be ruthless.
“The things I’ve liked so far about Iraola, he’s had the courage to make big decisions,” he said.
“Ryan Gravenberch has just signed a hefty contract on a five-year deal on massive money, because they thought him and Szoboszlai were going to be the future of the midfield going forward. He’s not playing.
“Now, I can imagine the guys at the top of the club looking at that, thinking we’ve just given him a hefty contract. But no, he’s not playing.
“The full-back situation, he keeps changing the full-backs, he’s dropped Jeremie Frimpong straight away. Milos Kerkez has been in and out. So he’s made decisions.
“But sooner or later he’s going to have to make a decision on Florian Wirtz, and, for me, I hope it’s sooner. Not because I don’t like Florian Wirtz, I’m desperate for the kid to do well. I just want Liverpool to win. That’s it, basically.”
Klopp, Germany and a possible lifeline
For all the criticism, Carragher does see one potential escape route for Wirtz – and it comes away from Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp, now in charge of Germany, has called the Liverpool midfielder into one of his two Nations League squads. Wirtz will rest initially, then be in contention for Germany’s final two games of the window against Serbia and Greece.
“The one hope for Liverpool supporters now is Jurgen Klopp is the Germany manager,” Carragher said.
“Wirtz goes away with the Germany team for three weeks, and he’s obviously one of the best players in Germany, that’s how they see him. Can Jurgen Klopp sprinkle a bit of stardust on him in that position?
“Jurgen is one of the greatest managers in the world, we know that. And what he gets out of players is probably more than most managers because of the nature of his personality, and fingers crossed something can happen for him.”
Carragher can see the perfect redemption arc.
“There’s a scenario there that Jurgen Klopp and Germany have a great international window, he gets loads of goals, assists and comes back on a high. Manchester City’s the next game, he impacts that, all is forgotten, all is forgiven. There’s a potential turnaround there.
“I would love that to happen, I’d love him to be the match-winner against Manchester City.”
Right now, Wirtz looks a long way from that kind of influence in a red shirt. The question for Liverpool is simple: does Iraola wait for the transformation, or act before City arrive at Anfield and force the issue himself?
