Florian WIRTZ: 2025/26

3 assists when you cost 116m isn’t mediocre its shambolic.

That has exactly what to do with his Liverpool displays.

He isnt necessarily the guy you look to for goals or assists though. He is the guy who creates the opportunity for someone to assist or when up against a low block draws out the defending team so others can exploit the gaps that appear.

Lack of movement by his team mates has largely neutered him.

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Re: Arne Slot

Thing about assists is that the amount you get comes a lot down to the person on the end of the pass sticking the ball in the goal, something we have had a big issue with!

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Did you say anything about him playing for Liverpool?

No you suggested he was generally bollocks and didn’t see all the hype. I watched him a fair bit for Leverkusen both in the title season and the year after. What we saw for Liverpool was not what we saw there and frankly same goes for Germany he looked better there too.

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Yeah he’s our best player by quite some margin and we will see that next season

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I´m not so sure about that. I think he should be directly creating chances (and scoring)

He will do some of what you are saying, like slipping it behind the full back for the wingers to get behind and flash it across goal, but I think he was bought to create and score. That´s what a number 10 has to do. The guy who does that pass before the assist should more likely be the CM.

On Wirtz in general, it was his first season , moved around a lot, which not great movement in front of him and a medicore midfield of passes who couldn´t bring him into the game. That said, for his talent and that fee, he has to do more. He has to take the game by the scruff of the next and deliver more big moments, be it a mazy run and a goal or a defence splitting pass.

At one point he was getting there and then he regressed and started hiding, which worries me.

I’m not saying he shouldn’t be, I’m saying it shouldn’t be the primary measure of his game. For example, in Germany, in the league, I think he was averaging about 8 goals a season and 11 assists, and while that is clearly better than the 5 and 4 we saw last year, we also know what a mess our forward play was.

Also, I read somewhere he was Leverkusen’s main penalty taker, if true, I don’t know how many of his goals came from penalties.

yeah I mean the assist stat is very flawed so I agree with you there (as you say, our forward line was not supporting getting lots of assists) but as fans and people watching him, we are looking to see him create things that lead to goals or a good chance of a goal. For me he needs to find that killer pass more and take more responsibility to do it.

He does very nice tippy tappy in midfield sometimes which I like, but he also has to have that big impact in the final third in order to be the player we need and thought we had signed.

Opta has him in the 92nd percentile in chances created and in the 96th for touches in the box.

Considering the shambles of a team he was a part of, that’s not bad at all.

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I mean numerically it´s decent. Youd´expect top 1 percent though for that fee.

I don´t really value what Opta considers to be a chance to be definitive. And plus you have chance quality as a huge factor they can never measure, as much as they try.

https://x.com/ESPNUK/status/2073791550107045985

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Ah the other Wum is now joining in now

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In his second year at LFC, Florian Wirtz will be the most important player of the “Reds”. :slight_smile:

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Whatever advice Jurgen whispers in his ear… will directly benefit LFC

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He was disappointing in the debut season but with a new coach, new style, he would start with a clean slate as with other players, and hopefully he shows why he is worth the price tag and why he is rated so highly.

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Surely XA, expected assists is more applicable than assists!

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Yes, it couldn’t be better for us. :+1:

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Is he bollox