Florian Wirtz - Welcome to LFC

[baitman]

We had more end product from Harvey Elliott, without the massive transfer fee and wages.

[Buzzo]

We had more end product from Harvey Elliott, without the massive transfer fee and wages.

Nice sound bite, but not true.

The most goals Harvey ever got for us in the League was 3 and 5 over the season. Florian has 5 league and 7 across the season in his first season. Harvey has 5 league goals in total for us and 15 career goals for us. Florian has 10 assists this season, Harvey 17 assists in his time with us.

I’d bring Harvey back for sure but its disingenuous to say he delivered more. Between us and Villa we’ve absolutely ****ed Harvey in a season where he must have imagined he’d kick on.

Interestingly, they are the same age.

[Doc_Piptorious]

We had more end product from Harvey Elliott, without the massive transfer fee and wages.

The Harvey Elliot that got to come into a well oiled cohesive world class team for the most part during his time with us?

The same Harvey Elliot that I reckon we will struggle to sell this summer and that will not have a string of top clubs chasing his signiture?


Wirtz went for a massive fee and was sought after by some of the best teams in the world for a reason, just as there is a reason why the same has not applied to Elliot.

Elliot is a good player who has never really kicked on beyond that level, Wirtz is a player who has been top tier in the recent past and at a few months younger than Elliot has the scope to do the same again.

[Kenneth]

Neither makes sense in a 4-3-3. They’re both streaks of piss who are so slow that they look like they’re running backwards.

[BG1973]

He has been a mixed bag this season, but he does not hide in games. Those are his pressure/defensive numbers for the season. He is working his arse off game after game.

Even his sprint and distance covered numbers are far better than Szoboszlai's this season.

He has not hit the heights we hoped for, this season anyway, but he is one of the few that has not lacked for effort all season and one of a few that tends to empty his tank on the pitch.


It also speaks volumes about Slot and the teammates around Wirtz that we have a £107m player having to be a workhorse/piano carrier.

If the likes of MacAllister and others in the team had the same sort of work ethic that is being shown by Wirtz, then we would be in a much better position this season.

Likewise if Slot had not persisted with so many badly out of form "star" players for so long during stretches of the season and put in "lesser" players that put in a shift, then the same point about how we would most likely be in a bit of a better spot than now applies.

New guys like Wirtz, Kerkez etc get a pass from me for this season. They have come into a ****storm of a season and into a dressing room mourning a friend, but they have at least given their all throughout the season, similar to how Szoboszlai has.

In a season like this, the guys that put in the work are way down the list of problems imo. Would include guys like Szoboszlai, Robertson and a handful of others as the non new players that, whilst not perfect form wise, always put in a shift for us this season.

For me the issues are firmly at the doors of the coach, his staff and the players who have been poor a lot or that have not put in the bare minimum of working hard each game.

Think if I had to make a list of names that can come out of this season exempt of any real criticism, or at the very least way back in the line that deserves it, then it would be



Alisson
Marma
Szoboszlai
Witrz
Kerkez
Ekitike
Rio
Bradley (because of injuries)
Isak (again because like Bradley injuries meant we have not seen enough to judge him on)



Every other player in the squad is fair game (though to differing degrees) for criticism regarding lack of work rate and heart. Every other player has had dips of form but, unlike the list I am not critical of, they also let their work rates drop when out of form or when things were going against the team on the pitch.

Mind digging out the same stats for maccallister?

[peterbread]

He has been a mixed bag this season, but he does not hide in games. Those are his pressure/defensive numbers for the season. He is working his arse off game after game.

Even his sprint and distance covered numbers are far better than Szoboszlai's this season.

He has not hit the heights we hoped for, this season anyway, but he is one of the few that has not lacked for effort all season and one of a few that tends to empty his tank on the pitch.


It also speaks volumes about Slot and the teammates around Wirtz that we have a £107m player having to be a workhorse/piano carrier.

If the likes of MacAllister and others in the team had the same sort of work ethic that is being shown by Wirtz, then we would be in a much better position this season.

Likewise if Slot had not persisted with so many badly out of form "star" players for so long during stretches of the season and put in "lesser" players that put in a shift, then the same point about how we would most likely be in a bit of a better spot than now applies.

New guys like Wirtz, Kerkez etc get a pass from me for this season. They have come into a ****storm of a season and into a dressing room mourning a friend, but they have at least given their all throughout the season, similar to how Szoboszlai has.

In a season like this, the guys that put in the work are way down the list of problems imo. Would include guys like Szoboszlai, Robertson and a handful of others as the non new players that, whilst not perfect form wise, always put in a shift for us this season.

For me the issues are firmly at the doors of the coach, his staff and the players who have been poor a lot or that have not put in the bare minimum of working hard each game.

Think if I had to make a list of names that can come out of this season exempt of any real criticism, or at the very least way back in the line that deserves it, then it would be



Alisson
Marma
Szoboszlai
Witrz
Kerkez
Ekitike
Rio
Bradley (because of injuries)
Isak (again because like Bradley injuries meant we have not seen enough to judge him on)



Every other player in the squad is fair game (though to differing degrees) for criticism regarding lack of work rate and heart. Every other player has had dips of form but, unlike the list I am not critical of, they also let their work rates drop when out of form or when things were going against the team on the pitch.

He was brilliant in Germany with his pressing and winning the ball back in dangerous areas. You can only imagine what he’d be like in a properly functioning team. Exactly the type of player you want to have when you press high win the ball when and the opposition aren’t set defensively.

[vlahka]

Would help more if the players around him werent so thick.

[Doc_Piptorious]

Mind digging out the same stats for maccallister?

Here ya go

[BootRoom]

£100m+ player needs a perfect setup to 'get the best out of him'. Hhmm. I bet there are ****ing stacks of players that would look fantastic in a dominant team where opponents are swamped and exposed. Copium overdoses all round.

[danperkins]

Here ya go

[SB]

Here ya go

[vlahka]

£100m+ player needs a perfect setup to 'get the best out of him'. Hhmm. I bet there are ****ing stacks of players that would look fantastic in a dominant team where opponents are swamped and exposed. Copium overdoses all round.

Not even the same thing. If players are just playing fine then hes effective. Right now they're all playing like garbage. Whats the point of having someone who can do amazing passes if the team is slothing about?

[Doc_Piptorious]

Not even the same thing. If players are just playing fine then hes effective. Right now they're all playing like garbage. Whats the point of having someone who can do amazing passes if the team is slothing about?

Exactly. Players like Wirtz and guys before him like Firminio are facilitators within a team and they do what they do to a very high level when others are there to take advantage of what they do.

But if there are no teammates making themselves available in attacking positions or looking to get involved in quick link ups, then the high level play maker gets dragged down to the tempo of those around him.

Not like he can just ping quick passes when there is nobody there to receive those passes.

[Scratch]

Wirtz would have loved a player like Nunez, someone who is always willing to run in behind....ok, he may not put them all away, but he moves and doesn't stop moving. All our forwards at the moment just seem to stand still, waiting for the ball to feet, rather than making a dart forwards. Maybe Isak will do that more, as Ekitike did at the start of the year, before too many games caught him up.

[Buzzo]

We’ve had so little consistency due to injury and lack of options. But mid season when Wirtz and Ekitike were in form you could see the potential.

Not unheard off for a player to take a season to bed in and Wirtz has been decent enough on a mis firing team. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do next season with a more settled team (and new manager!).