Florian Wirtz - Welcome to LFC

[Doc_Piptorious]

Yea probably more memorable because it was avoidable. The ones that stick in my mind from the last game are he beats two players but then just gets caught at the last fraction of a second by a third before laying the ball off.

But this is all relative to the extremely high bar he sets, not off his transfer fee but off of what he regularly did for Leverkusen.

It’s not like we are talking about an incredibly weak, slow player or one with a terrible touch or decision making generally

Though I think a big part of it right now is down to him being a bit too quick for the rest of the team rather than him being that fraction of a second too slow.

You can see him making the runs or looking to play a pass almost instantly and then having to check what he was about to do until someone else is in position.

Pretty sure it is only a matter of time before his teammates get on the same wavelength as him and get comfortable knowing that they have a guy in the team that can read their runs and find them with a pass without him having to take time to scan the pitch for too long.

Same thing with the runs he makes. He sees the spaces and where the ball needs to go so quickly that it will take time for some of the others to get in synch with how quickly Wirtz does that. Think MacAllister coming back into the team will help a lot as MacAllister can be very quick to spot movement ahead of him. Also think Gakpo and Ekitike will be two that will link with Wirtz very well. Especially the former if the way he links with Simons in the Dutch national team is anything to go by.

[memzey]

Yeah I think that’s fair enough. Definitely not the time for bed wetting on either player’s prospects and the Newcastle game was not typical of what to expect. Apart from the first goal, I thought Kerkez did pretty well tbh but I expect it will take him some time to adjust to our play and really show his quality.

I’m not too worried about Mo yet. Goals and assists are his stock in trade and they still seem to be flowing as usual. Ibou on the other hand is a bit of a worry. He seems to be playing like a less decisive, more uncertain version of himself, at the moment. Say what you like about them but Arsenal have all the tools to expose any weaknesses he brings in to the game on Sunday so he needs to sort his head out PDQ.

[ronanm]

You can see him making runs but players don't seem to be on same wavelength as yet

[Harv]

For all the talk of him being that second too slow, too weak, he only lost possession 7 times, less than everyone bar Konate. His pass success was 96% too. That being said, I do know where people are coming from, I do remember the ball getting knicked off him a couple of times. Maybe it's memorable because he's the type of player who is trying to make things happen, so it stands out more as quite often it nearly leads to a good chance. I'm honestly not sure, but I also don't think he's as far off the pace as it appears and IMO it won't take much for him to click into gear.

I don't think that Newcastle game is a good one to judge anyone on tbh. Especially a player like him. It was hectic and very little football was being played and lots of his teammates couldn't keep the ball either.

All the bedwetters on twitter etc - thinking he's a massive flop after 2 games because he hasn't got a goal or assist are laughable really.

Im more worried about Konate and Mo playing like ass than Kerkez and Wirtz not setting the league alight after 2 games.

[Harv]

OK

So Salah is the new whipping boy


got it

Clearly not new.

nice try though weirdo

[Corndog]

For all the talk of him being that second too slow, too weak, he only lost possession 7 times, less than everyone bar Konate. His pass success was 96% too. That being said, I do know where people are coming from, I do remember the ball getting knicked off him a couple of times. Maybe it's memorable because he's the type of player who is trying to make things happen, so it stands out more as quite often it nearly leads to a good chance. I'm honestly not sure, but I also don't think he's as far off the pace as it appears and IMO it won't take much for him to click into gear.

Yea probably more memorable because it was avoidable. The ones that stick in my mind from the last game are he beats two players but then just gets caught at the last fraction of a second by a third before laying the ball off.

But this is all relative to the extremely high bar he sets, not off his transfer fee but off of what he regularly did for Leverkusen.

It’s not like we are talking about an incredibly weak, slow player or one with a terrible touch or decision making generally

[Corndog]

Is the Bundasliga soft in comparison?

I don’t think it is, maybe marginally slower but not by much. Physically there are some big boys knocking around over there and plenty of sides who play direct

[BootRoom]

for me it's watching him try and win the ball back that's disheartening. i'm sure he'll improve but iwatched him bounce ogg about 4 different newcastle players trying to make up for having it knicked off of him and it was sad.

fine player obviously i'm sure he'll get it ironed out.

on the other hand, when dom tries to win the ball back, the other team gets clattered off the ball.

Alarm bells started ringing loud and clear when he got pancaked by Bernardo Silva vs. Portugal in the summer.

[Norbs]

Is the Bundasliga soft in comparison?

[little dave hedgehog]

for me it's watching him try and win the ball back that's disheartening. i'm sure he'll improve but i watched him bounce off about 4 different newcastle players trying to make up for having it knicked off of him and it was sad.

fine player obviously i'm sure he'll get it ironed out.

on the other hand, when dom tries to win the ball back, the other team gets clattered off the ball.

[Paul12]

For all the talk of him being that second too slow, too weak, he only lost possession 7 times, less than everyone bar Konate. ...

??? Konate lost the ball the least number of times? To my eyes he never found it.

[RedReet]

This was aimed more at Twitter tbh, as Dom was never in the strongest 11 when randomers were picking teams

We need a big squad and there’ll be games for them all, if I do think if he had a fully fit squad and a CL final then Dom starts

likewise, I was probably replying to my brother in my head, more than you.

I had the same conversations with him about Wirtz position, so he was sending messages like 'that's you can't drop Szobo', during preseason, suggesting I want him dropped, which wasn't the case.

[RedReet]

For all the talk of him being that second too slow, too weak, he only lost possession 7 times, less than everyone bar Konate. His pass success was 96% too. That being said, I do know where people are coming from, I do remember the ball getting knicked off him a couple of times. Maybe it's memorable because he's the type of player who is trying to make things happen, so it stands out more as quite often it nearly leads to a good chance. I'm honestly not sure, but I also don't think he's as far off the pace as it appears and IMO it won't take much for him to click into gear.

[Corndog]

100% start him against Arsenal in the advanced midfield role.

Yes he isn’t going to have the same pressing intensity as Szobo but that’s not why he was bought. He’s been brought in because he’s a player who can make the difference very regularly, especially in tight spaces around the box.

It’s literally just a split second faster he needs to be making some decisions or getting rid of the ball a split second faster and it’s all in the head, not his body.

And that’s just because whilst there are a lot of fast players in the Bundesliga, almost everyone in the prem is fast, even the slow CMs.

He’ll tear it up when he does that and I’m sure he will soon.

[BG1973]

Good point, although Klopp imherrited him. Id say we were very effective atracking wise but a shambles defensively(no proper DM) under Rogers. Coutinho played very well, and there is no reason Wirtz cant get to those levels, but Klopp preferred and won stuff with a ****ing boring shade of beige. Thats not to say we cant make it work. Wirtz is clearly a fantastic footballer, but I think Dom.leading the press from midfield is more effective at the moment, especially with our defensive frailty

I just dont think he is quite ready, and considering Arsenal are next and that our team is a bit lightweight at the moment,Id pick Dom to start and bring Wirtz on when their defence is looking tired.

Ultimately we just need to be patient, as Im sure he will reach tbe heights. Took Henry a season to adapt to tbe Premier League from memory.

I think the worry is we persist with him and he fails to match the perceptions of his pricetag then he might start to feel that pressure.

Yep all fair.

Agree on Arsenal, if we have more RB options then I'd start Dom over Wirtz for this one.