13 Oct 2026 08:16:42
ED001 does it seem the noise around wirtz is getting to him?
{Ed001's Note - it could be or he could just be losing confidence due to knowing he is not performing well at the moment and also getting on the ball and seeing no options to play a pass as everyone just runs at him when he gets it.}
13 Oct 2026 08:44:42
Or it could be that he just isn't cutting it in any way or form whatsoever. That'd be my take on him. He needs to show some mentality and a bit of guile for God's sake. He's getting well paid, has the best coaches and support staff behind him. Everything to make it work for him. All this stuff about others not doing this, playing a different game, a lack of confidence now.
I'm sorry but excuses for his abject performances since he joined have worn thin. He needs to own this. He had a great opportunity to step up v City and did sweet FA but that was someone else's problem too not his. We'll see next May whether he's part of the future or not and currently it's a resounding not. All only my opinion of course.
{Ed078's Note - what do I know, but I can't help but believe that the lad is being hung out to dry. He's undoubtedly a quality player, and I tend to think the system and his teammates are not helping.
Seriously, if he was in Cheerki's position right now, he'd be being lauded.
13 Oct 2026 09:24:44
He is young and facing the first massive setback of his career (yes, he had a big injury at Leverkusen but didn't face this weight of expectation). Yes he has a huge price tag and yes he should do better but all this stuff about him needing to cut the excuses, shut up and step up may not be very helpful. This league is ruthless, and you don't have time to settle, but we don't need to be just as ruthless as fans.
I'm hoping the coach can put an arm around him and help get his head right. He has undoubted quality, but something is not quite right with him right now, I've never seen the ball bounce off him like it did once or twice against City, and he looked very down on himself for it happening too.
13 Oct 2026 09:40:58
I'm keeping to the belief it'll work itself out.
13 Oct 2026 09:42:32
I think he's unfit me. Miles off it.
13 Oct 2026 10:18:42
I think when u see ball 'hoping' off wirtz, his 1st touch, he's completely drained of confidence. He been v poor since he signed imo but he always was neat + tidy on ball, didn't do all that much with it but didn't lose it, now it not even sticking to him a lot of the time.
I think best thing is to take him out of starting lineup in prem league for while, play him in Europe and see how it goes. Constantly playing him seems to be making him worse not better.
13 Oct 2026 10:45:49
Cherki is way better than Wirtz right now.
A nomadic player maybe but he has consistently shown he can mix it with the best in the prem.
I believe Wirtz would struggle at City too.
13 Oct 2026 11:11:04
Totally agree with you, shughes.
13 Oct 2026 11:15:04
When whole team seems to be the problem, the problem actually tends to be recruitment.
Bad RB bad LB no addition to midfield, not trying to form a team and adding winger ms just for sake of it.
13 Oct 2026 11:38:21
Players might not be making the right runs at the moment but that's not an excuse for his misplaced passing and poor shooting ability. He's missing simple passes and his touch is non existent at times.
I don't expect him to do something spectacular in matches but I do expect him to control the ball to hold it up or pick out passes that go straight to a teammate and not under hit.
Opposition teams aren't watching him as closely anymore as he's not a threat at the moment. He's just floating around at the moment just miss hitting straight forward passes.
His striking technique just doesn't look right to me and I just wonder is he putting enough effort in training to improve these.
Going on his form the last year it's clear he's not doing enough extra training to do that.
Wirtz, Barcola, Isak and Ekitike don't seem to have the same drive and enthusiasm as Salah, Mane and Firmino had to improve so I would be slightly worried about the attack this season.
Andy Robertson mentioned a few months ago in his farewell post to Salah that a couple of players could do with putting the same effort into improving as Salah did in every training session.
I just wonder was that a dig at Wirtz and Isak at the time.
13 Oct 2026 11:54:48
Look at the defensive quality of midfielder that Cherki has behind him and the ones that Wirtz has and then make a judgement. Cherki has pretty much freedom to make mistakes and not get punished because invariably the City midfielders get the ball back straight away. Actually having an aggressive ball winning midfielder makes a difference. Who knew.
Our centre midfielders are too passive, too weak, too tactically incompetent and too defensively inept to provide that kind of cover. Won't change until that issue is addressed effectively.
13 Oct 2026 11:36:54
PatrikBurgher & Digger, I agree with several of your points. Wirtz seems absolutely lost and rinced. Like Digger said, he could even control a couple of passes fizzed at him as they went of his shins and as soon as I saw that, I was worried. His head was already gone prolly before the game.
He didn't seem to be anywhere near prepared mentally for the game as he seemed to not be able to do the basics and that disappointed me. I was thinking that such an occasion would spur him on to really show out but unlike Grav who played like he had something to prove, Wirtz just didn't turn up. That hurt.
Now there are a lot of variables to this as the guys and Ed's have mentioned which are all valid. But to me, his confidence is below the earth's crust right now and the kid needs help badly. But it ill have to come from him first, regardless of how much many of us (not all, btw) want him to succeed.
13 Oct 2026 12:14:09
And the way Chrki goes flying into those tackles. lad has it all.
13 Oct 2026 11:03:43
Genuine question Ed. How would you change the system to help him? He is playing in his favourite No.10 position isn't he?
{Ed001's Note - I would just want more runners and players willing to make runs just to create space. Which is pretty much the way Iraola likes to play anyway, so it should get better.}
13 Oct 2026 13:02:13
Oli, why would all supporters not want Wirtz to succeed? They're not supporters if that's the case.
13 Oct 2026 13:24:24
Cherki looks the far better buy. Cherki would have been a klopp era signing. Less risk and far greater the reward with the price.
13 Oct 2026 13:41:29
Wirtz hasn't been doing the business since day 1, so I don't see how the excuse of "the noise is getting to him" applies.
I agree Ron, the price tag, the risk to reward, the creativity, the confidence in his ability – it all adds up to an ideal signing were Klopp at the helm.
13 Oct 2026 14:05:10
For me it's quite simple
Put Cherki in our team and he would struggle too.
The team, tactics and players are not used to, nor optimising play to allow for that position to flourish. Whether that's allowing more space, making better runs etc.
Although there are clearly confidence issues impacting some basic things for the lad, it's clear to me it's the way we are set up / still adjusting to how Iraola wants to play. Hoping that changes of course OR we have to revert to a robust 3 in the centre as work horses and not use a number 10.
13 Oct 2026 14:38:31
I disagree JimJam, I've seen countless scenarios of Cherki creating something from nothing, he has a unique style and a flare that he's not afraid to use. When there's no opportunity afoot, he has the confidence to carry the ball and beat his man in an effort to find one. We're not seeing any of that from Wirtz.
13 Oct 2026 14:42:55
Cherki is an empty shirt off the ball though. You can't press effectively if you have a player who jogs around waiting for the ball to come to him.
Wirtz is completely devoid of confidence but at least he's working hard.
I've been in that position as a player when you sign for new club and for whatever reason you just can't settle. It could be the manager, the team dynamic or certain individuals you just don't get on with but once your confidence goes you do things that you just can't understand.
For me it's down to the manager to find the right words and tactics to get him going. I'm just not sure Iraola is good enough to do that.
13 Oct 2026 14:49:13
I think there are two camps among our fans when it comes to Wirtz. One camp says that the play ahead of him isn't good enough. The other says that he flatters to deceive and isn't good enough. I would say the truth is somewhere in between.
I would say that even when he has received the ball in his favorite position with all the space to damage the opposition this season, he has often failed to do so, and the frustration of his team mates in these situations is plain to see. Part of this is clearly down to confidence and Wirtz starting to lose his head, I hope this becomes clear to people who criticise him endlessly. That doesn't make it any less frustrating to watch though, when a player touted as being world class can't even make average plays picking out somebody making a darting run in behind on the wing or attempt a through ball into the box.
I think there is something in the suggestions that Wirtz is a relational player in a system with stable moving parts that orbit around him in smaller spaces, and Iraola's system is built on rapid transitions, fluid interchanges, but often very big spaces between attackers with players sprinting down the wings, and Wirtz has to carry the ball from deep or spray the ball to the wings, which aren't exactly his forte. He's always done his best work closer to the box receiving and giving and going, but the conundrum we have now is that Isak and him simply don't seem to be on the same planet, let alone the same wavelength.
Ironically if Ekitike came back, we could see Ekitike dropping deep where Wirtz often receives the ball, Wirtz advancing into the 9 position, Ekitike driving forward with the ball and Wirtz being able to receive further up the field. The two of them could work really well that way, because Ekitike is very comfortable playing as a second striker or pseudo left sided 10 interchanging constantly with another in a forward 2, since that's what he did with Marmoush all the time.
There's a reason why Wirtz seemed to work so much better with Hugo than he does with Isak, he never played with a 9 who stays in the box at Leverkusen, Schick or Boniface would constantly switch back and forth with him according to Wirtz' movements up top.
Not making any excuses for him, he's having to learn in a new system doing things he might not be comfortable with, and he's facing massive negative press everywhere he turns. We'll have to see whether he withers under the pressure, but I hope our own fans, our players and our coach can help him overcome whatever is impeding him from showing the genius that we saw at Leverkusen.