It's just crazy: Liverpool doubling down on insane Florian Wirtz decision

It's just crazy: Liverpool doubling down on insane Florian Wirtz decision Liverpool continue to double down on an insane Florian Wirtz decision. This isn't going to work - surely they realise that? Liverpool paid over £100m to sign Florian Wirtz in 2025. It was - and remains - the biggest signing they've ever made from a reputation standpoint. Wirtz was considered the best player in the Bundesliga and every club in the world wanted him. Doesn't that seem a long time ago? Wirtz has not worked out at Anfield, struggling to find any rhythm over the last year-and-a-bit. It's difficult to remember when he's put two decent games in a row, quite honestly. That's not what you expect for £100m. Nor is it what you expect from one of the most consistent attacking players in world football. As a reminder, Wirtz was one of only two players who managed double-digits for both goals and assists in both the 2023/24 and 2024/25 season - the other was Mohamed Salah. We haven't seen anything like that from Wirtz at Liverpool. But maybe that shouldn't be a surprise. Florian Wirtz's crazy situation If you signed one of the world's best players, would you sit him in essentially the opposite of the system he's used to and expect the same results? No? Liverpool would, seemingly. Because we've not got over a year of watching that. Wirtz came from a fluid attack with Bayer Leverkusen where he was unquestionably the main man. They played a 3-4-3 system under Xabi Alonso - one where those front three had a licence to move around, creating space for one another. And Wirtz is ultimately a player who thrives on space. That's his entire game. He takes advantage of movement from teammates to attack gaps when defences are pulled apart and he's unbelievably good at it. It's why the playmaker was named the best in Germany for the 2024/25 season by Bundesliga players, even with Harry Kane scoring 26 and assisting 8 that season. Put Wirtz in a team that never does that and suddenly you get a player that struggles. Liverpool have an unbelievably static attack that's overcrowded and essentially never drags defenders anywhere. That was the case all of last season, for instance, in a campaign where every attacking player struggled. Under Andoni Iraola, it's more of the same. Liverpool are still very, very static as the club doubles down on its decision to play a 4-2-3-1 system and never deviate from it. Wirtz finds himself playing as a no.10 with nowhere to go - the polar opposite of his role with Leverkusen. The centre-forward sticks to the box. The wingers stick to the wing. The midfielders push on into the attacking midfielder space . Xabi Alonso, Wirtz's coach with Leverkusen and now with Chelsea, has his team playing that 3-4-4 system again. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that the players thriving in it are the two attacking midfielders behind the striker - Wirtz's role. Morgan Rogers has four goals and an assist. Cole Palmer has three assists and two goals. Joao Pedro is thriving with that behind him, scoring five and assisting another three. The three of them are given the space to thrive and attack the areas they want to. This doesn't feel like rocket science. Chelsea have a lot of issues defensively that need sorting, primarily because they've built a very inexperienced defensive line. Their attack is thriving, however, as Alonso picked up the right players for a system he wanted to play. Liverpool have done the opposite. They've got a system they want to play (across two coaches now) and then signed players who don't actually suit it. The result shouldn't be a shock.