Jamie Carragher urges Liverpool to bench Florian Wirtz and reset identity

Jamie Carragher has poured fuel on the Liverpool discourse, arguing Florian Wirtz should be taken out of the XI so the team can reset to last season’s blueprint and regain stability. His blunt take arrives amid a bumpy opening under Arne Slot, with supporters split between patience and panic. Some mock the touted £150m price tag, others insist Liverpool’s structure—not Wirtz—needs fixing. Slot’s own post-match remarks suggested the side performed well, adding another layer. The core question now: does Liverpool double down on integrating Wirtz as a focal creator, or pivot back to a more familiar, pressing-first identity?

In a widely circulated broadcast clip, Jamie Carragher assessed Liverpool’s stuttering early-season rhythm under new head coach Arne Slot, centering on Florian Wirtz’s role. Carragher argued the side should revert to last season’s tactical identity to rebuild confidence, even if that means removing Wirtz from the starting lineup. The conversation escalated as supporters debated the logic of sidelining a marquee signing, while Slot’s recent media comments suggested the team’s underlying performance was better than the scoreline implied. The clash of viewpoints has turned Wirtz’s integration into a flashpoint for Liverpool’s broader tactical reset.

🚨‼️Jamie Carragher: 🗣️“Right now, Florian Wirtz needs to come out of the team, Liverpool need to go back to what they were last season, and try to build some confidence and some stability. Right now it looks like a mess.”

@ThaEuropeanLad

Impact Analysis

Benching Florian Wirtz would be a seismic statement this early in the Slot era, but Carragher’s rationale targets the sequence of priorities, not the player’s ceiling. Liverpool’s most stable versions in recent years were built on field-tilting pressure, directness in transition, and a midfield that compressed space first, created second. Wirtz’s strengths—between-the-lines receiving, disguise passing, and third-man combinations—shine when the structure around him wins territory and tempo. If the team’s counter-press isn’t biting and the distances between units are loose, Wirtz is forced into low-percentage touches and risky carry zones, magnifying turnovers and fuelling narratives about his fee.

A short-term recalibration—reasserting the press, simplifying exits, and restoring a reference 4-3-3 spacing—could stabilize the platform. That doesn’t mean abandoning Wirtz; it means protecting his touches by ensuring he receives after Liverpool have won field position and compressed the pitch. Using him as a high-left interior or as a protected 10 in a box midfield only works if the ball-winners and fullback lanes are synchronized. The risk in benching him is psychological and political; the potential reward is rediscovering collective certainty. In the medium term, an optimized Wirtz should be a force multiplier, not a tactical riddle.

Reaction

The fan split is loud and predictable. One camp leans into the headline number—“£150m to come out of the team!”—as proof that elite fees must equal instant domination. They read a benching as an admission of a flop and mock the hype that framed Wirtz as the league’s next crown prince. Others target perceived double standards: why are some new signings granted months of acclimatization while Wirtz gets trial by fire after a handful of matches?

There’s also a tactical faction insisting the issue is framework, not talent: Liverpool’s game model hasn’t fully revolved around Wirtz’s natural hotspots, and the current roles ask him to fix spacing problems that precede his involvement. A smaller group cites Arne Slot’s calm post-match tone—if the manager sees green shoots, why cave to outrage cycles?

Rival fans, predictably, pour salt: jokes about rejecting City and barbs about “£150m for the bench” trend in replies, feeding the meme economy. Yet under the noise is a sober truth: the divide isn’t about Wirtz the player, but Liverpool’s identity mid-transition. Until the team’s press, rest-defense, and lane occupation click, every touch by Wirtz will be over-scrutinized.

Social reactions

A 150 million pound player playing worse than Unc Miro. We were told to beware a new king is coming; he is more of a pawn, to be honest.

Not Fergie Era Anymore (@FergieUtdEra)

Ok he is coming at them now

Solomon Ovomarani (@SOvomarani63185)

150 million pounds player benched 🤣 keep starting him let him find his feet 🐾🤣🤣 . Give your head a wobble Carragher you 🤡

Fred (@Fred5007784126)

Prediction

Short term, expect Slot to trim variance. That likely means a structural reset: tighter rest-defense behind the ball, a simpler first phase, and fewer risky central entries in early build-up. Wirtz could be rotated without fanfare—30-to-35 minutes as a high-leverage sub—entering after Liverpool establish territory and fatigue opponents. In matches that demand more control than chaos, he starts, but with defined triggers to avoid isolation.

Medium term, the pathway is clear. Liverpool will sculpt a hybrid, restoring the press-first DNA while carving a bespoke lane for Wirtz between the half-space and the pocket. Look for an asymmetry: Trent or the left-back stepping into midfield, a single-pivot guard dog, and Wirtz positioned to receive on the blind side of the opposition 6. The pressing cues come back; the final pass returns.

Long term, the fee discourse fades if outputs follow. If Liverpool nail the spacing and sequencing, Wirtz’s chance creation and carry-to-shot chains spike, and the narrative flips from “bench the star” to “indispensable connector.” If not, January becomes noisy, with calls for a destroyer midfielder or even a temporary shape shift to insulate him.

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Conclusion

Carragher’s provocation lands because it addresses order of operations. Liverpool can’t fast-forward to the Wirtz endgame without re-establishing the foundations that made them a machine: aggressive distances, immediate counter-press, and a midfield that suffocates second balls. Whether Wirtz starts or rotates, the priority is collective clarity. Protect the structure, then add the embellishments.

Wirtz did not suddenly become less gifted; the league did not forget how to defend. What’s changed is the handshake between player and platform. Solve the spacing and tempo, and the same actions that look forced today will look inevitable tomorrow. Slot’s job is to mute the volatility, pick the right entry points for his creator, and let outputs—not outrage—set the story.

If Liverpool lean into their identity and stage the game for him, Wirtz will repay the investment. If they don’t, the discourse will keep eating its own tail. The choice is structural, not sentimental—and it has to be made now.