With one point from their last two league games against relegation strugglers Newcastle and West Bromwich Albion, talk of Liverpool staging some kind of late raid on the Premier League title has been muted. It never had much foundation in reality but football supporters do like to dream and Jurgen Klopp's initially smooth entry into English football delighted many.
It's only two games, of course, but even the 1-0 win over Swansea that preceded them was fraught with difficulty. Clearly there is a lot of hard work and ingenuity needed from the German coach to fix this Liverpool team.
Most areas need addressing. Simon Mignolet wandered out for an Albion corner and got nowhere near it, helpfully contradicting Klopp's own assertionthat he didn't need a new goalkeeper. There are decent strikers but Christian Benteke is struggling with his price tag and the club's expectations, Daniel Sturridge is almost permanently injured and even when fit, Danny Ings might not rise to the level required. Divock Origi has blown extremely hot and cold, though the goals are starting to come.
Strangely, Klopp may feel he needs to genuinely strengthen the one area where there appears to be plenty of talent and choice -- the midfield.
Because of fitness and form issues in attack, Liverpool have for some time now chosen one striker and used attacking midfielders to supplement that choice. It is a "belt and braces" philosophy many managers cling to, and it's sound in theory. Against quality opposition you can bolster the midfield battleground with five individuals; against weaker teams, you raise the forward line to three.
All Liverpool's midfield contingent have certain qualities, but only Jordan Henderson really gets close to being a complete midfielder in the traditional sense: the ability to work hard, defend, create and weigh in with crucial goals. It's small wonder that first Brendan Rodgers and now Klopp have used a multitude of formations to try and utilise the squad they have but in doing so, they inadvertently revealed the weakness within it.
Take Liverpool's left side of midfield, for example. In his short tenure so far, Klopp has put James Milner, Emre Can, Jordon Ibe, Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana in that area, not one of whom has a decent left foot. Ibe is an example of impatience affecting a player's form. He seemed to combine well on the right with Nathaniel Clyne and it seemed a partnership worthy of development, yet the workload dictates changes must be made and an opportunity be squandered.
Centrally, the emphasis is on work rate and defensive protection. The crowd has for years yelled "shoot!" at Lucas Leiva whenever he approaches the opposition area but purely in jest as nobody expects the Brazilian to come close to scoring. Joe Allen is similarly industrious and has had one or two threatening moments further forward, but he is not expected to create much either. In contrast, Coutinho and Lallana do hustle and harry opponents to some effect but their desired contribution is on the edge of or within the box.
Everybody does one thing or the other -- not both.
The selection of five, and sometimes even six, midfielders is meant to swamp the middle of the pitch and stifle opposition play. This seems excessive especially when the likes of West Brom expertly exploit Liverpool's weakness at set pieces and score easily, simply bypassing the Reds' presumed strength in the centre.
Both Rodgers and Klopp have thought along similar lines. What they want is fluidity, to keep the opponent guessing and make sure a hectic workload doesn't become a burden on the players. Reality has rarely matched the theory, and perhaps there should be more focus on what the Reds can do rather than what the opposition does. Managers must use what they've got; certainly in Klopp's case, since he has not even had a transfer window yet. The vast amounts spent on Rodgers' watch are the key frustrations here.
Once in a generation, two strikers as lethal as Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge link up. They were what powered Liverpool's unlikely title bid in 2014, ably supported by Coutinho, Henderson, Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling behind them. Three of those have now left, while Sturridge is almost a permanent spectator. It's a huge gap to fill and all the spending in the summers of 2014 and 2015 didn't get anywhere near solving the conundrum. That's the task facing Klopp in the coming months.
What makes it more difficult is the degree of expectation. Fans look at impressive victories against Chelsea, Manchester City and Southampton and wonder why it can't be like that all the time. It certainly seems a complacent division so far this season, where the traditional top sides haven't got to grips with the strengthening of the others. Similarly, the dynamism of Leicester and Crystal Palace (to name just two) is often proving too much for sides expecting to just turn up and win. Liverpool were brilliant against Manchester City but aided by the opposition, and more importantly coach Manuel Pellegrini, not giving them complete respect.
Everyone else's struggles certainly offer the Reds hope in staying in contention for fourth place but it will be hard. Liverpool's recent stutter in the league has fans discussing the deficiencies in the squad again, with chatter about Klopp only having to tinker a little bit to challenge now beginning to fade. This might be as knee-jerk a reaction as thinking the Reds could mount a title challenge in the first place, but the club's poor performance in the transfer market over recent years may not have fully impacted on results yet. A sobering thought.
One instant change that could help in the short term is to settle on a style and a formation, then use the appropriate players and stick with them as much as injury and form will allow. It's difficult to judge which came first: players being moved around like chess pieces game after game, or poor purchases forcing coaches to try new things and impatiently changing them after initial failures.
Klopp's transformation of Borussia Dortmund took time and patience. He'll want both from owners and supporters alike, but perhaps he himself should demonstrate those qualities with the players.
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