What is going wrong for Liverpool?

They say when you have an ongoing problem, the first stage is acknowledging that you are indeed struggling. 12 games into the season, Liverpool sit ninth in the Premier League and are a mere shadow of the team that played the maximum 63 games last season. Jürgen Klopp’s sideline smiles now flicker a spiritless off-white; the German no longer seems to be able to hide the cracks that are beginning to show in his Liverpool side. What is going wrong for Liverpool this season?

The Reds had looked devoid of ideas throughout the summer. Three frankly awful pre-season performances against RB Salzburg, Strasbourg and Manchester United were early warning signs for Liverpool fans. Liverpool’s pre-season campaign did culminate in beating Manchester City 3-1 in the Community Shield. A goal for Darwin Nuñez, the most expensive player in Liverpool history, was an encouraging sign for the Uruguyuan’s introduction into Klopp’s side, with Erling Haaland — now pillaging the Premier League — spending most of the game in Virgil van Dijk’s back pocket.

Liverpool’s resurgence in form ended as quickly as it had begun, with an uninspiring draw to Fulham on the opening day and a defeat at Old Trafford two weeks later. Their 9-0 destruction of Bournemouth and deserved last-gasp victory against Newcastle seemed to have jolted the Reds back into life, but Liverpool’s only consistency this season has ultimately been their inconsistency.

With three consecutive wins, including beating a then-undefeated Manchester City side and a decisive victory over Ajax to secure progress in the Champions League, a latent optimism had begun to settle around Anfield. Yet, Crysencio Summerville’s 89th-minute winner for Leeds toppled Liverpool’s attempts at a resurgence and dragged the Reds back to square one. Virgil van Dijk had never lost a game in a Liverpool shirt at Anfield until that point. Klopp’s mentality monsters have been humbled down to mediocrity minnows.

The loss of sporting director Michael Edwards was surely going to impede Liverpool’s success in the transfer market. Edwards’ successor, Julian Ward, had been instrumental in bringing Luis Diaz to Merseyside, but his prowess in the transfer market cannot in any way match that of his mentor. After the signings of Carvalho, Nuñez and Calvin Ramsay, Liverpool appeared to panic into signing injury-ridden Arthur on loan from Juventus. He joins the long list of players on the treatment table, which appears to have had more movement on it than Liverpool have had on the pitch. Summer after summer, Liverpool fans plead their side to dip into the transfer market and replenish their team, but each window ends in disappointment at the reality of the senior management of the club.

For how long can faith alone allay fears of falling back into a Hodgson-esque era?

Transfer policy and reliance on net spend has long since been Liverpool’s downfall under Fenway Sports Group’s ownership. Both Liverpool and the Boston Red Sox are crying out for investment to replenish their squads, but the monopolisation of two historic clubs has reduced them to business plans and boardroom meetings. Only a handful of players from Liverpool’s title-winning side have been replaced, including Sadio Mané, who has proven to be a massive miss for Klopp’s side this year.

The Reds’ enduring 2021-22 campaign should not have caused such a sharp drop in form this season and instead should have provided a platform on which to build another title-winning side. Last season, it was unheard of for teams to outwork or outrun Liverpool, not least at Anfield. Yet, Leeds outran Liverpool by 11 kilometres in their 2-1 victory on Merseyside, with 169 high-intensity sprints to Liverpool’s 154. The onus is now on the Liverpool manager to prove that his side are not reaching the end of their cycle of success and are able to go again.

Liverpool’s lack of invention, energy and — at some points — motivation has forced them into radical formation changes. Their standard 4-3-3, a blueprint for relentless pressing and obdurate passion, has been dismantled by teams who now know how to play against Klopp’s side. Harvey Elliott has been one of Liverpool’s stand out players this season for his dynamism and tenacity, but Mo Salah’s quiet campaign and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s shocking start have left Liverpool’s number 19 with too much responsibility on the right side.

Klopp’s change to an all-or-nothing 4-2-4 has given Liverpool much more success going forward, but injuries to Diaz and Diogo Jota mean that he must use it sparingly. This system seems to favour young players like Elliott and new signing, Carvalho, who do bring life to Liverpool’s sluggish side. Injuries to midfielder maestro Thiago and Fabinho’s disastrous drop in form this season have sent Klopp and his coaches back to the drawing board for another tactical revival.

Despite Chelsea sacking Thomas Tuchel earlier in the season after several poor results, Liverpool are not appearing to follow suit. The owners are keeping faith in the German who has won almost everything since his arrival on Merseyside in 2015, but for how long can faith alone allay fears of falling back into a Hodgson-esque era?