Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp look set to be entering unfamiliar territory together with it seeming unavoidable that the German will have to commit to another big rebuild as performances dip.
Both manager and players admitted after the 3-0 drubbing suffered at the hands of Brighton that the side’s efforts at the Amex were well below par.
Analysing the club’s fall from the high of a quadruple fight to the lows of midtable obscurity, Miguel Delaney also pointed to other more minute factors that may have contributed to a difficult internal atmosphere – including the publishing of Pep Lijnders ‘Intensity’ ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
“The feeling that this Liverpool team might be coming to an end was being aired in the immediate aftermath of the 2022 Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid,” the Independent reporter wrote for the publication.
“That only grew over the summer, to the extent that an increasing number of sources spoke about a “worrying atmosphere internally” into August.
“The publication of Pep Lijnders’ book surprised some at the club and wasn’t universally popular.”
It’s important to emphasise that though it may be a contributing factor to the increasingly negative atmosphere at the club, it hardly seems to be a central component.
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Certainly, it’s worth remembering that the decision did have Klopp’s full blessing and, as Delaney rightly mentions in his concluding notes: ‘the less popular elements become more pronounced when things are going wrong.’
The Dutchman has still been a highly valuable member of the team and one we’re delighted to have at the club for a number of reasons from tactical input to his connections beyond the English game.