‘Jealousy’, ‘harsh words’ and ‘lost patience’ – the theories behind Liverpool’s decline

Liverpool’s collapse has left a lot of people stunned – but there is no shortage of theories as to what’s really going on at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp’s side dominated the Premier League last season and have been dubbed ‘monsters of mentality’ for their notoriously high standards.

Still, Reds legend Jamie Carragher called them “mentality dwarfs” in Sky Sports comments when they lost to Fulham at the weekend.

Klopp’s side look like a shadow of the squad they once lost in confidence and direction in recent weeks, culminating in six straight losses at home.

Experts over the weekend have come up with several different theories about what is going on behind the scenes, speculating on the locker room issues.

From accusations of “jealousy” to speculation about Klopp’s “loss of patience”, here is a compendium of some of the theories discussed over the weekend.

Richard Keys – “jealousy”

Richard Keys believes Liverpool are currently struggling with ‘jealousy’ of top earners who fail to deliver in times of crisis.

“There is deep misfortune in the team,” he said during the beIN Sports presentation on Sunday.

“I think the speculation surrounding [Mohamed] Salah is a postman.

“I think there is a jealousy among the best employees who may not be their weight at the moment.

“The two full-backs, I’ve said it for a while, just haven’t played this season and, I said a month ago, something smacks of Anfield right now.”

Graeme Souness – “Harsh Words”

As soon as the Liverpool side came out ahead of their clash with Fulham, Souness had concerns.

Asked about the seven changes Klopp made, he told Sky Sports: “I’m definitely thinking a couple of things, maybe three things. That he certainly had words with some of them, he is not happy with some of them.

“I mentioned the intensity before, I think it was missing because there is no doubt that they are still talented boys.

“Three games in six days, does he think he should rest a bit? Making seven changes is a huge amount.

“Are you starting to prioritize? Do you think we’re going to have a hard time getting into the top four for the way it’s going?

“It’s a tough call, only the players and the manager himself will know if they have had any words.

“I imagine Jurgen, if he hasn’t made it there, is about to go down the road where he has to fall out with some players.

“I imagine seven changes is more than he would like to do, but I imagine he maybe had some harsh words with some players.

Roy Keane – “Loss of patience”

Like Souness, Roy Keane felt the seven changes represented a larger issue with Klopp towards his players.

“It’s obvious, I think, that he has lost patience with some of the players,” Keane said on Sky Sports.

“I obviously think we continue to analyze how it is defensively, but in the future the lack of goals, especially at home, even during the week we said there were ways to lose a football match.

“I don’t think it’s a happy group. I look at the players who have been kidnapped, and obviously I don’t expect a player to be happy to be kidnapped, but shaking their head, sitting in the grandstand, it’s not great body language .

“We saw him again with Salah during the week, we saw him with Mane at Palace, with Milner at West Ham.

“I don’t think it’s a happy group and I think in order to make so many changes, okay, there are some changes and there are games to come, but I think he thought, ‘enough that’s enough “.”

After the game, Keane added: “Obviously it’s time of crisis for Liverpool now. They don’t play as a team and that should be the manager’s biggest worry.

Alan Shearer – “Foot Foot”

Alan Shearer said Sunday’s victory for relegation-threatened Fulham exposed problems throughout Liverpool’s game.

“They have problems all over the place,” he said. Match of day 2 . “No goals, no creativity, terrible at the back.

“The most alarming thing for me would be the lack of intensity, the lack of energy in their game.

“We associate Liverpool with the three-and-four pressing, but they play a line so high you can’t do without pressure on the ball and there isn’t.

“They don’t work as a team, they don’t rush – it’s like stepping on football. Fulham could pass it around as much as he wanted. It’s so easy for Fulham to lift his head and pick the pass.

“The second half hasn’t changed. Here we go and no one is backing it – that’s what they were doing for the past three seasons. Fulham didn’t have to work that hard to get the ball through the lines.

“It’s not acceptable and that’s why the teams find it so easy to play at Liverpool.

“They brought in new players, he was a game changer but they looked like a tired football club today.

“The players brought in had no energy, had the legs to attack Fulham. They were too easy to face.”

Gary Neville – “weird”

Manchester United legend Gary Neville has admitted recent events are “bizarre” and has struggled to explain what is going on.

“What’s going on right now is weird,” Neville said. Sky Sports . “It feels like they’ve lost absolutely everything they had.

“Their speed of play, their confidence, the way Anfield was such a difficult place to go, the determination, the resilience to win when they weren’t playing well – there’s nothing there right now.

“I don’t know how they get it back, except to get to the end of the season.

“They’re going to have a hard time getting into the top four – they still might, but they’re going to really fight – because the mood in the locker room right now must be really low.”