Rumours of Liverpool’s recovery have been exaggerated, it seems.
The 2-0 win at an insipid West Ham, mourning the death of club legend, Billy Bonds, does not appear to have been a turning point.
They are not better without Mo Salah; Alexander Isak is still not right, and Florian Wirtz hasn’t yet broken his duck.
And only Federico Chiesa’s goalline clearance saved them from the worst Anfield humiliation yet, and all that that would have entailed.
Even a draw doesn’t spare them an inquest, though.
That it was Sunderland, of all people, who were a whisker away from following Nottingham Forest and PSV Eindhoven in beating the Reds in their erstwhile fortress says it all.
Heavy favourites for the drop after finishing fourth in the Championship last season, the Black Cats are defying the laws of gravity.
They are also challenging the notion that you can’t be successful with too many changes.
Sunderland got rid of 17 of its nobodies who were signed in League 1 for a combined £10 million, and brought in 15 unknown somebodies (except for Granit Xhaka) for £167m.
Oh, to have been a fly on the wall in the boardroom afterwards when Liverpool’s head honchos asked their Sunderland counterparts, “How did you do it?”
Buying sprees are nothing new, of course, and have worked in the past.
In the summer of 2022, Forest brought in 23 players, several of whom formed the core of the side that would eventually soar up the table to qualify for Europe.
What’s causing the angst at Anfield is that Liverpool’s recruits have looked, except for Hugo Ekitike, way below expectations, given the size of the fees.
Fans are wondering: have Michael Edwards and his team, for once, got it catastrophically wrong?
A kinder view is that they underestimated the amount of adjustment that both new and existing players have had to make.
No one who has seen Wirtz play for Bayer Leverkusen of Germany would dispute that the nippy playmaker is a rare talent.
But they can point out that his slight build is not ideal for the rigours of the English Premier League.
Nor was it clear what position he was meant to play in.
From the different roles he’s been asked to perform, it’s clear that Arne Slot wasn’t sure where to start him, either.
It’s just not going for him, and being denied, albeit rightly, what looked like his breakthrough goal in midweek was typical of his luck.
Isak is a different case, of course, and even more mystifying.
A lack of a pre-season cannot be an excuse in December.
Once again, a precise role for him has yet to be found and has been made more difficult because of the presence of Ekitike.
The Frenchman made a flying start, but is now experiencing a drought of his own.
Not everyone can hit the ground running, but when the cost is astronomical, we expect more than what we’ve seen so far from the Reds’ record signings.
Even before the £125m fee for Isak, Liverpool’s outlay on four players was still double what Sunderland spent on 15.
Like their recent predecessors, Sunderland had no fear at Anfield and this is how they’ve played all season.
Players coming in for a tiny fraction of the price are not burdened with the same pressures as the stars.
They also sold well, getting £32m for Jobe Bellingham, having paid just £1.2m for him two years earlier.
Ekitike probably benefitted from being the least known of Liverpool’s new boys, even though his £79m fee was substantial.
But now, it seems the two strikers are in an either/or situation. Once again, it’s not favourable to finding the right blend.
Slot won high praise last season for not tinkering and leaving well alone.
Some gringes say it was Klopp’s team, but no one expected the little-known Dutchman to lead the club’s stroll to a title.
He has looked as baffled as anyone as things have fallen apart, but has never failed to front up and accept the blame.
One of the reasons he was chosen for the job was his ability to achieve beyond expectations.
Director of football Richard Hughes even presented him with a dossier of how he’d done this when he got the job.
Occasionally, he has looked bereft, but was not afraid to drop Salah, and has tried the obvious tweaks.
But with Virgil van Dijk also looking less like a colossus, problems have occurred all over the field.
One of the reasons Salah wanted to stay at Anfield is that he felt his chances of winning the Ballon d’Or were better with Liverpool than anywhere else.
A deep run in the Champions League is usually needed for that, but, on current form, there’s no guarantee Liverpool will be in the tournament long enough for him to make a convincing case.
With interest from Saudi Arabia never going away and Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo revealing a £65m clause in his contract, this season could even be Salah’s swansong.
Liverpool could probably cover the cost of the Ghanaian with an offer from any of the three chasing Saudi clubs.
The Reds have long admired Semenyo, 25, who has six goals and three assists in just 12 games this season.
He is also of interest to the Manchester clubs and Spurs, but, unlike Salah, will not be going to the African Cup of Nations, as Ghana failed to qualify.
Salah will be away after the Brighton game on December 14 and will miss a minimum of three Liverpool games.
If Liverpool agrees with Jamie Carragher that Salah’s “legs have gone”, they could even make the switch during Afcon.
They need a spark from somewhere and the Egyptian King has been well short of his regal best.
Salah deserves a proper send-off as one of Liverpool’s all-time greats, but it might be good business to do it sooner rather than later.
Eight years younger and for the same cost and half the salary, Semenyo could provide it.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
