Graeme Souness believes Liverpool have missed a trick by failing to sufficiently refresh Jurgen Klopp's ageing squad.
And the former Liverpool captain, turned Sky Sports pundit, has recalled how Bill Shankly once made the same mistake before vowing to never let it happen again.
Despite coming within in an inch of achieving an unprecedented quadruple of major honours last season, the Reds have struggled to get going this campaign with just two wins in their first seven Premier League matches. Their struggles have been heightened by a long line of injuries troubles, but Souness - who won five league titles and three European cups in his remarkable time at Anfield - feels the club have failed to take advantage of their position when it comes to savvy recruitment.
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Writing for the Mail Online, he said: " The beauty about being at the top in football is that you can buy players that don't have to go into the team immediately. Players who can sit and understand what you're trying to do. It's the sweet spot. The perfect place to be. There's absolutely no pressure on the club or manager. Liverpool are in that situation after a very good few years and I'm surprised Jurgen Klopp hasn't done more to reinforce - particularly with proven 25 or 26-year-olds who can deal with the storms that come over a hard Premier League season.
"Looking at the age of some of the current team - 31-year-old Thiago, Jordan Henderson, 32 and James Milner at 36 - I remember the old article of faith there always was at Liverpool, during my time, about constantly refreshing the team. The Boot Room staff all talked about the shock 1-0 FA Cup quarter final defeat to Watford in February 1970, when Bill Shankly's ageing Liverpool team were not good enough.
"They let that team get old together and Shankly told Paisley: 'Never again are we going to allow this to happen.' That was set in stone. They were still talking about it when I arrived, eight years later."
Summer signing Darwin Nunez has failed to make the desired impact so far and has experienced some early challenges including a three-match suspension for getting sent off on his home debut and has also admitted to battling a language barrier with his new manager.
Souness added: " The few signings Klopp made this summer have not been ready to play a major part, which is understandable. At 23, Darwin Nunez is a year older than Erling Haaland but he's had to be treated with kid gloves and brought on gradually. Every player is different, in that respect. Nunez said this week that he's been struggling to understand what Klopp is saying, as he deals with the language barrier. That certainly can be an issue for new players, though the top ones work it out very quickly. We're also still waiting to see Arthur Melo.
"While the team wait for the new signings to bed in, we will see in the next eight days, with the game at Arsenal tomorrow and Manchester City at Anfield next Sunday, how the current Liverpool players deal with the biggest test they have known as a group. Gabriel Martinelli will be a big part of the threat to them at the Emirates. He has great feet and looks to me like he's going to be a real player. Trent Alexander-Arnold will need help from his centre halves and midfield."
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