Didi Hamann has honed in on one detail around Liverpool that he thinks should have served as an alarm bell that they were no longer operating at their optimal level.
The German feels that assistant manager Pep Lijnders releasing a book charting their 2021/22 season was a clear sign that people within the club were taking their eye off the ball.
The book, entitled 'Intensity: Inside Liverpool FC', has become a best-seller since its release last month.
READ MORE: Liverpool player ratings as Joe Gomez and James Milner awful in Napoli humbling
But it's fair to say Hamann was less than impressed by anything to do with it.
In the wake of their shambolic display against Napoli in their opening Champions League fixture, he tweeted: "The alarm bells should have been ringing for @LFC fans when the current assistant manager wrote a book while still employed by the club. How he was allowed to do it I’m not too sure."
The opinion certainly drew a mixed response from Liverpool fans. Many felt it was looking for a convenient excuse rather than acknowledging that the bulk of this current team have been on the go for close to five years now with them repeatedly fighting for multiple trophies right to each campaign's climax.
One person replied: "I am not sure how him writing a book has affected players' ability to run.
"Have you ever seen a team walking desireless for 90 minutes continuously this season? That is Liverpool 2022-2023...till now."
Similarly, someone else sarcastically responded: "It all makes sense now...it was Pep's book that Space Jammed the whole squad and stopped further investment in the team!
"We could have signed Bellingham and Mbappe this summer only for that book!"
Many commenters, including one Robbie Fowler, also made the point that Man City have allowed a full-scale documentary to be recorded behind-the-scenes at The Etihad with no detriment to their standards on the pitch.
But Hamann remained firm on his point.
When Fowler and others broached this train of thought, Hamann replied: "Not sure where you see a comparison. Club documentary vs an individual who is assistant manager writing a book by himself telling everybody how great he is."
He added: "They were club documentaries. Not sure why an individual felt the need to write a book other than praise himself. His only focus should be on @LFC, not personal gain.
"If wanted it that badly he should have resigned then he can write 10 books."
For all that he did face a bit of a backlash, there were plenty of disgruntled Liverpool supporters who felt he had a point.
Tom said: "I think Didi is right. He should be focused on LFC 100% not pursuing a vanity project.
"It's not a conclusive reason for our drop in form but it's a compelling argument."
Joel agreed, saying: "Writing a book about everything to do with the club is basically like handing a kid the answers to a test."
While it's still early days, results have been poor this season and their displays even worse.
Virgil van Dijk looks a shadow of his former self while Trent Alexander-Arnold's defensive deficiencies are becoming more and more glaringly obvious.
Mohamed Salah is miles off the form he was in this time last year while the likes of Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Andrew Robertson aren't playing with anywhere near the energy that became such a hallmark of Jurgen Klopp's side at their best.
At present, you'd fancy Spurs and even Arsenal to finish ahead of them in the race for second place behind another presumptive title for the other intense Pep and Man City.
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