Liverpool's creaking midfield has become far too easy to play against, so Jurgen Klopp must be backed in the transfer market if he is to turn things around.
That's the view of former Reds defender Stephen Warnock who has shared his thoughts on Saturday's miserable 2-1 home defeat to Leeds United and his ex-club's current woes in general.
The thrills of chasing an unprecedented quadruple of major trophies is now a distant memory, as Klopp's team languishes in ninth place in the Premier League table, having lost three of their last five league matches. And Warnock has pointed to a number of factors that have contributed to Liverpool's alarming drop-off, combining to result in shocking form to date this season.
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Speaking on Sky Sports News, he said: "I think there's a combination of things. You look at players out of form. If you look at the assists from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson over the last couple of years - they've dried up. Whether that's from a change in system or from a change in personnel from the way that they're playing in midfield.
"You look back to Liverpool's best teams, whether it's last years, or the year they won the Champions League or the League, that midfield trio - whether it was Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, James Milner or Gini Wijnaldum - was industrious. Everyone used to say, they need flair and people who can pick a pass. That was never the way Jurgen Klopp liked to play. It was always about winning the ball in high positions and then giving it to the forward players higher up the pitch.
"When I look at the team at the moment, I look at Fabinho - massively out of sorts. Can't even run at the moment. I don't know what's gone on with him. Whether he's fatigued or over-played? Jordan Henderson doesn't play as many games as he used to, then you've got Harvey Elliott in there, who's younger.
"They played a diamond at the weekend and they suffered massively because Leeds knew who to play against it. They knew that the space was wide and Liverpool suffer in wide areas. There's a combination of things and you just look at it at the moment and think, Jurgen Klopp needs help.
"When I say he needs help, he needs backing in the transfer market. He needs help in midfield. Thiago is a magnificent footballer, but running-wise in that midfield, doesn't have the capability of a prime James Milner, Jordan Henderson or Gini Wijnaldum. That all adds up to working together.
"When I talk about those four players before and that relationship that they all had when they played, you didn't get a second on the ball. You didn't get a moment to pick your head up and pick a pass. It's far too easy to play against Liverpool at the moment."
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