Micah Richards believes Jurgen Klopp's blind loyalty to players has influenced the position in which Liverpool find themselves.
The Reds suffered yet another Premier League loss on Saturday afternoon, collapsing in the second half of their meeting with Manchester City as the hosts secured a 4-1 win. Newcastle beating Manchester United on Sunday has ensured there is now an eight-point gap to reach the top four.
Questions continue to be asked of this Liverpool side for displaying a lack of fight in difficult moments, having built up a reputation in recent years for always finding a way back into games even if they fell behind.
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Attempting to explain what is the main factor behind the team's slide is no simple task, with various theories being put forward in recent months, though ex-City defender Richards is of the view Klopp placing faith in a number of long-serving squad members has had damaging consequences.
"What is going on with Liverpool? You will have to go a long way to find someone who has more respect for Jurgen Klopp than me, but I’m really puzzled by what I’m seeing from his team," he wrote in his Daily Mail column. "Had they maintained last season’s momentum and consistency, to be in and around the title race, we would have been talking about them as one of the Premier League’s greatest ever sides.
"The levels they had shown were off the scale, which makes what is happening now so baffling. Liverpool are stuck between systems — they kept switching between 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 at Manchester City — and that ferocious press of theirs is now non-existent because one man will charge on his own and there is no cohesion.
"All season I have thought, ‘Liverpool will turn up today’, but I can’t say that now. Your senses tell you when you turn up to watch them that you will see a quality side, but then the game starts and you can’t quite work out what is going on. Klopp has been too loyal to some of the men who have been with him throughout and a little too slow in refreshing."
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