Whisper it softly, but is all well at Anfield?
Although still revelling in Man United’s misery, Liverpool fans have lost a bit of their swagger of late – and it’s not all down to a few wasted points.
Nothing like the self-inflicted traumas of Old Trafford, but a few genuine concerns have seen Kopites in uncertain mood as club football returns this weekend.
A resurgent Arsenal visit Anfield for the 1.30 kickoff on Sunday morning Malaysian time and may present a stiffer test than could be imagined after their shocking start to the season.
Another international break has done the Reds no favours.
Andy Robertson, Sadio Mane and Jordan Henderson are the latest to bring the Reds’ casualty list worryingly close to last season’s battlefield levels.
Mane and Henderson have appeared on the training ground this week but Robertson’s hamstring pull makes him an unlikely starter.
Henderson’s rib injury on England duty made it feel as if the jinx on central defenders had switched to midfield, but it’s not that serious.
But injuries are far from the only worry.
What has been broken is trust between fans and owners who signed up for the European Super League.
Despite the apologies, there are fears they may do it again if it suits them.
Amplifying doubts about FSG is the realisation that Liverpool are not a benefactor club and therefore unable to compete with “those clubs owned by countries,” as Jurgen Klopp puts it.
The lack of summer additions to a thin and aging squad underlined this inconvenient truth.
The departure of “irreplaceable” sporting director Michael Edwards at the end of the season is another blow.
Fans fear the era of buying Mo Salah for the price of two Dominic Solankes could finally be over.
Salah’s contract situation has still to be resolved and no one is confident that FSG will stump up for the player widely regarded as the world’s current best.
Should the Egyptian king be allowed to leave for free or sold for a knock-down price, it would be unworthy of a club that considers itself “European royalty”.
If all this is not enough to keep Kopites awake at night, it is also dawning on them that Klopp himself will not stay forever.
His contract is not up until 2024 but the clock is ticking.
“Irreplaceable” is a wholly inadequate word to describe him and Edwards.
Klopp has been able to compete against and beat the nation state-owned clubs but will his successor?
The German has done so despite injuries taking a toll.
From Salah’s shoulder in the 2018 Champions League final through to the latest crop, the Reds have endured more than their fair share.
Half a dozen players in the same position being simultaneously crocked is a nightmare for managers with squads deeper than Liverpool’s.
But with Klopp preferring thin red lines to bloated squads where fringe players gather rust before his eyes, it can derail a season as we saw earlier this year.
A makeshift defence initially coped well with the loss of Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and then Joel Matip, but sticking midfielders at the back deprived the engine room of power and the front three of ammunition.
Only a tremendous late season rally ensured a Champions League spot.
This time, only Harvey Elliott’s ankle injury compared with Van Dijk’s in seriousness.
And the 18-year-old was just establishing himself whereas the Dutchman had already attained “colossus” status.
But for a youngster to have his meteoric rise halted in such cruel fashion was a bitter blow.
It also started a procession from the middle of the park to the treatment room.
Naby Keita, Henderson, Thiago, Fabinho, James Milner and lately Curtis Jones all followed. When Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain looks like bionic man, you’ve got problems.
And when a teammate accidentally pokes a finger in the eye of your only other fit midfielder in training and partially blinds him for two days, the gods are surely against you.
Happily, Jones now has his sight back and has resumed training. But James Milner had already gone down with a dreaded hamstring.
Elsewhere, Bobby Firmino and Robertson have similar issues.
At least Kostas Tsimikas looks a capable replacement at left-back.
Having cost a tad more than Robertson’s £8m, he now has the chance to show yet again that Klopp’s and Edwards’ knack of finding bargains is unsurpassed.
If the “Greek Scouser” can keep Bukayo Saka quiet, he’ll already have doubled his worth.
The run of injuries will have tested the healing powers of Dr Andreas Schlumberger, brought in by Klopp at the end of 2020 to head the club’s recovery and performance department.
But the enduring fitness of Matip, who has failed to play 40 games in any of the past three seasons but looks fitter and stronger this time, suggests the German doctor is now having an effect.
It is fair to say that Schlumberger has his work cut out.
Besides injuries, the big fear for fans is that any more dropped points could see Chelsea and Man City open a gap that could be difficult to close.
And only in the unlikely event of unearthing another Van Dijk, who was signed in January 2018, in the winter transfer window, can we see a game-changing acquisition being made.
It’s why many Kopites are already sensing that success may be more likely to come in one of the knockout competitions than the league.
Because they know that if Liverpool don’t have the depth, they can still beat anybody on their day.
For now, anyway.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.