Liverpool are suddenly in a bit of a crisis mode.
The Reds are a shadow of the side that won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup as well as fought for the Premier League and Champions League titles until the very end of last season.
But a lot has changed over the last four months.
They’ve lost a key player in Sadio Mane. Record signing Darwin Nunez hasn’t been able to make the impact expected from him yet.
Early season injuries have derailed Liverpool’s momentum and forced Jurgen Klopp into picking makeshift lineups all through this season.
Liverpool suffered an embarrassment at the hands of Napoli, suffering a 4-1 loss to them on Wednesday.
They went down 3-0 in the first half itself, with fans being shocked at how badly the same side that had one of the best defensive records last season is suddenly struggling to defend.
Even Jurgen Klopp is gobsmacked by this poor run of form and fans are livid.
Some have blamed their inability to properly strengthen the squad in the summer as a reason, while others blamed their ageing squad.
However, a certain section of supporters seems to have found a wild reason for their side’s downfall.
Liverpool’s assistant manager Pep Lijnders is facing a lot of flak for his apparent role in their bad run of form.
This comes after the Dutch coach had released his new book ‘Intensity’ earlier this season.
Lijnders’ book is about his years at Anfield and how the management staff has helped Liverpool become so dominant.
It gives detailed descriptions of the Reds’ playing style, and tactics – such as their pressing patterns, attacking build-up play and more.
He’s given an in-depth view of the Reds’ tactical plans and some believe that he might’ve helped Liverpool’s opponents ‘find them out’ and focus on pouncing on their weaknesses.
These accusations reached a boiling point when Liverpool legend Didi Hamann pointed out how Lijnders was allowed to write a book when he was still at the club in a management role.
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.”
Hamann’s tweet has seemingly only increased the conspiracy theory that Lijnders’ book is the reason behind Liverpool’s poor form and them being constantly ousted by their opponents.