4) Team morale is at an all time low and players aren’t enjoying their football.
When you make so many new signings, as Brendan Rodgers did this summer, one of the biggest issues is keeping everybody happy. Last season, the Reds were accused of lacking the squad depth to rival eventual Premier League champions Manchester City, but this year their mass recruitment has worked against them – although more on that later.
With a small squad, every Liverpool player had their chance to shine last season, and they appeared to be a tight-knit group all intent on achieving the same goal. However, that has all changed this year.
Mario Balotelli and Dejan Lovren seem all but undroppable, despite their poor form, with Rodgers blindly pushing forward in the hope that his big money buys will rediscover their best level. That appears to have led to disillusionment among some of Liverpool’s fringe players, although that of course has not been confirmed by a reliable source.