As Liverpool slumped to their fifth Premier League loss of the season with a whimpering showing at the Gtech Stadium on Monday evening, pockets of Reds supporters had already made their minds up about the cause of the deep-rooted issues that have provoked such an uncharacteristic slump for Jurgen Klopp's side.
For some, the lack of rational thought has led them to believe that the apparent 'increased influence' of assistant manager and Klopp's right-hand man, Pep Lijnders, is to blame for Liverpool languishing in sixth place in the Premier League table.
Others, more recently, have incriminated 19-year-old teenage prodigy Harvey Elliott and his position on the right of midfield as the obvious frailty to a side that went within a whisker of achieving a record-shattering quadruple sweep less than 12 months ago.
