Nothing lasts forever. And Pep Lijnders has long acknowledged the problem a demoralised, dishevelled Liverpool are now facing.
"Teams adapt, teams try to destroy our plans and it's most important that we stay unpredictable," said the assistant manager. "Unpredictability means that from each position we can play the last pass, we can speed up the game as much as we can."
Lijnders was speaking almost two years ago as he explained the thinking behind the signings of Diogo Jota and, in particular, Thiago Alcantara and what they could bring to a championship-winning Reds side.
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Liverpool knew then they couldn't afford to stand still, even mere months having dominated the league to an extent unprecedented in their long, trophy-laden history.
Now, after a season in which they came agonisingly close to a trophy quadruple, they find themselves in a similar situation. Consider the comments from Alisson Becker in the wake of Monday's dismal 2-1 defeat at bitter North West rivals Manchester United, in which the goalkeeper admitted teams know exactly how Liverpool are going to play.
Having played 63 times last season and enjoyed huge success, it's inevitable Jurgen Klopp's side have attracted a greater spotlight than most, their tactics regularly placed under the microscope. They are, after all, the team many want to be - including, it must be said, Erik ten Hag's United.
The Europa League hopefuls did a number on Liverpool at Old Trafford during the ultimately decisive opening quarter, aided by another lackadaisical Reds display. United were hardly outstanding as claimed in some quarters, but their simple efforts to expose inevitable Liverpool weaknesses were more than enough to fend off the visitors, who Klopp later admitted too often flailed when it came to the final pass or finish.
While throughout the team there were problems, the lack of threat up top is perhaps the most pressing given the imminent Anfield assignments against Bournemouth and Newcastle United are likely to involve unpicking well-drilled rearguards.
Unlike two years ago, Liverpool can't realistically delve into the transfer market to solve the issue. They have already sought to make one significant change in their attacking policy by snapping up Darwin Nunez for the departed Sadio Mane, only for Nunez to rule himself out for three games by being sent off against Crystal Palace.
And both Jota and Thiago, who remain key difference makers, are on a lengthy injury list that is unlikely to improve beyond the end of the month.
Instead, the unpredictability on Monday was of a negative kind. Luis Diaz may now be long established in the squad since his arrival in January, but until this season the Colombian, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah had never started a game together. It didn't fully click against Manchester City and Fulham and broke down completely at United, the spaces between the three forwards simply far too big for them to be effective as a cohesive unit.
Continued absences mean there is very little wriggle room, as Klopp admitted after the game. "We have in the moment five senior midfielders and we have to start with three," he said. "We could start with two if we would have more attackers but we have only three attackers."
There is, however, one alternative. And that became apparent during the final 15 minutes at Old Trafford, when Fabio Carvalho - bought for an initial £5million from Fulham in the summer - impressed with his willingness to carry the ball, take players on and have a shot, with Salah scoring on the rebound after one such effort had been parried out by United goalkeeper David de Gea.
Bournemouth, the visitors on Saturday, will feel they know what to expect. So a subtle switch to 4-2-3-1, easing the pressure on the midfield and giving Carvalho an opportunity in an attacking midfield role where there is less responsibility on his teenage shoulders, is a very real possibility. With two sitting midfielders, Salah can go into a central striking role with Harvey Elliott wide right, or Elliott can make way for Carvalho in the tweaked formation. There is more than one avenue.
Regardless, the weekend seems the opportune time to hand Carvalho a first start. Liverpool need a spark from somewhere - and some unpredictability. Almost anything would be better than Monday night.
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