Liverpool have now reached the halfway point in their 2022/23 campaign, and it's fair to say it hasn't been the season anyone at Anfield would have expected.
After narrowly missing out on a historic quadruple last time out, the subsequent efforts see the Reds struggling to even reach this season's top four, never mind mount another title challenge.
Following another disappointing showing in their goalless draw against Chelsea, Jurgen Klopp's side lie ninth in the Premier League table, while they remain in the hunt for the Champions League and FA Cup. With 19 games now gone in the league, the ECHO's three main Liverpool writers have given their half-season reports on the Reds' efforts so far.
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What have you made of the Premier League season so far for Liverpool?
Paul Gorst: From the moment Liverpool got their campaign underway in early August at Fulham, Jurgen Klopp's side have been way off the pace. Rare bright spots appeared at home to Manchester City and at Tottenham, but it's been a painful transition for the Reds this term.
Dismal defeats at Nottingham Forest, Brentford and Brighton were all deserved, while their proud unbeaten record at Anfield fell by the wayside in meek circumstances on a terrible evening against Leeds. Their slide from Premier League title contenders to top-four outsiders has been as sharp as it has been dramatic.
For the second half of the campaign, Liverpool need the sort of consistent run of form that contributed to them collecting 92 Premier League points last term to have any chance of playing in the Champions League next season. Signs of such an improvement have been hard to find of late, though. Liverpool seem to have regressed since the World Cup ended.
Ian Doyle: Talk about a false dawn. The Community Shield win over Manchester City suggested Liverpool were primed and ready for another tilt at the Premier League title. It took just 45 minutes at Fulham to prove that was a somewhat ambitious target.
The reality is the concerns of this campaign had been hiding in plain sight. Last season hadn't even finished when Jurgen Klopp was talking about a "transformation" that was coming for his Liverpool squad. Nobody could have expected it to be quite as painful as it has proven, though.
Rather than offer a much-needed reset, the World Cup break served to check momentum that had finally been growing in late October and early November, with the Reds then plumbing new depths. If anything, the "reset" has come in the last week, although few would regard the goalless draw with Chelsea quite as positive a step as Klopp does unless it provides a platform for some kind of recovery.
From injuries, loss of form, players approaching the end of their usefulness, inevitable hangover from last season, new signings struggling to acclimatise, wrong tactics and some iffy officiating, it has been a season to tick off everything that could go wrong. It has been almost unremittingly woeful.
Theo Squires: Liverpool’s season has gone from bad to worse. The mid-season World Cup break and subsequent training camp in Dubai was meant to act as a reset button. Instead the Reds have looked lost since their return to action.
It would be easy to write away their woes as a result of injuries, but, in the shadows of nearly winning an unprecedented quadruple, Liverpool have allowed themselves to sleep-walk into a season of transition. It’s hard to see them rescuing their fortunes before the summer as a result.
Some of the pitiful performances have quite frankly been embarrassing. Forest away, Leeds at home, Brentford and Brighton away - too often have we been left saying the Reds have suffered a new low.
Saturday’s dismal draw with Chelsea showed Jurgen Klopp’s side for exactly what they currently are - an average mid-table side. Devoid of all confidence, they have lost their identity and intensity and are unrecognisable from the mentality monsters that conquered Europe.
Boasting an ageing, injury-prone squad, it feels this season is one too far for many of Klopp’s ranks. The Premier League season might only be at the halfway point for Liverpool but already it feels like a write-off.
What needs to be addressed over the second half of the campaign?
PG: It'd be quicker to discuss the positive elements that Liverpool need to retain for the second half of their season. Klopp's players look like they have suffered hugely, both physically and psychologically, from the effects of last season's 63-game marathon when they came so close to winning the lot before having to settle for a domestic cup double.
More energy is needed in the middle of the park to provide real cover for an overworked backline. Liverpool's press has been way off the level we've seen in recent years and they look toothless up top just now too. The returns of Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Roberto Firmino cannot come soon enough.
At least one new midfielder this month would be a start, but the malaise goes deeper than a failure to recruit. Across the entire squad Liverpool just look so drained and the drop off in their running statistics from last year provide a key indicator of where it is all going wrong for Klopp's team now. They are being outworked far too often which is an accusation that you could rarely level at them before this season.
Klopp and his players have spoken about going back to basics but it might take some time before top form is reached once more, even if they don't necessarily have that in abundance given their relatively lowly position.
ID: Just about everything, really. With the honourable exceptions of Alisson Becker and possibly Andy Robertson, hardly any Liverpool player has covered themselves in glory. Even Mohamed Salah, with 17 goals, has been struggling of late, and getting the Egyptian back firing will be key to salvaging anything from the season.
The midfield issue hasn't gone away. It would be some U-turn if Liverpool buy a new one in the next week, so they'll have to crack on with what they have. The reality is they should have enough to muddle through - it's a matter of finding the right blend of the right players at a time when enough of them are in decent form. That might mean a few unfamiliar combinations, but needs must.
Up top, whoever is there needs to start working on the pressing side of the game. That's probably where Sadio Mane has been missed most, especially given Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino have also been out for extended periods. And that's before even mentioning Luis Diaz.
Liverpool lack pace - and who thought anyone would ever say that of a Klopp squad? - but people can't learn how to run fast. So the Reds are going to have to keep tweaking things until at least Jota is back to pester the opposition.
TS: For so long Liverpool’s strongest starting XI has picked itself but now it’s impossible to select, such is the lack of quality. All the Reds can do is start preparing for next season in the hope they rediscover their form along the way.
Klopp recently hinted that it could be the end of the line for some of his senior players so that’s what needs to be addressed in the upcoming months - which of Liverpool’s long-serving players will be part of the future and who will be allowed to leave.
The Reds’ midfield has provided their biggest headache, yet it seems unlikely that it will be addressed until the summer. In the meantime, Liverpool need to paper over those cracks and get the rest of their team firing.
Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo need to bed in fully alongside Mohamed Salah in attack before Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota return. Meanwhile, the defence needs to start looking like a solid unit that have actually played together before again.
The summer will be one of change but rather than the launch of a new-look Liverpool side, Klopp needs to get as many pieces in place before that necessary surgery commences.
How do you see the rest of the season shaping up for Liverpool?
PG: Despite the six defeats and general underperformance of Klopp's players, the top four may not be totally out of reach yet. It is increasingly unlikely that Anfield will host Champions League football next term but their game-in-hand over Newcastle, Manchester United and Tottenham does at least provide them with an opportunity to chip away at that deficit. Games against all three need to yield maximum points you feel if there is to be any chance.
It's difficult to predict a surge up the table with any confidence for Liverpool given how things are going and have gone generally since the start of the campaign.
The returns of Jota, Firmino and Diaz will at least see the team improve as an attacking force but at least one of that trio are needed sooner rather than later and their ongoing absence is being keenly felt as Cody Gakpo continues to adapt to his new surroundings.
The Champions League and FA Cup still offer Liverpool supporters the chance to enjoy a cup run but Real Madrid and Brighton away are daunting prospects for a Reds side so out of sorts.
ID: If Liverpool lose at Newcastle United next month, they can forget about the top four. However, that is one of very few away assignments against their near rivals - Manchester City and Chelsea are the others - with the rest - and we are including Brentford and Fulham in that list - all yet to come to Anfield.
The home form, then, is going to have to pick up if the Reds are to stand any chance of catching up to Newcastle, who are realistically the target, and holding off the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. Just don't expect it to be too pretty for the next few months.
I fully expect Liverpool to be strong during the final two months of the season - and it is worth bearing in mind they will play at least 10 Premier League games in April and May - once their injured attacking players return and Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo are further integrated.
Any FA Cup run would be a bonus, and the same could be said of the Champions League. Not many would expect Liverpool to beat Brighton and Real Madrid on this season's evidence.
TS: I expect it to be a long, hard slog. With a week to go until the transfer window closes, if we take Klopp’s comments throughout the month at face-value, no cavalry is coming to the rescue.
Ninth in the table, 10 points off top four, it will be a big ask for Liverpool to qualify for next season's Champions League. To stand any chance they need to win virtually all the ‘six-pointers’ with the teams above them.
They have been in this situation before of course in 2020/21, but it already feels like this time they have given themselves too much to do. Riding their luck then, to succeed against the odds twice in three years really would be pushing it.
Maybe they can go all out in the Champions League and finally exorcise their Real Madrid demons, with a seventh European crown their best hope of salvaging this season. But they would need to be a lot better than what we’ve seen in 2023 so far.
While one can hope they do pick up form at some point during the second half of the season, realistically, they are fighting for a place in next season’s Europa League.
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