Having been previously labeled 'a giant German cheerleader' by Joey Barton, Jurgen Klopp has come in for more criticism today from Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer.
Writing in his column for The Sun, the Premier League's all-time top goalscorer described the team's performance against Burnley on Saturday as "laughable" and believes Klopp has fooled many "into thinking everything has been on an upward curve since he joined Liverpool."
Realistically though, Shearer doesn't think Klopp has done much to improve things since he's taken over.
Liverpool are no different under Klopp than they were under Brendan Rodgers.
Brilliant going forward but not so clever at the back.
After a distressing summer transfer window for Klopp and Liverpool, the expected arrival of Southampton's Virgil van Dijk never materialised.
Although the arrivals of Mohamed Salah and Andrew Robertson certainly appear to have been smart pieces of business, Liverpool's defensive frailties remain evident - they have conceded 14 goals in 8 games in all competitions thus far this season.
Comparing Klopp's record to that of his predecessor, Shearer points out that after 73 games in charge, Klopp's Liverpool have conceded four more goals than Rodgers' did in the same time.
Scarcely seeking to suggest that Rodgers was necessarily the better man for the job, Shearer's concern is centred on the self-evident defensive issues that are going unaddressed:
I am left wondering just what he does on the training ground when the same defensive errors are repeated week in, week out.
[Take] their 5-0 defeat against Manchester City. Klopp will point to the red card as a turning point in that game. But it was a forward in Sadio Mane who was sent off.
In that situation, you shut up shop and try to get something out of the game. Not Liverpool. They just opened up, as they did at Watford.
While Shearer concedes that Liverpool's attacking prowess could potentially see them challenge for domestic cups, the long-awaited Premier League title Liverpool fans crave will not be forthcoming should they remain so defensively porous.
As for the Champions League, despite dominating Sevilla for vast portions of their first game back amongst Europe's elite, a 2-2 draw demonstrates the 'merciless' nature of Champions League teams, and, for Shearer, Liverpool's frequent 'slip-ups' will not be tolerated there.
With many extenuating circumstances surrounding Liverpool's defensive issues (such as Klopp having to take over a team Rodgers had built), Klopp will mark his two-year anniversary in charge of Liverpool next month.
Undoubtedly aware that the honeymoon is well and truly over, the German will require a notable upturn in terms of defensive reliability if he wants to see a third year.
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