Who's to blame for Liverpool's lack of a plan B?

We're at that time of the campaign where knee-jerk analysis is rife. After Burnley capitalised on its scant opportunities at nine-man Chelsea, the league champion's title defence is suddenly in disarray. Wayne Rooney is apparently going to be fine at Everton despite spending much of last season ambling around like an old man fetching his morning newspaper. And Liverpool is still misfiring in the transfer market and, on the pitch, is defensively calamitous.

Except the latter statement rings true.

With each day of this summer, it seems like the Reds' designs have taken a battering. On Wednesday, Southampton chairman Ralph Krueger put his foot down over the Virgil van Dijk saga - he's "not for sale in this window and it's not personal" - and then reports filtered out that Philippe Coutinho is effectively going to thrust a placard into the air and march his way to Barcelona.

Related - Report: Coutinho prepared to stop playing for Liverpool

Without Van Dijk strengthening his accommodating backline, and Coutinho preferring to go on strike rather than bouncing around behind Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, and Mohamed Salah in the top-tier's most exciting attack, Jurgen Klopp has been denied a convincing pursuit for the Premier League title.

No contingency plans

Saturday's season-opening 3-3 draw at Watford showed the triumvirate up top will still wreak havoc without Coutinho's craft behind, but with the Brazilian at his disposal, Klopp had a four-strong strikeforce capable of troubling any side in Europe. Add to that Naby Keita - the bustling, dribbling Guinean midfielder from RB Leipzig - and the most advanced two lines of Klopp's 4-3-3 could have rivalled that of any team.

But, unlike Liverpool's northwest foes eyeing the summit of English football, there's no contingency plan at Anfield. It seems Liverpool put all its eggs in one basket. Manchester United was linked with Fabinho and Tiemoue Bakayoko before Nemanja Matic arrived from Chelsea. Dani Alves plumped for Paris Saint-Germain over Manchester City in a last-minute decision, but Kyle Walker and Danilo were already lined up. Beyond the unsuccessful chase for Keita, Liverpool has been belatedly uttered in the same breath as Nice's Jean Michael Seri - a midfielder with a phenomenal engine who seldom loses possession. After Van Dijk, there doesn't appear to be another defender on the wishlist.

The lack of a plan B in the transfer market poses a quandary for Liverpool fans: Who do they blame? Klopp's philosophy demands a certain type of player (when it comes to the attack, namely one that runs around like 7-year-olds after a few cans of pop), and it seems that after those he prioritises he, or those hired by the Fenway Sports Group (FSG) to oversee the transfer expenditure, is at a loss over who to bring in.

The underwhelming nature of Liverpool's business has led to rather perverse games played by some Reds supporters:

These failures and underwhelming alternatives aren't exclusive to the Klopp era, however, as notable approaches for Dele Alli, Alexis Sanchez, Willian, and Yevhen Konoplyanka before the German's time attest. A young Christian Eriksen was also rumoured to be shifting to Merseyside. So when it comes to transfer activity, or the lack thereof, the blame should lie firmly at the feet of FSG and the oft-criticised and fancifully titled director of technical performance, Michael Edwards.

The gegenpressing obsession

But Klopp must shoulder some of the blame. The prominent on-pitch philosophy of a team can have some grey areas, a basic approach supplemented by an air of unpredictability by shuffling the personnel or making positional tweaks. It keeps the opponents on their toes. James Milner and Alberto Moreno offered different qualities (and pose different shortcomings) from left-back last season, and Adam Lallana showed versatility across the attack and midfield.

When it comes to a plan B, it has to be airtight and playable for every squad member. Something that has been clarified on the training pitches, and is so simple that it can't be misconstrued by the less tactically mindful players. An example of a successful shifting to a plan B comes from Jose Mourinho's Manchester United, who will unashamedly get his ranks to play more directly to the unwieldy mop of Marouane Fellaini or, in the 2016-17 term, to the lanky yet graceful Zlatan Ibrahimovic's ponytailed noggin. It's not exactly pretty, but no one in the Portuguese's ranks - not even Luke Shaw - can misunderstand that.

Klopp, meanwhile, has worked his players ragged while teaching them what's required in a gegenpressing setup. When there's a tweak in formula from the usual shape, it seems undercooked. This was exposed when a back-three was ditched last April when down 1-0 at half-time to Stoke City and, after Liverpool reverted to type in a 4-3-3, a 2-1 win was salvaged in the Potteries courtesy of goals from substitutes Coutinho and Firmino.

Somehow, after nearly two full years of Klopp management, Liverpool is in a constant state of flux. Is he to blame, or is it the FSG's lack of a discernible philosophy on the south side of Stanley Park?

The evidence would point to both, in an inharmonious marriage at Liverpool that threatens to derail a season when it's barely started.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)