It was only five months ago that Arne Slot became a Premier League winning manager at the first time of asking as he completed a dream start to the post-Klopp era at Anfield with a runaway title.
The coach, club and fans were on top of the world as they finally got their opportunity to celebrate a league title with each other, having seen the pandemic rob them of that opportunity five years ago.
Everything the Dutchman touched usually worked as he was able to take Klopp's team and tactics and tweak them into his own light as the Reds stormed to their 20th English league title looking like one of the best sides in Europe.
They pushed the eventual Champions League winners PSG to a penalty shootout in the Round of 16 as well, so optimism was high heading into a transformative summer.
Summer of Change
Following his instant success at the helm of Liverpool Football Club, Fenway Sports Group provided Slot with something they rarely offered his predecessor, a transfer war chest.
As a result, stars such as Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez and Alexander Isak were brought in to replace familiar names such as Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota (#20 forever), Luis Diaz and most infamously, Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The club was able to lockdown club icons and leaders Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah on two-year extensions as well, so things just got better and better.
While it would be a lot to handle, Slot had shown he could handle the rigors of the job as well as the pressures that come with it. Besides, these were top class players that were being brought in.
The delayed transfer saga for Isak meant he missed all of preseason and the first few weeks of the real campaign which is an issue that is still being sorted out by the club and coaches.
Only a Crystal Palace deadline day U-turn on Marc Guehi prevented Liverpool from checking off every box they needed to coming into their title defense.
Warning signs becoming real issues
While the Reds were at the top of the table and winning matches just a few weeks ago, nothing in those performances was reflective of the composed and dominant side we had become accustomed to seeing just this past season.
The failure to secure Guehi has proven a costly turn of events as the Liverpool defense has repeatedly been cut apart with ease and Slot's tactics have not been able to stem the tide.
His refusal, at this point stubbornness, to not play Federico Chiesa significant minutes despite the Italian consistently showing his worth has become a huge talking point. It's especially jarring with Salah playing so poorly while Chiesa continues to create or score goals himself.
While injuries have not helped the cause, there is a clear lack of continuity and direction in the current Liverpool setup as players are being put in places that do not always maximize their abilities.
There has been no punch from the Reds' attack while too often they have allowed the opposition to strike early and build belief. See a 1st minute goal conceded against United in simple fashion.
Goodwill running out, results are needed
While fans calling for Slot to be sacked are of course ridiculous, we do need to see a turnaround in form preferably as soon as Wednesday's Champions League tilt with Eintracht Frankfurt.
If Liverpool can put forth a comprehensive performance, score some goals and play with the swagger we know they can, the temperature will cool considerably, but not all the way.
There has to be a string of strong showings from a tactics perspective as well as the players producing on the pitch, because they are also accountable in this as well, not just Slot.
Isak must get up and running, just like Salah and Wirtz must as well. Those are your three most important attacking pieces and they have so far done very little in terms of goal scoring or creation over this season.
Slot must find a way to finally get the correct lineup that brings the best out of his considerably talented squad, and fast. He must show a flexibility that might not be comfortable, but it's needed.
If this poor run goes on much longer, the honeymoon phase could become a nightmare for all.