John Gibbons: It’s easy to see why Liverpool are driving Jurgen Klopp bonkers

This Liverpool side are a funny bunch aren’t they?

They look brilliant until they very much don’t. They can look capable of scoring double figures one night, then against West Bromwich Albion they could have played until midnight and not scored. They look the most energetic team in the league, yet they can’t finish games strongly.

They’re imaginative, yet predictable. Tough yet fragile. What are we going to do with them?

After a controversial team selection against Everton, all the big guns were back on Wednesday night, yet the performance proved that a flat night can happen with anyone on the pitch if the application isn’t quite there, or you just have a bad day at the office.

Liverpool really needed to follow up the weekend’s result with a bang, instead they went out with a whimper.

Liverpool have still only lost twice this season, three times in all competitions. This is less than all of the clubs above them, bar the team from Manchester who are cheating, but it is draws which are killing them. Especially as in the majority of cases, Liverpool have looked the better side.

Things can change quickly in football, but nowhere is that more the case than at Anfield. I can’t remember another club who could win 7-0 twice before Christmas and not manage to follow up either performance with a win.

So what is the problem? It feels too easy to say inconsistency.

Maybe they are just suited to playing certain sides and not others. If you give us space, we’ll punish you. If you don’t?

Well you get West Brom. There is also the problem of Liverpool’s tempo. If it drops just slightly, we only look half the side. So, the manager has to rotate to keep people fresh, but that players lose rhythm and understanding.

It’s a pickle for the manager and one you can see him get frustrated by. He believes in his players but he keeps being presented by evidence for and against that and he must wonder which to take. Are this side about to kick on and become winners or are they always likely to show you Jekyll and Hyde within a week?

January gives the manager the opportunity to address some of the squad’s shortcomings. They’ll go back in for Virgil van Dijk, but they are unlikely to be the only ones, and despite favouring Liverpool in the summer, he might now see a league title medal which is 80% won without him as a bit too tempting to turn down.

You couldn’t blame him. I’d love to play centre half for Man City. Loads of short passes and not much defending, be great.

They also might look to try and get Naby Keita in early.

Leipzig will need persuading, and maybe a few more quid, but you could see especially on Wednesday what he would add to our midfield.

The lads playing there at the moment are okay, but none are as dynamic as Keita. Someone not just capable of winning the ball quickly, but also running with it powerfully and taking men out of the game.

Just a bit more added unpredictability of a fella sprinting at you with the ball dead fast. He can’t play in the Champions League, but he might ensure Liverpool get there next year.

It all looks a bit tight again for that. Especially with Burnley now playing like Brazil.

So, Liverpool need to get back to winning ways at Bournemouth on Sunday. They should be a side that suit Liverpool. But they might feel the same.

Oh, I don’t even know anymore. This side, man. No wonder we send managers mad.