I'm starting to believe that even for all of Klopp's mistakes in 2017, the problem goes a lot deeper. In this squad there is a large deficit of real 'men'. What I mean by 'men' is players who will roll their sleeves up and get the job done, no matter what, not pampered millionaires who solely rely on motivation to put in a decent shift - motivation that is not always there, no matter who it is. The only players who seem to have that attitude are Henderson and arguably Firmino. But even if you had a team of Hendersons, it's still not enough because it still lacks a big, galvanising personality to berate the team when things are not functioning the way they're supposed to be. The kind of player who strikes respectful fear into his team mates, e.g. Terry, Keane, Vieira, Carra, Drogba, Ronaldo, Zlatan. They all possess an unwavering swagger that pushes the rest of the team.
So, even for Klopp's tactical mistakes in 2017, I can't help but feel that if Liverpool had a much healthier quantity of the personality I'm talking about, they'd be able to find an extra gear and a way to win. They will think, 'yes, we may not have any width, but this is f**king Hull, and surely there must still be a way past this team'. The big personalities will say this, and consequently their passes will be quick and accurate, their movement will be logical, their tackling will be aggressive, and their finishing will be clinical.
For me, this is a consequence of negligent oversight by the scouting department, they haven't identified enough players with that kind of attitude seemingly because they'd underestimated its importance. It's not made easier by the fact less of them exist, but they are still out there.
