Doesn’t sound great really.
1 Like
According to Slot this morning, Alisson is out until “towards the end of the season”.
Here’s hoping Mama can find some form, but it doesn’t help that the players in front of him are a shambles.
5 Likes
2 Likes
Yeah, he’s gone isn’t he? No chance are we standing in his way, nor should we.
All the old guard wanting out, all the promising kids wanting out. The players that are prepared to sign are only willing to do so for the kind of money they’re not even worth half of.
The Slot effect.
3 Likes
Loan to buy even if they get him for free next summer.
I’d let him go at this point. He’s great, but he’s regularly missing a third of the season injured.
2 Likes
When has Alisson not lost time due to injuries? If his susceptibility to injuries was such an overriding concern, we should have sold him years ago.
If he wants to go, fine; we owe him that much, but it would be mental for the club to willingly sell him and lose another leader, a top player and professional, and a much-beloved figure behind the scenes.
1 Like
100% agree. If he REALLY wants to go, fine. Go with our blessings. If not, it’s an immediate downgrade to go to Mama. Whatever time he can give us on the pitch is beneficial.
I don’t see anyone available who is as good as even this version of Ali. I know he isn’t the 2019-2020 Ali but he’s still top class.
The fact is in 23/24 he missed 19 games, in 24/25 he missed 28 games, and this season he has so far missed 18. This is not a good record for a keeper, and there is a compound issue in that we need to keep a strong/well paid reserve because we know how much they will be needed.
3 Likes
From 18-19 through 22-23 he had one meaningful injury but was otherwise more or less ever present for the league and Europe over 4 of those 5 seasons. The last 3 seasons though he’s missed 25% of our key games in each of those seasons, brought about by increasingly trivial physical demands. There has been a clear inflection point
20-21 looks a bit of inbetweener in the stats, but the absences he had that year were covid related (completely understandable) and due to the issue with his dad.
So let’s see who’s good enough to replace Ali.
Or is it all about the money. Getting in a transfer fee here. Saving some wages there.
Doesn’t matter if we weaken another part of the squad.
I’m still fine with the games he’s played in the last 3 years, which so far on average is 33.6. Plus possibly a few more this season. It’s why we had and have what we can call a ‘serious’ backup option. If he stays, what we could do is play Ali only in the league and CL and give all the two cup games to Mama next season. But it depends how those talks would go. Ali might still want the FA Cup, or to play if we get to final stages. I had a strong feeling early on in Ali’s time here that he wouldn’t be a goalkeeper who would age well. So I’m not surprised, even if on paper he’s not that old. Like I said in another thread, not all goalkeepers peak at the same time. I hope he’s here next season and we decide what to do again in a year’s time. If not, for different reasons, then of course we have to pull the maximum out of a potential sale and move on. In which case I highly doubt it will be Mamardashvili & Woodman. Or Jaros. I think we’ll be eyeing another one to come in and compete.