Here is my take on Salah. Had he been productive this season. By the numbers, that’s clear. It’s difficult to gauge where he is since he’s coming back from injury. So shouts to sell him based on the last month or so are misguided. All that said, even before this season you could see he was on the decline. He has lost that important bit of pace and it seems he is hesitant to take a defender on 1v1. This season he has turned into more of a creator. Yes he has the goals but anyone watching with an objective eye can clearly see he’s not the player he once one. I would not be disappointed if he ran out his contract. He absolutely should not get a new one. My preference, however, is to sell him and get what we can to help move the squad forward with a new manager. The incident on the touchline with Klopp yesterday makes me feel even more strongly about selling him. I don’t think he is interested in a more squad-like role. He wants to be the man, as he should. I worry about his attitude with a new manager while playing a less important role. All good things come to an end and I think it’s time to move on. Again, I am completely fine with him running out his contract with the caveat that his ego doesn’t negatively affect the squad.
I think hes been productive without really doing the things we want/expect from our RW position.
He’s lost a tonne of pace, there’s very little explosion anymore, finishing has been awful, refuses to defend at all now (never a strength but he at least contributed) and I think no one is more frustrated about it than Salah himself.
It used to be that LBs would be given a torrid time by Salah as he repeatedly drove at them, eventually finding a way to burst into the box and finish. While the media still makes a big deal about “x will be very happy that he’s kept Salah quiet today”, it’s not so much the defenders doing. Salah is just quiet thesedays. Every LB is having an easy time against him - even ones who generally struggle defensively like Ait-Nouri.
Still had a productive season stats-wise, assists again very good and a solid if unspectacular goal return. After all hes a good player.
Increasingly though I feel like we would potentially be better without him in the team. His presence forces a certain structure on the front three and without that dynamism factor from him its all a bit obvious that we’ll use Diaz to play through while Salah will hang around the back post and hope to finish the move off.
I actually half wonder if Klopp caused that argument on purpose, to try and light a fire under him. He did look a little more assertive when he came on against West Ham.
He’s not yet at the Ronaldo extreme of being useless for the team but grabbing goals to mask it, but he is developing into a bit of a ball and chain for the team in my opinion. Like late stage Fernando Torres.
Salah doesn’t appear happy being on the bench, but he also doesn’t warrant the superstar treatment of starting every game anymore. Not sure that mixes well for next season and could be an unwelcome challenge for a first year head coach who will already have a steep learning curve at this level.
I think we should be working on an exit for him, personally. Let him go and continue to be the main man somewhere else - for some reason Atletico Madrid or Juventus are in my head - and we can freshen up the frontline with a bit more pace and flexibility in a younger option.
I think another season, a new manager and challenge will be good for him.
If Slot can negotiate less playing time, more rotation and a desire for him to stay, then he stays.
There are few out there in our price range that can adequately replace his goals and assists.
That might be an important factor whether we will be mostly in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 structure next season.
We’ll see how Slot sees it, but one would say that the best for Salah, when he’s in his early-mid 30’s, is to be the best version of himself is to remain in the 4-3-3 structure.
Things can change of course, we might decide in favour of other factors. Numbers and consistency are huge what we’re getting from Salah, so it will be interesting.
I still think he will leave…call it a gut feeling
Far too early for obituaries on Mo’s career. I don’t think he is fit, he’s been brought back before he ready as there was a title to be won. Now Champions League is done, I expect to see him back on the bench and playing cameos in the last four.
I don’t think he’s going anywhere this summer. Why would he? He is a year from the end of his contract and can leave on a massive signing fee. I don’t think he’ll be rushed into going so Liverpool can trouser that money.
This year Mo Salah has not been the player he was four years ago, but nobody should expect him to be. He has added creativity to his game, and he would have 4-5 more assists to his name if Darwin could find the net more. They aren’t just big stand assists either - the vision and execution he shows are staggering. Yes, explosive pace Mo is gone, but he has been changing his game for a while now.
If Slot goes to a 4231 and plays Mo deeper, I think that will suit him really well.
Any advisor with half a brain is going to be telling him to stay put.
Mo Salah has declined physically, which is to be expected. The top end pace is not there any more. However, I saw a glimpse against West Ham which makes me wonder what’s going on. Mo put in a sprint where he went away from the chasing defenders and I haven’t seen that in a while.
I maintain he isn’t what he was, but could the recent decline also be exacerbated by a slow return from injury and a loss of form at the worst time? I think so.
Personally I would sell this summer if we have an opportunity, so we can give the new manager a clean slate. A new thing is starting to emerge, and it is cleaner without Mo. But from Mo’s perspective it doesn’t make sense to leave, as he is a year away from moving on a free. So if he sees out his deal here, fine. We do not hold the cards.
I have never got the sense that he was massively motivated by money, which is why a move to Saudi would surprise me, but equally I would not expect him to stay to ensure he captures a signing fee. If he moves, it is because he has the sense that the project starting doesn’t have a place for him beyond next year anyway, and he has an opportunity to go somewhere else to challenge for more honours. We won’t see the enormous payout some seem to expect, but we might see a reasonable deal that leave both club and player better off over the next couple of years.
Rumours on Redmen TV that we’re determined to keep him.
But we would say that anyway.
He really dug his heels to get that 400k contract that he felt he was entitled to.
I don’t think it’s the money per se, more money as a signifier of status. When he was negotiating his new contract a lot of the comments put out from his side were around the idea of what other top players were earning, what his salary said about his standing within the game etc.
I think Mo Salah is massively motivated by being considered one of the best around. The money is a way of expressing that.
Salah’s assists per season: 14, 10, 13, 6, 15, 16, 12 so far.
We can see a raise, but it’s not like he wasn’t assisting before.
But having more assists is not the only factor that makes you able to play deeper. In fact, you’re still closer to the goal for end product stuff. It doesn’t mean you’ve suddenly become a David Silva type of player.
Let’s not forget the amount of times he lost possession in situations when he came to receive the ball deeper, closer to the halfway line, not to mention our own half.
The exception that proves the rule can be that recent away leg in Atalanta, when we tried to counter their man marking by having Salah in an unusual free central role between the lines. It worked well for 45 minutes.
I don’t see that his game changed much, but I absolutely admire his monstrous consistency in what he does best.
I’m open minded, but I don’t think he can suddenly play as a “part of the midfield 4” right winger, closer to what Bernardo does it. Just very different players.
We’ll see how Slot sets it up.
Without wanting to open that can of worms, your assist stats are always going to be to a great extent determined by the lad you are setting up. I think there is a big difference playing in Sadio Mane and Bobby Firmino, and playing in Diaz and Nunez.
I admit I’m going on the eye test a bit, but I think Mo has added a playmaking intelligence to his game that wasn’t as noticeable before.
I agree with that, absolutely. I just don’t think a signing fee has the same weight to it. It will be there in his thinking, of course, which means if he moves it will be to a situation that has genuine appeal to him.
I’d rather Salah stayed another season - or at least half a season - give him a chance to work with Slot, and maybe a refreshed Salah and some tactical changes will see Mo back to his best.
At the moment, Salah is forced to come deeper and stay wider to facilitate Trent/Bradley to go into the middle - previously, Mo was further forward, where he makes his greatest contributions. He was doing well in the slighter changed role earlier this season, but that was before the tactics were found out, and our opposition started suffocating our midfield and our set piece defending went to shit.
If he gets on with Slot we could see a real return to his form.
Firmino wasn’t exactly boosting the number artificially though, he was also pretty accuracy challenged.
In our title winning season he was the second worst chance converter in the league (and Jota was 3rd! Shows how much players can improve at finishing when given time). If I remember rightly he also went an entire calendar year without scoring a goal at Anfield.
For reference Nunez currently has a -3.9 npG-xG
And he’s right to be considered as such, given his consistent performances for years. He’s always pursued individual honours, like top scorer. But I’ve never had the sense that he’s not a team player. He seems popular, always messing around in the videos, and lots of the new and younger players have mentioned how he supports them.
I hope this is just an isolated bit of frustration and he spends a good few more years with us
I’m pretty certain it’s just frustration. He’s recovering from injury and this is the first time he’s had a serious injury since the Ramos incident. I think he has a mismatch between what his brain is telling him is possible, and what his body will currently allow him.
I’m sure the summer break will do him some good.
