Mo’s numbers are outstanding and he is on course, numbers wise to eclipse any previous season.
My only issue is that because he doesn’t track his full back, we are weak defensively down our right side.
Grav has to come across to help out, leaving space in the middle or Szob has to cover more distance to help Trent, also, Szobs starting position, is at times too far away from their left back for him to get in position.
I see numerous times where our RB has a 2 v 1 situation or 3 v 2 if Grav gets across.
Earlier in the season Mo seemed to do more tracking back and we were far more defensively solid. Maybe this is tactical to save Mo’s legs and to keep him in the final 3rd, but on the other hand it is hurting our defensive shape.
How many games this season as the oppositions RB created chances or goals against us by overlapping or underlapping.
It is a hard conundrum on whether Mo does need to help more defensively.
I also wonder if this is why the club are reluctant to give him what he wants, when his output offensively is stratospheric.
I know Joel was unusual but, from memory, players can be called up for duty and have to go even if they are ‘retired’. Could see this as a real pressure for Mo if he was to tell the Egyptian FA he no longer wanted to play for them.
I could be wrong, but I think Mo fully embraces playing for Egypt. It is his country, his home, his roots, his people… he is a good Muslim and gives money to support various charities there, etc.
To watch him go away and give his all, and risk injury, and come back knackered and often below the level before he went away, is a pain in the backside for me as a Liverpool fan. But from everything I’ve seen I think it is a source of pride and passion for Mo to represent his country.
With AFCON coming up next season, and Mo’s history of coming back below par for Liverpool, it is a serious consideration for a new deal. He is putting up incredible numbers but I don’t think it will continue at the same level next season. I hope a new deal can be agreed, but for me, it’s not at any cost. If he is overvaluing himself I could see us parting company, definitely with some regrets as he is such a good player, but a new thing will emerge as Slot shapes his side.
It’s also why, given Darwin needs replacing, it may be that we decide it’s better to let Mo go and use the wages to bring in a couple of new forwards this summer, let them settle and then look to bring in
another next summer as one of Diaz/Jota/Chiesa likely move on.
I think the dichotomy between Mo’s general performance and G/A output is being overstated here.
Yes, there are games where he’s been poor and still won the game for us. But there’s also been plenty of games where he has been brilliant, or at least had a long period of brilliance where he is bending the game to his will.
Maybe folk are trying to soften the blow but I don’t see any benefit to selling him this year. No amount of money freed up from his wages will replace how clinical he is in front of goal. I want to see him here for 2-3 more years, smashing records and staking a claim to be our best ever player
Yeah but we can’t just offer him a blank cheque. The money has to be sustainable and make sense in terms of our squad. I’m sure we could do one bumper year but after that it would need to be able to be adjusted significantly down if he’s not longer producing. Also ACN next year will likely reduce his performances for the second half of the season and when that’s all put together you can see why it’s possible the club can’t justify the kind of wages he could get elsewhere. But of course everyone wants hin to stay if a deal can be done
I don’t think he’d be asking for a blank cheque. It’s clear how much he loves the club, and also is motivated by personal glory/records he won’t achieve in Saudi.
I do agree that we should be asking him to retire from International football as part of any deal
Selling him is no longer an option. He signs a new contract at LFC or elsewhere, but he can announce a new contract agreement with another club tomorrow if he likes.
The thing with MO…
In reality, it is his goals and assist record we need to replace. This might be decided upon by the powers at be, by playing in a style that shares this burden across the team…
The good form of MO in recent seasons, could be one factor in why Nunez has never cemented a position of his own…! Could be, that he struggles to shine while MO is in the team
It could also be another reason why he never got sold in January… MO might still be undecided about committing to us beyond this season… Take MO out of the equation, Nunez might begin to shine, by playing a slightly different style to what we are doing at the moment…!
Replacing Salah - whether it comes this summer or a bit farther down the line - will be done in the aggregate. He is such a good player that to expect any other wide forward to give us what Mo has been giving is unrealistic.
But let’s imagine we sign a right winger who scores half the amount, or thereabouts. I would imagine they will have to do more defensively for the team, so that side should tighten up a bit.
But we still have to find another 10-15 goals to match the current output.
Let’s imagine a scenario where our central striker isn’t firing on all cylinders, whether it’s Jota, who misses a lot of football, or Nunez, who has well documented issues with hitting the target. A new central striker would give us every chance of making up the shortfall.
Let’s keep going. Diaz needs a new deal to protect his value. Perhaps he is not indispensable for Slot? He’s a good player, but he does not score too many that Slot won’t feel he could improve on with another player.
I’m chilled about what happens. If Salah signs a new deal, great, but if not, I think we will be fine.
Salah always had a good season when negociating his contract/future.
Even aging he’s worth keeping for his leadership, experience, vastly improved penalty taking and being a crowd and world favorite. Going to cost us though.
