Iāve been reflecting on an observation and would very much appreciate your honest perspective. It seems fairly evident that Slot has not yet settled on his optimal starting eleven, the best positions for the new signings, or the most effective tactical approach for this season. Nevertheless, I have repeatedly noticed ā in fact, in nearly every game so far ā that Salah rarely passes to Wirtz, even when Wirtz is in a clearly better position.
Of course, a top striker must be somewhat self-centered, and Salah has always shown a tendency to prefer taking the final shot himself rather than making the last pass. He usually still manages to contribute assists, though. With Wirtz, however, the pattern seems different. On several occasions, he could have simply played the ball into an open goal, yet Salah opted to shoot from a much less favorable position.
This raises several questions for me: Does Salah perceive Wirtz as a rival, someone who could potentially surpass him as the teamās star? Is it less about fear and more about a subtle form of exclusion? Or is there perhaps personal dislike involved? Or could there be another explanation altogether? Initially, I thought it might be coincidental, but the pattern has become so pronounced that it surprises me no one has questioned Slot about it during press conferences ā especially considering how unreserved the football press typically is when a potentially significant story arises.
Ultimately, what I find difficult to understand is why this situation persists, given that the overarching goal should always be the success of the team.
Hi mate. There have been a couple glaring ones where Wirtz has an open goal and Salah shoots instead (and misses). I canāt say Iāve noted it enough in general play to say that if it was anyone else Salah wouldnāt have done exactly the same though. Heās always been greedy and heās having a shit season so far, so is probably desperate to score more himself. I seriously doubt itās anything personal though. Salah is a fucking legend and Wirtz has a very, very long way to go to be the teams star! A few taps ins isnāt going to mean he is anywhere near Mo Salahās (general) level. I agree there are a few times Mo should have absolutely passed so he can score, but I donāt think it is anything to do with not wanting to be eclipsed by Florian.
Hes always been a bit greedy, didnāt Mane have beef with him about this.
Put another way, clear goal scoring chances have bene missed because of this, and its still going on.
Yes I also seem to remember reading something about Mane.
Fuck me! Florian should have been in double figures by now! 
Alarming stuff isnāt it? We have players in this team who will just not pass the ballā¦& weāre supposed to be a side that looks for that extra pass?
The positive is heās getting himself in the right positions for easy conversions and being that extra body in the box which we were missing last season.
Yeah heās definitely getting in there.
Its difficult to fault him for taking the shot against City that he put wide towards the end. Even more so given his relative drought that he wants to break, but on reflection passing up squaring to either of the two players to his left, both of whom would have had an open goal, was bad. And you dont get a sense of quite how bad from the regular angle they showed on tv
Kobe Bryant got 5 NBA rings without passing the ballā¦ 
And while Salah looks selfish, his assists say otherwise.
The issue with both is to play to their potential. With Salah, thatās getting over Diogo and in general finding last seasonās form again, the glimpses we saw in some games show itās not gone, the question is whether it can get back to being consistent again. With Wirtz, we all know itās about getting used to the physicality of the league, and also when his mates start finishing some of his key passes.
The assists happen when he is nowhere near goal or a position he can shoot from.
Welcome to the forum. Itās a good group and I hope you enjoy it here!
You ask some good questions about Salah and Wirtz. There have been 2-3 occasions where Salah should have squared it.
To my mind I want to see a larger dataset before I draw any conclusions.
You mentioned the tendency that all great strikers have to be a bit selfish. Mo has that, which isnāt hugely problematicā¦ if he is scoring. Another factor in play is Iām sure Mo knows he is a bit off form and not hitting his numbers as before, so perhaps that is making him all the more determined to score to make up for it, and that has contributed to a bit of added selfishness?
I think it is something to watch.
My take overall is that we have invested heavily in three new attacking players, but I donāt see that coming to the fore playing with Salah. I could be wrong, but Slot seems caught between two stools a bit, old and new, and to my mind, I would bench Salah and use him as an impact sub, while giving the new trio of Wirtz, Ekitike and Isak every chance to rise up and take over as it were.
Yes it is, but when you look at it and think about his assists, I canāt recollect him being in good shooting position and him laying it on a plate for someone who is in a better one, not like Bobby would, although I may be wrong.
There has been many times he has missed when someone is in a far better position.
Obviously, Salah is going to return to a different chair after AFCON.
The comparison you make between Bobby and Mo is very clear, and true without doubt. Itās probably why it was so great to have them play together (add Mane to that, and it was stuff to drool about).
Now without someone in the Bobby role (yet, at least), itās highlighted even more.
As long as Salah gets his numbers (assists included) and as long as we are in good form, all is good. The moment we drop form and he is not delivering the numbers, it becomes something that looks like a major problem. I donāt believe it is, I think itās the same. The problem is whether he can get back to scoring days and equal even his lowest season with us.
Even last year (and already since the end of the season before), people were saying he would not deliver any more like he used to, because of age, and pointing out how he lost speed etc. - which was true, and yet he did deliver one of his best seasons with us. Now it remains to be seen about this season, and any speculations are just that, speculations, no one knows. The simplest and most encouraging scenario is that he is affected by Jotaās death and by the changes in the team. Glimpses of top class moments and the odd stellar performance show signs this may weāll be the case. On the other end of the spectrum, this is the beginning of the decline (long argued, dismissed by his numbers, now may be well the time). Iām hoping for the first and fearing for the second. I donāt think itās worth debating with arguments, and I donāt have any for either case that are convincing, nor do I believe anyone else has. The end of the season will show.
Great goalscorers are always greedy. In that context, Mo is actually incredibly generous with his team-mates, as his assist score is one of the best ever for a regular goalscorer, if not the best ever.
My take is that he doesnāt āfeelā Wirtz yet, and the contrary is valid too. In the past, he built up some incredible, instinctive partnerships with other players, for instance Firmino and ManĆ©. With the latter, there was a form of rivalry, but a productive one, in which each player provided a lot of assists for the other. Both scored a lot of goals.
With Wirtz, that natural understanding hasnāt happened yet, but I donāt think that it has to do with fear of what Wirtz could become, or rivalry. Mo is currently off-form, and Wirtz is struggling to cope with the physicality and pace of the PL. Other German players have been there before, itās nothing new. Heāll eventually come good imo.
As for Mo, heās off-form for the time being, that is all. The reason could be manyfold: Jotaās passing, the loss of his best pal Tsimikas (and the unjustified and a bit disgusting manner how that transfer took place), losing a lot of team-mates over the summer, losing his partnership with Trent etc.
(And welcome among us btw. 
)
I donāt think Mo likes Germans. He has never had anything complimentary to say about @GermanRed. And before anyone mentions Jurgen, let me remind you that there is no evidence that Mo had nothing to do with his departure.
In other news, I am now qualified to work for the BBC.
I heard Mo doesnāt like GermanRed because GermanRed keeps reporting that Mo missed a chance, before Mo has even taken the shot at goal!