Andy Robertson on Mo Salah to @CBSSportsGolazo
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“Firstly, he would probably want the season to have went better for the club, and for him. He puts a huge amount of pressure on himself to perform all the time.
“Last season, he took it to a whole new level in terms of, at times, he carried this whole team forward to go and achieve amazing things. I think we’ve all been below the standards of last season, Mo included. And he’ll be first to admit that. Then obviously finds himself out of the team, which is probably a bit of a unique situation for him.
“It’s obviously something that he’s not used to experiencing, but he was positive in terms of wishing us all well, sending us on our way. I’m sure he would like to be involved. But the support for the lads was still there. As a teammate, that’s all you can ask.”
On what will happen next? “That’ll obviously be up to other people, it’s not up to me. I love playing with Mo and I hope to continue to play with him.”
Jurgen spoke really well and I liked the quote he gave, cheers. Lots of praise for Mo, and rightly so. He has been one of the best players we’ve had and his dedication and drive has been fantastic.
The last part of Jurgen’s quote was the most telling for the situation in hand.
“You only have problems with Mo Salah if he is not playing or you are taking him off.”
Says it all.
Jurgen had his moments with a disgruntled Salah, but not many. Why? I’m sure it is partly because of Jurgen’s man management skills. But it should also be noted that Jurgen managed a peak Mo Salah for years, so of course he was in the team, and therefore happy.
I would imagine if Slot had that same player now, it would be more straightforward, as Salah would be in the team week in week out on merit and everyone would be happy.
But Slot is managing a different Mo Salah. Clearly it is a difficult thing to do, given Mo’s outburst at being benched. Mo never questioned Slot’s man management when he played him for 90 mins week in and week out.
Yeah, the argument that Jurgen handled Mo better than Slot is the same sort of argument as the one Utd fans made about them “not being a sacking club” on the back of them avoiding firing the most successful manager English football had ever seen.
If Mo’s complaint is that Slot is using him incorrectly and therefore the struggles of the team are on Slot and not on him then that’s an argument, but it was not what he said.
Mo’s character and professionalism has been exemplary in his time here. He doesn’t go out partying mid season, he’s always in the gym and there have been plenty of players over the years who’ve said he’s a good teammate, particularly somebody like Harvey Elliot. Why was Mo teaching Elliot how to push himself in the gym if he’s a totally selfish character?
He’s made a mistake here, but a bit of petulance about not starting after 8 years of being an excellent ambassador for the club should be put into perspective. If this is the worst thing he’s done, and it is, we can live with that. It hasn’t ‘destroyed his legacy’ or any other such hysterical nonsense.
I agree with this. He has been an amazing pro, and his petulance at getting dropped does not destroy his legacy. He is rightly viewed as one of the best we’ve had, and I suspect that had he come here earlier, instead of when he went to Chelsea, he would be the top goalscorer in our history.
The issue the club is facing right now how this is going to be resolved.
It needs resolution so we can all move on. A mistake has been made, we all see that, but there is surely a way back if Mo apologizes, reconciles, and then submits to the manager’s authority moving forward, as any player must.
If something like that does not happen, there should be a sale. I would imagine we will know pretty soon which way the cookie is going to crumble.
Apparently that is an old quote from Kloppo on Mo. BBC pulled it up and posted as if Kloppo commented on the most recent event. Journalism is not what it used to be.
Yes, that’s clear, I saw it back then, but why would Klopp even give a current interview about it so soon after the incident? Besides, his opinion probably hasn’t changed, so everything’s fine. The media, of course, have something ready for every eventuality, just in case.
Excellent, yes. Exemplary, I think not. The targeted media interviews to get favourable terms is the differential between him and a true model pro like Alonso or Milner. Perhaps, we closed one eye back then due to his importance to the team. But it does leave a poor impression, at least for me.
This latest calculated interview has him covered on the main developments. Should Liverpool sell him, Salah can claim that someone in the club pushed this deal through and he had no intention of leaving. On the other hand, if he gets back into the team, his “objective” would be achieved with minimum backlash.
The best would be for Salah to apologise to the club and allow things to move on. I am pessimistic that would happen - doesn’t seem part of his playbook.
As things stand, there’s no doubt I’ll remember him as a legend (as Trent and many others), this won’t change it. I don’t know what needs to happen in probably not much more time together to change it.
But he made a shit move here. Legends also do shit moves sometimes, they’re not immune to it.
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