Our fans’ jury have their say on a dramatic few days that saw Liverpool drop further points in the Premier League before winning in the Champions League without Mohamed Salah
So not much to talk about this week, then. Only joking, even by Liverpool’s standards this season, the past seven days have been dramatic.
From dropping two points in drawing 3-3 at Leeds United in the Premier League to then winning superbly 1-0 at Inter in the Champions League, minus Mohamed Salah, following his extraordinary outburst, it has been a rollercoaster week.
And it’s not over yet. Arne Slot will this morning (Friday) address whether Salah will play in his final match before heading off to the Africa Cup of Nations when visit Brighton & Hove Albion visit Anfield on Saturday.
READ MORE: What Mohamed Salah told Liverpool team-mates after being dropped from squad and Arne Slot rowREAD MORE: Gary Lineker’s warning over Mohamed Salah Liverpool legacy as ‘regret’ message sent
But before that, our Reds fans’ jury have their say…
Andrew Cullen
What to do with Mohamed Salah and his outburst. He is our prized possession, but his petulance is a problem. The bedrock of our club, its very DNA, is solidarity and spirit. The club is bigger than the player, and the player is not anything without the fans and his team-mates. Salah, perhaps knowingly or unknowingly, turned his back on those principles when he provided those comments.
There are some players, so they say, that deserve the red carpet, players who sit above the rules because of their past contributions. This may happen, but it shouldn’t. What would Shankly and Paisley make of this? Would they be quick to comfort or condemn Salah?
Arne Slot is under siege and armed at all points. After Salah’s soliloquy, Slot must have thought that Salah’s comments were the unkindest cut of them all. In Salah’s world, it appears that all his team-mates are equal, but some are more equal than others.
If Salah expresses regret about the content and timing of his comments there may be a glimmer of hope of his return to the team. If it’s left unaddressed and left to fester, those icy comments will be like the water that freezes inside a rock and splits it apart. Ahead, there is a fork in the road for Salah. Which path will he tread?
There seems to be some signs of life in this Liverpool team. A much needed, well-deserved victory at the San Siro has brightened what has been a gloomy and turbulent week.
James Noble
An intense week, in several respects. Much of the swift turnaround between Saturday’s draw at Leeds United and Tuesday’s win at Internazionale was occupied by reaction to Mohamed Salah’s comments in the Elland Road mixed zone.
In a sense, it’s not difficult to view them as a less productive channelling of the mentality that has contributed to so much collective and personal success since he joined Liverpool in 2017. A broad brushstroke, perhaps, but that steely desire to contribute, that single-mindedness, felt familiarly present. It manifested itself in a way that crossed several lines, though.
We don’t necessarily have the full picture, and Salah’s apparent feelings and outlook seem understandable. It’s tricky to quantify the immense part he has played in LFC’s modern progress, but Arne Slot has also had to make on-field tweaks.
Leaving him out of the midweek squad felt proportionate action by the club. With AFCON approaching, a coherent, ideally collective, way forward can hopefully be plotted. Slot and Alisson Becker spoke with admirable diplomacy and assurance on Monday evening, ahead of a pleasingly sturdy European display. Dominik Szoboszlai came to the fore again, while Curtis Jones also shone.
The adjusted system offered sound foundations and it will be fascinating to see how our approach develops on Saturday against Brighton & Hove Albion and beyond, with clear weeks preceding the trip to Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers’ visit.
Rhys Buchanan
Positivity and togetherness can be everything through times of struggle. For all the inevitable noise and division off the back of Mohamed Salah’s comments last weekend, I thought the away end in the San Siro spoke volumes as the Arne Slot chant rang around that magnificent cathedral of football.
It’s times and performances like that this season which gives ample evidence to suggest that throwaway and lazy comments like ‘the manager has lost the dressing room’ simply isn’t true. For all of our poor results on this unacceptable run, there’s still been a fighting spirit and determination from key players like Dominic Szoboszlai who will be central in turning our form around.
I adore Salah and there’s no denying that when the dust inevitably settles he will always be a club legend, but off the back of his emotional outburst, I have no interest in dragging out the dialogue or choosing sides.
I don’t see a world in which Salah features this weekend with AFCON looming. Right now, it’s about getting behind the team heading into a home clash which offers a chance for that Holy Grail of back-to-back wins. If we can back up that performance in Milan with a win come Saturday, everything will start looking much healthier going into a big festive period.
