Mo Salah: Liverpool's scapeGOAT?

13:35Mark:Yet, suddenly he offered up that his relationship with the manager had completely broken down. He offered up that he'd rang his mum and told his parents to come to the Brighton game because it could be goodbye. It was George Ophelst.

13:47Lando Norris:I'm very disappointed. I'm very, very disappointed, to be fair. I have done so much for this club. Everybody can see that. during the years, and especially last season. Sitting on the bench, I don't know why. Seems like the club is throwing me under the bus. That's how I feel it.

14:06Mark:When I was on a plane full of die-hard Liverpool fans coming out to Milan on Monday, and one or two who said, yeah, they feel like he has been made a scapegoat, that they agree with him. They pointed to other players in the team who have consistently let Liverpool down and that they haven't paid the price with their place, but the large majority are furious with him. And I think the one quote...

14:30Gabby:But did you not think, James, Arna Slott gave very detailed, very good reasons why Mo Salah wasn't picked for the three games he hasn't been picked for. He gave specific tactical reasoning. it's not like Mo Salah has been in the bomb squad that Ruben Amorim created in the summer he's literally been put on the bench for tactical if you go with what Arna Slott said

15:03Mark:for tactical reasons no matter where you stand on if you take the emotion out of it and take a step back the reasons are sound you know Mo Salah has scored four Premier League goals this season one of those was a penalty you know yes he's been the victim of circumstance in a way with the team not functioning well around him lots of new faces trying to bed in but there's been numerous opponents that have targeted that side of the Liverpool team there is a vulnerability there and as you said Chappers Johanna went into a lot of detail in terms of I just felt we needed another midfielder in that team to make us more compact to make us more secure and you know yeah do you know what there hasn't been a huge change but it's been a win in two draws since he came out of the team and I know it sounds stupid in a way because you just conceded three goals at Leeds but anyone who watched that game like Liverpool were in control so yeah there is there is logic behind it there's absolutely no doubt about that and the crazy thing is 10 days ago we'd have been sat here talking about Mo Salah having started every single Premier League game

16:07John Gibbons:since Slott took over that's where I you know from the outside looking and thinking how did it get to this? If the communication has broken down, that somebody around both these characters hasn't managed to massage and manufacture a sit-down meeting where you clear the air, he's a legend of the club, you're now a legendary manager for coming in and winning the league in your first season. How can we make this work better? So you can make your tactical decisions without this player feeling he needs to speak out in the way he does. And that communication situation for Slott is not great, is it, that he's being accused of that?

16:44James Pearce:No, it's not. And I think, you know, Arna Slott at some point will presumably look at this and think, well, how could I have handled it differently? You know, if a player is doing this sort of, it's not great. And, you know, maybe he is being forced out. I don't know. It seems unlikely, but it wouldn't be the first time that it's happened. You know, he's talking about someone who wants him out. Maybe it's true. But at the end of the day, it was Mo Salah who pushed the nuclear button. It was Mo Salah who effectively made it all about him at a time when Liverpool need to be pulling together. And, you know, I felt for Arnestock yesterday that he's got a massive game tonight.

17:18James Pearce:As James said before, it's a huge game in the Champions League. And this is just more drama in a season where, to be honest, as fans, we all just want them to run a bit more and work a bit harder and put a bit more out onto the pitch rather than, you know, doing your best work in mix zones. No offence, James. He does some great work there himself.

17:38Gabby:Do you do some of your best work in mix zones, James? Damned with faint praise. Do we also have to accept as fans, though, whoever you support, John, that sometimes there is a player who gets different treatment or expects different treatment because of what they do for the team? And on the one hand, you could say that's a slightly more modern phenomenon because of, say, Messi and Ronaldo. But actually, that's probably gone on for a lot longer than that. I mean, you know, Ferguson had different rules for different players, didn't he, depending on what they brought to the team?

18:22James Pearce:Yeah, there's a great story about Bobby Robertson when he was at Barcelona and Ronaldo wouldn't turn up all days and his teammates would moan. And Bobby Robertson would say to them, when you scored as many goals as him, you can turn up when you like as well. and this is what, late 80s, early 90s and so things haven't changed too much. The problem is when the goals stop going in and when you stop delivering to sort of that level then people start going, hang on, why aren't you tracking back a little bit more and why aren't you pressing a bit more and why can't you just sit on the bench for a few games like everyone else does and Mo Salah is the highest paid footballer at Liverpool but this season, I agree with him that he's not the biggest problem but he is a problem and he's contributing to a poor season that the manager needs to try and fix however he can because he's under pressure and so he's trying something else.

19:11James Pearce:Like James says, it worked to a degree until it didn't. But he was seeing some results sort of from that. And so I think because he is such a superstar, maybe he's got himself into a bubble and he was expecting a more positive reaction to this, not necessarily from the manager, but maybe a bit more backing.

19:29John Gibbons:I don't know whether you agree, guys, But I think that it was the line that perhaps has swayed a lot of people away from giving him support was the line that he thinks he's undroppable almost because he thought he'd earned the right to be selected. Because I think any sports person in any sport would say you're really only as good as your last game or two and everybody is droppable. And it was that. I don't know whether it got lost in translation. I don't think it did, but I think that was the bit that everybody that I've spoken to feels was almost the point where you couldn't really empathise or sympathise with him anymore.

20:04Mark:Yeah, that's exactly what people were saying to me, the fans on the plane coming over yesterday. That was the line that jumped out at them. He said, I don't have to go every day fighting for my position because I've already earned it. And it's, you know, as one diehard fan who's done about 100 European aways with Liverpool said to me, if that was the logic, we'd still have Kenny Doglish and John Barnes playing for us every week. You know, you have to keep on doing it. And the reality is, you know, he hasn't so far this season. And yes, you can understand the frustration. And, you know, we're talking about a guy that's never, you know, I think his worst season in inverted commas for Liverpool was 23 goals.

20:45Mark:He set unbelievable standards since he joined from Roma in 2017. And to only have, what is it, five in all competitions coming up to Christmas, you just know that he'll be smarting. And I think the other thing that strikes me is that ego and that belief in his own ability and invincibility in a way is why he's been able to achieve what he has done and break so many records and write his name in the history books. But the flip side of that is when it starts to go wrong, maybe he does lack that ability to just take a step back. Because, you know, another thing that a lot of fans said to me, well, he kept saying how much he loves the club.

21:27Mark:Well, if he really loves the club, why would he heap on so much more negativity and pressure at a time that's already really difficult?

21:34Gabby:And that was partly Jamie Carragher's point on Monday night, John, which was he mentioned Barnes and Dalgleish and Rush Lightly, different for Dalgleish because he obviously became player manager. But their legs started to go. They weren't at the powers that they would have been as their Liverpool careers were coming to an end. But the point was, you help the club and you help your teammates until you are no longer required. It doesn't alter how fans feel about you as you get towards the end of your career. And one of his, and there were many in what he said, But one of his disappointing, or what he was disappointed about in all of this, is that Salah couldn't recognise that.

22:17James Pearce:Jamie had it himself. His last year at Liverpool, he basically played Europa League for Brendan Rodgers and League Cup. And that was sort of his role. And it happens to everyone. And maybe Mo's not recognising that it's happening to himself. But I think that the ex-pro pile-on is a little bit fierce for me. I think the idea that they always sort of acted in the interests of a football club. We're all selfish in work sometimes. And so I think people are best remembered in sorts of times where maybe they looked out for themselves as well.

22:50John Gibbons:So for you, John, his legacy is not diminished or is not going to be diminished. If he goes away to AFCON and doesn't come back, is his legacy as bright and brilliant as it ever was?

23:01James Pearce:I think so, yeah. I think he'll be quickly forgotten. I think you rarely get the perfect goodbye, and that is a real shame. and it's happened to very few footballers. But, you know, it's going to hurt and it's going to sting for him, I think, as much as anything, if he does go. Because I do think he loves playing for Liverpool and I think that is genuine and I think it's meant a huge deal to him and his family. Over time, we'll remember the goals, we'll remember the trophies, we'll remember the incredible performances. Remember how he made us feel on the football pitch. He was, you know, the way he played, you know, it was like being a kid, you know, watching someone.

23:38James Pearce:You know, he was absolutely incredible. The joy he's brought this football club and the fans is almost unparalleled, really. And that's what he'll be remembered for. Not a bit of an unfortunate ego-driven strop at the end. He'll be remembered for the joy he's brought us. What does this do for Slott going forward, James?

23:56Mark:It's difficult, isn't it? Because I think so much hinges on what happens now on the field without Salah. The last thing he needed after everything else that he's had to contend with over the last six months was his star player throwing a strop and basically turning it into a civil war. So if Salah's motivation was to force Slott out, and we don't know exactly whether that was the case, then he's disappointed because certainly the feedback I've had is that Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes remain fully behind him. They still believe he will turn this around. But Liverpool have won four of the last 15 games as they sit here now.

24:34Mark:You know, the irony being, Mo Salah would 100 % have started the game against Inter at San Siro because Cody Gagpo was injured and Federico Chiesa is ill. Alisson, who took to the stage for the press conference, was absolutely adamant that the rest of the players in that dressing room are still fully behind the Dutchman.

24:53Gabby:He was delighted to go that nod. The shortest of short straws.

24:57John Gibbons:I'm sure in the fullness of time and books that will be written about the whole re-signing of Mo Salah, actually, and the club took a long time to get that signature over the line. And I'm sure there was much debate about whether a player who'd be turning 33 in his next birthday was going to be able to produce the numbers, especially in American ownership that looks at metrics. I guess that's going to be one thing that gets examined. But if there is a genuine offer from Saudi in this January transfer window, wouldn't they be mad not to just bite their hands off?

25:30James Pearce:I think he'll go, yeah. I think that's most likely what will happen. I think you mentioned the contract. They couldn't have thought about it anymore. It was such a process. They tried to get as much data as they can. Yeah, it wasn't a gut decision, was it?

25:43John Gibbons:It didn't come from the gut. It wasn't overnight.

25:45James Pearce:Exactly, yeah. Yeah, it was a long, it was, you know, poor James Pearce had to sit through 30 press conferences where he was asked about it every week and the manager and things like that. And as fans, we were desperate for it. So, you know, I'm not going to say that it was a mistake, but obviously giving him two years always gave that option of, well, we'll assess it as we go. I think it's hard to imagine how he comes back after AFCON, which is really sad. And my hope, to be honest, is that they can put something in place between them that allows him to take the pitch on Saturday, they be that either starting or as a sub because regardless of everything happened over the last week or so I think he does deserve that I don't think he deserves a starting place forever but I think he does if he is going to go in January deserves the opportunity to say a proper goodbye and he needs to try and make sure that happens as much as anyone else you know he's gonna have to climb down of course a little bit but I just hope that you know because there is room for some sentiments in football despite what people say and I think I think most he's been an incredible player.

26:43James Pearce:So if it is looking more likely, if he's looking more out than in, to quote Mo again, then I think Saturday should be a chance for everyone to take a bike, including Mo Salah. The Sports Agents The Sports Agents

26:59Lando Norris:With Gabby Logan and Mark Chapman

27:04Gabby:Thanks to John and James then. Enjoy Milan.

27:07John Gibbons:Gabby, enjoy the game tonight. Looking forward to it. Thank you very much. and you can get in touch with us via email on sportsagent.global.com or message us on social media via the link in the show notes, especially ahead of that New Year's Q &A. Just on Milan, this is the fourth game. Actually, no, it will be the fourth match in January if we do the Arsenal game that we've done on Prime in Milan. So we're having a debate last night. It's as many times as we've been to Liverpool or Arsenal, who are the other two teams. So we're trying to kind of pitch to all the execs that we should all be going to Bodo Glimt because that's Man City going there with Erling Haaland.

27:39John Gibbons:If you've got anything that could furnish my argument, I mean, I've thrown everything at this, but they're not at the moment. Oh, that, what a trip that would be.

27:47Gabby:Alistair Bruce Ball on Five Live went there last year. For Spurs. Spurs, yeah. And he went there and it is a magical, by all accounts, a magical trip.

28:00John Gibbons:I mean, the Northern Lights, Haaland going back to Norway. So I'm doing my best. I'm trying because not that I love Milan, but I, you know. You could film your opening link on a trawler. I could see myself in some kind of sou 'wester.

28:16Gabby:Well, fingers crossed that happens then. Thank you very much for listening. You can catch up with all of our past episodes on YouTube, Global Player, or wherever you get your pods. The Sports Agents.

28:25Lando Norris:With Gabby Logan and Mark Chapman.

28:32Gabby:This has been a Global Player original production.