We need to talk about Salah

[moron]

For fucks sake - he had water in his mouth at the time the goal went in - they captured that. He was celebrating.

We obviously need to give him more time - but lets be honest neither Mane or him are helping each other which is causing a lot of shit in my book. But Salah is still passing to his team mates and defenders follow him so it makes space for others. That said he is getting into positions to score in the league games but they are not going in. Agree with @manwithnoname in that the shots are not that strong, and his general passing in the game is way off.

Today - it was later in the game when those two passing mistakes happened, part of that could be to do with the way defenders are all over him during a game and draining his strength - but great players can find the space and right now he needs to learn that for his own health and game management.

 

[Markeh]

The front 3 in general look a bit dysfunctional which is strange given that they were our biggest asset last season.

There's a few things going on with Salah but I don't think fitness is one of them.

His finishing is not at the races, very much like the start of last season but he seems to have retained the golden boot hunting mentality from the end of last season. Greedy and poor in front of goal is a bad look. But if all three were in harmony Salah would most likely get a goal or two and stop playing like a right Neymar.

The best thing for him to do would be to keep things simple and play for the others until he finds his form but he'll probably come good regardless of what approach he takes.

 

[KopRed]

"Play like Bobby" in short.

 

[My_Blood_Bleeds_Red]

Anyways, I take comfort knowing Mane was the Salah of last season, at this stage. And look what happened later. He hit form mid-way through the season. Sometimes a ring-rusty boxer just needs to keep going, to eventually shake off that rust. And I trust Klopp, the coach who knows how to bring the best out of someone.

And on that sidenote, I do hope Tyson knocks Deontay out, even if i think Fury's a bit of a nutter.

 

[rurikbird]

I really don’t think he played poorly tonight, aside from those 2 sloppy passes in the 2nd half, one of which led to a goal. He was always available, movement was typically good, he was a constant threat even though defensively his task was to look after Neymar and had a perfectly good poacher’s goal chalked off. If you judge him like a goal-scoring winger rather than compare him with Messi or something, this was a good performance, those mistakes aside.

 

[Fabio]

I really don’t think he played poorly tonight, aside from those 2 sloppy passes in the 2nd half, one of which led to a goal. He was always available, movement was typically good, he was a constant threat even though defensively his task was to look after Neymar and had a perfectly good poacher’s goal chalked off. If you judge him like a goal-scoring winger rather than compare him with Messi or something, this was a good performance, those mistakes aside.

Yup

People are judging him as a super striker match winner like Ronaldo/Messi after last year. Arguably that season was an aberration, and now he's just a fucking beast winger rather than Amon

 

[SummerOnions]

Him being triple marked is great for the team and bad for him

 

[doctor_mac]

I really don’t think he played poorly tonight, aside from those 2 sloppy passes in the 2nd half, one of which led to a goal. He was always available, movement was typically good, he was a constant threat even though defensively his task was to look after Neymar and had a perfectly good poacher’s goal chalked off. If you judge him like a goal-scoring winger rather than compare him with Messi or something, this was a good performance, those mistakes aside.

And he tracked back all night. He worked his arse off. Actually, that was the hardest working performance I've seen from him since last season. He's going to be fine.

 

[Hansern]

I think he looks fucked tbh, there were times to night where he looked sharp on the turn again. But some of his passing and shooting is well underhit, like someone who's got fuck all in the tank.

His reaction on the bench was pathetic though.

 

[Rosco]

Regression to the mean is what we're seeing.

He's getting into his usual positions, he's getting opportunities in front of goal. It's just not working for him at the moment.

 

[Holle]

I'm not worried about him, we'll see the best of him again soon.

 

[FoxForceFive]

Fuck me.

The overreaction to Salah is doing my head in.

Give him time FFS. He's clearly struggling mentally following the injury (the needless strapping shows that), he's clearly still doing fairly intense pre season style training, as most players are, which means they all look slightly more leggy & less sharp, to varying degrees (which obv shows in strikers way more as that extra millisecond is more important), & he's still putting a helluva shift in.

I keep saying it, but it's no coincidence that spurs all look tired & leggy thanks to their world cup exploits, & equally so, our best players this season so far seem to be Robertson, Milner, & Wijnaldum, again, no coincidence that they're not playing off the back off a world cup.

Give him time. Give the side time.

We're nowhere near our best & neither is he. He'll come good & so will we.

There's a bigger question about a new, more considered, style of play that we seem to be adopting this season & it's effects, but that's a separate thread imo.

 

[Glen C]

It could be a number of things that's the issue, is it:

1. Just lacking sharpness like quite a few players after the world cup exploits (kane looks fucked)
2. Still not recovered mentally from the shoulder injury
3. Was last season just a one off? We've seen it many times and then players go back to their normal level.
4. 2nd season syndrome. Happens to all strikers. Great first season and then teams start paying them more attention and they struggle in the 2nd season until they learn to adapt and adjust their game.

 

[Molbystwin]

I'm not worried about him, we'll see the best of him again soon.

My feelings as well, I'm not buying into the narrative that he is pissed off or defenders are now on to him etc etc etc... he was pissed off at himself...

Yes, pundit... we should obviously prioritize the Premiership and drop out the CL... our next 6 games are unplayably difficult yadda yadda yadda yadda...

I haven't clicked on it yet but I notice that shit Scottish/Chelsea pundit on ESPN... I dunno what the clickbait is about but apparently "we should be worried"...

What should we be worried about exactly?? Winning 6 on the fucking bounce including deservedly beating the team with the most expensive attackers in world football...

SHUT THE VERY FUCK UP.

I truly am not worried about Salah at all, because he still fast and still technically brilliant and the goals will come for him again.

Maybe the pressure of being the hero weighing down on him maybe... who knows...maybe he was enjoying becoming a superstar but now he has done it....maybe he is trying to hard? I dunno... or maybe he's is just a little bit out of form... such a drought... only 2 goals in 6 games the lazy fucker... and he would have had one last night as well if it wasn't for the goalie literally crying foul...

I'm not worried in the slightest and more-over neither should he be.

Salah is still Salah and I reckon he is pretty fucking nifty...

Oh yeah almost forgot...

6 games 6 wins

 

[Molbystwin]

Agree, I think his reaction is more that he is disappointed in himself. He knows he can do better and as a result believes he should still be on the pitch. More than likely he would have been in the position Bobby was when he received the ball for goal.

He needs a rest though, he just half a yard off it. The CL heartache, shoulder injury, WC hopes and barely any rest just taking his toll a little I guess. He will be back on it soon (well he better fucking had be).

It is possible he needs a rest indeed...but now of course he also has competition, Sturridge needs a game doesn't he?

 

[Oncy]

Fuck me.

The overreaction to Salah is doing my head in.

Give him time FFS. He's clearly struggling mentally following the injury (the needless strapping shows that), he's clearly still doing fairly intense pre season style training, as most players are, which means they all look slightly more leggy & less sharp, to varying degrees (which obv shows in strikers way more as that extra millisecond is more important), & he's still putting a helluva shift in.

I keep saying it, but it's no coincidence that spurs all look tired & leggy thanks to their world cup exploits, & equally so, our best players this season so far seem to be Robertson, Milner, & Wijnaldum, again, no coincidence that they're not playing off the back off a world cup.

Give him time. Give the side time.

We're nowhere near our best & neither is he. He'll come good & so will we.

There's a bigger question about a new, more considered, style of play that we seem to be adopting this season & it's effects, but that's a separate thread imo.

I’d give him time on the bench. Thats all. Im not panning him, I just think a break would help him.

 

[Atlas]

It's not so much the not scoring worldies weekly it's the blatant greed when players are in way better positions. He looks like he has the weight of the world on him at times and just needs to ease up, relax and play his normal game... he started to that a little towards the end of last season when he was close to the breaking the record.

A game or two on the bench will help, maybe coming on for 20/30 minutes to stretch teams. And an arm round the shoulder from Klopp is needed also.

 

[tombrown]

Nothing a sloppy blowjob won't sort out for him

 

[dantes]

The good thing is the rest of the team are being forced to learn how not to rely on him so much, Mane was the only one who seems to grasp this point last season. At least now when he does get back into form we should be even more terrifying as a result.

 

[Brizzle]

I'm not concerned - he's getting opportunities but you can see in his demeanour that he has lost a bit of spring... another goal or two and he'll be fine. I'd be happy for him to be given 30 mins against Saints at full pelt if that is what it takes. I'm more worried about all the shit that the Egyptian FA is throwing at him, and expect that to be the biggest influence on his performances.

 

[dantes]

Regression to the mean is what we're seeing.

He's getting into his usual positions, he's getting opportunities in front of goal. It's just not working for him at the moment.

Hhahahaaha there's no such thing as mean reversion in sport. Mean reversion happens in financial markets because people are actively paying attention to the mean as a type of fair value, and are less willing to put their money in when you get too far away from it. In football, first of all there is no mean or fair value, and second of all, Salah does not become unwilling to score goals because he's scored way above this so-called mean in the past.

 

[hmmmmm1]

He wasn't rubbish but his shooting / final third has been a bit off. He should play his way through this period and we need his pace for the counter.

 

[Mors]

I think he's trying too hard. When he'd already got 10 or 20 goals int he bag last season, the pressure was off, he knew what he could do, he just relaxed and let it happen. This season he's desperately trying to recapture that and overthinking it and making a hash of it.

I find that water bottle incident very very weird though. He can frustrated all he likes with his own performance etc, and lob a bottle when he comes off as he knows it wasn't good enough. But throw it when the team do something good without you? Weird. It's a bit like shagging Kelly Brook and then getting a massive cob on that you didn't bang her the day before.

 

[Brizzle]

I think it was annoyance that others had to bail out his mistake, I honestly think it was 100% self-loathing rather than anything to do with it being Firmino who scored. He is a very selfless player and we saw yesterday that he was often looking for a pass to play in Sadio or Studge.

 

[Jerry Laser]

I think he is basically trying too hard and it is having a negative effect.... last season he did it without thinking.... now the pressure is on he is thinking I need to do this and that rather than what just comes naturally....

He'll come good, just needs a goal here and there and then he will be ok, I think it would be crazy to think he will have a season like last again.... it really was a crazy season.

 

[dantes]

I think it was annoyance that others had to bail out his mistake, I honestly think it was 100% self-loathing rather than anything to do with it being Firmino who scored. He is a very selfless player and we saw yesterday that he was often looking for a pass to play in Sadio or Studge.

Quite clearly this, his brain is hardly the most complicated of things to figure out. When the goal went in he celebrated, then his brain reminded him of his mistake, he felt a bit guilty about celebrating in that instant as it would seem like he didn't give a shit about making a mistake and was taking credit for someone else's good work, so he corrected himself and quite rightly engaged in some self-loathing as punishment for his mistake. More people should have brains like that if you ask me.

 

[Ukrainian by marriage]

I thought he looked ok last night, except for the two dodgy passes. Not worried, he'll be fine.

 

[Fabio]

I do enjoy the "he's been found out" chatter

Couldn't care less if he has. If doubling up on him is how teams combat him then boss; fill you boots bobby and mane

 

[manwithnoname]

I do enjoy the "he's been found out" chatter

Couldn't care less if he has. If doubling up on him is how teams combat him then boss; fill you boots bobby and mane

Never really understood that trope. "Being found out"? Or possibly it's just form/ luck/ team-mates/ being marked by three players?

It's also strange that he went the entire last season and scored 40 goals without "being found out" but thanks to the extra few weeks off over summer, all of the clever footballers and managers had sufficient time to unlock his secrets and devise new strategies to combat him, just in time for the new season.

It's also worth considering that maybe last season was a slight anomaly and he won't score more goals than anyone in Europe every single fucking year.

 

[Woland]

If he didn't fuck up so badly last night we wouldn't have scored an injury time winner, I wouldn't have fallen down three sets of seats celebrating, wouldn't have stayed out till two in the morning, wouldn't feel like boiled shite right now. He can fuck right off.