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Salah doesn’t score great goals…
One of the more bizarre mailbox entries from James, Galway. Mo Salah doesn’t score great goals? Are we talking about the same player. Honestly, in my 25+ years of watching Liverpool I could only name one player who scored more extraordinary goals than Salah, and that is Luis Suarez.
Just go on Youtube and you’ll find a range of the most wonderful goals from Salah. Off the top of my head, here are a few that that vast majority of players could only dream of scoring.
His insanely tight finish v Salzburg
The rocket v Chelsea
The dribble and top corner curl v everton
The chip over Ederson v City
Juggling the ball v Porto
Beating 5 defenders v Watford
Look these up, you’re in for a treat.
Mike, LFC, London
Is James,Galway for real with his “Salah doesnt score great goals” as a reason as he isn’t loved??.
I genuinely don’t know where to go with that only to say when a guys signature goal is cutting in from the right and curling it into the far TOP corner how you can come to this conclusion is beyond me.
From his first season alone try and find the following:
Volley away at Stoke.
Curler v Everton at Anfield.
Goal v City in the league when he chipped Ederson from 40 yards
Dribble on the byeline and goal from an acute angle v Spurs.
Played a delicious 1-2 with Firmino v Southampton and a brilliant finish.
His 4th(of 4)v Watford in the snow at Anfield when he dribbled like a slalom skier.
Goal at the Etihad in the CL v City when he delicately clipped the ball over Ederson.
His 2 goals v Roma in the semi final of the CL.
That’s just from season 17/18.
He scored plenty of world class goals in 18/19 and 19/20.
Who could forget his goal from an acute angle last season away to Salzburg in the group stages of the CL.
Even his FIRST goal v West Ham 2 days ago was an incredible finish.
Utterly ludicrous statement.
Hate to think there is a Simon Jordan type in the beautiful City of the Tribes that is Galway.
Ferg,Cork.
MEDIAWATCH: More Liverpool transfer masterstrokes like Minamino?
Reading Liverpool fans explain ‘why Salah isn’t loved’ is a long-winded slog. The simplest reason is always the best, eh?Maybe back then we were crap, there were only 1 or 2 heroes of hope, aka Gerrard + 1 other, usually players whose names rhyme with Torres or Suarez.
Today, the gods of football have blessed us with Klopp, Salah, Mane, VVD, Trent, Andrew fecking Robertson, Allison, Fab, each of them iconic and world-class. That’s before we come to Michael Edwards and his moneyballosophy, the English champions, European champions and World champions trophies – a rich smorgasboard of awesomeness that re-writes history in a historic club.
On top of that, we have the bonus of a flailing United run by Squidward and a PE teacher and you will understand why our divided fanbase will not fall behind Mo Salah as #slicedbreadsalah.
There’s just too much of too much goodness as a Liverpool fan now.
Vinnie Pee
Milner vs. Rooney
Who had the better career Milner or Rooney? Just writing it looks silly, when I initially thought of this I was 100% sure it was Rooney however, the more I think about it the more I lean towards Milner.
It is well known that Rooney was the youngest ever goal-scorer in Premier League history when he scored against Arsenal in October 2002, what is less well known is that James Milner took that record from Rooney 2 months later. Then for the next few years their careers took very different paths with Rooney lighting up the Euro’s of 2004 and becoming the most expensive teenager, moving to the biggest club in the land and winning trophy after trophy while Milner was relegated with Leeds then battled it out in the midtable with the fallen giants of Newcastle and Villa.
Up until 2010/11 the idea of comparing their careers would have been a joke, Rooney won 4 premier league titles, the champions league and countless cups while on his way to becoming England’s record-breaking goal scorer. Up until 2011 Milner had won nothing.
However, from 2011 Rooney would only go on to win 1 more title and 2 domestic cups, he did win the Europa League in his last game although only came on as a 90th minute so the fans could give him a send-off. Milner on the other hand won Man City’s first trophy in 35 years, then followed it up with 2 league titles (their first in 44 years) before moving to Liverpool where he won the Champions League then their first league title in 30 years. And of course, Milner could easily add another Premier League or Champions League title to his name this year whereas Rooney officially retired this year but left Premier League football in 2018 and has not challenged for trophies for nearly half a decade.
In terms of trophies Rooney has won 5 Premier League titles for Man U, however there are 18 other players who won 5 or more titles with Man U including Wes Brown, John O’Shea and Darren Fletcher. I’d argue that winning Man City’s and Liverpool’s first Premier League title (yes, I am aware both teams won Division 1 previously) was more of an achievement. They both have 1 Champions League each, Rooney has 4 domestic cups and the Europa League whereas Milner only has 2 domestic cups and the discontinued Intertoto cup.
Rooney is of course England’s record goal scorer, but I’ve personally never put too much value on this as the quality of international football has deteriorated while the number of games has increase, over a similar time period someone like Robbie Keane scored significantly more international goals for a far worse team. Milner got half the number of England caps as Rooney and was never a star, however, he has consistently played in the premier league for 22 seasons and could conceivably play premier league football for another 3 or 4 years.
Am I saying Milner was a better player than Rooney? Of course not, was he more famous, more talented, more of a world star, more important to the teams he played for or by most terms the “greater” player than Rooney? No. However, if I could choose to have one of their careers then I might go for Milner’s especially if he wins more with Liverpool and tops it off with achieving something back at his home town club of Leeds at the end of his career.
Also, just one point on the quality and criticism of co-commentors, it reminded of my marketing teacher at college explaining to me that the TV adverts I likely find annoying and boring are probably not aimed at me (i.e. washing up liquid, Saga holidays etc.) and equally the ones I like (i.e. beer, sports brands etc.) will probably annoy and bore other swathes of the population who they are not intended for. It’s perfectly natural for there to be a broad spectrum of pundits who have been chosen based on a different set of strengths and weaknesses that will appeal to different sections of society.
Cheers, Paul K, London
Killjoy Mourinho
During the 2016/17 season, Tottenham’s last at The Old White Hart Lane, we were treated to some of the best football I had seen at that ground in the thirty years of going to there. I know that being liked, be it in football or just life, isn’t that important but it does feel good – and it felt good that we had this beautiful coach, a team of players who were equal parts individually brilliant and also a near perfect blend of a great XI. There was a sense of unity and fun (which is rare in football).
It was the second time under Levy that Spurs were on the cusp of achieving something tangible, and beyond that something intangible, a place in the annals of history. And Levy, as he did in January transfer window forever known as Saha and Nelson, we shit the bed and promptly regressed.
When we beat City this season (the last time they lost I think, and possibly the last time they conceded more than one in a match) I said to my mates that the result was great but that tactic is far from it, and that teams far worse than City will suss it out sooner than later. We then beat Arsenal and played the same way – it wasn’t the feeling of euphoria that followed that match but rather the glum feeling that even playing a team who, at that time, were dreadful, we’d play the same.
I have always been anti-Mourinho, even whilst winning, but now that he’s team selections, tactics and subs are increasingly baffling, I hope that Levy has the stones to do what he did to Poch and sack him. The football is turgid the players are uninspired and opponents know full well we’re ripe for a beating.
Dan Mallerman
Hooray for Arsenal
I just wanted to congratulate the management team at Arsenal for a great transfer window. I said in a letter which you kindly published a month or two back, that the key to this window for us was players leaving. And leave they have.
Our bloated squad is now minus the Greatest Footballing Elephant Ever To Enter A Room (Ozil) who perhaps finally realised that a footballer can only go so long without actually playing football, before their brand value drops.
We have also managed to move on what appears to have been Mesut’s informal Arsenal entourage (Kolasinac, Sokratis and Mustafi). Even our loans make great sense: Willock and Maitland-Niles have gone out and we’ve brought in a spare keeper and the brightest young talent in Europe.
We have a much younger and more positively minded squad now, have greatly reduced our wages bill and look in good shape to continue the rebuild in the Summer. Hurrah.
Carolyn, (optimistic) South London Gooner.
When Arteta first arrived at Arsenal he described ‘changing the culture’ as his single most important task as manager. While it has been a bumpy road in terms of results and performances, the culture at Arsenal has changed and the future is looking bright.
The most recent transfer window is a testament to that change in culture. Arsenal has been bogged down for years with players that are not likely to improve themselves and definitely incapable of improving the club.
The departures of Ozil, Kolasinac, Mustafi and Sokratis this window, which add to the departures of Mikhitaryian, Guendozi and Torreira is a breath of fresh air. We are losing close to a million quid a week on wages while gaining a lean, competitive squad.
There is still a long way to go, as our shortcomings this season have shown. But despite those shortcomings, six clean sheets in seven games is pretty much unheard of for a team with a notoriously soft underbelly. Arteta has brought resilience to Arsenal. For the first time in ages, it feels like we have a solid platform to build on and cause for optimism.
Liam Gabriel Hoskins (Now watch us lose 5-nil to Wolves tonight!) AFC
Harsh on Liverpool
I feel you’re being a bit harsh about Liverpool’s transfer dealings. Ben Davies was obviously completely out of left field, but Kabak has been linked with Liverpool more or less since Gomez went down. Obviously it would have been better if either arrived on Jan 1st not Feb 1st, but I kind of suspect the ultra cheap risk free deals wouldn’t have been available then.
Dan, Plastic LFC
Liverpool minnows
Sigh…why don’t people just google for a few minutes before they throw out some incredible claims. Liverpool, poor minnows of the Premier League, can’t afford to keep up with the big boys who spend so much more money than us. Give me a break.
UEFA reported in 2018, (yes a few years ago admittedly but only reliable source I can find and I’d be surprised if it had changed drastically since then) the following for yearly wage expenditure:
Utd – EUR 334m
City – EUR 314m
Liverpool – EUR 298m
Chelsea – EUR 275m
Arsenal – EUR 271m
So the difference between Liverpool and City annually is 16m, or 300k wages for a player on a free or an 11m player on 96k per week.
I am not for one second claiming Liverpool arent incredibly well-run, sustainable and well structured, I genuinely think they are, but don’t cry poor me when you have the 3rd highest wage and can happily splash down 75m on 2 players. You can talk about Net Transfer Spend all you want, and Liverpool have done well here, but they have still spent 470m on players over the last 5 years. Not exactly struggling to dish out the money.
Citys revenue was EUR 558m with Liverpools “massively lagging behind” on EUR 514m, a 40m difference. Further, City and Liverpool both spend 56% and 58% of their revenue respectively so they spend a similar amount of the money they make on wages.
There is a difference in operating costs, with City spending 30m more on running of their football club, not enough to close the gap but interesting none the less. Liverpool had an operating profit of EUR 13m more than City.
I need to get back to work now. The point of this mail was just to remind everyone that Liverpool are not some small team with no money lying around. Are they better run than some others? Sure. Do they have a bit less money than City? Sure but dont cry about how much you are struggling financially.
Rob A (Godamn United waste money) AFC
So, Dave LFC asks: “Show me who you are in a crisis, well Liverpool have. We are a well run club, built on sound principles and built for sustainable growth, I for one am proud”.
Did those principles, of a well-run club, of which you are proud, extend to the women’s team you abandoned the same year you eventually won the (men’s) league?
Shines your next sentence in a different light, in my opinion.
“Now as to whether the lads can play…”
The_M_Rod
Colly and Gabby are full of sh*t
So those serial winners Stan Collymore and Gabby Agbonlahor have chirped up with their two peneth on United’s chances of winning the league. Gentlemen for a start no one who supports United thought we were in with a shout at winning the league, we are happy in the main with how things are going though. For a man who made a career of choking (mainly ex girlfriends, delete if libelous) Collymore is in no position to offer advice, and as for Mr score once in blue moon but can run really fast, stick to fawning over the Villa mate. United have improved as a unit under Ole and if we continue to improve as well as bring in a couple of needed players then we’ll be just fine thanks.
Paul Murphy, Manchester
Pogba to the rescue
Please can you disregard all my other mails where I implied that I didn’t think Paul Pogba was worth two bob let alone £300k a week. They were of course written by another correspondent who had hacked my account. Pogba is, of course, the saviour of Manchester united, and his previous lack of effort was an inspired innovative leadership plan to get other members of the team to stop relying on him to win every match.
He has also been behind the performances of Fernandes, by sitting on the bench watching the matches with a smile on his face, as Ferdy took this as a sign that the greatest living footballer thought he was doing ok.
Tim
Seriously…
Jack Grealish may be one of the most fouled players in the premier league but word has it he’s not the only Aston Villa player with a Targett on his back.
Really sorry.
If a footballer strays offside in an empty stadium with no one to see it, is he still offside?
Seriously for a second – surely you have to judge offsides based on what margins can be perceived by the human eye in real-time. At this point I can’t see how it’s possible for strikers to judge themselves on/offside. You can be level for all intents and purposes and still have your goal ruled out. Jamie Carragher’s point that forward players should consider rolling up their sleeves to take advantage of the current rules is totally worth considering.
Seriously, secondly – has anyone else noticed how often the ball has hit the referee this season? In the past it’s been pretty rare but this season it seems to be far more frequent, is this my imagination? Have referees altered some part of their positioning during certain passages of play? Or am I going mad.
Faris (Ben Mee Shape Me any way you want me), the horrors of Blackburn
Godlessness
Jamie, Eire asks the question: Outside of politics, Is there any other job in society where people are a focal point for such bubbling anger?”
Maybe customer service, or working for one of the rail companies? There are many other examples but the sad truth is that there are a lot of angry people out there.
My own view is that football fans are angry because football is their religion. Everyone’s angry about politics because capitalism is their religion. Environmentalism is another area where people are really angry, again, because they treat it as a religion, any opposing view is treated as heresy.
Put simply, people don’t like their beliefs questioned and a shit performance by your team makes you question those beliefs in your team. They then need to vent that and where better than the social media platforms that were invented to commoditise noise.
Overall it boils down to one thing: Godlessness.
I think that people need to find belief outside of human constructs and create their own robust core values that can’t be so readily smashed by a poor performance from “their” multi-millionaires.
Fat Man (might be too deep for a Tuesday)
Dull Deadline Day
I am glad I wasn’t the only one to think that Deadline Day was yet again a bit of a let down, now to be honest, that is likely my own fault for believing in the Sky Sports hype, they do this every window, the countdown, the Jim White hour, his yellow tie and the 24 hour coverage on the final day as Big Ben strikes the hour that the window slams shut.
Anyway, away from the negative thoughts, so i bring this question to the Mailbox, what is your favourite deadline day transfer or moment? here are a few of mine:
– Peter Odemwingie driving to Loftus Road assuming he was moving to Queens Park Rangers, that deal never went through
– Carlos Tevez & Javier Mascherano head to the Premier League to join………….West Ham United
– The Sex Toy Incident on Sky Sports News
I have missed a fair few off because I am sure many fellow reader will mention them and i cannot wait to read about their thoughts on their favourite moments!
Mikey, CFC
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