Salah and a scorched earth soliloquy that rocked hacks as much as Liverpool | Soccer

TALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN

Wonâ€t somebody think of the journalists? Having been forced to rewrite their on-the-whistle match reports at the speed of light due to a late equaliser, the members of the Fourth Estate covering the six-goal thriller between Leeds and Liverpool were already in a bad mood. As they took in the post-match managerial press conferences, filed the last of their follow-up copy and packed away their laptops, they had no idea their misery was about to get worse. A profession that regularly decries the pointlessness of post-match “flash†interviews, they will have been further incensed to learn that for only the third occasion in his time at the club, Mohamed Salah had elected to stop to talk to a hopeful hack. The ensuing scorched earth soliloquy was delivered with a calm composure that belied its incendiary nature and anyone who squinted could actually see the soul of a nearby Liverpool media-handler ascend from his body as he eavesdropped with mounting horror on each passing rapier thrust.

Whether he was cancelling dinner plans or alerting his superiors to a “Code Moâ€, the club comms personâ€s increasingly frantic texting as Salah unburdened himself sent tremors through the press room. Coats came off. Laptop bags were reopened. The air was almost certainly rent with loud effing and jeffing as the journalists present realised the thrilling match upon which theyâ€d just reported had only been the warm-up for the main event. While Salah is famously selective when it comes to granting self-indulgent tantrums to reporters, those of Football Dailyâ€s acquaintance would generally prefer it if he didnâ€t select 8.35pm on a Saturday that had previously been so full of pub-based promise as the ideal time to vent his spleen.

While it was undeniably the most important, the fact Salahâ€s lengthy howl of self-pity inconvenienced thirsty hacks is not the only reason it was poorly-timed. Though he has every right to feel aggrieved at having been benched despite other underperforming teammates appearing undroppable, reaching for his flamethrower when his own form has never been worse seems extremely ill-advised. At a time when Liverpoolâ€s struggles are already the source of several concurrent migraines for Arne Slot, Salahâ€s very public act of insubordination will only further undermine the authority of a head coach who had given his star player plenty – some would say too many – chances to rediscover his mojo before making the entirely justified decision to wield the axe.

It feels the most likely conclusion is that Salah is seeking to secure his own exit or that of Slot. Itâ€s a dangerous game to play and it is notable that his outburst prompted at least one Liverpool-supporting pal of ours to reach the considered verdict one of his heroes is “behaving like a knobâ€. At training before Liverpoolâ€s trip to face Inter in Bigger Cup, Salah was seen gadding about with his teammates, apparently without a care in the world. Heâ€s now been left at home while the rest of the squad travel to Italy. In Milan, Slotâ€s press conference promises to be box office as already put-upon journalists and media-handlers sit down for round two: the riposte.

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 QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Iâ€ve got nothing against that guy, by the way, I think heâ€s got something against the world†– Craig Bellamy hasnâ€t always prioritised “respectâ€, once declaring in front of new Newcastle teammates Jean-Alain Boumsong and Celestine Babayaro that “Newcastle was a rubbish club with a rubbish manager [Graeme Souness]†but the Wales manager is a changed man these days. Sort of. After Jesse Marsch and the rest of the Canada coaching team exchanged high fives shortly before the final whistle of their friendly (!) win over Wales back in September, Bellamy reignited their feud on Monday after learning the two sides could meet at the Geopolitics World Cup (if Wales make it through the play-offs). “Be respectful,†added Bellamy of Marschâ€s apparent mischief. “Itâ€s maybe more for TikTok or Instagram. Iâ€m not a dinosaur, trust me. Iâ€m not old-fashioned, but thereâ€s a level of respect.â€

Mess with a dragon, get burnt. Photograph: Nick Potts/PA

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Itâ€s Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning and the Football Weekly pod squad on Mohamed Salahâ€s outburst and the rest of the weekendâ€s talking points.

I was sorry to read this but as Iâ€m back from my little antipodean sojourn and have reclaimed my Amex season tickets Iâ€m happy to file a report from Brightonâ€s home matches if necessary. However, thereâ€s no real need as the story rarely changes; intricate passing football, 68% possession, the away team goes 1-0 up, Hürzeler gets a yellow card, on 80 minutes everyone in the East stand goes home, Brighton get a 94th-minute equaliser exquisitely curled in from 25 yards, final whistle. Save yourselves all the trouble†– Tony Crawford.

As a concerned Liverpool fan, I really hope the club are able to sort out the dilemma with their disgruntled Egyptian talisman before the European trip this week. If they donâ€t, theyâ€re risking some major Salah situation iteration alliteration: Seriously sticky San Siro Slot-Salah standoff†– Peter Oh.

Congratulations to the franchise known as Inter Miami, which sensibly doesnâ€t have a ‘history†section on its website given that it had never kicked a ball before 2020, for winning the Philip F Anschutz trophy, which has an even greater history, going back all the way to 2008. Looking at what the franchise refers to as its ‘rosterâ€, they seem to have combined some of the greatest names in world football from 10-15 years ago, like Leo Messi, Jordi Alba and Luis Suárez, with some of the greatest names in world football, like Baltasar Rodríguez, Israel Boatwright and Maximiliano Falcón†– Noble Francis.

Need a Christmas gift for that special football-obsessed person in your life? Well the Big Website Bookshop has loads of great reads available. You can even just treat yourself. Get shopping here!

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