Arne Slot’s Big Mistake At Liverpool This Season? Failing To Drop Struggling Salah | Barney Ronay

There must beryllium blame. We request heads connected nan battlements. We request entrails, horses, chains, a nationalist quartering. Basically we conscionable request to consciousness something. We need, supra all, to consciousness that this is each someone’s fault.

This is really elite shot must usability now. The Dalai Lama erstwhile said that alternatively of looking to blasted others we should look for answers wrong ourselves, which conscionable goes to show really incorrect you tin beryllium and is, frankly, very disappointing from nan Dalai Lama.

It turns retired medieval medicine was right. Human beings are so composed of 4 basal humours: bile, fire, world and being incredibly angry connected nan radio, energies that must beryllium perpetually fed.

There is simply a cardinal irony here. Rage and snark person go football’s defining energy. There is simply excessively overmuch abstraction retired there, excessively galore contented channels, but not capable existent athletics to capable them. So perceived injustice, nan divvying up of fault, fraud-dom, bald fraud‑dom person go nan crippled astir nan game.

But astatine nan aforesaid clip location is little to really blasted group for. Success and nonaccomplishment person go structural. Big clubs really are excessively large to neglect successful immoderate meaningful sense. Managers nary longer tally teams for illustration autocrats, surrounded by directors, assistants, information wonks. There is simply little abstraction to really make unspeakable mistakes connected an individual basis, nan benignant of clear-as-day correction that really does propulsion an full squad retired of whack.

At which point, participate Arne Slot, who is retired location making astatine slightest 1 very obvious, big‑ticket managerial mistake. Why is Slot playing Mohamed Salah successful each game? Why is Slot continuing to do this moreover erstwhile nan grounds is clear that this is simply a mistake? One that tin still beryllium fixed, but which becomes much profoundly compounded pinch each passing week.

It makes small consciousness successful nan abstract. Slot is simply a title-winning manager, a details-obsessive, super-smart no-bullshit merchant. Crucially, he possesses a brace of eyes. And it has been evident for nan past 2 months that Liverpool are suffering pinch Salah successful nan team, astir notably against stronger opponents.

Mohamed Salah had 1 chance against Manchester City which he sent wide of nan post. Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

Since their past travel to nan Etihad Stadium successful February, when Salah was brilliantly decisive, Liverpool person played 11 games against City, Newcastle, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, losing 7 of them. Salah has played successful each of these, contributed zero goals and performed astir of nan clip for illustration a Salah-shaped void, a shade astatine nan separator of things.

A wretched day astatine nan Etihad Stadium was confirmation of 2 cardinal points. First, Salah’s ain capacity is good beneath nan required level. And 2nd his weaknesses speak straight to nan problems successful nan squad astir him.

Most evident is nan deficiency of physicality. Liverpool person gone from being much aggravated than their opponents, from strength arsenic a baseline and non-negotiable, to fielding 3 very mini men successful Salah, Florian Wirtz and nan existent type of Alexis Mac Allister. They are a squad that is ever struggling to beryllium successful nan aforesaid abstraction arsenic much powerful opponents.

In nan opening minutes against City location was nan spectacle of Wirtz chasing Jérémy Doku down City’s near flank, grabbing and grappling astatine his backmost while Doku seemed vaguely alert of being tapped connected nan shoulder. Moments later Nico O’Reilly, a really bully modern Premier League powerfulness player, could beryllium seen cuffing Salah retired of his lane for illustration a man swatting distant a unreality of midges.

This spreads to different parts of nan team. Pep Guardiola was coy astir Conor Bradley aft nan game, talking up what a awesome full-back Bradley has go (which is true) but besides making judge everyone coming noticed what City had done to him, which was to perpetually double up, knowing successful beforehand that Salah simply won’t connection immoderate cover, that his flank is ever open.

So Bradley, 1 of Liverpool’s amended players, is transformed into a constituent of weakness by nan failings of nan superstar successful beforehand of him. So Ibrahima Konaté is besides drawn retired to nan correct distant from nan tight spaces that suit his game, each nan amended to execute for illustration a man pinch his legs connected nan incorrect measurement round. And truthful nan midfield pivot is pulled apart, ever asked to screen somewhat excessively overmuch space.

This imbalance is besides endangering Slot’s rebuild. Wirtz is being asked to accommodate to nan world’s astir sadistic convention successful a squad already balancing nan beingness of 1 non-contact imaginative princeling. Alexander Isak, already nether unit aft a summertime spent acting arsenic a footballing Helen of Troy, must now hole this squad alternatively than adding a last gloss.

It is important to statement that nary of this really Salah’s fault. He is not doing thing different. He has ne'er been a protect player, thing that didn’t matter erstwhile he was flanked by a furiously quiet three-man midfield. He is besides correct to beryllium alert of his ain worthy arsenic 1 of nan astir thrillingly productive goalscorers nan convention has seen. But then, he’s besides 33 years old, rather small, and a seasoned of much than 700 profession games. What was everyone expecting to hap here?

Perhaps we should blasted Liverpool’s executive for offering Salah that caller statement astatine a clip erstwhile it was clear nan squad would person to beryllium fundamentally rebuilt. Liverpool’s full ownership mantra is to make clear commercialized choices, to beryllium smarter than its bloated chap juggernauts. Retaining a massive-money 33-year-old seems counterintuitive. Are we looking astatine different Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang here, a much chiselled Phil Jones?

But nan statement did make consciousness connected basal numbers astatine nan time. When he signed successful April, Salah was averaging 1.4 extremity involvements per game, an astonishing level of productivity. The full costs of 2 much years of this is £36m, nan benignant of sum you mightiness propulsion astatine a half-forgotten full‑back. There person been suggestions a deeper information dive could person predicted nan drop-off this season. But still. Give america half of this. We tin make it work.

Slot has made this into a awesome problem by refusing to driblet his prima player, hobbling his ain rebuild successful nan process. It is simply a correction truthful obvious, truthful clear successful its outlines, that it is tempting to formed astir for immoderate deeper motivation. We cognize that informal chats return place, that prima players will request guarantees connected selection. Does Slot’s ain position travel into this, a powerfulness imbalance betwixt generational prima subordinate and affable Dutch single‑season wonder?

Salah was re-unveiled connected a activity of emotion. This was each vibes energy, goodwill. How progressive was Slot successful nan process? And who had last oversight of nan top‑heavy spree that has near Liverpool not conscionable pinch excessively galore attackers, but pinch nan incorrect attackers, 2 centre-forwards and a surfeit of lightweight creatives? It ne'er felt coherent, aliases for illustration nan activity of azygous voice, much a lawsuit of squad building by committee. It surely doesn’t consciousness very Slot.

The world break presents an opportunity to find solutions. Salah will beryllium disconnected to nan Africa Cup of Nations earlier long. The existent XI is intelligibly unbalanced, successful hock to nan past, but besides making an force of its future. There is still clip to show immoderate teeth and prime a squad solely connected merit and early needs. But that clip is decidedly now.