Mo Salah

I hope Salah proves me completely wrong in the remaining games and the comparison with Suarez regarding their impact looks ludicrous.

For now, however, there isn't anything objectively measurable that Suarez 13/14 was doing significantly better than Salah. The only stat that he comes on top is the minutes per game ratio in 13/14 vs Salah 17/18: 67 vs 68. Everything else is in Salah's favour: more goals, more goals in big games, more goals in different games, a higher percentage of all goals (31/101 Suarez vs 32/84 Salah), etc. Suarez's Liverpool didn't defend, they were all attack which did boost his stats.

I agree. You could say Suarez was more talented and his unorthodox style would lend to that, but in terms of pure output on the pitch at LFC there is nothing separating them.
 
Suarez in 13/14 was for me the best player in PL history without question. 31 goals, no penalties, 13 assists. 33 games. Absolute phenomenon and the best individual season I've seen in England. Almost hauled a shit team to the title. Salah is great but he's no Suarez.

It's a fair shout but there's also Henry's 02-03 season: 24 goals (0 penalties) and 20 assists in 37 matches.
 
Think Suarez had scored like 15 in 6 games at one point during that season, which is unprecedented in this league. Then like 5 in the last 12 games.
 
There is also the argument that Suarez played only in the PL whereas Salah matched his numbers in the PL while leading Liverpool to a CL final.
 
He is a quality player but his cheating ruins it for me and it should for others. Same for Neymar. It's hard to really appreciate them as players when they are infuriating, always throwing themselves to the floor trying to trick the officials.
 
Two season wonder.



He's a little scumbag and I've been saying it for ages, but he's the best player in the league at the moment, the consistency is unreal. Feels like he basically scores every single game.

There were questions mark after last season because it was such a dramatic upturn in output, but they're being answered now. Has to be clear favourite to win the golden boot again.
 
He is a quality player but his cheating ruins it for me and it should for others. Same for Neymar. It's hard to really appreciate them as players when they are infuriating, always throwing themselves to the floor trying to trick the officials.

Indeed. He's clearly brilliant but I despise him because it's so obvious he'll take any opportunity to go down as easily as possible and con the referee. It's not always necessarily diving, he's just one of those players where if he feels the slightest touch his first inclination is to drop as soon as possible.

I guess some would say that's him being smart, but personally I hope (and believe) that now he's getting the justified media scrutiny, referees will start telling him to get up. Would totally serve him right if he failed to win a few because of his cheating in the past, I saw that happen with our own players (Alli and Bale) and it was entirely their fault. Boy who cried wolf and all that.
 
Makes you wonder how many other players there are out there, waiting to have their potential unleashed. Salah at Roma was an above-average pace merchant, now he's an elite player.
 
Is he the third best player in the world? Haven't watched much of Griezmann this season, so don't know how he is doing. But yes there is an argument that he is the third best player in the world. Maybe even second with Ronaldo declining.
 
What are your views on Kane and Alli?

Alli's a scumbag. No doubt about it, no discussion. If he didn't play for Spurs I'd hate him, and even then he gets on my tits with his needless tackles in particular. Been a lot better recently for which I am grateful.

Kane has dived a couple of times and I hated it each time. Had he been banned I would not have complained. Salah though has dived multiple times in recent weeks and has been exaggerating contact for ages at Liverpool, it's just gone under the radar. It's just recently he's taken to totally faking the contact.

I don't condone diving at Spurs, and used to be particularly furious when Bale did it. I don't even think it benefits the football club, you might win a couple of penalties but going forwards players become marked men by the referees, and it's hard to shift that perception. Salah will absolutely have been marked out as a diver now, it'll be in every officials heads when he goes down. Plenty of Liverpool fans seem to embrace the cheating though, and have that tribal attitude of rush to defend the player regardless of reason, the worst example of which was Suarez.
 
Interested to know when Salah has actually simulated contact in the last few weeks, except this weekend's incident against Palace. Arsenal was a clear penalty. Newcastle the attacker pulls him back; it's soft but a pull nevertheless which impedes his progress and is technically a penalty according to the rules of the game. Brighton is also a clear penalty.

Alli's a scumbag. No doubt about it, no discussion. If he didn't play for Spurs I'd hate him, and even then he gets on my tits with his needless tackles in particular. Been a lot better recently for which I am grateful.

Kane has dived a couple of times and I hated it each time. Had he been banned I would not have complained. Salah though has dived multiple times in recent weeks and has been exaggerating contact for ages at Liverpool, it's just gone under the radar. It's just recently he's taken to totally faking the contact.

I don't condone diving at Spurs, and used to be particularly furious when Bale did it. I don't even think it benefits the football club, you might win a couple of penalties but going forwards players become marked men by the referees, and it's hard to shift that perception. Salah will absolutely have been marked out as a diver now, it'll be in every officials heads when he goes down. Plenty of Liverpool fans seem to embrace the cheating though, and have that tribal attitude of rush to defend the player regardless of reason, the worst example of which was Suarez.

Kane dives way more than Salah.

Where has this idea Salah has been exaggerating contact for a long period come from into your head? You've probably seen him go down once or twice before and are using recent incidents as confirmation bias.

See his goal vs Bournemouth earlier this season when his Achilles is nearly scraped off, yet he continues playing. See his goals vs Everton, Leicester and Spurs last season when he has players all over him yet holds them off instead of going down, and scores. See when Hegazi last year punches Salah in the face. That's a regular occurrence.

We went over a year without a penalty at Anfield. I think if Salah had been diving during that period that wouldn't have been the case. If anything, he was too honest and I'm glad he's recently started to go down in situations where he previously wouldn't and where other players regularly get penalties. Rather than referees taking notice, I think this will have the reverse effect in that players will now think twice before deciding to engage in a challenge with Salah in the box. That could afford him that bit of extra time and space which can be lethal.
 
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It's the same dirty foreigner mentality, just on another player. This time Salah. People will find it hard to admit it to themselves, but there it is.
 
Any touch, he hits the deck.

I base this on having seen him do it at least half a dozen times.

The rules of the game say lots of stuff. They've been generously applied to benefit Cheaty Mo's cheating imo.

That's what I think.

I'd have given him a couple of the pens though, I must admit.
 
It's the same dirty foreigner mentality, just on another player. This time Salah. People will find it hard to admit it to themselves, but there it is.

He's done nothing (in fact much less) that Harry Kane hasn't been doing for years. Just the other week, Kane goes over like a sack of potatoes against Chelsea in the League Cup. In December, he is booked for diving against Wolves.

How many times has Salah been booked for simulation? Ever? Hypocrites will hypocrite. Racists will racist.
 
He's done nothing (in fact much less) that Harry Kane hasn't been doing for years. Just the other week, Kane goes over like a sack of potatoes against Chelsea in the League Cup. In December, he is booked for diving against Wolves.

How many times has Salah been booked for simulation? Ever? Hypocrites will hypocrite. Racists will racist.

How is it racist to say Salah is a diver/cheat?

He wasn’t last year but this season there seems to be an incident near enough every game the last few months.

Salah is a excellent player, but he’ll end up getting a reputation for it and it’ll go against him.
 
It's the same dirty foreigner mentality, just on another player. This time Salah. People will find it hard to admit it to themselves, but there it is.

How does this go hand in hand with the outcry aimed at players like Young and Rashford when they dived back in the day?

I am not denying that there are some people who hate Salah because of his race/religion/skin tone/nationality and use this to further their case, it is just too easy to explain all the reaction with that. Lots of international viewers watch the PL, many of them are Africans and/or Arabs.

Think this is mostly a case of someone very prominent doing something which is pretty much frowned upon by everyone. Just like with Neymar at the world cup.
 
He's done nothing (in fact much less) that Harry Kane hasn't been doing for years. Just the other week, Kane goes over like a sack of potatoes against Chelsea in the League Cup. In December, he is booked for diving against Wolves.

How many times has Salah been booked for simulation? Ever? Hypocrites will hypocrite. Racists will racist.

Wait, you actually think the penalty was a dive?

And you think Salah is the victim of racist abuse, despite having been lauded constantly since his arrival at Liverpool?
 
It's the same dirty foreigner mentality, just on another player. This time Salah. People will find it hard to admit it to themselves, but there it is.

No it isn’t. Gerrard, Young and Bale have all been ridiculed at times for being divers and cheats.
 
He's done nothing (in fact much less) that Harry Kane hasn't been doing for years. Just the other week, Kane goes over like a sack of potatoes against Chelsea in the League Cup. In December, he is booked for diving against Wolves.

How many times has Salah been booked for simulation? Ever? Hypocrites will hypocrite. Racists will racist.

Ok ok, three things here. 1) We saw the same with Stevie G, he dived a lot and the English press turned a blind eye. I think the same with Ashley Cole. It’s english bias in the press. 2) When a team and player are doing expceptionally well the are under more scrutiny and the press/other fans pick up on it more to diminsh their success. 3) A Liverpool fan, who more likely than not (yes I’m making assumptions) supported Suarez in the whole debacle.
 
How is it racist to say Salah is a diver/cheat?

He wasn’t last year but this season there seems to be an incident near enough every game the last few months.

Salah is a excellent player, but he’ll end up getting a reputation for it and it’ll go against him.

It's not, but no doubt a decent proportion will jump on Salah far easier than they would other players because of his ethnicity and religion.

'Incident near enough every game' = 3 justified penalties, 2 which were absolutely stonewall and one actual dive.

How does this go hand in hand with the outcry aimed at players like Young and Rashford when they dived back in the day?

I am not denying that there are some people who hate Salah because of his race/religion/skin tone/nationality and use this to further their case, it is just too easy to explain all the reaction with that. Lots of international viewers watch the PL, many of them are Africans and/or Arabs.

Think this is mostly a case of someone very prominent doing something which is pretty much frowned upon by everyone. Just like with Neymar at the world cup.

If he were diving anywhere near to the extent Neymar has been doing for most of his career, then I'd understand the attention currently being garnered.
 
Wait, you actually think the penalty was a dive?

And you think Salah is the victim of racist abuse, despite having been lauded constantly since his arrival at Liverpool?

1) Not necessarily, but at the very least Kane goes down very dramatically and definitely exaggerates contact.

Let's not forget Kane's dive at Anfield around this time last year either.

2) No.
 
1) Not necessarily, but at the very least Kane goes down very dramatically and definitely exaggerates contact.

Let's not forget Kane's dive at Anfield around this time last year either.

2) No.

Are we talking about the same incident? Where Kepa wipes out Kane? And you think he went down dramatically there? What were you expecting him to do? Unfortunately I don't have this photographic memory that so many fans seem to have for the 'injustices' meted out to their team so no, I don't remember his dive, though seeing as you thought he was exaggerating against Chelsea, I wonder what the bar is. Would be good if you could remind me about this dive.

So, if no, why say it in the first place?
 
Suarez was more important for them because they were worse at the time. Now they are better so Salah input, although superior to Suarez' means less overall for the team. They could cope better without Salah but without Suarez they fell apart. Sturridge performed well that season too but he's an injury waiting to happen.
 
It's not, but no doubt a decent proportion will jump on Salah far easier than they would other players because of his ethnicity and religion.

'Incident near enough every game' = 3 justified penalties, 2 which were absolutely stonewall and one actual dive.



If he were diving anywhere near to the extent Neymar has been doing for most of his career, then I'd understand the attention currently being garnered.

What utter codswallop. Also, the irony of a Liverpool fan saying that given your treatment of Evra and Sterling certainly isn't lost on anybody.
 
Are we talking about the same incident? Where Kepa wipes out Kane? And you think he went down dramatically there? What were you expecting him to do? Unfortunately I don't have this photographic memory that so many fans seem to have for the 'injustices' meted out to their team so no, I don't remember his dive, though seeing as you thought he was exaggerating against Chelsea, I wonder what the bar is. Would be good if you could remind me about this dive.

So, if no, why say it in the first place?


He does something similar to this vs Chelsea. See YouTube.

The point is that even if it was a legitimate penalty - Salah has inexplicably been in the spotlight also for legitimate penalties.

I wasn't saying Salah's been racially abused. Simply that the fact he's foreign and more specifically Muslim and Egyptian and so more susceptible to having his reputation dragged through the gutter than a homegrown player like Kane.

If you don't believe that to be the case well then, wake up and take a look at the world around you.

What utter codswallop. Also, the irony of a Liverpool fan saying that given your treatment of Evra and Sterling certainly isn't lost on anybody.

Anyone that uses the word codswallop probably would say that, to be fair.

Yes, because I support Liverpool who booed an ex player that left on unsavoury terms (just like every other club in the country does) I am indeed a secret member of the KKK.

There are millions of us around the world but we have that in common at least.
 
There is also the argument that Suarez played only in the PL whereas Salah matched his numbers in the PL while leading Liverpool to a CL final.
Again, no context. Salah matched his numbers in the PL while taking penalties while in a far better team and performing at a clearly lower level. But in the CL, the two teams cannot even be compared. This Liverpool side was twatting everyone in the CL. That Liverpool side was a genuine one league season non title winning wondering.

I think Salah is quality but he's mostly stats. The players he's being compared to in this thread were better footballers than him.
 
He does something similar to this vs Chelsea. See YouTube.

The point is that even if it was a legitimate penalty - Salah has inexplicably been in the spotlight also for legitimate penalties.

I wasn't saying Salah's been racially abused. Simply that the fact he's foreign and more specifically Muslim and Egyptian and so more susceptible to having his reputation dragged through the gutter than a homegrown player like Kane.

If you don't believe that to be the case well then, wake up and take a look at the world around you.

I saw the Chelsea one with my own eyes. It was not even slightly similar. Kepa took Kane out last week, there's minimal contact in that video above.

Salah has literally had the media falling over each other to exalt him and this is the first time anyone has even started to mention anything negative with regards to his reputation.

Please tell me, a black African immigrant married to a half Egyptian woman with a Muslim background, a bit more about exactly what I'm missing about the world around me?
 
Anyone that uses the word codswallop probably would say that, to be fair.

Yes, because I support Liverpool who booed an ex player that left on unsavoury terms (just like every other club in the country does) I am indeed a secret member of the KKK.

There are millions of us around the world but we have that in common at least.

The level of abuse Sterling has received is nothing like the same treatment players returning to former clubs receive. It is really unsavoury and nasty. Remember also the treatment Evra was given last season? Of course, I'm not suggesting that all Liverpool fans are racist, however your last sentence really doesn't reflect well on you. Indeed it represents a clear lack of awareness.

Calling that post codswallop is being polite. Your subsequent posts mark you down as being full of it.
 
He has been certainly diving a lot recently, no reason to deny it for me imo. He should stop as it's not good for him or anyone else. He's much better character and personality than this. Aboutrika used to dive in his early career but at one point admitted to the media that was wrong and never did it again for us, both club and national team. Salah should learn this from him and move on from this awful trait.
 
I saw the Chelsea one with my own eyes. It was not even slightly similar. Kepa took Kane out last week, there's minimal contact in that video above.

Salah has literally had the media falling over each other to exalt him and this is the first time anyone has even started to mention anything negative with regards to his reputation.

Please tell me, a black African immigrant married to a half Egyptian woman with a Muslim background, a bit more about exactly what I'm missing about the world around me?

We can go around in circles all day.

My original point is that he's gaining an unjust reputation. Salah dives no more than most footballers.

Of course, I'm not suggesting that all Liverpool fans are racist

That's literally what you implied.

Why is it ironic? What do Liverpool even have to do with what I mentioned?
 
It's not, but no doubt a decent proportion will jump on Salah far easier than they would other players because of his ethnicity and religion.
.
:lol: at you playing the racist card with Salah. He gets such a kid glove treatment from the media and you're here making excuses for him and crying about racism.

I mean it's okay to not have a stick up your bum about a footballer who plays for your club and just admit the fellow dives and should stop cheating. But nope, let's first rant about how he didn't before and the one time he does everyone goes mad, and then go to the racist angle. Lame.
 
Again, no context. Salah matched his numbers in the PL while taking penalties while in a far better team and performing at a clearly lower level. But in the CL, the two teams cannot even be compared. This Liverpool side was twatting everyone in the CL. That Liverpool side was a genuine one league season non title winning wondering.

I think Salah is quality but he's mostly stats. The players he's being compared to in this thread were better footballers than him.

Your discussion with Treble sounds a bit like the Messi vs Ronaldo discussion. Personally agree with you. Suarez was something else and overall a better footballer. Think Salah is very similar to latter day Ronaldo. When he had sacrificed a lot of his overall game to become a scoring machine.