I don’t know what Liverpool’s ‘moneyball method’ looks at, but we all know that he wasn’t the second best forward in Europe in 2016-17.
Mo Salah
- Thread starter Robbie Boy
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I don’t know what Liverpool’s ‘moneyball method’ looks at, but we all know that he wasn’t the second best forward in Europe in 2016-17.
There were rumours all around the club that Klopp was more keen on all of Pulisic, Brandt and Draxler before we ended up signing Salah.
No. It was maybe Klopp's 2nd choice maybe, but the liverpool scouting system etc basically told him to just shut up and coach and let them do their job
Probably Draxler out of those rings a bell as being a big option.
But despite people trying to change history and act like Salah was always this top player, clearly Klopp did wonders to bring him up a gear. Mane the same, although he seems to have dropped off the last couple of years, when arguably he was a more effective player than Salah previously, just without the same goal output.
19 goals and 15 assists, G+A every 93 minutes in his final season at Roma
He very much didn't come out of nowhere
He very much didn't come out of nowhere
No one said that though, or did I miss some posts? He went from a good / very good player to one of the best in the world, that's what happened. Your reply to someone arguing he wasn't one of the best players in the world was "he was one of the best players in one of the best leagues" but that doesn't really prove anything to me, e.g. Belotti was one of the best Serie A players at some point or during some seasons, yet has never been in the "world class" conversation or anything.
The talent was always there, he went from very good at Roma to world class at Liverpool. Think that's the gist of it and no one would disagree with that.
He was no better than Ciro Immobile in Serie A, and barely anybody would call Immobile "best striker in world after Messi and Cristiano", and his numbers were superior to Salah in Roma.
I believe he was very good for Roma, but nowhere close to be considered top 10 attacking player in the world.
Vlahović is also having a better season than Salah at Roma, and at a younger age.
Salah is top class now, but he is a late bloomer, Liverpool is very lucky, they 100% hit the jackpot with that signing.
He was quality but you actually disagreed with me at the time about how good he was, I think you underrated his potential while he was in Italy. Which is fair enough as it’s not that often a player refined their finishing so much.
Is he becoming the greatest premier league player ever?
I thought he'd be the type of player who would never quite figure out the final step and explode, and would plateau at "great player", yeah. I also did mention way back then he'd be a monster if he did explode
Give it a rest fecking hell
So fecking annoying that the likes of Real and Barcelona are shite, meaning he will likely stay at Liverpool until he retires.
His current club is doubting whether to invest big on him long term
I don't think we are tbh, contracts aren't always concluded within days or weeks, that's all. If he's asking for anything near 400-500k or so (which he should, because he deserves it), then there are multiple aspects of that deal we need to consider, and negotiations will be longer to reach an agreement.
There's no doubt that we want to invest in him, and I'm personally quite sure he'll sign a new contract. I think we won't make the mistake to let him go into the final year of his contract.
I would argue it's easier to win the league now because the league is obviously not as competitive as it once was. If it was more competitive or even equally as competitive then no one team would touch 99 or 100 points.
And I would also say it's easier for forwards now than ever because defenders cannot tackle or even jump right in case it hits their arms.
Salah is a smashing player but he's not the best ever in premier League football.
Bless your heart.
Electric player - I watch Liverpool only to watch Salah and that's saying something considering how much I despise them
.In no way is he even close by any metric whatsoever. Top ten for sure on current form.
Here in Egypt is insane, every cafe broadcasting Pool matches to watch Salah and cheer for them. I can’t wait for him to go somewhere else so that I can enjoy seeing him playing too. It’s hard to be a United fan in Egypt these days although we have a decent fan base.
Which club can cash in for him I wonder? IMO only PSG which can afford his future asking salary!
Which club can cash in for him I wonder? IMO only PSG which can afford his future asking salary!
Name the players better than him.
In no way is he even close by any metric whatsoever. Top ten for sure on current form.
Shearer, KDB, Cantona, Zola, Scholes, Ronaldo, Rooney, Lampard, Aguero.
KDB and Zola
There are definitely players ahead of Salah no doubt, but it's weird to say he's not close by any metric. The guy is literally ahead of Ronaldo for goals and assists, in less games played.
Henry, Cantona, Scholes, Shearer, Rooney, Aguero, Lampard, Giggs, Vieira, Gerrard, Ronaldo and Bergkamp was all before Salah in my opinion.
And thats leaving out defenders like Rio, Terry, Cole ect. So for me he is not top 10. Guess its all about opinions.
Best player in the league right now? Salah without any doubt.
And thats leaving out defenders like Rio, Terry, Cole ect. So for me he is not top 10. Guess its all about opinions.
Best player in the league right now? Salah without any doubt.
Why is Ronaldo better than him when it comes to PL?
Champions league, entire career; Ronaldo is miles ahead of him no doubt, but looking at just their time in Premierleague I am struggling to see many arguments in Ronaldo's favour.
Champions league, entire career; Ronaldo is miles ahead of him no doubt, but looking at just their time in Premierleague I am struggling to see many arguments in Ronaldo's favour.
That's definitely fair, if you value longevity, consistency, ... then it definitely makes sense to have him outside a top-10 at the moment.
Imo you just can't have both the likes of De Bruyne and Zola in front of him. KDB is based on silverware and being a great player in a great team, fair enough if you think that's more important as well. But how can you explain Zola then? Didn't win a league title, wasn't up there in terms of stats, just a great player and easy on the eye. But if you shift to those criteria (fair enough as well), then Salah trumps KDB again. Can't have it both ways. Guess it just comes down to how you value it - would you pick a Giggs who was great for 20 years or do you pick a Ronaldinho who was great for just a few seasons but reached heights very few players ever reached. In terms of a "greatest PL player" debate, I feel it's a lot of things factoring in: consistency, longevity, stats, trophies, influence on the game and the league, ... If you put all of those together, there are quite a few players ahead of Salah.
Not that I watched a ton of Utd back then or that I remember it well, but I'd say Ronaldo was the second best player in the world for his last four years or so at United. Salah has only reached that peak this season (although you could say Messi and Ronaldo set the bar unreasonably high). Ronaldo also has 3 league titles in which he was very influential. Objectively speaking, the PL never had a better player on its fields than Ronaldo 07-09.
Giggs, Gerrard and Bale too
Better in their prime? No chance. Giggs I'll give you for longevity though.
Bale is an extremely good comparison given their similar positions and Salah has him beat in 4 of 5 seasons compared to Bale's 3 good seasons at Spurs. Salah's numbers are obscene really with him getting 20+ goals every year he's been in the PL. Bale only did that in his last year at Spurs.
It's pretty subjective all told, but for me KDB has been one of the best midfielders in this generation, and Zola's impact was phenomenal, a player who would not look out of place in today's game.KDB and Zola
There are definitely players ahead of Salah no doubt, but it's weird to say he's not close by any metric. The guy is literally ahead of Ronaldo for goals and assists, in less games played.
I wasn't the one who said Salah wasn't close by any metric, I actually think he is close to the top ten, but realistically players who get lumped into these categories are usually players whose impact has resonated beyond the seasons they've played in. Salah hasn't made that influence yet for me.
I agree
3 PL titles in a row. Can’t even say it was an easier league since English football was dominating Europe then as well. And a literal Ballon Dor winner when in our league.
Todays great players aren’t from Liverpool but from City who actually go out and consistently win the league year after year
You are comparing individual players while looking at their team's success.
Surely being the guide to those titles means a lot? People talk about Liverpool and their players like these winning machines but they have won very little in the English game. When you are separating top players at this elite level then being the main man who drives you to those titles should mean a hell of a lot.
I love Zola more than anyone on here but better than Salah? Nah, not really even close.
the 3 league title seasons in a row should help
It's *a* criteria that factors in yeah, but e.g. Salah guided his team to 97 points but there was one team better, can you hold that against his performances that season? Hard to judge.
And it's not like Ronaldo had a bunch of no-names next to him either, that was one of the most dominant PL teams ever. Not that I disagree that he was the best player or anything, but it's not like he was Harry Kane who took an average side to a title or anything like that.
And just for the record I also think Ronaldo is ahead of Salah by a comfortable margin.
Agreed - some people seem to want to downplay his achievements.
Salah is world class and I wish we had him here. Every time you watch him he just looks like he's going to score.
As a goal scorer I think Salah is right up there but I’m seeing a modern take to football that uses actual success as a secondary factor and it annoys me! It’s stats and XG and all this but mention an actual trophy or title and it’s immediately thrown to the wayside
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