Mo Salah

Skills said:
That's a very simplistic way of looking at football. The same logic should would lead you to the conclusion that KDB would struggle under Guardiola (a midfielder who hovers under an 80% pass completion). But great managers aren't so rigid and oblivious to the talent of the players they've got.

IIRC Aragones' Spain wasn't a heavy possession team, and Xavi was fantastic in that team. They ended up with less possession than Germany in that final and Xavi made the assist in that final
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KdB is a passing genius, the type of players that work with Pep
KdB struggled under Mourinho for example and was dropped for players like Willian who are obviously weaker technically but probably worked harder in defense. Pep couldnt work with Zlatan and Yaya while I believe they will be perfect for Mourinho, Pep probably will struggle with a talent like Lukaku while Conte would love him
 
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PickledRed said:
There’s a strange inverse logic that somehow uses his incredible stats against him.
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Because these days a lot of people like to use statistics as the be all end all to judge a player. When comparing him to players of the highest level, why would you only use statistics? Its not about using it against him, its just trying to evaluate players fairly based on all aspects. Statistics/Individual & team honours/Ability/Longevity and what have you.

PickledRed said:
As if his proficient output is hiding a secret set of flaws only seen by those with a real understanding of the game.
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I've stated many times that everything I've said is just my opinion from watching him play a lot. At no point was I trying to present anything as fact or pass it off as some sort of ancient philosophical wisdom like you're suggesting. Pointing out flaws in his technical fundamentals and why that might make him less adaptable than others, what's wrong with that?

PickledRed said:
This while some less impactful footballers receive more praise for winning the ‘eye test’
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See this is where it all just comes down to opinions. I've already said how I like to rank players, you might also have your own way. You might weigh stats more than natural ability, or longevity over a higher short peak (maybe Ronaldinho for example). There's no right or wrong way (unless you're only using stats!).

which is unencumbered by the inconvenience of empirical evidence.
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If we're going to need evidence for every world class player that didn't play for a lesser side then we might be here all day. Perhaps these players were so talented that there isn't any plausible reason they'd not be at a top club for the majority of their career?
 
kaiser1 said:
I think Xavi will struggle in a Mourinho team and any team that reject possession and depend on counter attacks. Since you mentioned Stoke, Xavi will struggle in any team that plays like Stoke
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Right one of the greatest ever midfielders would struggle next to Essien and Makelele/Lampard or Cambiasso. In fact he's so unable to adapt he'd somehow manage to struggle playing the role fabregas did so well in 2015-16. Most of those teams did not reject possession in regular games btw. And besides if you have Xavi you use his qualities to increase your chances of winning.
 
Prime Robben was so frightening. Remember watching the 2014 World Cup and Robben was an absolute force of nature. Great player to watch. The best "one trick pony" you'll see.
One of the best divers around too.

kaiser1 said:
KdB is a passing genius, the type of players that work with Pep
KdB struggled under Mourinho for example and was dropped for players like Willian who are obviously weaker technically but probably worked harder in defense. Pep couldnt work with Zlatan and Yaya while I believe they will be perfect for Mourinho, Pep probably will struggle with a talent like Lukaku while Conte would love him
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That wasn't Prime KDB.

Prime KDB would wreck Havoc in a Mourinho team.

KDB picking killer passes on counter attacks for attackers to run onto would be wonderful. Remember how brilliant Ozil was for Mourinho. Plus KDB is a good ball carrier and has great defensive work rate too. Mourinho would love him. He just didn't want to develop players and stuck with the team he already had.

amolbhatia50k said:
Right one of the greatest ever midfielders would struggle next to Essien and Makelele/Lampard or Cambiasso. In fact he's so unable to adapt he'd somehow manage to struggle playing the role fabregas did so well in 2015-16. Most of those teams did not reject possession in regular games btw. And besides if you have Xavi you use his qualities to increase your chances of winning.
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The thing is, to utilize Xavi's qualities to great use you have to gear the entire team towards that possession approach which wouldn't be possible with just Xavi. You would need a suitable team around him for that particular style of play. That philosophy only works with a very specific profile of players like Guardiola would tell you.

Mourinho teams(or even Fergie teams) even in possession were very different to the teams Xavi played for.

giorno said:
If you're coaching a team with Xavi and you have them reject possession and depend on counter attacks you should be sacked and then banned from coming within 100 yards of a football pitch ever again
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Only having Xavi wouldn't make you a possession side though. You need to build the entire team geared around that to apply that philosophy. Otherwise, it'll just be a half baked possession system which will be "neither-here-nor-there".

Devil’s Trident said:
What an incoherent rancid logic is that ? Yikes. Thought you were a Stoke fan for a second after seeing that. Expected better from a fan of a cultured team like Bayern on football. Out of curiosity what team of past or present you think Xavi would struggle in ?
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"Cultured Football" thing is a load of utter BS. There's no one correct or cultured way to play Football.

In modern Football, most teams tend to play in phases anyways. Sometimes the teams get into a low block just to recharge their batteries for an upcoming 10 minute spell of high pressing.

Not every team has City's stacked billion dollar squad.
 
TenonTen said:
Prime Robben was so frightening. Remember watching the 2014 World Cup and Robben was an absolute force of nature. Great player to watch. The best "one trick pony" you'll see.
One of the best divers around too.



That wasn't Prime KDB.

Prime KDB would wreck Havoc in a Mourinho team.

KDB picking killer passes on counter attacks for attackers to run onto would be wonderful. Remember how brilliant Ozil was for Mourinho. Plus KDB is a good ball carrier and has great defensive work rate too. Mourinho would love him. He just didn't want to develop players and stuck with the team he already had.



The thing is, to utilize Xavi's qualities to great use you have to gear the entire team towards that possession approach which wouldn't be possible with just Xavi. You would need a suitable team around him for that particular style of play. That philosophy only works with a very specific profile of players like Guardiola would tell you.

Mourinho teams(or even Fergie teams) even in possession were very different to the teams Xavi played for.
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Why? Fabregas starred for Chelsea's title win and Scholes dominated English football. What do you see do lacking in Xavi's qualities that makes him such a one note footballer?
 
The whole Rijkaard argument is a weird one. The Xavi Rijkaard inherited was a player no longer a youngster who had failed to develop on his obvious potential in a dysfunctional team.

It was under Rijkaard he became world class. So of course he was a great fit for what Rijkaard was doing, once he grew into the player we are actually talking about. A young undeveloped xavi would probably not fit into every side. Jeez.
 
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B20 said:
The whole Rijkaard argument is a weird one. The Xavi Rijkaard inherited was a player no longer a youngster who had failed to develop on his obvious potential in a dysfunctional team.

It was under Rijkaard he became world class. So of course he was a great fit for what Rijkaard was doing, once he grew into the player we are actually talking about. A young undeveloped xavi would probably not fit into every side. Jeez.
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Scholes didn't shine for England so apparently only a SAF player.
 
B20 said:
The whole Rijkaard argument is a weird one. The Xavi Rijkaard inherited was a player no longer a youngster who had failed to develop on his obvious potential in a dysfunctional team.

It was under Rijkaard he became world class. So of course he was a great fit for what Rijkaard was doing, once he grew into the player we are actually talking about. A young undeveloped xavi would probably not fit into every side. Jeez.
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Hilarious to hear when Xavi was one of the best Barcelona players under Rijkaard until his injury :lol: :annoyed:
 
Barcelona midfielder Xavi launched a stinging attack on former-manager Frank Rijkaard on Friday, stating that he felt like a "cancer" for the club during the Dutch manager's five-year reign.
Xavi, 32, is widely regarded as one of the world's best midfield operators, but felt as though Rijkaard did not value his talents due to his diminutive stature.
"Rijkaard did not believe in me. He wanted our game to be based on a superior physical level. He believed that it was the only way to be at the same level as the top clubs in Europe," Xavi told French newspaper L'Equipe.
"Four or five years ago, I was [deemed] terrible and useless. I was Barca's cancer! A player 1,70m tall was simply impossible."

https://www.espn.com/soccer/news/story/_/id/1051576/xavi:-frank-rijkaard-made-me-barca's-
 
B20 said:
The whole Rijkaard argument is a weird one. The Xavi Rijkaard inherited was a player no longer a youngster who had failed to develop on his obvious potential in a dysfunctional team.

It was under Rijkaard he became world class. So of course he was a great fit for what Rijkaard was doing, once he grew into the player we are actually talking about. A young undeveloped xavi would probably not fit into every side. Jeez.
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Did you intend to write Guardiola instead of Rijkaard
 
Didn’t look too happy to be taken off by Klopp there. 79th Minute.
 
Klopper76 said:
Deserved to be taken off. He was trying to do it all himself in the second half.
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Jota wasn’t a bad replacement to bring on.
All in all, lucky enough to get the 3 points today.
 
Mohamed Salah’s agent appeared to be mocking Jurgen Klopp’s claims that Liverpool are doing everything they can to retain control of the Egyptian player.

 
Sadly I think they're doing the right thing. He's in his prime but there's every reason to think he'll drop off a bit over the next few years, as many strikers on the wrong side of 30 do.

At that point a megabucks contract won't be great value from the club's financial perspective.

He's there until 2023 so at the very worst they'll get another year out of him.
 
We should offer him 300-400k a week for fun, so Liverpool need to match it.
 
We should buy Salah for £100M, see his form immediately drop off a cliff, which then funds Liverpool's purchase of 5 players for £20M each, who then become world class their respective positions.

This sets Liverpool up for a decade of dominance, including 3 consecutive trebles (a treble of trebles).
 
Game of Chicken, he’ll agree an extra 50k a week and everyone will smile for the photo..
 
Would he go to PSG, or will he choose Barcelona? Because honestly those are the only two options I can see in Europe

Hopefully Liverpool manage to keep him
 
Fridge chutney said:
We should buy Salah for £100M, see his form immediately drop off a cliff, which then funds Liverpool's purchase of 5 players for £20M each, who then become world class their respective positions.

This sets Liverpool up for a decade of dominance, including 3 consecutive trebles (a treble of trebles).
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That would be so us.
Not suspicious that a rival would suddenly sell one of their top players, and we'd bundle in with a 6 year deal on 500k a week.

If we were in their position we'd have already given him such a contract without a thought.
 
I think we might let him go in the summer. If he's not going to sign a contract we can't let him go for free in 2023.
 
Liverpool are better at replacing their star than us. Torres replaced by Suarez replaced by Salah. We replaced Ronaldo with Michael Owen, Alexis Sanchez and eventually a 37 year old Ronaldo
 
Flexdegea said:
Salah is easily the worse best player in the world I can remember
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It's only English based pundits are saying he's the best in the world especially carragher.

I'd have agreed on the 1st of January. But since he left to go to afcon, he hasn't shown the same level both in tournament and since he's came back.
 
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