Ran the game with 33 accurate passes in 90 minutes? I didn't watch the match, but how does that add up? I've watched a fair amount of Liverpool games this season, and I think he started off brilliantly but did a bit worse in the following games. Not bad, of course, but nothing about him really screams elite or someone you can't improve on.
Mo Salah
- Thread starter Robbie Boy
- Start date
They should buy Antony just to show the world that Arne is the superior bald guy.
The level he showed in the first part of this season for a 22 year does kind of scream potentially elite to me.
He's comfortably in the top five PL players in terms of overall contribution. Just been consistently excellent for so long now.
If he played for us we would be arguing he's the greatest premier league player of all time
If that's true, then the EPL has got an extremely bargain basement version
Anybody would be a bargain basement version compared to Messi, La Liga doesn’t have any type of version of Messi either
Him, hazard and KDB are the quintessential pl players of the last 10 years and probably what most will people remember, the first two more so than the latter.
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I very much doubt that, although that's more of a reflection on how Many United fans feel about their own players.
I'd agree with that. As a "foreigner, for me, the five outstanding players I saw in the EPL are Cristiano, Henry, Hazard, de Bruyne and Salah. In another era, I guess the latter three would have had a frw Ballon D'Ors between them as well.
I think he can be a very good midfielder, like Mac Allister, but don't think he will end up as one of the very best. 22 isn't very young either imo. Mainoo showed more last season at 18, but has stagnated this season.
If Gravenberch does end up as an elite midfielder, he won't be at Liverpool for very long.
I think there's quite a few players in world football over the past 15 years that have been better than Mo Salah and closer to Messi than he is, to be quite honest. But Salah, though I personally find him pretty uninspiring, has to go down as one of the most effective players in PL history. His numbers in that context can't be argued with.
Last 15 years ? I would say only Neymar and Ronaldo, I think Robben and Ribery are arguable and that’s all I can think of, maybe Hazard and Mbappe also.
What you’ll be looking for is someone who’s a dual attacking threat, not many are elite goal scorers + elite final third playmakers also. Why Neymar and Messi were anomalies was because they combined that with actual playmaking also, dropping deep and facilitating play also, averaging a higher amount of passes.
Hazard was similar but just misses the goal scoring threat, if he had that he would be right up there with Neymar, at times regardless of that he still was.
Mo Salah is not an elite final third playmaker.
He is and the stats and eye test prove it. For the last 5-6 year he’s consistently been up there with KDB for big chances created, chances created, most often than not up there with amount of assists, and won the playmaking award for most assists in 21/22.
As a wide forward you won’t find even a handful currently with a better final pass, outside of the foot, in swinging crosses, through balls he has the full reportoire.
What he isn’t is a world class playmaker overall, that’s where you get the likes of Odegaard and co who would create less chances than Salah but piece the play together far better in all phases. Messi was this, Neymar was this and Hazard too.
Salah isnt that, but In the final third, and emphasis on final third, he is an elite chance creator and passer and pretty much builds good relationships with any forward you pair him with because of this.
They have a big job replacing him. He's very important to them and there's no like for like replacement for him out there. Sick of him scoring important goals for them, especially in the big games.
His big goals against the very best opposition in the PL and in the CL indicate his greatness as a winger. Not being inspired by him is a personal preference I guess but his value to modern day Liverpool has been immense. In the conversation for being one of the club’s best ever players.
He is not. A playmaker (final third or otherwise) is a very specific thing. I'm sure Suarez ranks high in all those categories you named (not just in his time in the PL, but overall) and he is not an elite final third playmaker either. Salah is a wide forward and he plays close to the goal, so he is going to create chances (usually by crossing the ball) and get assists. That is not what a playmaker is.
I'm not sure that you know what a playmaker is
Actually, I do. Maybe you don't?
A playmaker controls the progression of his team's attacking play, usually through passing and 'string-pulling' actions that lead directly or indirectly to goals. They can accelerate or slow down the team's play based on their assessment of what's needed re the game's tempo (from the 8) or hurt the opposition with incisive passing in advanced positions (from the 10, but clearly playmaker 8s can do this as well) Typically, they're players with notable vision, skill, ball mastery and passing ability (they 'see pictures', as the saying goes).
That does not describe Mo Salah. Mo Salah is a top goalscorer, one of the best in PL history. He is also a creative player, not denied. He is not a elite level playmaker, or whatever that poster called him.
Preoccupying yourself with nomenclature and things Salah doesn’t get involved in regularly isn’t evidence that he’s not a monster of attacking play who scores, assists and bullies. He’s brilliant and has been since his debut season at Liverpool.
I think nobody denied that. All that means that he is a brilliant forward, but I agree with @Kwabs that he isn't a playmaker. Nd he doesn't have to be, he is just a different kind of player.
Yes, thank you.