The Egyptian superstar could benefit from a long break and Liverpool performed well without him against West Ham, but Arne Slott still faces a very difficult decision
When I spoke with Emil Heskey the other day, he was explaining how older professional players know when the times are catching up with them. It was very fascinating.
You don’t feel much of a change and you still feel like you can run through a brick wall, but you start noticing little things. He is stretching for the ball, which he can normally control quickly with his feet. You will reach the position microseconds later than you have in your previous career. And at first only the player knows what is happening. The times are catching up.
Mo Salah has had an indifferent start to this Premier League and Champions League campaign by his standards. But no reasonable observer can yet suggest that it is some kind of irreversible decline. He will come back with a bang.
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But manager John Aldridge is right when he says Salah should not return for Wednesday night’s game against Sunderland at Anfield.
“Even if you’re Pele, Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, if you’re not playing well… sometimes you have to step down,” Aldridge said. “That’s why I’d like to see Salah stay on the bench against Sunderland and think that when he plays again he’ll be fired up to prove Arne Slott wrong.”
Putting aside the idea that Salah has something to prove to someone, it’s completely understandable that Aldridge is hoping the Egyptian won’t be the next starter in the slot. But if the Liverpool manager were to go down that path, it would be for two reasons.
One is that the Liverpool team he sent to West Ham was balanced and performed well. And secondly, whether he likes it or not, Salah will definitely need some control over his game time.
Surely he won’t like it. But after a massive 16-year professional career and around 800 appearances for club and country, even the surprisingly sturdy and durable Salah cannot continue to show his best form and athleticism every three or four days of a nine-month club season.
And perhaps a longer rest period will be needed instead of a one-game break, especially considering his continued contribution to his country. Aldridge added: “We are confident he will be able to perform in the upcoming games before we head to the African Cup of Nations.”
Probably will. However, the longer battery charge period may not be a bad thing for Salah.
This will be a management challenge for slots, no doubt. He may think his best bet is to give Salah a well-deserved break, let him enjoy his time at AFCON, and come back rejuvenated for the second half of the season.
But he will be lucky to convince Salah to sign a new two-year contract to sit on the bench for the Premier League home game against Sunderland. Yes, Aldridge is right.
Keeping Salah as a substitute is the right thing for the Liverpool manager to do at the moment. But when it comes to slots, it’s easier said than done, all things considered.
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