The Future Is Today
A particularly arresting moment in the second part of Jeff Goulding’s Red Odyssey has stuck with me ever since I first read it some five years ago. Goulding describes the aftermath of our infamous loss to Crystal Palace in Jurgen Klopp’s first season in charge. Having gone to the pub afterward, the inevitable topic of conversation was the Kop’s embarrassing lack of fight. Goulding was told, “It’s up to the players to give the fans something to shout about.” He responded “So are we mere spectators or supporters? Fans or customers?” The modern sporting environment has caused those categories to collapse into each other. Today, sporting itself has collapsed into the amorphous blob of “content creation”. But part of supporting Liverpool is aspiring to a higher ideal. It is important to have a deeper relationship with the club than merely consuming the product. Goulding expresses that notion simply, but beautifully.
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Why Tomorrow When Today’s Right Here?
It is this dichotomy, between fans and customers, that is at the forefront of my mind when observing the contract saga. The ambiguous nature of the futures of Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander Arnold, and Mohamed Salah has cast something of a shadow over what appears to be our best shot at a Premier League title since 2020. Plenty of commentators on the state of Liverpool FC have urged fans to simply stop talking about it. It’s a stale topic. It’s pointless speculation. Moreover, it’s a problem for tomorrow.
Today, we should simply be focused on today’s Liverpool. The club is highly competitive in multiple competitions and delivers entertaining, romantic soccer every week. Arne Slot is demonstrating perhaps the best start in the history of the club. Paul Tomkins, who has (rightly, in my view) been called the best writer on the subject of Liverpool FC. He has been particularly insistent on this point. His regular column The Tomkin Times has lately been overwhelmed by bitterness that the contract saga constantly rears its head to rain on the parade of a truly remarkable season. Tomkins asks rhetorically “We wouldn’t be so stupid as to be distracted by sideshows, right?” He poignantly follows that up with, “Because we’re here for the football, right?”
Step Right Up
With all due respect to Tomkins, I simply cannot abide the notion that the contract saga is a sideshow. For one thing, it is not even necessarily true that this is a problem for tomorrow’s Liverpool. The notoriously shy Mohamed Salah seeking out the press to speak his mind is a clear enough indication that this is a NOW problem. History is replete with examples of locker room dissatisfaction being disastrous to promising seasons. Salah’s comments and the eagerness with which he shared them is a sure enough sign that there is discontent among the Red Men.
More to the point, what Salah said is shocking in and of itself. Mohamed Salah’s contract ends this season, after which he will leave the club on a free transfer. Despite this, we’re almost halfway through the season without FSG having made any overtures towards Mo. A player who has consistently been one of the top performers in an already-historic season, and who seems well on his way to being one of the club’s all-time greats is in the dark.
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Even if there is no intent to keep him, even if, as Tomkins suggests, Salah is a player on the decline who is merely enjoying an “Indian Summer”, the refusal to offer any clarity on his future with the club is nothing short of mismanagement. It is not only immensely disrespectful to a player who has demonstrated a clear passion and willingness to play for Liverpool but is also negligent management of the club’s resources.
