Wakeup Scream

When I wrote my last column (Joe Schmalah) I was, perhaps, a little out there, but there was a story and it had to be told. On today’s evidence, I might have been overly cautious. So let me repeat the words I had posted:

Mo Salah is shit.

And it’s the kind of shit that is costing us results in a big way.

Look, there is no denying that Mo is a fabulous footballer, but whatever rut he’s in, he’s dragging the entire team into the ditch with him. Surely, surely Arne Slot sees this too. Yes, it’s hard to bench a player like Mo, but we’re no longer getting lucky in the final outcomes, and I really can’t think back to the last time we lost four in a row.

You can complain about the rest of the squad all day long. How Kerkez is a shadow of his former self from last season. How Wirtz has yet to show the magic that makes him one of the most exciting midfield creative talents in the world. How Isak isn’t quite up to speed yet (although I’d argue that he is being starved for opportunities, and much of that is because of Salah’s wastefulness.) How Macca hasn’t shown up to the season quite yet, which is one of the biggest reasons why our defense looks so leaky. How Gakpo can be maddeningly threatening yet shockingly unhelpful on the wing opposite Salah, seemingly desiring to become the new Nunez.

But Salah tops all of these ills by a pretty clear margin. He ruins so many attacks that his presence is a net negative. And he no longer tracks back, which he used to do a lot and helped the team win many balls on transition. This is intentional, as per Slot, but it’s hurting the team a fair amount.

And all this when we have such a wealth of options, including a resurgent Chiesa, with another assist today off a lovely combo with Wirtz, and Hugo Ekitike, who is a massive threat to any opposition and should be playing alongside Isak.

I’m thankfully not in Slot’s seat, but as the game wound down, I found myself hoping we would lose. Because losing to Manchester United at Anfield might just be the kind of shock that is needed to wake everybody up. I sure hope it ends up being that, because we’re still early in the season, and with the right changes, Liverpool has all the talent and potential to come roaring back into all races.

Start by benching Mo for a game or two.

Oh yes, there was a game today. We lost. To a frankly shit United team. At home. From a Harry header off a brilliant Bruno assist, giving Amorim his first ever back to back Premier League victories.

Really, it can’t get any worse. To make doubly sure we all take it on the chin, let’s all enjoy Maguire’s proud moment as the image for this column.

And then let’s see something new, please.

Because this isn’t working.