Gary Neville was right to say Arne Slot will not welcome Mohamed Salah’s post-Villa outburst, but his defence of the Liverpool forward is a bit too kind.
Reacting to the Egyptian’s recent post on Sky Sports, Neville said: “It’s not great. If he was a Manchester United player, I’d be fuming. But what you can never do with this kind of player, with this kind of stature and personality, is keep them quiet.
“If they’ve got something to say, they’re going to say it. And they’re going to say it at the point where you don’t want to hear it.
“That was a telling comment. Arne Slot will not welcome it whatsoever. But he will just want to get to the end of the season, get out of there, get everyone out of there that’s not going to be there next season, and try and build.”
What did you make of Salah’s explosive statement before his last game for the club?
This sounds like it was aimed at Slot…
Mohamed Salah has done irreversible damage to Liverpool dressing room
Salah’s points were fair. Liverpool standards have collapsed and supporters have every right to question where the club is heading under Slot. But the timing of the message was wrong — so was the source of it.
One of the most influential players in the dressing room choosing to go public with criticism one week before the end of the season can only serve to worsen the current climate at Anfield.
If Salah is genuinely concerned with Liverpool’s immediate and long-term future, this was not the way to help.
Neville’s assessment almost gives him an excuse because of who he is. The argument is that players of Salah’s stature speak when they want to speak, and clubs just have to deal with it. But a player of Salah’s stature should be held to a higher standard, not a lower one.
He knows the weight his words carry. He knows how supporters will react. He knows what it does to a manager who is already under pressure.
Neville also suggested Slot will want to get to the end of the season, move on the players who will not be there next year and rebuild. That makes it sound far too simple.
ESPN reported that Dominik Szoboszlai, Florian Wirtz, Ibrahima Konate, Andy Robertson, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong, Cody Gakpo, Curtis Jones, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch have all liked Salah’s post.
That does not automatically mean they agree with every word of the Slot criticism. Social media activity can be read too deeply.
But it certainly does not convey confidence. It does not suggest a happy dressing room rallying behind the manager.
How concerned are you that we might throw this away?
We need a favour from City against Bournemouth…
There are also personal consequences for the Egyptian. Slot may not play Salah in what should have been an amicable end to his legendary Liverpool career. Whatever happens on the pitch, the inevitable frostiness in the stands only serves to distract from his own farewell.
The discontent was probably already festering, but Salah was the wrong person to make it public, and he chose the wrong time to do it.
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