The announcement by Mo Salah that he would leave Liverpool after this season came as no surprise, despite him signing a new £400k a week contract last season. Mo has been unsettled for several months, and when in Egypt in January I was informed that he told close family members that he might leave Liverpool at the end of the season.
Mo has scored 255 goals for the club since joining in 2017 and sits third in Liverpool’s all-time list of scorers behind only Ian Rush and Roger Hunt. However, after scoring 29 goals and making 18 assists last year, he has managed only five goals and six assists this season. His downturn can partly be attributed to Trent Alexander-Arnold leaving, as the two worked brilliantly together, with Trent setting up Mo to make runs along the right wing, cutting inside, and taking his almost customary shot at goal. At the same time, he was allowed to roam inside and became the ultimate goal poacher, taking opportunities that marked him out as a very special player. When Trent left the club for Real Madrid, Mo’s service almost dried up, with either Joe Gomez or Conor Bradley following Arne Slot’s new strategies. Suddenly, Mo felt isolated out on the wing, having been restricted by the arrival of Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike, who commanded the penalty area. Even with Isak’s injury Mo was forced to stay further out than he preferred. Previously, he felt more comfortable working with Darwin Nunez, now playing in the Saudi Pro League and Luis Diaz, who moved to Bayern Munich. The death of Diogo Jota also hit Mo hard as it did the entire Liverpool team and supporters.
A public fallout with Arne Slot after being left out of three consecutive matches caused Mo to issue an emotional statement that he felt he had “been thrown under the bus…someone does not want me in the club”. Would a January exit happen? In the event Mo stayed and the cracks of his relationship with Slot were papered over, but at that time, the incredibly talented winger decided to move on, although he carried on playing when called upon.
As things stand it will be a difficult time for Mo because his beloved wife Magi and his daughters Makka and Kayan have grown up in the north east, and Makka thinks of herself as a Liverpudlian.
Where will Mo go next in the final stages of his stellar career? Liverpool are allowing him to leave as a free agent. At the moment no decisions have been made according to his agent Ramy Abbas Issa but his huge salary will probably only be afforded by the Saudi Pro League unless he takes a dramatic pay cut. He already has a connection to Al Ittihad, but Al Hilal and the American Major Soccer League will all probably be involved.
Guardiola still believes City can overtake Arsenal
Following Manchester City’s Carabao Cup win over Arsenal, Pep Guardiola says he “can smell how his team can flourish in their title bid.”
There is no question that City were the better team and deserved to win the cup and this has given Guardiola and his players renewed hope and determination and he said after the game, “When a group of players win and win, it makes them think, ‘OK, we can still do it.”
Guardiola was delighted to prove his critics wrong when they said his team had run out of steam this season. He said, “No one would have bet on the victory in the Cup and I am delighted.”
And for those who still think Pep will leave City at the end of the season, he was given a yellow card for over-celebrating when he ran 30 yards down the touchline and kicked an advertising hoarding as Nico O’Reilly scored City’s first goal! Guardiola hit back for the yellow, saying, “I’m a human being with emotions and if I want to celebrate, I should express it.”
Arsenal are still favourites to win the title, providing they do not collapse again this year as they did last season but Mikel Arteta is determined that won’t happen. Time after time in analysis briefings at the training ground, he spends time on building the players’ mental strengths. They are still nine points ahead of City but the Light Blues have a game in hand, and all eyes will be on April 19th when the Gunners have to visit the Etihad Stadium, a match which will be crucial for both teams.
**Arsenal expect to have their captain, Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber back for their next game against Southampton in the FA Cup on Saturday, 4th April. Eberechi Eze is doubtful after sustaining a thigh injury.
Has Slot’s masterplan failed?
After a second half to forget when Liverpool almost went missing and allowed Brighton to take three points in a 2-1 win, many are questioning Arne Slot’s training methods.
Liverpool have come second best in all but four games this season for covering the most ground during matches. They simply do not chase the ball, run into positions or rush back to defend when opponents attack their goal.
Brighton v Liverpool was a typical example last weekend, when Fabian Hurzeler’s team covered 116km against Liverpool’s 108km. Brighton fielded a 40 year-old James Milner, a 34-year-old defender Lewis Dunk and a 35-year-old striker Danny Welbeck, who scored both of Brighton’s goals. Liverpool should have outpaced and outfought them, but they didn’t.
When Brighton had the ball, they were rarely pressed, and when Liverpool advanced towards goal, there was a lack of players keeping up with the play. Brighton were hungrier, fitter and more determined. The great mantra of Liverpool “Intensity is our identity”, has now been abandoned and indeed, in the press room after the match, it was Brighton coach Hurzeler who spoke those words to praise his team.
During games this season, Liverpool have been outrun by an average of 3.3km which points to a lack of energy or motivation.
Arne Slot was appointed to carry on the best of Jurgen Klopp’s work whilst promoting a more efficient, controlled way of playing, which conserved players’ energy. Slot’s training sessions are lighter and less demanding than Jurgen Klopp’s who worked his players hard. It was successful last season, and they won the title but this season it has all gone wrong. The less the players did in training the fresher they would be for a game, argued Slot and the club hierarchy and supporters went along with his strategy. Of course, two of their key players Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah, are on the wrong side of 30 and not able to perform at their previous world-class levels. But it is Arne Slot’s methods which are being questioned now, and by the same people who once had complete faith in him. There is much talk of him leaving, possibly before the end of the season.
Extra training at Chelsea and their pre-World Cup squad
When asked about rumours linking him to Real Madrid, Enzo Fernandez’s reply only served to strengthen those who believe he could leave at the end of the season.
The Chelsea vice-captain commented, “I don’t know, there are eight games left and the FA Cup. Then there is the World Cup, and I will make my decision then.”
Paris Saint-Germain have shown interest in signing Enzo, but he said that no talks have yet taken place between the club and his agents.
Chelsea interim boss Liam Rosenior said, “He’s one of the captains of the club. What I would say is that he made it really, really clear to me how happy he is here at this club, how much he wants to win, how passionate he is for us to be successful. And he also said that in translation and in emotion, things get misconstrued. So for me, he’s fully committed to this group, he’s fully committed here at Stamford Bridge.”
Chelsea fans reacted angrily when Rosenior substituted Fernandez during the Champions League defeat to PSG.
***Eight Chelsea players who have struggled to make the starting line-up in Liam Rosenior’s team sheet have the opportunity to impress the coach over the international break period when he personally takes extra training.
Players who are fit and playing regularly have been given time off. 11 Chelsea first team players have been selected for their international squads, but the Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel intends to split his England squad into sections, giving players the chance for a rest. Cole Palmer will join Phil Foden for the first part of the England camp. Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers will be in the second.
Chelsea will lose Malo Gusto to France, Andrey Santos and Joao Pedro will join Brazil’s squad, Marc Cucurella will play with Spain, Jorrel Hato travels to the Netherlands, Enzo Fernandez to Argentina, Moises Caicedo has been called up for Ecuador and Pedro Neto has earned a place with Portugal.
Mbeumo and Sesko withdraw from internationals
Manchester United forwards Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko withdrew from international duties this weekend due to their fitness worries.
Mbeumo was substituted in United’s 2-2 draw at Bournemouth, and he told the Cameroon squad that he was withdrawing as a precaution. He would have faced Australia and China.
Sesko has been suffering from a fitness problem in recent weeks, and Michael Carrick left him on the bench against Aston Villa. He misses Slovenia’s games against Hungary and Montenegro to aid his recovery.
United next meet Leeds in the Premier League on Monday, April 13th, and both players hope to be available.
United make formal protest
The crowd was stunned, Michael Carrick was stunned and my colleagues were also stunned as we watched on as Manchester United were denied a second penalty after Amad Diallo was wrestled to the ground with no attempt to play the ball.
Referee Stuart Atwell was only yards away, and he waved play on and Bournemouth broke away and later scored with many United players still protesting to the referee.
Michael Carrick was very angry and more so after Harry Maguire was sent off for what seemed a very light foul on Evanilson. The general opinion is that Harry’s foul was similar to Bournemouth’s Adrien Truffert on Diallo earlier, and that went unpunished. The United executives are fully supporting their manager and Maguire, and a representation has been made to PGMO (Professional Game Match Officials) boss Howard Webb. They believe that once again VAR has failed to make the correct decision. The draw meant that United remain only a point above Aston Villa, whereas a win would have given them a realistic chance of overhauling Manchester City, although they are well behind in goal difference.
Tottenham have seven games to save themselves
Tottenham crashing 3-0 to relegation rivals Nottingham Forest was the Arsenal supporters’ only reason to cheer last Sunday after losing 2-0 to Manchester City in the EFL Carabao Cup. Tottenham sit only one point ahead of West Ham with Wolves and Burnley unlikely to avoid the drop down to the Championship.
If Tottenham do go down it will cost the club at least £250million and most of their top players will be looking to leave. Employing an elite manager, if Spurs are playing in the lower division, will prove to be challenging.
The international break will give Tottenham some breathing space to reorganise but it also gives the club a chance to replace Igor Tudor, who was brought in to save the club after Thomas Frank’s sacking, but has failed to improve the squad performances. Roberto De Zerbi has been offered the chance to manage the club permanently, but he insisted he would only agree if Tottenham are not relegated. The club have responded by asking if he would take over now with a clause in his contract that allows him to leave if Tottenham do go down.
Manchester City are the only club in the big six to have been relegated in the Premier League era and that was before their mega-rich owners arrived, invested a fortune and turned the club into a global success.
Tottenham have seven matches left to save themselves, and there are some tough fixtures to face. Home matches are Brighton, Leeds and Everton, and Spur’s fans will see these as winnable. Away matches are more difficult as they meet Sunderland, Wolves, Aston Villa and Chelsea.
The relegation battle could go right up until the final day on May 24th, with West Ham, Tottenham and Nottingham Forest all battling to avoid the dreaded drop.
Tottenham take on Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on April 12th.
Fans turn on Newcastle boss
Newcastle coach Eddie Howe is under intense pressure following their 2-1 loss to fierce rivals Sunderland. As he, along with his team, circled St James’ Park for their usual lap to thank the crowd for their support, he was met with furious arm waving, shouted insults and jeering. It was astonishing to witness a man, who at 48, was the subject of such abuse, especially as most of the fans had showered love and affection on him earlier in the season when Newcastle were winning more often than losing or drawing.
“You never want to go through that, but I understand the reaction of the fans,” he said after entering the tunnel en route to the dressing room. Recognising that the rest of the season will be a difficult period, he added, “My first thought as the leader of everything is to front it up and absorb the blame…but I am fully committed to the job. I am disappointed in my delivery today. It is going to be a tough, painful few days for me. I will protect my players to the last breath.”
You will never have seen two teams with fans so dedicated to hating each other that they hurled abuse inside the stadium, and they even fought in the streets outside.
It is possibly the fiercest rival in sport as the two towns, Newcastle and Sunderland are only 13 miles apart, and once again the Black Cats were victorious against the Magpies, and that is something it will take a long time for the Newcastle fans to forgive Eddie Howe.
Good news at last for Tottenham supporters
Tottenham Hotspur supporters have had little to feel happy about this season with the club battling against relegation. Now I can give you some good news to cheer you up and hopefully help Spurs in their fight.
It was a joy to see James Maddison walking around; the midfield playmaker and brilliant assist master has been out since August with a cruciate ligament injury. This week he has been playing carefully and gently with the ball and trying out some sprints. Interim coach Igor Tudor said, “We hope our medical team will give us some nice surprises in the next few weeks, which would be very important to us.”
Good news also for Rodrigo Bentancur, who is progressing well from his hamstring injury and also Mohammed Kudus, with the same problem, both sustained in January.
If Tottenham can field all three for the final games of the season, they have every chance of avoiding the dreaded drop down to the Championship.