I can still well remember getting the call. “They’ve dumped him again”. Why, FFS? “(named individual)’s mammy wasn’t happy with the way he was interacting with her Johnny” (not the other lad’s real name). For the love of Jazus and all that is Holy. These were grown men, who exchanged a few digs during a training match. But the ‘injured party’ had to run home and get mammy involved. The problem was that, at the time, the matriarch had far too much pull in high places than should have been allowed to be the case.
Thus, the ‘offender’ was banished from the ensemble. And this only a week out from the biggest business engagement of the year at that time. Needless to say, yours truly came on swinging. Going on a major offensive. The first step of which was to go to the ‘accused’ and make sure they were open to go back into the trenches – not that there was ever going to be an issue on that front – and then ‘persuade’ those in positions to effect change to go ahead and do so.
History now shows, of course, that everything worked out for the best at that time, but, you’d get hard to picture there being a similar outcome to the sensationalist kerfuffle involving Mo Salah. In short, my read of it is as follows – the player had been off form for some time, was then dropped, as, shocker, tends to be the outcome in these situations, and has thereafter thrown a monstrous tantrum of the “After all I’ve done for you” variety.
The thing is, Mo, me auld flower, no man is an island. Nor does time wait for for any particular one, or woman or child or beast. Fans aren’t idiots either. The Egyptian’s assertion that he had been “Thrown under the bus after all I have done for this club, especially last season” has the unmistakable stench of self serving pomposity off it.
Yes, the forward did indeed have a tremendous campaign last term and was, indisputably the reason his team managed to draw level with Manchester United in terms of league titles won. You won’t need to be Einstein to calculate that – good and all as Jason Mandzoukis’s doppleganger has been, he did not single-handedly beat the other 19 teams in the Premier League. What’s more, that anybody would even intimate that they had done so speaks of nothing but inflated egotism and delusion.
As for Salah saying there’s now no relationship between himself and Arne Slot – Eh, hello – actions and consequences. Now, the following may seem an obscure reference to anybody outside of Ireland but a quick consultation with Dr Google will endorse the similarity. Prior to the commencement of the 1995 Leinster SFC, Sean Boylan omitted Colm O’Rourke from his starting 15 for their opening round encounter against Offaly. For the first time in the 20 year career of the county’s greatest ever forward.
However, the reactions of the two legends in their own right paint a polarising picture of what’s meant by being a team player and putting personal disappointment to one side for the betterment of the common good. So, rather than sulking and feeling put out by being left out, Rourkey came on, scored 1-2, was magnificent for the remainder of the season, should have got an All Star and should in fact have played on in ’96.
You’d get hard to foresee a similarly peaceful, popular outcome to the sour Salah situation. There’s no doubt bridges have been burned and, as Wayne Rooney – surprisingly intelligently – put it, the hitherto fan favourite is actively destroying his own legacy with the Anfield club because of his own self aggrandising petulance. Rooney, you see, would know a thing or two about the dangers of burning bridges. Remember that off-season a fair few moons ago when it appeared all but done that he of hair transplant was going to link up with Mr Mourinho in Stamford Bridge.
Until, we can only assume, the great Scot made the man from Crocksteth see sense. Bridges were bolted back together and – in my view anyway – the striker had his best years at the club thereafter.
There’s certainly no chance of the latter being a factor with Salah. If, as appears highly unlikely, he has a future on Merseyside, the best of him is already long gone.
It seems a horrid shame that all the trophy-laden greatness to which the unsettled forward was so central to will be forgotten due to the the cloud of opprobrium under which he is now likely to leave the club.
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