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The 2025-2026 Football Thread
- Thread starter Scepticalscribe
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possible but the BBC likes to lie, they reported and promised Villa E Martinez to ManU on deadline day.
which was the last day I visited their website.
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The facts, Mo Salah is flying out to the Africa Cup of Nations on the 14th December. Liverpool have a champions league game, and a home Premier League game between now and then. The earliest he could be released is the 4th January 2026, the latest the 18th January 2026.
The English Premier League will open the transfer window on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026 and close Feb. 2, 2026. Last year, Saudi League clubs were sniffing around. if Liverpool don't want him, and chose not to off load him this season, he will become a free agent at the end of 2026/27 with Liverpool getting nothing.
Intrigue.
An extraordinary whinge from Salah. I can succinctly express my opinion by quoting the man himself to say “I’m very, very disappointed…”
It’s tough when you are only on £300k a week. Poor lad.
On the contrary, I think it is most likely a knee-jerk emotional reaction to being benched. Possibly abetted by his agent/entourage.
Anyone can suffer a lapse in form, and Salah went from being Liverpools most effective and reliable attacker to the least effective. I thought Gakpo was playing better than him the last few matches they played together and Slot was right to bench him, but it’s very unprofessional of him to go running to the press. Let’s hope they get a decent transfer fee for him.
I dunno talking about goodbyes and bringing family to games. I would be shocked if he wears a liverpool shirt after 31st of January.
Especially after throwing jabs at the team and manager
If it is a premeditated thing, it’s rather shabbily executed.
He’s made an obnoxious amount of money and helped land trophies to boot. The club has gotten value from him and the fans have their memories. It would be a shame if things ended on a sour note, but I don’t think anyone owes anyone anything at this point. 🤷♂️
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The apparent comment that he's 'earn't his place', irks me.
Just to throw my tuppence in. I think it’s an unfortunate knee jerk reaction. Sure, you’re p’d off, sure you think a move to Saudi in Jan may well be on the cards and you feel betrayed by Slot. However doing this in such a public manner means even for Salah who we adore, the fans will think less of him. Tantrums don’t go down well at Anfield. He may very well have cost us money as well as teams will see a want away player. Someone as irked as me would deny him an Anfield goodbye and not even have him on the bench or in the crowd for the next matches but that’s just me.
Couldn’t really understand why VAR allowed Brighton’s equaliser to stand. First a high kick practically kicks our player in the head, then ball to hand lead to the goal. Normally that would not stand on either count.
Just shows how flawed VAR is.
Just shows how flawed VAR is.
He tried to hedge it, essentially saying that nobody is bigger than the club - but he should be un-droppable. If he ends up walking over this it says more about his attitude than anything else, assuming there isn't some behind-the-scenes nonsense we don't know about that gives him a valid grievance. But in any case it's a maladroit tantrum that doesn't do anybody any good.
This is why, when you are having a big emotional reaction to anything in life, you should NEVER post about it on social media. Go vent at a friend, yell in an empty room, exercise, drink, get into your hobby, whatever. Just don't post. When will humanity learn?
This is actually a perfect example of why I wasn't excited about VAR. It was sold as being a different paradigm from human refereeing - a triumph of technological precision over human subjectivity. But at the end of the day it's a ref looking at a screen. It's still subjective. It's still human reffing, with technological window-dressing - subject to variation, imperfection, and error. And I'm completely OK with that, but it's not what the VAR-pushers promised. They were deluded and oversimplifying both the 'problem' and 'solution.'
Without VAR, we used to just complain about refs. With VAR, we are left bewildered at decisions that involve some murky combination of technology and human reffing. Better?
I may sound somewhat old-fashioned, but I am of the opinion that such an outburst does not cover Salah in glory; virtues such as respect, restraint, loyalty, and simple courtesy seem to be in rather short supply.
While Liverpool may have "thrown (Salah) under the bus", as the player argues, (in an entitled and petulant outburst), nevertheless, such an intemperate display reflects ill on Salah, and calls into question his loyalty to and respect for the club, the manager, and the team.
For, one must concede, that Salah's performances on the pitch this season do not merit inclusion on the team; put bluntly, his form has been poor.
Moreover, rather than addressing such matters behind closed doors, and by bringing his frustrated discontent into the public space, Salah is openly challenging the authority (and position) of the manager which is both arrogant and unacceptable, not to mention downright irresponsible at a time when Liverpool are struggling.
Re Salah, I think his attitude is terrible. Every player must realise they can have no right to play. Look at the difference with KDB. One of the most gifted players to grace the Premier League. As his time at City was coming to an end and his minutes played reduced, to he whine? Did he complain? Did he air his grievances in public? No. He just accepted things as they were and saw out his time.
Most players do. Salah has always been a bit of a diva (this is a pretty common trait amongst elite forwards). It's been kept under control because he's been a marquee player for years at a successful club with an especially charismatic manager. Now that things are a little bumpy he wants out. As a fan I don't have that luxury so I'm not sympathetic.
I guess we can't all be James Milner.
Ah.
I hadn't known that Salah was a bit of a diva.
My sympathy - already exceedingly limited - is further eroding.
Fame and fortune can have a corrupting influence. I think it's become more pronounced over the years as he's broken records, won titles, gotten huge raises and been the subject of almost unquestioned adulation from both Egypt and Liverpool fans. At this stage in his career he may not be prepared to roll his sleeves up and suffer through a messy transitionary period when he can instead move to Saudi Arabia and take a huge payout to participate in a live-action football-like diorama.
I’d quite enjoy watching the Inter Milan v Liverpool game this evening, but unfortunately I don’t have access to the broadcast. Sigh. Tv should be free…
I suspect Liverpool will struggle, and the broadcast team will be constantly filling in with Salah Strop talk. I have a busy work day anyway so I’ll give it a miss. Maybe Chiesa will pop up with a late equalizer or something.
Actually, Liverpool win in a very Italian way - a late penalty after a shirt-pull on Wirtz. No goals from open play, but an away win in Europe and no goals conceded - I'll take it.
