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Once widely beloved and hailed as the promising candidate to usher in a new era, he now stands as public enemy number one, with trust in him eroding week by week. This describes Arne Slot’s Liverpool.
That being said, there are indeed striking similarities between past and present situations. Slot watches as a "red wall" crumbles before his eyes—more and more dissenters sing out against him in the KOP stands, and those traditional, loyal supporters are turning their backs. Many have had enough and demand change, as there is no sign of improvement in the team’s fortunes anytime soon.
Though Salah has no aspirations for the manager’s position, the Egyptian star’s Instagram post over the weekend was effectively a vote of no confidence in the isolated head coach, and this was far from the first time.
Right or wrong, Salah clearly deemed that post necessary, and it was no impulsive upload. A month earlier, an Egyptian source who was well-informed during Salah’s lengthy contract dispute last year told the Daily Mail: “Wait and see what he says at the end of the season.”
The strained relationship—if you want to call it a "civil war"—between Salah and Slot did not start or end with the week in December last year, when Salah claimed the club had "thrown him under the bus" and that he had "no relationship" with the manager. Though many may have tried to brush that argument under the carpet, it is clear that tensions between the two remain high. You don’t need to be a detective to see that.
The dressing room was already divided when Salah made that outburst, and it remains so today: star players understandably face the dilemma of wanting to support one of the club’s greatest modern players while not wanting to offend the coaching staff. How much significance can you read into senior players liking Salah’s Instagram post? Well, as a journalist approaching 30 like most of these players, I would say that "liking" a post—especially one with such controversial content—usually indicates approval, though the fact that many employ social media management teams muddies the waters somewhat.
Shortly after Salah’s post, Curtis Jones also took to social media, stating that this season has "fallen far short of the standards expected at this football club." Jones may not have Salah’s star power, but the midfielder has been with the club since he was nine years old, and as the only Liverpool native in the first team, his voice carries weight. He may also leave this summer, with Inter Milan interested in his services.
Discontent permeates the entire dressing room. Virgil van Dijk does not appreciate the criticism Liverpool players have received, while others feel the boos have been overly harsh. Whatever your stance on Salah’s comments, this represents a blow to Slot. It’s hard to shake the feeling that he has lost control of the dressing room.
Slot has repeatedly swallowed his pride over certain issues plaguing him this year. It feels like he wants to hit back at Salah, but knows doing so would be unwise. The Egyptian also knows exactly what he’s doing. There’s an old newspaper adage that goes roughly: never start a battle you can’t win. Salah is an intelligent and calculating man. He should know that by indirectly throwing a few jabs at the embattled Liverpool manager, he is engaging in a fight he will ultimately win. This victory isn’t about ultimately ousting the manager, but about turning fans further against the Slot regime.
Two years ago, Salah had a touchline argument with Jurgen Klopp at West Ham, and later told reporters at the London Stadium: "If I speak now, it will create a firestorm." Perhaps he understood that a direct confrontation with Klopp—who was and still is an untouchable legend in the eyes of many fans—was a battle he couldn’t win. So Salah is piling on the pressure by speaking out about the declining standards under Slot. But is he wrong?
The forward, who will spend his final week at the club, has been the standard-bearer and role model for most of his nearly decade at Anfield. Joining in 2017, he transformed Liverpool from a team full of doubters to believers, in his own words, more than anyone else. Salah joined a side that hadn’t won the English title since 1990 and had claimed just one trophy (the 2012 League Cup) in the previous 10 seasons. In the eight seasons before his arrival, the team’s average league finish was fifth place. In the nine years since he signed, they have finished in the top four every season except one, winning two Premier League titles, one Champions League, one FA Cup, two League Cups, one Club World Cup, and one UEFA Super Cup.
Now, he watches— and must admit, he has played a part in—a truly abysmal season. Liverpool will not only end the campaign trophyless, but will do so amid an atmosphere of mutiny, turmoil, and disillusionment. Twenty defeats, failure to learn from mistakes, and a £446 million spending spree that has resulted in a step backward. Isn’t calling this season a failure a sign of a winner’s mentality? And isn’t settling for scraping into the Champions League in the final week of the season a throwback to the trophy-less years of the early 2010s?
Of course, no individual is bigger than the club, and similarly, no team or fan base should take success for granted every year. But regardless of who you want to blame, the decline in standards this season is an undeniable fact.
Salah will soon depart, while Slot will remain in charge at the start of next season. Slot will be glad to see the back of Salah, but the Egyptian King, an icon of Anfield’s golden era, will be sorely missed. This incident has provided the anti-Slot camp with more ammunition to fire at the manager. If Slot does manage to win back their support, it will be a minor miracle. First, he needs to get the dressing room back on his side.
