Jamie Carragher hopes that Arne Slot can prevent a potential ‘circus’ from materialising at Anfield on Saturday when Liverpool host Brighton in the Premier League.
The fixture was expected to be (and could still be) the last that Mo Salah plays for his club before he links up with Egypt next Monday for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
As we know, however, the 33-year-old could well be omitted once again – just as he was for the win over Inter Milan on Tuesday – after his fiery comments on the head coach and certain individuals at LFC after last weekend’s draw at Leeds, in which he played no part.
Carragher fearful of potential Salah ‘circus’ at Anfield
Carragher was on punditry duty for CBS Sports Golazo last night when he was asked if he thinks Salah could return to the fold for Liverpool’s match against Brighton.
The Bootle native replied: “I don’t think so, to be honest. I don’t know why you’d almost bring the circus of it, whether he was on the bench, ‘is he warming up?’, the supporters. I don’t know, could it split the crowd and the manager and Mo Salah?
“Because there’s only one more game before he goes away, I think it’s probably better if he just does leave it for now and then see how the land lies when he’s back from AFCON, and off the back of Liverpool performing well [against Inter].”
Carragher may be mindful of what happened with Alexander-Arnold
Carragher’s fears about the Brighton game turning into a ‘circus’ if Salah is present are understandable when considering a not-too-distant (if not quite carbon copy) precedent.
When Liverpool drew 2-2 at home to Arsenal in May, their first match at Anfield after clinching the Premier League title, the carnival atmosphere turned sour when Trent Alexander-Arnold (who’d just confirmed that he’d been leaving the Reds) was roundly booed after coming off the bench that day.
Carragher said on Sky Sports at the time that the fans’ reaction towards the right-back became ‘the story of the game’, and inevitably that sideshow became the main talking point from the match against the Gunners.
The circumstances surrounding Salah are rather different, of course, but the prospective parallels are there. The Egyptian would surely get a rousing reception from the crowd if he appears on Saturday, but his presence would dominate the post-match discussion even if LFC were to win handsomely and put in a convincing performance.
Slot may well be conscious of that and, particularly in light of how well Liverpool played against Inter, decide that it’s for the best if the 33-year-old isn’t selected for the weekend’s fixture, instead coming back after AFCON when the current storm should have abated significantly.
Given how strong a season Brighton have been enjoying, and how tough they’ve been for the Reds in recent years, we could certainly do with having a player of Salah’s world-class abilities to call upon if we’re in need of goals.
It’s a tricky dilemma for the head coach to handle, but we have every faith that he’ll deal with it in a manner which is in everyone’s best interests.
You can watch Slot’s full post-Inter Milan press conference below, via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:
Jamie is delusional. 1 is a legend who speaks his mind, 1 is a judas who took the fans for a ride before speaking excellent Spanish in madrid.
When pundits are getting more attention to the football then there’s something very wrong. Pundits should be neutral, and it should just be about the football, not individuals. Carragher has a grudge with Salah, he’s making things worse. Carragher doesn’t speak for me or any other Liverpool fan. Why is he the mouthpiece of Liverpool football club. Shame he wasn’t this vocal when FSG tried to get the super league. Pundits today want the headlines, they want to the main attraction. It’s killing football, just like var. Every thing that happens at Liverpool Jamie carragher is there as if he’s jesus christ. Far better former Liverpool players, pundits, who you get more sense from.
You think Salah is the only Liverpool player to genuinely dislike Jamie carragher. There’s quite a few.
Carragher has far too much to say, is too cocky and arrogant. There’s no humbleness he acts as if he was a world class player. Carragher isn’t the only one, pundits today want to make the headlines, they don’t care about the football, they must be more important, the stars of the show. You must also question the baised loyalty to FSG from carragher. So many mistakes from FSG, but he remains silent, silent on Edwards and Richard Hughes but aggressive towards Salah. I’ve always said that carragher is on the pay list of FSG. It’s why he’s worth 25 million. He’s also on the payroll of sky, who are paying him to push their woke political agenda. It’s why sky didn’t sack him when he did what was a disgrace. You have to ask why were others at sky sacked for far less? When football pundits are pushing their political agenda onto football supporters you know that they should be sacked and sky should be dissolved.