The Alonso dream may be over - but Salah's outburst keeps heat on Slot
Salah's intentions in making this statement are unclear, although it plays to the gallery and the growing anti-Slot lobby, making life increasingly uncomfortable for the Dutch head coach. And his words instantly won the approval of many Liverpool team-mates, with Andrew Robertson, Waturu Endo, Milos Kerkez, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch all liking the post, with former stars Jordan Henderson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jarell Quansah following suit. Curtis Jones replied with a clapping emoji, while striker Hugo Ekitike posted a handshaking emoji.
This may simply be agreement with Salah's complaints about falling standards rather than rebellion in the ranks, but once again the narrative, plus the conclusions drawn from it, are spectacularly unhelpful for Slot. The other side of the coin is that while Slot has been in the firing line, he could make a fair point himself by saying those players lining up to agree with Salah, especially the Egyptian himself, could also have done a lot better. Salah's first attack in December was a clear criticism of Liverpool and how his relationship with Slot had broken down, although he only dropped the forward after a run of poor form and a dramatic decline from last season, when he seemed on a personal mission to bring the Premier League title back to Anfield, scoring 34 goals in 50 starts in all competitions.
Salah's latest 190-word statement is equally scathing, with an obvious reference to Slot's predecessor Klopp, as he wrote: "I want to see Liverpool go back to being the heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear and back to being a team that wins trophies. "That is the football I know how to play and that is the identity that needs to be recovered and kept for good. It cannot be negotiable and everyone that joins this club should adapt to it.
" It all amounted to a brutal critique of Liverpool 's strategy under Slot this season, as well a offering up a signpost as to the style he feels they must approach after this disappointing season. With Slot on shaky ground, at least with Liverpool 's fans if not with owners FSG, the last thing he needs is a widening fracture with one of the club's most celebrated figures, who has scored 257 goals for the club since signing from AS Roma in June 2017 for a bargain £34m, helping them winning the Champions League and two Premier League titles. Liverpool 's fans are unlikely to be split on their view of Salah, while Slot is fighting to convince large swathes of an unhappy fanbase that he can turn their fortunes around if afforded the opportunity next season.
Some may regard Salah's public intervention and criticism as unwelcome and unnecessary, but many Liverpool supporters will also welcome his words as the utterance of uncomfortable truths Slot has to face. Slot recently angrily rejected suggestions standards may drop once Salah departs when the player revealed in a TV interview: "I told them [his team-mates]: 'You need people to come early and go to the gym. ' If this doesn't happen it will be tricky for the club, because it's very necessary you put the standards high.