Mohamed Salah has stirred the pot one final time before his last game for Liverpool next weekend - but what does it all mean for the Reds and Arne Slot?
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot and attacker Mohamed Salah
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot and attacker Mohamed Salah(Image: Darren Staples / AFP via Getty Images)
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It's probably the last hat-trick of Mohamed Salah's outstanding Liverpool career. And surely none of the previous five will have resonated quite so loudly.
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Following his outburst after remaining on the bench at Leeds United in December and his pointed concerns earlier this month about the future behind the scenes at the club, Salah opted on Saturday to go one step further with his latest social media post.
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Most of what the Egyptian said was pretty straightforward and nothing any supporter wouldn't have stated. He's proud of playing for Liverpool, wants them to succeed after his departure next week and the Reds shouldn't be losing quite so many as they have this term. Twelve in the Premier League alone, which has left them in very real danger of missing out on Champions League qualification.
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But the suggestion Liverpool should return to heavy metal football was a less-than-subtle dig at the more measured approach from current head coach Arne Slot that, as the Reds have stumbled throughout the season, has at times bored even the Dutchman.
So continues the conflict that has bubbled between the duo ever since Salah reacted poorly to being benched back in December.
Almost every squad player by that point had been dropped due to Liverpool's desperate run of nine defeats in 12 games, so to make it about himself was a selfish misstep. It helped nobody. And the suggestion the forward was above being among the substitutes because of his past achievements was, regardless of personal affiliation, clearly wrong.
An uneasy truce was ultimately reached. But Salah's inference earlier this month standards could slip after his departure clearly irked Slot, who reminded everyone that "the standards are not only important in the gym - itβs also on the pitch".
Statistics paint a curious picture regards Salah's contribution there this season. While nine goals and 12 assists in 40 appearances would be fine for many wide players, it is by some distance his worst return at Anfield.
In all competitions, Liverpool have won 61% of their games with Salah in the starting line-up compared to 35% without.
However, he has lined up for nine of the 12 Premier League defeats and in the 12 consecutive games in mid-season where the Egyptian failed to start - first from being benched, then on Africa Cup of Nations duty - Liverpool were unbeaten. Within four days of Salah returning to the team, the Reds lost 3-2 at Bournemouth.
Salah, though, hasn't started any of the last three Premier League defeats. And he was enjoying a late-season renaissance - excellent in the derby win at Everton - when injury struck at home to Crystal Palace. Since then, Liverpool haven't won a game.
Liverpool's problems, though, run much deeper than a fading Salah and fraught Slot. The recruitment by sporting director Richard Hughes - backed by Fenway Sports Group chief executive of football Michael Edwards - has thus far proven patchy at best, although it'll be another 18 months before a true assessment can be made.
FSG wildly failed to read the room before backtracking on their planned ticket price increases. And the fanbase, historically renowned for their patience, are now edging ever closer to being just as demanding as every other set of supporters. There's no appetite for another campaign of toil.
Hence the delight from many fans at Salah's post. But it's worth bearing in mind Liverpool won rather a lot of trophies when they weren't playing heavy metal football. And that includes last season with the record-equalling 20th championship to which Slot guided the Reds.
Following chief advocate Jurgen Klopp was never an easy task and the issues of attempting to adapt to a new world - which Slot has readily admitted were postponed by the title triumph last season - are now painfully apparent. This was always going to happen at some point.
The Reds boss has also been quite open about what will be required to change matters, notably speed in attack, which is why Liverpool are pursuing wide players in the forthcoming transfer window to bolster a forward line in desperate need even without taking into account Hugo Ekitike's long-term injury and the ongoing fitness woes of Alexander Isak.
Witness the impact of 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha as he gains more exposure. While the expectation won't be placed on his shoulders next term, his efforts have highlighted the difference genuine pace can make.
Salah, now approaching 34, hasn't had that for some time. Last season, Slot opted to build a team around the Egyptian and head coach, player and the team were all rewarded. This time around, Liverpool have started the process of moving away from the Salah era. We can all see how that's gone.
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And for all the relentless scrutiny, sometimes the reasons are obvious. Liverpool can't play the way either Slot or Salah would prefer because they simply don't have the right players and too many of the suitable ones already there are either regularly unavailable or falling way short of their own standards.
In truth, not much should be read into so many current Liverpool players liking the post beyond the overall sentiment that matters must improve. Indeed, if the likes of Curtis Jones, Milos Kerkez, Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ibrahima Konate were agreeing with every word, then they all accept they crumbled at Aston Villa on Friday. Part of the discontent with supporters is such a reaction should be shown on the pitch rather than social media.
But that it is even being highlighted as mutiny within the dressing room indicates how matters have unravelled since the championship was secured on arguably the greatest daytime event in Anfield's history less than 13 months ago.
Most expected Salah to drop a few hand grenades on the way out of the club - in the modern age, there is a brand to protect after all - but the timing of this latest one should be called into question given the importance of next weekend's final game at home to Brentford.
Should Liverpool fail - most probably with Salah playing some part in the game - to secure Champions League qualification, then it will greatly test the faith FSG continue to show in Slot guiding Liverpool out of this mess. And the atmosphere inside Anfield could turn very, very ugly indeed.
Salah's latest calculated comments have helped fashion such a scenario. Only the coming months will determine whether the Egyptian has this season been part of the problem or merely been guilty of making public the need for a drastic solution.