mo salah

[Gbspurs]

Chelsea only signed him to stop Liverpool getting him anyway.

 

[SpursManChris]

so what's the deal here? he's just torn up juve to help fiorentina advance to the final of the coppa italia scoring both goals in a 2-1 win, 6 goals in 7 games(not all starts) since joining. is serie a just a pushover? he managed to score against us though .. and fiorentina knocked us out so maybe not. did chelsea just misuse him? they've shipped him out on loan without giving him much of a chance and replaced him with a 25m signing who may not actually be better. i was very impressed with him when he played for basel against us, looked great until he had to shoot but he's a big threat, a player with his movement and pace will be a danger for any defence.

what do we think? purple patch? serie a teams can't handle him? chelsea wasted him? all of the above?

Of course he was wasted at Chelsea, any man and his hound could see that. He's good - but he's not THAT good; he's not as good as the rest of Chelsea and that's where the problem lay, just like so many other wasted players.

 

[sunnydelight786]

Ripped us apart in both Basel games and again in the first leg of our game against Fiorentina, did we learn for the second leg......?

 

[bceej]

Us and Liverpool were both interested, but Chelsea could offer a bigger wage as well as guarantee of CL football.
They bought him with the sole intent of stopping him joining a rival.
Alongside Schurrle and DeBruyne he's another fool that went with the money.

They both got big money moves afterwards so I'm sure they don't feel like fools.

 

[knilly]

He was bought to stop him going to Liverpool. Where would they have been in the league if he did go to them?

 

[Syn_13]

He was bought to stop him going to Liverpool. Where would they have been in the league if he did go to them?

No change. I don't think he's that outstanding a player to make that much of a difference. He's a good player, but nowhere near world class at the moment. He works at Fiorentina because he's doing exactly the same thing Cuadrado did. A lot of pace out on that wide right, which is where they hurt teams. He's a great like for like replacement in many ways, albeit Cuadrado is a bit better and works harder. Salah doesn't work very hard and won't put as much effort into his game as Mourinho would require, hence why he's no longer at Chelsea. Don't think he'd be that amazing for Rodgers either.

 

[Mr Pink]

I watched the full game against Juve and he was exceptional. His first goal was one of the best I've seen all season...the pace, and the pace he's still going at when he finishes it emphatically.

People putting it down to Serie A are off the mark with this one. He clearly wasn't given a fair chance at Chelsea. He has the pace, tenacity and that low center of gravity that could make him devastating no matter what League he's playing in.

He's been given a proper run of games in a good side now and they're reaping the rewards as he's got more confident.

Give players a proper chance and they're far more likely to shine than giving them sporadic and irregular opportunities - basically you've twenty odd minutes to make an impression or you don't get a game for months - or at best a League Cup game in a patched up side. That isn't giving someone a proper chance in my book.

 

[GeneralBurk]

For profit. They've changed their business model to reflect FFP and now in the world of hyper transfer inflation you can buy a player for £15m sit on them for 18 months and still sell them for a profit.

Its a bit like watching one of those property programs where the idiot make a pigs ear of redeveloping the property but because the market has increased significantly anyway he still makes a profit.

 

[Blake Griffin]

https://twitter.com/Phaetonv2/status/578639317507141632

we could do with some of that.

 

[noiseboy55]

He's got a bit of the Lennons about him

 

[Lufti]

https://twitter.com/Phaetonv2/status/578639317507141632

we could do with some of that.

Yeah, if there's one thing we need it's a lack of end product

 

[Blake Griffin]

https://vine.co/v/OldnzBqT1hr

 

[Syn_13]

He is a one trick pony though. Don't get me wrong, it's a neat trick if it works, but the guy just runs at people with pace on the break. In certain teams and in certain leagues he'd never be able to get away with it depending on how the game is played. Put him in a team that try to build up slowly, or play a passing game, and he'll offer nothing. Fiorentina are just using him as a Cuadrado substitute in that they're countering down the right all the time. Teams will get wise to it and just kick him up in the air.

The other thing that gets me with him. For every goal like that he has about 6 failed attempts in matches where he could've chosen a better option. He is a good player, and a right handful if you're playing counter-attacking or direct football. Otherwise he's nothing special.

 

[Blake Griffin]

He is a one trick pony though. Don't get me wrong, it's a neat trick if it works, but the guy just runs at people with pace on the break. In certain teams and in certain leagues he'd never be able to get away with it depending on how the game is played. Put him in a team that try to build up slowly, or play a passing game, and he'll offer nothing. Fiorentina are just using him as a Cuadrado substitute in that they're countering down the right all the time. Teams will get wise to it and just kick him up in the air.

The other thing that gets me with him. For every goal like that he has about 6 failed attempts in matches where he could've chosen a better option. He is a good player, and a right handful if you're playing counter-attacking or direct football. Otherwise he's nothing special.

whilst you may have a point, i somehow imagine that if it were lamela doing that, your reaction would be somewhat different.

 

[225]

https://vine.co/v/OldnzBqT1hr

I can see why Serie A teams are linked to defenders all the time.

In the EPL, he would have been flattened by the 2nd man - tackle or foul.

 

[Syn_13]

whilst you may have a point, i somehow imagine that if it were lamela doing that, your reaction would be somewhat different.

Why?

When Salah was playing for Basel I only saw what he did in the European games. Thought he looked good but I didn't think he did a lot more than what he's doing now - running at players, being very direct - an impact player. He came to England and couldn't hack it in a team that required a lot more. He wasn't much of a team player or a grafter, which is what Mourinho bases his team on, and he didn't seem to suit this league because he isn't afforded the space to run as he does in Italy. Gervinho was very similar. Did great for Lille and you could see why Arsenal wanted him. Didn't quite click in England, or step up to the required level, and went to Italy where he has done well again.

Lamela's following suit. He was amazing for Roma, as we all know. In fact, he was a much better player in that season before he joined us than Salah is now, IMO, purely because he did a lot more than simply run at players. He was a team player, a clever passer, and he linked up well. A lot of that was down to having team mates likes Pjanic, Totti and De Rossi, who know how to play the ball though. It was no surprise that the vast majority of his goals (15 in league I think) were from inside the box. That's how he was playing - quick interchanges and one-twos. For us he just seems to keep hold of that ball and wait, hoping that the defender shows him something to exploit or a team mate gets into that perfect position. You don't get that luxury over here as you're often closed down quickly by midfielders/defenders, forcing you to make a mistake. That's why he's so often caught in possession, because he's waiting for a piece of play he'll rarely get the time to make instead of being sharper and playing it immediately.

The game is quite unique over here and you often see players struggle when coming in from overseas. I think it's a mixture of the pace and physicality that does it. We put a lot of emphasis on closing down and playing very compact at the back, making the physical requirements take precedent over technical ones. Players who are not native to this league don't quite get it until they get here, and then they need some time to get into that rhythm, be it weeks or months, or even a whole season. Look at the likes of Drogba and Modric, who didn't make an impact immediately. I think our big 3 purchases (Lamela, Soldado and Paulinho) have got to the point where it's been long enough now. As much as I was excited with their acquisitions, and defended them as they tried to settle, we're at a point where they should have got the way the game is played over here by now, but they still look like players who are new and trying to adapt. That's why our kids have done so much better. They understand this type of football and have that readiness about them. What could let them down, however, is their technical ability. It's pretty much the opposite to what the overseas players experience.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Lamela go back to Italy, or head off to Spain, and end up finding his form again in the same way Gervinho and Salah have.

 

[Blake Griffin]

not bad this guy.

 

[spursfan77]

I wanted us to sign him ever since he destroyed us playing for Basel. Liverpool got a bargain in the summer.

 

[SlotBadger]

Not sure it would have worked out so well for him had he joined us - the last Ghaly wasn't such a hit.

Also, not loving commentators suddenly referring to him as "Momo Salah."

 

[coys200]

Half season wonder