26 Mar 2026 00:17:04
ED 001, I know you have answered part of the question but I wanted to get your thoughts on whether or not Salah should have at least waited to see the managerial change before making a decision, yes I get that he wants to play every game but surely that can't be the only factor.
Hypothetically could he not have played a role under say Alonso next year in a style that is suited to him.
{Ed001's Note - I doubt the option would have been there then to do this.}
26 Mar 2026 06:14:11
What if there are no plans for a managerial change?
26 Mar 2026 06:55:20
Then the end is here.
26 Mar 2026 07:27:15
Imagine if Slot were to stay...
Gakpo, Macca, Grav, Konate, VVD, Alison would get improved contracts.
Hugo, Jones, Robbo, Chiesa, Gomez, Ramsey would most likely leave with Salah.
Szobo would be our new RB.
Grav would replace Hugo as our number 9.
We'd buy a new RB to challenge Szobo for the spot.
Rio would go on loan, along with Nyoni.
Then Slot would have a further 450m to buy his own players?
That seems possible? ????
26 Mar 2026 09:05:47
Regretfully I'd stop watching this assgas and just follow the results. Dire football.
26 Mar 2026 09:13:56
I knew Salah wouldn't stay the moment the whole Salah outburst happened and the fact (cos no one from the club has denied it till this day) that they wanted to sell him in Jan.
As soon as that happened, I knew something had broken. When you acknowledge that in addition to his form this season (part of it is on him and the other part is on the manager's tactics), no one should be surprised about this news.
As to when Mo should have announced it, there is Never a good time hence, not bothered.
26 Mar 2026 10:52:58
I'd rather just know now. Now he can be given the send off he deserves over the next coupla months. And, knowing him, he'll be determined to go out on as big a high as possible.
26 Mar 2026 11:15:27
My theory is the new manager wants it dealt with before they officially take over.
No new manager wants to be the one to let Salah go, and no new manager wants to be in a position where they have to drop Salah and deal with the dressing room drama.
Werner has come over. Had final discussions with new manager, this is a condition of his appointment and Werner has had to deal with such a huge financial decision.
I'm certain it was a condition of a new manager, Salah would announce he's leaving before new manager is appointed.
New manager can start the rebuild afresh.
That's my reading of it.
26 Mar 2026 11:32:34
That's exactly how I see it, Ron. Been telling my customers that for months. Alonso doesn't want to come in and be the one to have to drop Salah. Hopefully, Alonso is thinking he can come in now, in the break, now it's been dealt with.
26 Mar 2026 12:21:11
Ron, Letstalk, are you lads really trying to suggest that the new (completely unconfirmed) manager has a say over the club's contract negotiations with current players, and the decisions they make over what to do about the situation between the current manager and one of the greatest players to ever play for the club? Even when it was already looking like Mo was gonna leave long before Xabi even got the sack from Real?
.
26 Mar 2026 12:26:58
Agree with you both. New Manager, not Head Coach, to come in with new tactics and formation and not have to deal with the problems of dropping Salah.
26 Mar 2026 12:29:53
I hope your theory is sound, Ron. Maybe Werner came over to try to persuade Salah to see out his contract. Who knows?
Letstalkabout6baby - I don't see a new manager coming in during the break.
26 Mar 2026 12:34:07
And if Salah had decided he didn't want to go?
26 Mar 2026 13:04:33
If that's the case, FM, then he would have to be happy to sit on the bench for a season and lose some condition. He gets paid the same either way, better to leave and get a new club.
26 Mar 2026 13:28:12
Scrutiny would be huge though, Ron, especially if the manager didn't get off to the best of starts. You're talking about a player on £480k a week. 3rd highest scorer in our history, who a lot of people think has only struggled this season because of the manager, and that he would once again thrive under a new guy.
26 Mar 2026 13:47:05
I think people are reading way too much into Salah leaving. Salah has looked like he wanted out for months now. He's leaving because he wants to go, and the club have no issue with that because he's pushing 35 and massively underperforming. It's mutual.
He wants out asap and doesn't need the hassle of lengthy contract negotiations come the summer, he'd rather get it done with sooner rather than later and give himself time to settle in wherever he's going, the club obviously aren't bothered by this given the fact that his age and massive drop in form this season means he'll be worth sweet f all come June, not to mention the fact that they save £20 million on wages by letting him walk.
So they essentially have their transfer fee. Nobody outside of Saudi would have been willing to pay more than that, and let's be honest, he's not moving his family to a country involved in a war right now.
Throw in the fact that he's one of the greatest players to ever play for the club and you have more than enough reasons for this to play out exactly as it did. We all saw this coming months ago, we all predicted it, no idea why people are overcomplicating it now that it's actually happening.
26 Mar 2026 14:10:10
I did mention he wanted to leave last summer on a free but ended up signing a new contract because of all the noise around El Rato.
26 Mar 2026 15:26:18
Must have been a hard decision, Thefields, to get 400k a week...
26 Mar 2026 16:36:52
Helped cushion the blow whilst he floated through a season, JLC. ?
26 Mar 2026 17:10:18
You use the term floated quite lightly there, TheFields. ????