25 Nov 2024 18:20:10
Question for the eds
Is it not the case that generally negotiations over a contract would be with a player's agent over a period of time before the player is brought into proceedings? Don't get me wrong, the timeframes we are talking here with Salah and so on is alarming. But just them saying the club haven't spoken to them directly surely doesn't necessarily mean that nothings happening, right?
{Ed001's Note - to a degree, yes. But the player's agent doesn't just do it in secret and only tell the player later.}
26 Nov 2024 09:58:50
Irrespective of the duration and money he is asking for, I am happy because he wants to really stay. That is getting clear by the day.
26 Nov 2024 11:32:42
Sami, I'd that was the case he'd have signed by now. My impression based on nothing but my opinion and having negotiated contracts (not in football obviously) is that either the club have zero intention of offering him a contract and have therefore not entered negotiations (which would go against what we have heard elsewhere) or, the club and the players representatives have very different expectations and therefore are struggling to come to an agreement.
Just because Salah has come out and spoken to the media, I think it unfair to lambast the club when no one is privy to what Salah is actually demanding to stay. Let's not play the whole 'he is so loyal' card when the guy is paid insane amounts of money to represent the club and Ed002 regularly stated he and his agent were actively seeking employment elsewhere pretty much the whole time he has been at LFC.
{Ed001's Note - no no no, Ed002 only stated that his agent was hawking him around, not that Salah was actively seeking employment elsewhere. There is a huge difference.}
26 Nov 2024 11:55:43
Hi ed, apologies didn't want to misquote Ed2. But whilst that may be the case, I am sure Salah had knowledge of that and was complicit in some capacity. I guess we will never know as I don't believe it ever happened, but it would have been interesting had Madrid made an offer for Salah at some point as to how he'd have responded.
{Ed001's Note - I have said why, and why it was always a ridiculous amount the agent asked for. Salah and his family are happy and settled in Liverpool, but his agent wants the money from a move. So he hawks him around, asking a ridiculous amount, knowing that he would need a ridiculous offer to tempt Salah to move.}
26 Nov 2024 12:32:04
I’d have to agree stuie_boy, this is the same reason I believe we signed Mamardashvili, im pretty sure Alison’s representatives were doing the exact same thing and may of even been close to agreeing a deal with another club, the club have found out, it’s gone down like a lead balloon and they will look to move him on after the season ends while protecting their investment.
{Ed001's Note - delusional. There is absolutely no evidence of that being true, Hughes chose to sign what he thought was a bargain. The issue with Alisson is injuries, not negotiations with other clubs. The worry wasn't that Ali would go, it was that Kelleher would leave.}
26 Nov 2024 13:13:48
Always find it hilarious the idea that Salah, the most productive player in the league for the past 7 years has been desperate for a move away and none of the elite clubs wanted a winger who guarantees 30 goals a season.
26 Nov 2024 13:36:53
Florian, it's the same with any top player, Mbappe, Neymar, Messi etc. there are only a select few clubs in the entire world who could afford them, so opportunities don't come around too often. I genuinely believe it Madrid weren't in for Mbappe they'd have targeted Salah, then who knows what would have happened.
My point is, I don't think it's fair to moan about the club and sing Salahs praises for being such a loyal servant when we don't have a clue what is being discussed. I'm happy to wait until the dust settles on it all before making judgement.
26 Nov 2024 13:03:39
Ed001 - nothing delusional about it and had Klopp not announced he was leaving the club when he did I also believe Trent, vvd and salah may have already agreed new deals, absolutely nobody including the players could have in their wildest dreams envisaged the start we have had this season, I don’t see it as being unbelievable by any stretch of the imagination that players would be willing/ looking to jump ship if a decent offer came in from a club offering 1 last big pay day at the twilight of your career, what If after 12 games slot was actually eth mark 2 and we we’re languishing in 12th place? How many of those 3 regardless of money would be signing new contracts?
Alison will be gone come the end of the season.
{Ed001's Note - it is delusional. You are making up nonsense to try and make a bizarre and pointless signing seem rational. I don't know I am bothering, you carry on as you are, if it makes you happy in your little world to believe it. The only reason Alisson might leave is injuries.}
26 Nov 2024 14:35:54
But that's not what you were saying stuie, you were imtimating that Salahs been only dying to toss off ever since he got here and has only stayed around because no big club wanted arguably europes most productive player. Funny how salah was always the one hit with this kind of stuff even when we had the holy trinity upfront, yet the other two are long gone now and Mo still wants to stay even though he could double or even triple his wages in Saudi. An alltime legend of this club we support he has become.
26 Nov 2024 15:31:36
Ali going nowhere. Side bet £20 for charity.
26 Nov 2024 16:23:07
Salah has always had an unconventional relationship with the club. His representation seems to like to annually flirt with other clubs, and has dones this since Salah joined LFC. The way he goes about his business though has turned off a lot of the power players in Europe and it makes me think that Salah's best option (combining pay with competition) is to stay put at LFC for a couple of years. I'm sure LFC know this and are monitoring. With that said, I found it encouraging that Salah purposely did something to try to put pressure on the club. To me that signals his desire to stay and something can be worked out.
My gut all along is that all 3 end up staying, but things won't be worked out without things getting a little tense.
26 Nov 2024 20:12:18
Like @Stuie, I’ve been involved in contract negotiations over 30 years - either my contracts or negotiating with employees looking for a new contract - and, again like @Stuie, whilst the contracts have not been football contracts, the basic negotiation principles.
Genuine questions - Why did Salah approach the press to make a statement about his (lack of a) contract? What do people think was his motivation for doing it and what outcomes do you think he expected?
{Ed001's Note - he didn't. They asked him a question and he answered it.}
26 Nov 2024 23:53:16
Come on Ed1 he could’ve just batted that question away like most players do.
He knew exactly what he was doing by giving a half truth designed to put pressure on the club and its worked. He knew that if he said he hadn’t been offered a contract the fans would be up in arms and that’s exactly what’s happened.
I refuse to believe that the club have left him in limbo and not told him what their plans are. If they are not going to offer him anything they would’ve told him by now and if he’s so up for telling the truth he’d just say he’s leaving at the end of the season.
It’s much more likely that they haven’t offered him the contract he wants and he is trying to push negotiations along by spouting off in the press.
It doesn’t change anything for me I still love the guy. He’s just trying to look after his career and his family but let’s call a spade a spade. He could’ve answered that question any way he wanted but he chose to be controversial and knew it would be all over the media.
{Ed001's Note - whatever. Pointless replying when you will refuse to believe unless it fits your agenda.}
27 Nov 2024 02:02:49
Can't understand why they just don't offer what he wants. what have they got to lose if they also buy replacement.
Salah can be rested and replacement intergrated.
If salah form dips and replacement proves promising. Then sell next year to saudi.
If replacement is rubbish and salah maintains. Then sell replacement and look elsewhere.
27 Nov 2024 04:26:56
Because it’s real life @Riomazy and not a computer game.
Ed01, The reports I read said specifically that Salah made himself available to speak with the press. It is reasonable to assume that he had something he wanted to say and that he did, in fact, say it. It would be an extremely naïve person who would think that the press weren’t going to ask him about his contract situation. It could even fall into the category of a Dorothy Dix question if one ascribed to conspiracy theories.
I’m not sure why there is a bristling response about agendas every time someone says something that you disagree with. I’m not sure how you think this forum is capable of formulating and pushing any sort of agenda that is going to influence the club.
{Ed001's Note - of course, the reports you read - or made up tripe in other words. Of course he was speaking to the press, he just had a stellar performance, do you not think he was the one they were asking to talk to? I had no idea who Dorothy Dix is, but I wasted time googling it to realise that you are completely misusing the reference to an obscure antipodean thing. Clearly you fail to understand the meaning behind that either, a quick google would tell you that it was the exact opposite of one.
As for your end paragraph, you clearly don't read most of my responses, but then you are incapable of understanding anything you read, your post has shown that, so I won't let it bother me that you are again wrong. Your clearly too busy with clickbait, so that you can tell us all how wrong we are when we offer intelligent responses based on reality.}
27 Nov 2024 09:35:13
To be fair Ed001, he gave the interview in the mixed zone. As per the New York Times, he's only stopped to answer questions in the mixed zone 3 times in over 7 years at Liverpool. First time was in 2018 after he made a promise to a reporter that he would if he reached 40 goals, second time was after we beat Spurs in the Champions League final, and the third time was Sunday when he fielded the questions about his contract.
With that in mind, I do personally believe that Salah spoke to that reporter intentionally to make a point publicly that he wants to stay. He's essentially sent a message to the club to put an offer on the table, he's sent a message to his agent to make the deal happen, and he's sent a message to the fans that he loves it here and will not let the contract drama affect his commitment levels.
I don't care what muppets like Carragher say, I thought he spoke well and I think having the most in form player in Europe publicly begging for a new contract is not a major distraction or disrespectful in any way. If anything it gives everyone hope/ optimism that a deal can be struck, and that Liverpool FC is still attractive to World Class stars after the Klopp era.
27 Nov 2024 14:29:52
There’s another video from one of the journos who was in the mixed zone and he said other than it being rare that Mo stopped, he said that on this occasion Mo actually waved at the mixed zone and went over there. His point was that Mo’s actions to stop at the mixed zone were deliberate with this intention.