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When Liverpool players are put out to pasture, it is not uncommon for them to be given a warm Anfield send-off, a ceremonial microphone and a high-profile media platform from which to endlessly pontificate. Such has been the proliferation of old boys in the punditry ranks since Alan Hansen famously announced “you can’t win anything with kids”, it now seems nigh on impossible to sit through any major Premier League or Bigger Cup match without hearing at least one Liverpool alumnus chipping in from the sidelines. Whether it’s Carra or Crouchy or Didi or Danny or Jamie or Robbie or Souey or Macca or Coley or Stephen Warnock, this feedback loop can prove a source of great irritation to the sensitive ears of other clubs’ fans. But when things go off the rails and the crisis analysis hits peak screech, that’s when their irate pronouncements become appointment viewing.
Currently on a run of nine losses in 12 matches, Liverpool’s second-half Bigger Cup collapse at home to PSV marked both their third consecutive three-goal defeat and the descent of several former players into an abyss of fume. So incensed was Dietmar Hamann by Mo Salah’s decision to walk like an Egyptian as Mauro Júnior cantered past unchallenged in the early buildup to the Dutch side’s second goal, that he labelled the winger’s indifference “disgraceful”. A regular guest on Irish broadcaster RTE’s coverage, Hamann suggested that Arne Slot, standing no more than a couple of yards away from the scene of Salah’s latest dereliction of defensive duty, now has a big decision to make. “Do you get the sack with Salah or do you keep your job without him?” he asked, as a steady stream of steam whistled from both his ears. Earlier in the day, as he spoke of Liverpool’s uncharacteristic slump in form on TalkSport, another midfield great, Graeme Souness, had poured scorn on Salah’s “lack of appetite” and wondered if perhaps “his brother” had turned up in his place this season.
