A full version of the LiverpoolWorld Q&A.
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00:00 I'm here joined by Will Rooney and George Priestman of Liverpool World.
00:05 Will, we'll start with a huge player we spoke about him multiple times and he always comes up in Liverpool conversation, Mohamed Salah.
00:13 Obviously he was injured, is he returning? What's the latest you can update us with?
00:17 Yes, so it's coming up to around the four-week mark since he had that hamstring injury.
00:22 He's representing Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations.
00:24 He's just been going through his rehab now and it looks like he's coming towards the end of his rehab.
00:31 He's been putting in a lot of effort to be fair to get back fit.
00:35 He's been posting Instagrams of himself going through sessions at night, just shows his mentality really.
00:42 He's back in training now, so it'll be the first part of training.
00:47 So the warm-ups, maybe the rondos, etc. and Liverpool will gradually build him up to regain full fitness.
00:55 And looking ahead to Brentford on Saturday, will he or won't he be in the squad?
01:01 The eight o'clock will have a decision to make because what Liverpool want is Mohamed Salah breaking down again
01:07 and then facing potentially even longer periods on the sidelines because hamstring injuries.
01:12 If you have a suffering recurrence, then usually the tear gets worse.
01:17 That's just the nature of what happens with the injury.
01:20 So with Liverpool already, with Dominic Sapozlai already, no one knows when he's going to be back.
01:26 With Trent Alexander-Arnold potentially facing another period on the sidelines,
01:30 after suffering a recurrence in the injury, Liverpool can't afford to be having too many of the big hits of sidelines.
01:37 I mean, at eight o'clock we want this injury list to be clearing up.
01:41 And it is looking better because against Burnley, they were a little bit depleted, to be honest.
01:48 Even Ryan Graven-Burt couldn't get off the bench because he suffered an issue in the warm-up.
01:52 Liverpool has a bit of illness in the camp.
01:55 So what Liverpool will be doing is being cautious with Mohamed Salah because,
01:59 with the greater respect to Brentford, Liverpool should be going there and winning with all of the fouls.
02:04 I mean, they've coped by the Arsenal game.
02:07 They can deliver results for Mohamed Salah, which maybe bodes well for beyond the end of the season as well.
02:13 But in regards to now, we've got a massive finish coming off from the final three months.
02:18 And Liverpool will be wanting Mohamed Salah fit and firing.
02:22 So I suspect they might earn the side of caution at Brentford, but we wait and see.
02:27 Might make the bench and maybe get 20, 25 minutes if Liverpool are in position to bring them on.
02:33 George, let's look ahead to Liverpool's next game, Brentford away.
02:37 Brentford have the return of Tony, he's definitely given them a boost.
02:41 They were definitely on a slide before then.
02:43 Early kick-offs, games where Liverpool have maybe sort of left it late but have still got the three points.
02:49 Is it going to be a case of that? What do you see coming out of this game?
02:53 Yeah, as you said, it's a difficult slot, it seems to Liverpool.
03:00 It seems to rattle-clop every week and every time it happens.
03:03 But it's just a difficult time to get going.
03:05 We've seen it with top sides before.
03:07 It's definitely the bogey slot, but Brentford, yeah, bounce back into good form.
03:12 The return of Ivan Toby has been huge for them.
03:14 Just as a confidence aspect for them, he brings so much to that side, brings a threat that they just don't have without him.
03:20 And yeah, they've been in OK form, but the recent form has given them a little bit of a boost.
03:26 They were languishing, sort of nearing the relegation battle almost, which seemed a little bit like a position you didn't think they'd be in this season.
03:34 But yeah, they'll offer a huge threat.
03:37 Liverpool have had some difficult games over the years.
03:39 They had that really good, really entertaining three-all draw a couple of seasons ago as well.
03:43 But I like to think Liverpool have got too much for them at the moment.
03:47 They're just, the way they're playing, the rhythm they've got at the moment, the players who are coming out of the side as well are all just firing on all cylinders.
03:55 So it's a great time for Liverpool at the moment.
03:57 And Brentford will pose a tough test, especially in that early kick-off, I think.
04:01 But the run they've been on and the overall form at Brentford, I think that they're going to give Liverpool chances.
04:07 And they seem to take a lot of them these days.
04:09 So yeah, I'm back here and I'll let Liverpool win.
04:12 And Will, finally on Liverpool, just an update on the managerial situation.
04:19 I mean, it's almost as if Jamie Carragher is on his platform and he's trying to speak Xabi Alonso into the job.
04:25 I mean, he's pointing out Leverkusen stats, etc.
04:28 What's the latest you can maybe issue us an update on?
04:31 He certainly looks like the frontrunner, doesn't he, Xabi Alonso?
04:36 Especially after that win at the weekend, he's by a Munich five points clear now.
04:41 He's the flavour of the month, isn't he?
04:43 And if you're looking at the managerial options, who do you go with?
04:46 Do you go with... there's still some doubts around Xabi Alonso.
04:50 He might come to Liverpool and he's going to face a massive pressure to deliver because how many times have we seen managers leave clubs and there's been a massive drop off?
04:59 Sarge Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, albeit Arsene weren't quite themselves towards the end of his reign.
05:05 But you know, I am really struggling to get them going and reignite them as well.
05:09 That's whoever comes in, that's going to be the pressure.
05:11 But I think from what we can... what we're gathering, Xabi Alonso has quietly made himself the frontrunner.
05:19 He'll be playing at David, he's going to be asked in the media, doesn't he?
05:22 Probably five, six times if not at the end of the season.
05:25 And I think he'll be respectful towards Bayern Leverkusen.
05:30 You know, it's his club at the end of the day, he still loves the Bundesliga, he still loves the Europa League.
05:34 Could then meet Liverpool in the Europa League, you never know.
05:37 I mean, what a scenario that would be.
05:39 But luckily, when he was at Liverpool, he immersed himself in the city, lived in the city centre.
05:48 His partner, his wife, got a job in a hotel in Liverpool just to learn about the people and learn the language a little bit better.
05:57 You know, that's not what every modern footballer does.
06:01 You know, now modern footballers, maybe you move to Liverpool, you might live on the outskirts, maybe live Cheshire way, something like that.
06:07 Maybe even close to Manchester, just because it is the biggest of the cities.
06:11 And, you know, a lot of footballers do live around them ways.
06:14 But, you know, I think Xabi Alonso, he knows the city, without sounding cliche, he knows what it means to fans.
06:21 But for now, I think it's a little bit disrespectful as well for JĂĽrgen Klopp to be thinking he's going to succeed.
06:26 From now until the end of the season, JĂĽrgen Klopp could achieve something special at Liverpool.
06:30 He could still pick up four trophies, potentially.
06:34 It's not going to carry him away, but I think, yes, it's a big talking point.
06:39 I think Liverpool needs to focus on the here and now. Pass that for a minute.
06:42 He still needs a sporting director as well. Don't forget, I'm sure, whoever comes in as sporting director, like I say.
06:49 But after the weekend, I think Alonso's stock has only gone up.
06:53 And if he did a poll, one of the Liverpool fans, I'd like to think 90% of them probably would say Xabi Alonso's coming.
07:04 Well, moving on to Everton, the 7-7 takeover, obviously it's gone slightly quiet.
07:10 What can you tell us is the latest there?
07:12 And obviously they are sort of having this, you know, the possible second points deduction hanging over them as well.
07:20 Yeah, it has gone quiet.
07:24 I think Everton fans have been a little bit perturbed because of Jim Radcliffe's partial takeover when United's gone through.
07:32 And I think that deal was agreed on December 24th and it's taken less than two months to go through.
07:39 And the 7-7-7 partners takeover will still be ratified by the Premier League.
07:44 Richard Masters, when he was speaking to the government a couple of weeks or probably a month ago now, said that hopefully weeks and it has gone quiet.
07:54 And the loans keep coming, 180 million loans to Everton now to keep the club afloat.
08:01 And fans are looking and thinking, well, what's going to happen?
08:04 You know, I don't think that this perspective takeover affects January.
08:09 I just think there's no money to spend.
08:11 I think maybe people thought 7-7-7 come in, will there be money to come in?
08:15 Well, no, the PSR rules mean that I don't think even when 7-7-7 come in, they'll have a lot of money to spend.
08:22 Everton will have a lot of flexibility in the market anyway, to be honest.
08:24 I think they'll have to be being quite savvy in the deals that they are able to conduct.
08:30 And obviously now Everton are waiting for this points deduction as well.
08:33 Whether, you know, the appeal process is finished, Everton are waiting to hear the outcome of that.
08:38 And then they've got a second charge overhanging and that they'll have to go to an independent commission later in the season.
08:45 And then if anything happens from now on, Everton are going to have to appeal that as well.
08:49 And then that will go on.
08:50 So it is, it's not what's needed at the minute for Sean's item, it's true.
08:56 But they just need to focus, as he keeps saying, they've got to block out anything that they can't dictate.
09:02 And that's something that he can't, he can't do anything about.
09:05 He said that a few times now and the focus has got to be on the pitching and improving
09:10 because results have been pretty poor of late and Everton's attack and threat has been blunters.
09:17 And Sean's actually got to somehow find a way to improve that.
09:20 George, Palace up next for Everton.
09:24 Obviously, Will touched on their form there, but the last time Everton won a game was against Palace at home.
09:30 It was in the FA Cup, but this is a completely different ball game.
09:33 Just five points separate the two sides.
09:35 How big of a game could this be at Goodison on Monday?
09:38 Huge game. Yeah, we've seen this game pop up in the past in the other seasons,
09:45 which is a huge win for them when they won at Goodison Park.
09:49 And this is a great chance for them to grab three points,
09:52 which is definitely needed at a time where the likes of Luton are playing very well and Nongom Forest as well.
10:01 They're starting to find points and stuff.
10:03 So it's really important to get three points, especially against a team like Palace,
10:07 who have a lot of injuries.
10:09 And against Chelsea the other night, without Alisse and Eze, they do look like they lack that real threat
10:15 that they can take it to anyone, really.
10:17 And I think Everton's defence has been one of the best in the league this season.
10:20 It's up there in the top seven or six teams.
10:23 It's something that they've been very strong with.
10:25 So I like the thing to be able to deal with the threats of Mateta or someone like that.
10:30 And we saw them deal with them in the FA Cup as well in the tight Wandal victory.
10:35 They dealt with them that day, Eze played that day, and it's probably their best attack.
10:40 But outside of that, they don't seem to have too much threat for Everton.
10:43 And it's just a case of putting the ball in the back of the net, which again seems to be a real issue,
10:48 especially from the top of the pitch with Beto and Carvalho and so out of form.
10:53 It might be one of those games again that could just be decided by something like a set piece,
10:57 but I did see in the Wandal win in the FA Cup that was just an Andrea Gomez free kick,
11:01 in what was otherwise a pretty dismal game.
11:04 So, yeah, it's going to be tight, but three points is an absolute must if you're looking at the fixture they've got coming up.
11:11 Yeah, it stands as a real opportunity to slowly move out of that,
11:17 try and move out of that little pack that is developing, because they are in 18th at the moment.
11:22 It's not a place they want to be in.
11:23 And Brighton coming up, West Ham, United, Liverpool.
11:27 This is a real big game and they need three points.
11:31 Well, just on Abdoulaye Décoré, their top scorer this season,
11:35 and we have spoke about Carvalho trying to ingrain himself back into the goals.
11:41 How much do they rely on Décoré coming from that midfield position and that 10-roll and scoring big goals for them?
11:48 And is it a bit of an over-reliance, do you feel?
11:51 Yeah, I mean, the facts don't lie, do they?
11:54 When Everton don't have Décoré, the Arnheinskill decide, they don't threaten as much.
11:59 And I think he's been missing 10 of the past 11 games.
12:02 He came back briefly and then suffered another hamstring injury on his alternative leg.
12:10 So, Sean's ice squad would probably look at this and think,
12:14 'Can I throw him straight back into the deep end again?'
12:16 Because he's already broken down once and have brought him straight back into the team.
12:20 But Everton need results and can they risk not having him?
12:24 Because he's a unique player as a quality.
12:26 There probably aren't many players like him in the Premier League.
12:29 He just is run on power and his tenacity.
12:34 He's difficult to mark just because he's not a midfielder.
12:38 He's not a centre midfielder.
12:40 He's not a striker, but he's not your quintessential number 10 that links midfield and attack openers at the nucleus of everything.
12:49 He's not like that.
12:51 But Everton, they like to play on the counter-attack and that's why when you can get him with the ball,
12:58 it's difficult to force really.
13:01 He's had a couple of combinations.
13:03 I think Jack Harrison's probably done the best, but he's a different player.
13:06 He's a little bit jinky, more technical, but probably better out wide.
13:11 Arnold Van Duur has had a go.
13:13 He hasn't really done anything for me and he's injured for the next couple of weeks anyway.
13:18 Who's the other options Everton could bring in?
13:20 Maybe try Lewis Dobbin there.
13:22 He's got the experience.
13:23 The only way you get experience by playing him, he's done okay off the bench.
13:26 Dobbin, but yeah.
13:28 Beto, when he's played Calvert-Lewin and Beto, it hasn't worked.
13:32 Beto's still... I feel for him because he struggles to get momentum, but he is raw.
13:39 And Sean Dyche wants to keep him raw, but when do you get to the point where you think,
13:43 "Oh, surely he needs to hone a couple of things about his game rather than being this player that comes off the bench?"
13:49 It's a bit of a bull in the china shop really.
13:55 Sometimes it can work, but you get found out quickly in the Premier League.
13:59 It'll catch up on you sooner rather than later.
14:03 No, to call a bath on the grass is Sean Dyche's.
14:06 But it's a case of where he is in his recovery this week.
14:10 And as I say, he won't want him breaking down again because if the arse are getting any points back,
14:15 and the arse is maybe getting even more points from them,
14:18 then they are in a dogfight and they're going to need everyone available and the better players.
14:23 [BLANK_AUDIO]