Salah could be a legend like Rush one day
ROBBIE FOWLER claims Mo Salah could join him on the list of all-time Anfield greats – but not just yet.
The Liverpool legend knows a thing about goalscoring. He is the sixth highest scorer in Reds history, and smashed so many records in his dazzling career.
He has also played alongside true heroes such as Ian Rush, Steven Gerrard and John Barnes, and believes current idol Salah has all the attributes and stats to join them.
But Fowler says, even though he is far from branding Salah a one-season wonder, to go down in Anfield legend you need one particular quality: longevity.
“If Mo stays with the club long term, then he has already shown the qualities to suggest he has a real shot of joining those ranks of the true legends,” he said.
“I’ve played with the best at Liverpool: Rush and Barnes, Gerrard and McManaman. Salah has similar qualities.
“You saw this last season and you’ve seen it again this time around. Napoli was a brilliant example where he was the difference. So often he scores the first goal in a tight game, or the winning goal. It’s not a coincidence. He is a real player.”
But Fowler says talk of whether the Premier
League’s current top scorer should be thought of alongside Liverpool’s record scorer Rush – “the best striker of them all” – is premature. He points to his frustration with fans calling Luis Suarez one of the all-time great Reds as a reason why more caution is required. “Salah has shown already that he’s not a one-season wonder, but I’m something of a stickler for longevity when it comes to greatness,” he said. “People go on about Luis Suarez, and no doubt he was a top player for the club, but one of their alltime best? Not a chance, because he was only there for three and a bit seasons.
“It also leaves a bad taste in the mouth the way he left the club, by so obviously engineering a move, not once but twice. I don’t think he qualifies.
“I’m not going to remotely compare Salah to Rush or the others in the top six goalscorers. Why? Not because I don’t rate him, but because I’m waiting. For at least another five years.” What Fowler does see is a cleverness in Salah’s play, which he believes all the great strikers have – and which the Reds ambassador himself displayed. “There’s an argument that Kenny Dalglish or even Gerrard are the greatest of all time for Liverpool, but when it comes to strikers, it’s hard to look past Rush,” said Fowler.
“There’s a lot more to being a great player than just goals, and Rushie had all the other qualities. He had incredible anticipation, pace, movement, and all-important intelligence.
“Salah is a proper goalscorer and he’s also smart enough to adapt and keep scoring.
“I find Salah’s style a little unconventional. He doesn’t always look stylish in the way he kicks the ball, or moves, so maybe that holds me back. But he does the job. He does it well enough to suggest he could be one of the greats… eventually!”