David Lynch ep 29

Lewis

Hello and welcome to the next episode of All Things Liverpool. I'm Lewis Nolan, a reporter for Sportsmail and once again, Liverpool have won and once again, I'm delighted to say David Lynch has joined us.

West Ham win reaction

Lewis

The best place to start would obviously be what Liverpool's winning against West Ham.

Liverpool won 2-1 at Anfield and I thought it was a really strong first half performance with Diaz opening the scoring and looking generally quite dangerous. The only real chance that West Ham had was from Mohamed Koudous but then the second half was completely different and I thought that it was quite sloppy from Liverpool and I think West Ham could have easily taken a point. Do you think that was perhaps a bit of arrogance from Liverpool that they just assumed they would beat West Ham?

David

I wonder whether it was more to kind of do with the stakes and sort of that natural reaction that you have in matches where it's kind of 1-0 and the later it gets, the more you kind of get into the mindset of we've got to hold what we've got here, we've got a one goal lead, let's not throw it away looking for a second.

So you kind of get caught don't you sometimes and it seemed to me like one of those games really. I have to say that first half was really impressive and I thought Liverpool, going 1-0 at half time, having played really well and a really good performance off the back of a disappointment at Fulham and you thought okay, it's going to be a handy win, we're going to have this wrapped up in decent time and it's going to be one of those comfortable afternoons that you look forward to, which Liverpool haven't really had too many of those this season. But yeah, completely different in the second half.

I thought West Ham grew and grew into it and like I say, I think that was West Ham having the mentality of well, we might as well go for it because we're losing and it's better to come away with something than nothing. But also Liverpool as well, kind of giving in to them a little bit and giving up the ball a bit easily and just not taking the right risks and just being very safe in the play and then when you do that, it allows them to build pressure and that's kind of how it went really in the end. It's a combination, as I say, of kind of Liverpool and their mentality but also West Ham's mentality and also quality, which I think is something we should acknowledge as well because I said this after the match, you look through that team and they end the day in 17th in the Premier League table and you've got Jarrah Bowen, Pekka Tarr, Kudu, so I thought they were all very, very impressive on the day.

So those things combined, as I say, that kind of game state mentality combined to make for a different second half. But thankfully, obviously Liverpool kind of get away with it in the end, but not without a little bit of drama involved.

Lewis

Yeah, I mean, three points is all that matters, but obviously Van Dijk will take a lot of the plaudits for scoring the winner.

Salah was brilliant in the first half, but I wanted to highlight the impact of Alisson Becker in goal, because Kelleher is a fantastic goalkeeper. He's more than capable of playing for many teams in the Premier League, but it's so good to have Alisson Becker and that makes me think Mamadash Veli is coming in in the summer. He's going to have his work cut out again at the team, won't he?

David

Yeah, I think the last two games really kind of underlined the step in quality between those two players, hasn't it, Kelleher and Alisson, because I think you came away from the Fulham game thinking, you know, Liverpool probably did deserve to lose that game.

But, you know, if Alisson's in goal for a couple of those, maybe did he not go in? You know, I think one in particular goes to Kelleher's legs, doesn't feel like one that Alisson would concede. And then you come into this game and Alisson plays a huge part in Liverpool coming away with the win to the point that you'd say, you know, they don't win the game if they don't have him in goal. So, you know, he is for me the best goalkeeper in the world at the moment and continually shows that.

And, you know, some outrageous saves. I mean, the one from Kudus in the first half is really good as well to tip it onto the bar. But then the trademark one is Jarrod Bowen, isn't it, when he charges out, makes himself so big and you just always back him in those situations.

Whereas, you know, you really usually, most of the goalkeepers would think that when a forward of that quality gets that chance, it's ending up in the back of the net. So, yeah, he's absolutely massive for Liverpool. And this whole story really around the goalkeepers coming into the summer is pretty fascinating really in terms of what Liverpool do.

My understanding is nothing's kind of set yet. I think the only thing we can guarantee is that Kelleher will move on, although, you know, still got to wait for the right money to come in. There's still got to be interest there.

But I do expect that it will come together for him this summer and he will leave. But obviously, there's still then that competition and that, you know, the fact that George Umamadashvili is joining Liverpool this summer. How do Liverpool shake that out? Now, it turns out they resolved that.

Like I say, nothing's really been planned yet. There's quite a lot up in the air as well in terms of do the Saudi clubs come in for Alisson more firmly this summer? There was definite interest last summer that they did contact his representatives, but it didn't go much further than that. Do they come in harder? Is he willing to go? If the money's right, are Liverpool willing to let that happen or do they see it as the ideal situation? And I think this is the way they would like this to play out, really, is to get another season of Alisson after this with Umamadashvili as the number two, getting plenty of games because we've seen Kelleher's played plenty this season, hasn't he? You know, in the domestic cups, whenever Alisson's injured, which unfortunately happens a little too frequently, really get him adapted and settled in.

And then maybe that next summer, then you could say to Alisson, you could kind of send him off with everyone's well wishes. I think, in theory, that's kind of how Liverpool would ideally see it play out. But like I said, a lot up in the air at the moment and no firm decisions made yet.

Lewis

Salah contract

Well, you mentioned the Saudi Pro League. One player that they won't be signing is Mohamed Salah because he signed a new deal at Liverpool for two extra seasons after this year. And it's just the news that we all wanted, really, because he's just having a fantastic season.

He's one of the best Premier League, probably, players to have ever played in the division. And now that he's confirmed to be staying, I keep thinking about the type of records he could break because he only needs three more assists this season to break Thierry Henry's record. And in the back of my mind, I have Alan Shearer's record.

He might need another new contract. But how far do you think he can go? Do you think he can beat Roger Hunt to second place in Liverpool's all-time scoring list? He needs 43 more goals. So what sort of heights will he be able to reach in these next two seasons?

David

Yeah, I mean, you think of the current rate that he scores at, Roger Hunt in the next two seasons really shouldn't be out of reach.

I mean, he's still got another six games left this season where he can get a couple of goals there and, you know, maybe even more. He could bang a hat trick in one of these games. That absolutely is realistic.

And then all of a sudden, you know, you really are closing in on it. And I think Shearer feels a little bit out of reach, but we don't know with Salah. This is the thing, the decline that it's going to get him and it gets everyone is very, very hard to predict when it comes.

And, you know, I say that the argument for him signing a new contract for two years this season, all season long has been for me, he's probably not going to hit these heights next season, but he will still be Liverpool's top scorer. That's why you have to keep him because you can't replace those goals going into next season. So if he is, he delivers on that.

He's another season closer. He's another 25, 30 goals closer to that target. And then it's, you know, you do start getting close to Shearer and you start kind of eyeing up whether that is possible.

He would need another contract, of course, but I think you can realistically say that I would expect him to finish second on Liverpool's all-time top scorers list. And, you know, he's moving up that Premier League all-time top scorers list. He will need maybe another couple of contracts if we start going down to one-year deals.

But you wouldn't bet against him. The way he looks after himself, you know, how Liverpool use him, how Liverpool are aware of the fact that, you know, they feed a lot of the goal-scoring chances through him and that's the plan. If you keep doing that, then there's really no reason why he can't keep scoring goals.

And, you know, Liverpool have made that bet, haven't they, by giving him that two-year contract and doesn't sound like he's in any mood to leave and go to Saudi Arabia either. He wants to compete at the highest level for as long as possible. So, very difficult to predict when that decline will be.

But if, you know, if there's anyone who can stave it off for two, three, maybe even four years, it's someone like Mohamed Salah, who, you know, his body is a temple, isn't it? Really looks after himself. He's in great shape. So, I'm sure Liverpool fans will be hoping that he can keep banging the goals in for a long while yet.

Lewis

I remember when he signed the last contract, people were saying that that would be his final contract at Liverpool. So, if he was to sign, first of all, do you think that he could sign another? Do you think it's a realistic possibility that he could sign another deal after this current one expires? And if he does, would he then, in your opinion, have to maybe adapt his game in terms of maybe moving more central to maybe accommodate his drop-off in pace perhaps? Or just how would you see that playing out?

David

Yes, it's an interesting one. I mean, I probably would have put myself in the camp of someone who thought his last one would have maybe been his last contract because, you know, I foolishly put him in the realm of kind of human beings who would start to show signs of decline at this point.

But obviously, the fact that he's enjoying probably his best season in the Liverpool shirt at the moment, which is, I really did not see that coming at this stage of his career. So, he's absolutely earned that new contract and deserves it. And it makes it easier as well, like, because his numbers are so good this season, he's played so well, been so influential.

It makes Liverpool's job straightforward of kind of, you know, this is something we talked about a while ago and it's very much my understanding that, OK, we'll just do two years at the same terms again then. That made it so easy because he's scoring at this ridiculous rate. He is the best player in the world.

That's not a difficult decision for Liverpool to make. Obviously, once those numbers start to creep downwards, then it does get a little trickier and maybe you get to the end of this two-year deal and kind of the numbers are less and he's more towards kind of 15 to 20 goals a season. And then it's kind of, OK, what do we do about terms there? You're probably going to have to take a pay cut.

That's when it gets really, really tricky. But as I say, we don't know when that decline is going to come. If it's going to come in the next two, three years, maybe it can go a little longer, maybe a move to a more central position could help him.

You know, I still feel like he's got an awful lot more to give. So, you know, he could be one of those like Ronaldo, for example, who continues kind of scoring into the later part of his career. I mean, you'd like to think he's a bit more creative and he offers more to the team in general.

And that would be something Liverpool would look at because they don't just need a selfish goalscorer. They need somebody who contributes to the team. But, yeah, it's hard to pick out when that's going to be.

And, you know, I wouldn't want to sit here now, having probably pretty confidently predicted that last contract would be his last one and that he wouldn't want to sign another year extension that Liverpool wouldn't want to give it to him because he wants to play for Liverpool for as long as possible and at the highest level for as long as possible. And so that helps in terms of extending that contract. But, yeah, at least we know for now we're going to get another two years and then we'll see how many goals he scores in that time and how easy that makes the next contract discussion.

Van Dijk

Lewis

Well, let's see. Let's hope he starts off his new contract with breaking Thierry Henry's assist record. But another piece of news came out in the previous week that Van Dijk is also close to signing a new deal and against West Ham he scored the winner.

There was a bit of a mix-up for West Ham's goal between him and Robertson. But I'm sure you're going to tell Sportsmo exclusively that the deal has already been signed and that it's just waiting to be announced.

David

Yeah, well, I mean, except for final details, my expectation is at the moment that it will be announced before this week is out.

So we are very, very close to that being done. So that's quite exciting and really good news for Liverpool. I mean, yeah, he's just colossal, isn't he, for Liverpool? He's so, so important.

And another one where he made it easy for Liverpool because he is at the moment the best centre-back in the world. And it's, look, do you want to go into the market and try and replace me next summer or do you want to sign me up on this two-year deal on similar terms to what I'm on and recognise that I can keep doing this for a little longer? And, you know, he just made it straightforward for them again. And, you know, again, shows at the weekend.

I mean, that rare error where he boots the ball off Robertson but immediately goes up the other end and atones for it. And, you know, he's someone who scores big goals as well. You know, you think of the League Cup final, you think of the fact he scores against Everton on his debut.

He's, you know, a player who can stand up in those big moments plus everything else he brings to the party, which includes being a centre-half who plays the game like nobody ever has before. So, yeah, it's an absolute no-brainer for Liverpool to sign him up. And like I say, news expected on that before the week is out.

So that's, yeah, even better news for Liverpool. And for all the worry there's been over these contracts and all the nail bites and all the teeth gnashing, all the anger at times, you know, Liverpool are going to be in a position where they've got two out of the three done. And I think the third is a unique situation where the players maybe wanted to just go and try something different.

So, I think you've got to give credit to the sporting director and credit to the ownership for getting that done.

Lewis

Yeah, well, two out of three isn't bad, but I don't think...

David

Who sang that? Yeah, who sang that?

Lewis

I don't think it's controversial to say that Van Dijk and Salah are probably Liverpool's two best players. And I bring this up because I saw an interesting comment from Thierry Henry saying that he believes that Van Dijk is Liverpool's most important player, while Mohamed Salah is Liverpool's most valuable player.

Is that an assessment that you think is fair? And one that you'd agree with?

David

Yeah, I don't know on this one because I feel like maybe Thierry Henry for some reason doesn't have the same bias. Maybe it's because I kind of play as a forward myself. But I always kind of think in football, there's a reason that forwards are paid the most money.

There's a reason that they are the superstars. And it's not just because everybody loves goals. It's because goals are the hardest thing to do in football.

It's because goals roughly translate to a point in terms of the standing. So, every goal you score is, you know, that's one of the things in analytics that they generally look at is, many goals you score generally earn you a point. So, they are the most important things in football.

They are the hardest thing to do. And I think if you've got someone who can consistently do that over eight years, as Mohamed Salah has done, you know, you have to recognise that person as the most important. I think, you know, I would never like to see a world where Van Dijk gets dragged out for the team for a long while.

And I know people will say that season where he was injured, but of course, Liverpool lost basically every other centre-half as well. That really compounded the issue. So, we don't have a good sense of what that would look like.

But I just think taking Salah out over a long period would probably hurt more, in my opinion, if Liverpool had their other centre-halves fit. I still think it would make the team, I think a team without Van Dijk probably wouldn't be able to challenge for the Premier League or the Champions League would probably be in and around that top four. But I think if you take Salah out, you probably decline much further because goals are important and very difficult to do.

And there's nobody who can come in and get, you know, as much as Van Dijk is probably the best centre-half there's ever been, I think the next best centre-half at Liverpool is probably closer to him than the next best forward in the world is to Mohamed Salah, if you get me. I just think forwards are, you know, it's ridiculous what they do and the hardest thing to do and virtually impossible to replace. And Liverpool, as I say, have got arguably the best player in the world at the moment in Mohamed Salah.

So, yeah, for me, he is and has been really since he signed Liverpool's most important player, really.

Lewis

Well, the most important thing for Liverpool is that both of them sign extensions.

Luis Diaz replacement

Lewis

And speaking of Van Dijk, he kind of turned into a bit of a transfer journalist briefly after the West Ham game because he mentioned that it could be a really interesting summer for Liverpool in terms of incomings.

And there's obviously been lots of links to different attackers, but recent links have emerged to Xavi Simmonds of RB Leipzig. I've watched a fair bit of him for Leipzig and I think the quality is definitely there. Is he someone that you think that fans should keep an eye on as a potential target?

David

Yeah, I think this has been doing the rounding, as I mentioned on a podcast.

So I do definitely believe there's someone Liverpool are interested in. Yeah, so he's a player they like 100 percent. He looks like he's going to, well, I think he's almost certain he's going to be on the market this summer because he signed that permanent deal with RB Leipzig, but only a two-year contract.

So that is clearly a view to selling him this summer for, they will hope, decent money. But yeah, he's a player Liverpool like. The one thing I would say about that is that, you know, they like a few players.

I think he's definitely one who's in the camp of, you know, if we can do this deal, we will. But I think there definitely has to be a spot that opens up for him in the squad. And at the moment, you know, that probably doesn't exist.

I mean, he plays off the left-hand side where they're quite well stocked with Diaz and Gakpo, aren't they? You play in that central attacking midfield role where you've got Dominic Sobislai, you've got Harvey Elliott. So they're pretty well stocked in those areas at the moment. So I'm not saying that they're going to go into this summer with him as a priority target, but I think maybe they feel that there's potential for those spots to open up.

I mean, there's real doubts over Luis Diaz and that Saudi interest is there that we know about. And of course, Harvey Elliott, again, hasn't played as much as he would like. So maybe, you know, if a decent offer comes in for him, would he consider making that move? We'll have to see.

But that would open up space for someone like Xabi Simmonds to come in. But of course, you know, there are things that have to happen there for Liverpool to definitely want to keep an eye on and definitely on the radar at the moment. And as you say, an interesting and talented player.

So, you know, that's encouraging in terms of what Liverpool are looking at.

Lewis

So in your opinion, a left-sided attacker is only a priority if one of Gakpo or Diaz leaves?

David

Yeah, absolutely. I just don't think you could fit one into the squad otherwise.

I mean, it's interesting that Liverpool were looking and considering Fabric Scalia in January. That was something that they didn't go much further with it because they got the real picture from his representatives that he was quite keen on making the move to PSG in the end. And they'd done a lot of legwork on it.

So it never really materialised. But maybe they do think that something is going to open up on that left-hand side. So, you know, like I say, Diaz is two years out from the end of his contract.

There's real potential for him to move on this summer, particularly as he wants a bit of a wage bump as well. And I don't think Liverpool are going to give that to him. I think it's an interesting one because Liverpool are probably already going to have to sign someone to replace Darwin Nunes as well.

There's probably other areas of the squad where players are going to leave and they're going to leave themselves with too much to do. But, you know, the interest in Simmonds, I think, absolutely links to the fact that Diaz, there is interest in him and potential for him to go this summer. But every time I say that to myself, I'm like, could you let Diaz go? He's scored a decent amount of goals this season.

He's been versatile. He's been really useful. You know, I'm sure people would like more output from him.

I'm sure Liverpool feel that they could possibly upgrade on him. But they've got so many other things to do in this summer. So, you know, how busy will they want it to be? But clearly, this link is with that in mind.

And, you know, there is a possibility that Diaz does move on and open up a spot there.

Lewis

Well, I guess if Liverpool did want to sell Diaz, it probably would be the right time, considering this is probably where the club will get maximum value for him. But something to keep an eye on in the summer.

Leicester City

Lewis

Moving back to matters on the football pitch itself, Liverpool's weekend game will be against Leicester. Leicester will be relegated if Liverpool win. And Leicester scored twice against Brighton on the weekend, and they were their first goals in nine Premier League matches.

I don't want to underestimate any Premier League opponent, because if you're in the Premier League, you've done something good to get there. But if there was ever a game where you could pick off three points, it's surely this.

David

Yeah, I mean, you could say there's been a slight improvement in the form there, given they drew a game after losing something like nine on the bounce.

But yeah, I mean, this is a pretty accommodating fixture for Liverpool, even with it being away from home. I mean, Leicester have just been remarkably poor this season, really. And it kind of surprises me that they're not lower than Southampton.

And when I've watched both sides, I've seen a little more in Southampton than I have Leicester. Obviously, Leicester picked up a few wins earlier in the season, but they've been pretty shocking otherwise. So, you know, as much as you say, really, you'd think that you can't underestimate anyone in the Premier League.

This is a game Liverpool should be winning and winning quite comfortably, really. And, you know, as much as Leicester won't want that relegation to be confirmed officially, it's coming regardless. And I'm not sure that extra motivation will make them much of a better team.

And at the end of the day, in terms of motivation, Liverpool have got their own as well, which is wrapping up that Premier League title as quickly as possible. So you'd like to think if Liverpool could have one of those rare kind of straightforward games, because most of the games this season have been tight. But this is a game where Liverpool should surely be winning it fairly comfortably.

Lewis

Yeah, most LL3 goals, most LL3 assists. But if Liverpool beat Leicester, they're one win away from securing the Premier League title. So like you said, that's enough incentive to go out there and win comfortably.

But do you think that, not that Liverpool fans should care, but in order to earn the respect and recognition for how good they've actually been this season, do you think that Liverpool have to get a points total of at least 90? Because I've seen a lot of people saying that Liverpool is fortunate, a lot of the big teams are having a down year. And maybe if they reach that 90 point mark, maybe no one will be able to say anything, because it'll be in history books as one of the few sides to have actually gotten 90 plus points.

David

Yeah, I mean, it's right, really, in that it would probably kind of silence some of the arguments.

And you could say, look, they won it with 90 points. So regardless of if, you know, Arsenal had had a good season, for example, they haven't hit 90 points recently. You know, they got to 89 last season.

That's the highest for a long time. And so they haven't broke the 90 point barrier. So you could say, well, even if Arsenal had a season as good as the last one, they still wouldn't have beaten Liverpool.

I think the thing that kind of conspires against Liverpool in this regard, though, is that they probably could have it wrapped up with four or five games to go. And so they don't need to win games. And so they can rotate.

And so maybe you will even see some of the kids involved in some of the games as well. So I think that maybe counts against them instead of getting 90. But look, who cares? At the end of the day is my kind of take on this and these attempts to do down what Liverpool have done.

And it's not even an argument that's worth trying to win online because, you know, when the title's won, if you're a Liverpool supporter, don't celebrate with your mates, your family. Go and just enjoy every minute of it and soak it up because, you know, this is the first chance that fans have got to do this in three decades where Liverpool have won the title and everybody's not trapped inside the houses. So, you know, you should not be able to be rattled by what people say online about this stuff because, you know, football's for you.

It's the relationships you create for your friends and family, as I say. And, you know, what the nonsense people say online to make themselves feel better about it should just be ignored, I think. And you should just soak up the joy in every minute of this when Liverpool do confirm that they've won it.

Lewis

Yeah, genuinely supporters, as a Liverpool fan myself, I wouldn't care how many points Liverpool get when they win it, just as long as they win it, which they will. And hopefully they'll go within one win of it and win the title against Spurs at Anfield in the following week. But that was my final question, David.

Thank you so much for joining us again. And I'm sure we'll be talking about another Liverpool victory next week. So thank you, David.

David

Thank you.