Richard Buxton: Salah not a one-season wonder
Judging Liverpool star, affected by impact of injury and expectations, on his achievements last season is unfair
Mohamed Salah is smarting from something more painful than a Sergio Ramos suplex.
Liverpool's Egyptian king is in danger of being rendered a false pharaoh after another profligate outing in yesterday morning's (Singapore time) stalemate with Manchester City.
Every player knows and fears those three little words which currently haunt him.
One. Season. Wonder.
In football, there is no bigger insult. Given a choice between being the torment of being dogged by such a moniker or a repeat of last season's bruising Champions League final collision with Ramos, Salah could be forgiven for offering his arm to the Real Madrid captain.
Even during an unforeseen lull, he remains comfortably head and shoulders above at Liverpool; continually relied upon as the most potent threat for Juergen Klopp's side.
Salah at full throttle remains the stuff of nightmares for opponents. Pep Guardiola would almost certainly have feared the worst when the 26-year-old left John Stones trailing in his wake midway through an English Premier League title decider that ultimately never was.
What was once an inevitable sucker-punch, however, has been replaced by a punchline.
Where Salah was previously held in the same esteem as both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the conversations are now turning to the less illustrious company of Michu, Roque Santa Cruz and compatriots Mido and Amr Zaki - each one a certifiable one-season wonder.
Harry Kane responded to similar accusations by using the label as the ultimate backhanded compliment to break the 20-goal barrier a further three times in as many seasons.
Tottenham Hotspur fans have long acknowledged their talisman's former moniker for what it is.
At White Hart Lane, Wembley and everywhere in between, they have bellowed about their "one-season wonder", not least when he usurped Messi as Europe's top scorer for 2017.
With six goals in 10 games already this season, Kane is showing no signs of slowing down.
BURDEN OF EXPECTATION
But Salah is an entirely different breed of player to the England captain.
Whereas one is allowed to become a focal point, the other routinely sacrifices himself for the greater good.
Sights of last season's Golden Boot winner decamped in the middle of the pitch in order to provide a meaningful contribution are far from a rarity, even during his free-scoring spell.
Rediscovering the goal trail may prove easier said than done on the back of a trying time.
The magnitude of Ramos' challenge in Kiev little over four months ago cannot be underestimated in its impact; nor can an unhealthy burden of expectation to excel during his homeland's first World Cup appearance since 1990, culminating in an abject group-stage exit.
Scaling the previously uncharted heights of 44 goals in one season again is also weighing down Salah, who amassed double-figure league goals only during two campaigns at AS Roma.
Fluctuating tallies should not diminish his standing among the Anfield faithful.
Those who came before him were still revered by the Kop despite failing to build on prolific standards.
Ian Rush, whose record Salah failed to eclipse last term, could not emulate a personal haul of 47 goals in 1983/84 and only surpassed the 30-strike mark again once in 11 seasons.
Similarly, Fernando Torres was unable to emulate the 24 league goals of his debut campaign while Luis Suarez decided against trying to better a 31-goal run in his final year at Liverpool.
Excuses readily made for the latter's rare glimpses of mortality are already being offered up for Salah's current malaise.
He may not need them for long. Class is permanent, after all.
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