NaijaSpurs
Les Ferdinand
When i read that I am tempted to either question your sobriety or wonder if you are @scaramanga in disguise
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Moussa Sissoko
- Thread starter Jordinho
- Start date
When i read that I am tempted to either question your sobriety or wonder if you are @scaramanga in disguise
nayimfromthehalfwayline
Andy Thompson
I thought we looked better when we switched from 352 to 4231. Sissoko played his part, and played it well, Im just saying the tactical change was just as important as his performance. It gave us bodies in the right areas and from that moment we took control of things.
NoLimits01
Goran Bunjevcevic
Last night Sissoko did make a difference but it wasn't all down to him, the first signs of us getting the game under control came when Poch changed the formation to a back 4 and moved Rose into central midfield, I know a lot of you have a thing for Sissoko in here but lets not guild the lily too much eh.
Also don't get the need to compare Sissoko with Dembele all the time and especially not to dismiss and lambaste his performances for us.
Maltese Falcon
Niko Kranjcar
No - you don't.
You exaggerate his weaknesses and play down his strengths and - above all - produce a complete Nelson's eye to his contribution and impact on the team which is obvious to practically everyone other than the usual suspects; often resorting to ridiculous arguments, such as your recent Dembele comparison...
Maltese Falcon
Niko Kranjcar
Couldn't agree more. I only responded to the comparisons raised by the likes of scara and nayim,
I have some great memories of Dembele and appreciate his contribution to our team. Indeed selling him in January was a massive mistake IMHO. However, much as I liked the player, I am not blind to his deficits. I can understand why the Sissoko critics bring up the comparisons because one was a Rolls Royce with the ball and the other is a Land Rover. But both got you to your destination but were equally guilty of breaking down or taking a wrong turn along the way.
nayimfromthehalfwayline
Andy Thompson
Yes, I really do.
Dembele wasnt actually my comparison, I was responding to another poster bringing him up. Though he is often cited, specifically around breaking the lines, as a comparison. Its something both players do, so ist ridiculous. And it was in that specific context it was being discussed.
You see what I mean? I post one thing, clear as day, and people read it as something else entirely.
nayimfromthehalfwayline
Andy Thompson
You should also have noticed that I said upfront - Dembele wasnt amazing at it, and it was often a complaint of mine he held the ball too long.
I just think he was a lot better at it than Sissoko, as was the comparison.
Not my example, as accused, and I even qualified it - as ignored.
glasgowspur
Luka Modric
I agree, apart from the mistake in selling him. He looked done and most likely would have been just another body clogging up the treatment room.
He could have been useful in the run in, but we don't know for sure.
Mosquito_Coasting
Jonathan Woodgate
I think the club took one for the team when selling Dembele, proud of them for doing so. It seemed they told him he could be sold in the summer as he didn't think his body could make it. His body broke down and then they fulfilled their promise. Think it was a favour to him. We could do with him now, he was fading but it's only a little over a year since he utterly bossed Juve and a clutch of top teams last spring.
parklane1
Tony Galvin
He has my vote for sure, he changed the game once he came on last night.
parklane1
Tony Galvin
A player who offered so much but delivered so little ( imo), he had bags of ability but again imo never used it to full effect on most occasions.
Dembele was in the top handful of players in Europe's 5 leagues at deep progressions - breaking the press. He's up there with Messi, Modric, Kroos, Rakitic, etc.
He (when fit) was a genuinely elite player and was the difference between teams bring able to press us and not. When he and Dier were our midfield, we never lost a midfield battle - not even when the opposition overloaded. With Dier as the metronome and Dembele as the break we were pretty much unstoppable and it's the best football I've seen this team play for a generation.
Since he left we're not a possession based team any more - we've given up that control in favour of getting the ball to the forwards as quickly as possible and relying on them to work some magic. We're fortunate that we have two top level forwards in Kane and Son, but that doesn't completely cover our midfield issues.
Have a look at the below to see what's happened since we dropped away from the possession-based play we had with a Dembele/Dier axis and the double whammy of what I call the "Sissoko Effect"
Now until recently, we've outperformed our xG - mainly because of our two elite forwards. That won't continue forever (at least, not at the level it has) as we've seen recently.
Yep - changed a loss into a..... Oh.
parklane1
Tony Galvin
From a bigger loss maybe, i know you do not like to lose face mate but you were/are wrong about Sissoko. Either that or you are on another W/U ( i know its your favorite pass time).
Dembele is (was) an elite player - top 5% in the top 5 leagues in so many important ways.
It may not look like football did in the 80s, so I can understand how it can be confusing to some, but ball retention is very, very important in the modern game. Dembele is how that happens, Sissoko is not that - not by a long way.
90291Spur
Paul Walsh
That he is not (shockingly Sissoko is unable to play like Dembele, a player that few can play like), but he has become, and I know you hate it. an important part of how Poch gets this team to play (the team currently 3rd in the PL and still alive in the semis of the CL.
Dembele is (was) an elite player - top 5% in the top 5 leagues in so many important ways.
It may not look like football did in the 80s, so I can understand how it can be confusing to some, but ball retention is very, very important in the modern game. Dembele is how that happens, Sissoko is not that - not by a long way.
I agree with the article that those graphics came from - Poch has found a use for Sissoko's limited talents.
That's handy when all our other midfielders are injured and the choice is between Sissoko and a big gap. It's not acceptable to go into yet another season without a fit Dembele replacement and relying on Sissoko as a first choice again.
90291Spur
Paul Walsh
I would hazard a guess that we will sign a midfielder for next season. And congrats on the huge praise for Sissoko. I assume you had a lie down after typing that.
thfcsteff
George Hunt
Dembele is (was) an elite player - top 5% in the top 5 leagues in so many important ways.
It may not look like football did in the 80s, so I can understand how it can be confusing to some, but ball retention is very, very important in the modern game. Dembele is how that happens, Sissoko is not that - not by a long way.
As a team? Absolutely. As an individual? Only if it works for the team. Dembele never quite consistently got this balance right, and thus he often held the ball far too long, failing to make the killer pass. And whisper it...he even started to lose possession a lot more in his last 12 months with us!
jamonserrano
John Scales
Statsbomb statsbomb you're a statsbomb,
You can give it to me when I need to come along