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Moussa Sissoko

nayimfromthehalfwayline said:
Poch decided it would be better for us to play loose, score less, concede more, cede meaningful possession and lose more games?
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If Sissoko was genuinely that detrimental to the team though, I am sure Poch, a highly astute manager, would not continue playing him. He would put the kids in if he had to like he did with Mason and Bentaleb.
 
Robspur12 said:
If Sissoko was genuinely that detrimental to the team though, I am sure Poch, a highly astute manager, would not continue playing him. He would put the kids in if he had to like he did with Mason and Bentaleb.
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Damned if you do, damned if you dont territory.

To Sissokos credit he has a great mentality, nothing seems to phase him. He is also physically one of the best footballers Ive seen, his combination of strength, pace, stamina is rare.

If I were choosing between the lesser of two evils, being a senior and fit pro with a good attitude and a kid who could get swamped by the situation - Id choose Sissoko.

This was a patch job for a full season, not a few games, any kid coming in to that job would need to be a rare talent.
 
nayimfromthehalfwayline said:
Damned if you do, damned if you dont territory.

To Sissokos credit he has a great meteorology, nothing seems to phase him. He is also physically one of the best footballers Ive seen, his combination of strength, pace, stamina is rare.

If I were choosing between the lesser of two evils, being a senior and fit pro with a good attitude and a kid who could get swamped by the situation - Id choose Sissoko.

This was a patch job for a full season, not a few games, any kid coming in to that job would need to be a rare talent.
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Similar gait to Yaya when he gets into his stride, if only Sissoko had the Toure’s prowess in front of goal but probably too old to learn how to shoot properly.
 
Robspur12 said:
You post the figures but your conclusion that our problems are down to a lack of quality from Sissoko and Sissoko alone makes a straw man conclusion. Dembele was a injured then left and was not replaced. The entire central midfield other than Sissoko was either injured (winks) or off form (Dier and Wanyama) or not playing well. Plus we had a right full back who could not recover his defensive positions quickly. Those are the reasons we had to adapt our play.
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Dembele was replaced in our system - by Sissoko.

It's absolutely not Sissoko's fault that he's not nearly the player Dembele is - I've never said it is. But it's ridiculous to think that we can continue playing Sissoko in that role without further degradation of our performances. Before you suggest it, he's not playing the defensive side nearly as well as a peak Dier or Wanyama either - posted the stats either here or in the Eriksen thread recently.

So he doesn't really fit either of the midfield roles our midfield is based around. We scratched by with the "air raid" setup we've been using lately but that's not how I'd like to see us continue and I'd worry for Poch's sanity/intelligence if he does either.
 
scaramanga said:
Dembele was replaced in our system - by Sissoko.

It's absolutely not Sissoko's fault that he's not nearly the player Dembele is - I've never said it is. But it's ridiculous to think that we can continue playing Sissoko in that role without further degradation of our performances. Before you suggest it, he's not playing the defensive side nearly as well as a peak Dier or Wanyama either - posted the stats either here or in the Eriksen thread recently.

So he doesn't really fit either of the midfield roles our midfield is based around. We scratched by with the "air raid" setup we've been using lately but that's not how I'd like to see us continue and I'd worry for Poch's sanity/intelligence if he does either.
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That is partly because he is a box to box midfielder rather than a dedicated holding midfielder. It's like competing in a decathlon rather than competing in a specialist event. The decathlete will never be as good as a specialist at individual events.

Putting aside stats for a second, as you cannot reduce everything down to a series of numbers. Even AVB realised that. I have watched him hold up plenty of counter attacks and also make some excellent tackles in around the box running from a more advanced position. Of course he is not as good as Dembele, not many players are. But replacing Dembele is going to be difficult. We may have to adapt to a new system again next year. Sissoko has done a very good job defensively in the meantime.

One of the key reasons our pressing from the front suffered last season was that Kane was either injured or not fully fit. His work without the ball is something we really miss when he is out. Also the ball sticks to him. Son as good as he is doesn't press as well as Kane and his first touch is awful a lot of the time.
 
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I love Sissoko, but of all our midfield players, he will likely be the first one replaced in the starting lineup. He offers stability and when we need a destroyer he will be our man, but when that is not the case I would expect to see him rotated out.
 
Robspur12 said:
That is partly because he is a box to box midfielder rather than a dedicated holding midfielder. It's like competing in a decathlon rather than competing in a specialist event. The decathlete will never be as good as a specialist at individual events.

Putting aside stats for a second, as you cannot reduce everything down to a series of numbers. Even AVB realised that. I have watched him hold up plenty of counter attacks and also make some excellent tackles in around the box running from a more advanced position. Of course he is not as good as Dembele, not many players are. But replacing Dembele is going to be difficult. We may have to adapt to a new system again next year. Sissoko has done a very good job defensively.

One of the key reasons our pressing from the front suffered last season was that Kane was either injured or not fully fit. His work without the ball is something we really miss when he is out. Also the ball sticks to him. Son as good as he is doesn't press as well as Kane and his first touch is awful a lot of the time.
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I'm not sure that really answers my point.

Sissoko fulfils neither of the two midfield roles we have been successful in deploying. He may have done some good defensive work, but it's less than Dier or Wanyama. He may have done some work moving the ball forwards, but he does it less than Dembele (by a long way).

We've found the tactic that suits Sissoko and allows us to play to his very limited strengths. We've had to because everyone else has been crocked. Problem is, that tactical (and personnel) shift has seen our xG diminish rapidly whilst our xGA is going through the roof. The most complimentary way I can describe our current tactics is sub-optimal but they're what we're stuck with if we play Sissoko.
 
Fast forward a year where we have just won the CL for the first time and this thread will still be at the top of the charts debating whether Sissoko is good enough or not....
 
Longleat Safari park is bigger than I thought

Is this one of those ITK riddles, Hercules the Lion, Aston Villa, omg!!!
 
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