Didn't see the match as was traveling abroad but the line up looked like we were just trying to outmuscle them. We picked our six biggest guys in midfield and attack which doesn't seem obviously silly against a lower division side on a bad pitch.
I agree. Of course, one thing it did prove is that simply being a flat-track bully really doesn't get you very far in the professional game, even against Div 2 sides. I really do hope that Poch learns this lesson.
Perhaps not. But it starved us of creativity and there was a giant hole between midfield and the strikers, with no one to provide a link. Kane and Llorente ended up receiving balls with their back to goal, and no options to pass to, whether backwards, out wide, or from someone making a run.
Llorente was appalling. His first touch was a joke, his passing was terrible and he barely moved the whole time he was on the pitch.
Something along the lines of Sissoko gives us energy not many other players do and therefore is very important in the way that Poch wants us to play. Also how Sissoko started off on the wrong foot with the Spurs fans and that has blinkered our opinion of him.
Anyway. Enough of this. I'm off to my Liberal club in Rochdale. I may be back later, or I may not be back later. It depends on whether or not any of you lads want the banter, yeah?
We are nearly two seasons in, and Sissoko has not delivered. In fact, after the beginning of the season where he looked like he was fronting up enough to be considered squad level, he has currently reverted back to his 2016-17 self. All the other stats (goals, assists, tackles etc) will corroborate this.
Sissoko is becoming something of an enigma, there are aspects of his play that Poch is bound to like, his running stats are I would imagine very good, and he is very quick and we here often bemoan the lack of pace in the team. But these are his physical attributes and in my opinion (which I think is similar to others here) they pale into insignificance when they are put alongside his technical attributes which are just so lacking. I look at him with the ball at his feet, and I am struggling to think of a player that we have played in my lifetime who was less comfortable with the ball – he makes Vlad Chiriches look like David Ginola, the closest I can get was experiment of playing Goran Bunjevcevic in midfield and even he may have played more telling passes than Sissoko.
Many fans at the moment seems to be saying things like “we all give Sissoko a lot of ****, but “x” player was far worse today.” However, where as 1 or 2 players in each game may be worse than him, it’s usually just 1 game, or maybe a few where they are off form, at worst. Sissoko is consistently poor, and has been forever, and even when he’s played “better”, it’s not that he’s actually been any good. It’s that he’s been better than usual, but it still isn’t good enough. Some fans have accepted his mediocrity, and are brainwashed by an out-of-character-slightly-better-than-normal performance. He’s garbage, and hasn’t contributed anything. Regarding comments about “pace”, TCM, I see many fans on social media that seem to think an attacking player with blistering acceleration who can bomb it down the wing is the answer. Whilst it wouldn’t hurt to have someone like that at all, I think the “pace” we need is slightly more complicated than that. Personally, I think we’d benefit more from someone who has quick feet, a quick brain, and quick acceleration over a short distance. There’s no point in having someone who can win a race over 40yards when every ****ing defence we face is sat so deep. We need someone who is intelligent, intricate, and moves the ball at pace, IMO. After all, the ball will move faster than any player.
Sissoko's so bad that even my Mum says he's ****... And she's one of those happy clappers who very rarely sees negatives.
On Friday, both ESPN and the Standard ran an interview with Poch during which he was asked about Sissoko and why the great lump has featured in all but one of our 30 games this season. He replied, and I quote: "You have to give the credit to him because he is the only player who provides balance in those transitions -- offensive to defensive, defensive to offensive -- in the team," Pochettino said. "There is no other player in the team who can provide that. This is the best quality he provides to the team. The team needs that balance nowadays. He has been one of our most important players." Three days later and I'm still trying to decipher what on earth our beloved manager is on about. Does he see the ability to run up and down a pitch quite quickly but do nothing if god forbid presented with a spherical object a 'transitional' quality? Transitioning between what and what? Between us having possession and our opponents getting it back? Between the ball being in play and going out for a throw or corner? What exactly does he mean? And what 'balance' does he refer to? The balancing act of having top 4 aspirations but somehow playing like West Brom? Generously balancing our needs with the needs of our opponents? Making it easier for MOTD to balance their air time? I'd love our brainier tacticians to have a crack at this because in all honesty if these comments aren't simply a ploy to dangle the great lump in the shop window while a few days remain, I'd advise @Spurlock to get in touch with Poch asap because whatever the man is smoking is some good **** mate.
We need decisive forward players with speed of thought and actions, time and again Sissoko does so much good work going forward before the critical moment when 8 times out of 10 he will fluff his lines. He does however, at times, offer some important defensive work, he sometimes covers the full back and pops up with the odd vital interception.
It must be a ploy to help us recover the majority of the money we paid for him. No sane person would make comments like this. Poch has said throughout the window that January is a difficult time to buy. And now we’re looking at Moura, as well as another potential singing in the last few days, if the right deal comes along. - very different to our position a couple of weeks ago. I can only think these comments about Sissoko are purely tactical. There’s no way so many people can think the complete opposite about him.
In terms of athletic ability, you'd have to say Sissoko is right near the top. In terms of footballing ability, you'd have to say Sissoko is rooted firmly at the bottom with a gap the size of Katie Price's vag between him and second bottom.
If Moura + one other non-HG are incoming, then the value of Sissoko will be shown in who Pochettino drops from the CL squad (other than probably Foyth) .
There's a long list of reasons why Sissoko's featured far more regularly this season i.) Wanyama being injured for half the season ii.) Dembele being unable to play twice in a week iii.) Dier being moved into defence to cover for Alderweireld being injured iv.) Winks' short-term injury keeping him out for over a month v.) At various times during the season we have lacked either Son or Lamela for the attacking band vi.) Resting players for more important fixtures a few days after the one he is playing in Of course, there's another way to phrase this 1.) Due to our worrying lack of squad depth in several positions, all it takes is one injury and there's an opening for Sissoko - and we've had a lot of injuries this season...
Sissoko must be some African dialect for 'Water Carrier'. With the right players around him, he fulfills a certain purpose. He runs all day, is strong, he doesn't dive into unnecessary tackles and he can get the ball up the pitch very fast. I can't really believe it but I've come to appreciate his 'talents'. Unfortunately, there must be another African dialect in which Sissoko means 'Talentless Oaf'. Ask him to display a modicum of footballing skill and he is totally undone. He can't cross, shoot, pass or do anything that even a moderate footballer should be able to do to some degree. How he became our most expensive signing will be a mystery for all time.
I'm looking forward to see what Newport can do on a normal football pitch,not an allotment plot provided by the Newport Council! Also,I'm wondering if they keep playing Sissoko, are they trying not to admit signing a duffer?
The best possible use I can think of for Sissoko is how we deployed Dembele a few times in Poch's season, as a high-pressing number ten ...yes, I am aware that description implies the best use for him is for when we don't have the ball, or at the very least when he doesn't have the ball
