All this criticism of Cisse has been over the top. Fair point that he can begin to look like a liability when your asking him to play a lone striker role but the main point everyone seems to be missing is that he cant play up front on his own!!! The blame lies with Hughes for not signing an alternative to Zamora or retaining Helguson. Cisse is a quality finisher and has lots of pace but he can’t hold it up but that has never been his game. If we are playing one up front then Cisse should be on the bench but because of the Welsh moron we have been left in the position that our only real recognised striker was Cisse so by default he was asked to play as our only striker. This was doomed from the start and that’s not because Cisse has become a bad player this year. It was never a job he could do!! For me there is only a place for Cisse in the side if we are playing two up front and the other forward is capable of holding the ball up, allowing the midfield to get forward and have a bit of possession in the oppositions half. The goal he scored against City last game last season is something not many other strikers in the league are capable of but that isn’t the type of goal that any striker can expect to score regularly. The goal against West Brom to get it back to 2-1 is what Cisse is all about. With a fit again Zamora later in the season I think the pair of them will be relied upon when we play the Wigan’s Southampton and Readings again.
Ha ha chill out old boy! That maybe a slightly dubious comment, but personal matters can and do affect players....regardless of their wages. More to the point is the lack of service from a poorly creative midfield (bar tarrabt) and playing that loan striker role is the reason for his poor form.
If his wife died perhaps I'd understand it but the multimillionaire has probably dipped his wick into 20-odd stunners since so I think he'll get over it You make a good point regarding the service mate. He hasn't gotten it, no doubt about it. I just wonder will Harry sacrifice the team/work ethic he has instilled to put in a player - granted, a talented one - but who walks around hand on hips berating Taarabt all the time. I can't see him doing it. Fair point all the same, Franky lad
I guess it's situational, in games where we can attack more and if we have another decent striker to play off, then he can and will be useful and score goals. With our current setup and no holding forward....he's useless.
Hope he goes, he's lazy and offers nothing but goals and those have dried up, playing him just means we constantly give the ball away. He's suited to a big team in an average league.
Harry blamed our defeat to Pool on trying to play 4 4 2 with Cisse forward. He said we didn't have the players for this formation and had to rethink. This may change January of course but I see Cisse as more likely to start again in a more attacking version of what we played at Chelsea and home to Spurs, where Cisse plays off Adel, a bit wide and probably left, instead of SWP or Mackie, and with a better ball player in CM.
But he can play in a 3 in a 4 2 3 1 or in 4 3 3, and he's more likely to net than BZ, AJ, Bothroyd, Hulse, or DJ so the only logic in offloading him would be financial only if we bring in a couple of top top quality......
He can't play in either of those formations because he is up front on his own, a 433 isn't played with 3 up front, just 1. Some would say we played a 433 last game and I wouldnt want him in the SWP or Mackie role. The writing is non the wall when an out of position taarabt is preferred to him.
