Liverpool FC Forum

by **bigmick** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 10:56 am

A few weeks ago on here there was a thread where Sissoko got debated in depth. Most people (myself included) were of the opinion that he was a good buy at the price and would go on to become a really good player. Some (banana springs to mind) were of the opinion that he is already a very good player and ultimately would become a great one. I remember most disagreed, Stu went in with both feet and it the overall consensus was that our bendy yellow friend had called it wrong again.
I was with the cautious camp, Stu was calling it right for me. Broadly he was saying that however good Sissoko got, any dreams of him being aniother Patrick Vierra were fantasy island material.
The thing is, Momo's performances of the last two games against top opposition have been nothing short of staggering IMHO. His running power and ability to break up the game have been absolutely top-drawer, like Makeleli on speed. It's got me thinking that just maybe I've underestimated the lad. Football is a game which is largely played in the head at this level and Sissoko now knows he can really, properly do the business.
I love football and the different opinions which shift like sand in the tides. I was unconvinced by Pennant but have been won over (good spot Stu) and I've got a feeling I was wrong about Sissoko aswell (fair play Banana). We might just have a serious footballer on our hands here.

by **andy_g** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 11:04 am

i'm still out on this one. its obvious that the lad has talent but it comes and goes. the fact that he has put in these performances against two top sides (at least in the traditional thinking) has been a bonus but i'm still not convionced he'll step up to Viera standards. i only saw the second half yesterday (don't even ask) so i'm not sure how he did in the first, but what i saw was an incredible application to his task and a constant breaking up of play. but many times when he does it he can't make use of the ball and it goes back to the opposition a long way from the elegant and powerful way in which Viera was a master of breaking it up, winning the ball and setting an attack in motion with either a simple or visionary pass.

there's something of the over eagerness still in momo and i honestly still feel happier when our centre midfiled consists of any combination of didi, xabi and stevie. i'm more than happy to give momo plenty of time though because he will surely get better and better.

by **BLANDY** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 11:10 am

GOT TO AGREE WITH ANDY G,s MIDFEILD BUT XAVI,S BEEN KNACKERED OF LATE WE,VE GOT TO USE MOMO SPAREINGLY

by **RedWolf35** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 11:15 am

There is no doubt that if he concentrates on playing with his head rather than his heart then he could be up there with Viera at his best - he reminds me so much of him and time & time again you think he has no chance of getting the ball and he wraps one of those long legs around it and gains possesion an absolute steal at 5 million

well done Rafa

:bowdown

by **darwisigila** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 11:52 am

his weakness= passing or ball distribution. but i think we need a mix of footballer to be a fearsome team. elegant player, skillful player, intellegent player and also robust or aggresive player. and sissoko is robust and aggresive player, with or without flair. its a long way to go if sissoko want to be viera.

by **Noise Noise** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 12:23 pm

Agreed, he has constantly improved throughout the season with only his passing really letting him down. I wondered why Rafa was sticking with him but in the last couple of games he must have covered about twice as much ground as most of the team. It must be murder for a midfielder playing against him.

At only 21(?) this guy could go on to be one of the best at what he does in the world.

by **Sabre** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 12:24 pm

I love football and the different opinions which shift like sand in the tides.

It's understandable opinions change, since player forms change, and players evolve. I'm not sure what you mean by gem, as we use that word for players who'll be the best player of the team or top 3 in a couple of years.

I think he has done a very good two games, and has improved one of the things I didn't like, how he tackled sometimes too hard or too late. But he has a lot to learn imho! So I'll disagree this one, I see an evolving player, 2 good games, and a long way to go. I see future in the player in Liverpool? Yes I do, but a gem? still to see.

Makelele has good positioning, composure (not sure if I'm using the correct word here), he knows giving the tempo to the game a la Xabi Alonso, this is what Sissoko must learn doing to be considered an excellent midfielder.

by **Liverpool 4 EVA** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 12:46 pm

Sissoko has been very good fur us since hes joined.

I think in the future, he will prove to be a tremendous member of this team.

Regarding the comparissons people have made, well this is my opinion.

I don't think he will ever become as good as Makelele or Vieira, simply because he lacks the talent in certain areas, such as accurate ball distribution and the ability to make the right pass, those types of skills and attributes are seen from a very young age, and he is now 21.

For example, Makelele has outstanding composure, distributes the ball well with intelliegence, has tremendous awareness and is great at breaking up oppositions play.

Vieira posses all of the above PLUS more, not to mention his scoring ability.

Sissoko is very good, he has improved and his progression in a short space of time has become very apparent. He will continue to improve and I am sure of that.

He's one of my favourite players, and I'm well happy the lad is here.

He'll become a Liverpool great

(heres hoping :;):

by **115-1073096938** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 1:36 pm

bigmick wrote:A few weeks ago on here there was a thread where Sissoko got debated in depth. Most people (myself included) were of the opinion that he was a good buy at the price and would go on to become a really good player. Some (banana springs to mind) were of the opinion that he is already a very good player and ultimately would become a great one. I remember most disagreed, Stu went in with both feet and it the overall consensus was that our bendy yellow friend had called it wrong again.
I was with the cautious camp, Stu was calling it right for me. Broadly he was saying that however good Sissoko got, any dreams of him being aniother Patrick Vierra were fantasy island material.
The thing is, Momo's performances of the last two games against top opposition have been nothing short of staggering IMHO. His running power and ability to break up the game have been absolutely top-drawer, like Makeleli on speed. It's got me thinking that just maybe I've underestimated the lad. Football is a game which is largely played in the head at this level and Sissoko now knows he can really, properly do the business.
I love football and the different opinions which shift like sand in the tides. I was unconvinced by Pennant but have been won over (good spot Stu) and I've got a feeling I was wrong about Sissoko aswell (fair play Banana). We might just have a serious footballer on our hands here.

Mick, two good games don't make the lad something he's not. I could pick many many situations yesterday which show he's nothing like a great player. However i can show incidents where he's improved SLIGHTLY and show he played to all of his strengths yesterday.

Just because a lad has two good games doesn't make his ability level go up. He hasn't all of a sudden become quicker, a better tackler, a better passer and ganed a better touch, he hasn't learnt how to switch play and shoot.

He hasn't got the ability to become a great player. He is very good and has alot of potential. He'll be an really good player in a couple of years. Yesterday he shown his potential. The things you aren't taking into consideration though Mick...

Yesterday mate he played against Giggs, Richardson, Fletcher and Ronaldo. Against Arsenal he played against a past it Pires, an off form and overated Ljungberg, Gliberto Silva (who's Arsenal's best midfielder) and the vastly overated Fabregas.

He done good things all over the pitch yesterday, for me he was man of the match, but two performances against those lot don't convince me i'm affraid.

For instance when Giggs ran at him once or twice (we saw this at old trafford aswell) he doesn't know how to cope with it. He gets to tight to players at times, not tight enough others, still gives away silly free kicks, is a yellow card waiting to happen and still sloppy with his passes.

Yes he's getting there, no he's not there yet. Nothing like.

by **JBG** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 1:55 pm

He still needs to be able to put his foot on the ball and pass it about, which he cannot do at the moment.

His first touch needs a lot of polish as well. He makes a meal out of simple things, like receiving a ball in space from a throw in.

by **bigmick** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 2:24 pm

Some very fair points from all, perticularly Stu's one about the opposition being not as strong as it would first appear on paper in the last two games. There can be little doubt that the Arsenal and Manure midfields are currently shadows of what they have been in the past.
The thing is though, his level of performance in the last two games has surpassed anything I felt he would be capable of for a couple of seasons at least. In both games he was absolutely immense and while I do take on board the fact that in posession he has a lot of maturing to do, it should be remembered that his role in the team is largely a destructive one and in this sense his performances were fantastic. I would go as far as saying that if he had been playing for Man U yesterday the game would have been a whole lot different.
As to how good he can become and whether or not he can become "another Vierra" this is something of a red herring IMHO. I know one thing, when a player actually believes in his head that he is going to do the business, that he belongs in his surroundings his performance level spirals onto another plane. My suspicion is that this week has been the most significant in the career sofar of Sissoko. I reckon he's a surprised as the rest of us by how good he's been and that from here he could just go on to become a real factor against the very top teams. There's something unusual about the way he plays, the way he hunts the ball down that I can't really think of a player in World football who does it in a similar fashion.

I agreed with the respected forum members when they said give him a couple of years and he'll become good but not great. I'm not shy though of admitting I've made a mistake, or of calling it early and sticking my neck out a bit. My hunch is that these last two games may not be a flash in the pan, they maybe the beginning of a couple of months of golden form from Sissoko which could lead us to God knows where. Two years may have been wrong, we should have said two weeks.

by **JBG** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 2:30 pm

I said in a thread last August/September after we played Sofia that Sissoko had the potential to go on to become a Liverpool grear, such was the magnificence of his performance at Anfield that night.

However, if he is to become a great player he has to expand his game beyond the destructive. At the moment he is a super charged Carlton Palmer type player who goes about breaking play up and in that role, he is superb, and I wager he is a nightmare to play against.

However, in my view, he needs to add more to his game to be a truly top player. His first touch needs working on, but I assume that will come good after a few years. He needs to be able to retain possession more and learn how to press the play when he has the ball.

It remains to be seen whether he can do this but already I see him as a very good player, and I guarantee that both Ferguson and Wenger would name him in their teams today if they had the chance.

by **bigmick** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 2:35 pm

JBG wrote:and I guarantee that both Ferguson and Wenger would name him in their teams today if they had the chance.

Of that there is absolutely no question mate. I reckon we could just about make 3 million profit on our investment of 5 if we sold tomorrow.

by **Feeney** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 3:03 pm

One thing I think that we can forget due to his performances is that Momo has only just turned 21. He's impetuous, nieve sometimes, however experience would be a wonderful thing to have but will come in time. The lad has also festured in 35 1st team games, which for a new, unproved signing is a great reflection on how he's been playing.

For someone of that age his performances has shown a maturity beyond his years - especially in some of the bigger games which would have possibly seen a Viera or Keane sent off during play.

His first touch does let him down sometimes, however I believe that is due to lack of concentration rather than ability. He's able to beat 2 or 3 players with the ball at his feet so his touch must be good otherwise he wouldn't be able to perform such a task.

I am surprised at how for many people on here the jury is still out on Sissoko. I think this lad is a real talent and I'm delighted that we beat Everton to his signiture. He will only get better and better as he is playing with real talent beside him - definately the 2nd best midfield in the Prem, possibly the best depending how you look at it.I'm in the school that he can become great as he is already good with his best years ahead of him.

by **JBG** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 3:13 pm

With Smith injured Man UTD are absolutely wafer thin in the centre of the park. Ferdinand will probably perform an emergency role there, as will O' Shea. However, even if Ferguson had all of his players fit, Sissoko would still walk into that side as a partner for Scholes.

He could also get into the Arsenal team, although from the small amount I have seen of Diaby, he looks a decent player.

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