Liverpool FC Forum

by **Dundalk** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 1:05 am

Would they want Nando?

by **Sabre** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 2:03 am

No, because they have Villa. BTW Crack in Spain=World Class player.

Welcome Valencianista and congrats on your victory in Anoeta, it was a fair one, couldn't blame the refs.

by **The_Rock** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 7:03 am

Sabre wrote:BTW Crack in Spain=World Class player.

eh........crack in other parts of the world (apart from spain) means something else .........

by **anfieldadorer** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 7:44 am

to be honest i wouldn't put my expectation too high on sissoko and still not pretty sure if he is going to be somewhere around the world class player in his peak performance in the future, but i feel more than happy for his decent displays recently and, given his age, one thing for sure that he has wide space to explore. unarguably not a bad buy after all.

by **woof woof !** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 8:58 am

stu_the_red wrote:Compare him to Vieira at the same age and you think he's better?

Did you see Vieira at 21? He was probably as good as Gerrard is now. He was better than Alonso thats for sure and Alonso's class.

Give Momo a break Stu , the lad will never be in Viera or Alonso's class , in fact there are times when he looks more like Traore

but given time the fella could become another Makele and i for one would have no problem with that .

by **banana** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 9:43 am

We all wan't to win games don't we? Sissoko is a master at winning games. He completely destroys the opposition midfield. He gives them no time on the ball and he covers more ground than any player i've seen in a red shirt. He is a figher and a damn good footballer.

Contrast that with our games with Danny Murphy, Salif Diao and Cheyrou playing. None of these players had pace and power to put pressure on the opposition. When Murphy or Cheyrou played we simply gave away midfield control. And we got dominated and beat. Nowadays we dominate midfield in every game. Including away to Chelsea and Man U. Reason is we have aggression and physical players.

Sissoko shouldn't be compared to Alonso or Gerrard. Not even Vieira. Because his style is different. He is his own man and he will lift dozens of throphies in a red shirt.

Just imagine who much you would have hated playing Man U or Arsenal if they had guys like Sissoko to intimidate Gerrard and Alonso taking their creativity out of the game.

by **banana** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 9:51 am

stu_the_red wrote:
HOMER wrote:all you can do at the moment is compare sissoko to a 21 year old viera or makalele. were they at that age composed in the last third? I think not. were they as good at tackling? I think not. were they covering as much ground? I think not. were they giving mom performances aginst the top teams? I think not

Give the lad a chance and he will be awesome alongside gerrard and alonso-great signing

Compare him to Vieira at the same age and you think he's better?

Did you see Vieira at 21? He was probably as good as Gerrard is now. He was better than Alonso thats for sure and Alonso's class.

The problem is with "oot" Liverpool fans is theres no perspective. Gerrard is world class, Alonso is class. Beyond that we have loads of quality and top quality players, but everyone we sign or have in the team seems to be "class".

If Carragher was world class, Alonso and Gerrard were and Luis Garcia was, we'd win the league without question.

Sissoko is very very good. He's not class.

Some of the older posters a while ago might remember something i mentioned about numbers for players, and adding up to a team total to see how good we are.

6: world class (17m+ price range roughly)
5: top class (12m)
4: quality player (8m)
3: very good player (7m)
2: good player (5m)
1: squad player (3m)

Chelsea: 50 points.

Drogba
Robben 3 Duff
6 Essien Lampard 4
4 Makelele 4
5
Del Horno Terry Gallas Ferreira
4 4(5) 6 4
Cech
5

Liverpool: 42 points.

Crouch Fowler
Kewell 3 4 Gerrard
4 Alonso Sissoko 6
5 3
Riise Hyypia Carragher Finnan
4 4 4(5) 4
Reina
4

Arsenal: 42 points.

Henry van Persie
6 4
Pires Gilberto Fabergas Ljunberg
3 4 3 3
Cole Campbell Toure Lauren
5 4 4 3
Lehman
3

Man Utd: 41 points

Rooney van Nistlerooy
Giggs 6 4 Ronaldo
4 Smith Fletcher 4
2 1
Heinze Silvestre Ferdinand Neville
5 3 5 3
van der Sar
4
That to me is roughly how i'd judge teams (on paper). For me, Sissoko has the potential to get to a "4" as does van Persie as and probably Toure and Fabregas have the potential to go up a level. Thats why i think we need a quality winger and a new striker. Obviouvly they have to be the right players. Ashton and Pennant i'd give 4's too again with the potential to improve. I'm not sayin this IS the way it is, but my 'theory' if you like.... makes sense and adds up, looking at the positions and goal difference of the teams also i think this adds up.

The day we'll compete with Chelsea is when we can have a bench that consists of Crouch, Sissoko, Luis Garcia Carson, and either Agger or Kromkamp, with two new quality first teamers in the side.

I also feel we have a better manager than Chelsea which is why i believe we don't need as good a team of players. If Mourinho had made that sub the other week with Luis Garcia the media would have labled that "Jose does it again" rather than "Luis Garcia the LUCKY charm".

I know you're trying man. But you fall flat on your back when you somehow say that Fowler is better than Drogba and just as good as Nistelrooy.

by **SouthCoastShankly** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 9:57 am

woof woof ! wrote:
stu_the_red wrote:Compare him to Vieira at the same age and you think he's better?

Did you see Vieira at 21? He was probably as good as Gerrard is now. He was better than Alonso thats for sure and Alonso's class.

Give Momo a break Stu , the lad will never be in Viera or Alonso's class , in fact there are times when he looks more like Traore but given time the fella could become another Makele and i for one would have no problem with that .

Think you've mis-read that post. If anything stu is the one saying he'll never be in the Vieira class.

Stu and I debated this to length on the last Sissoko thread. He was less optimistic of Sissoko becoming as good as Vieira, whereas my arguement was that you can't rule out possible potential. Vieira was never a 'boy wonder' like Rooney for example. His status as a world class player came towards the latter end of his career. He was a brilliant player throughout but not the best. My arguement was players like that determine how 'great' they become through their own determination to be the best, strive for the top.

IMO if Sissoko can develop a 'winning' mentality and push himself hard - there is no reason why he can't be the new Vieira. A thought that Rafa shares - (Rafa on Sissoko)

As Bigmick pointed out his recent performances have been brilliant, and only strengthen my arguement

by **Anfield rapper** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 11:33 am

Sissoko is a very good player for us. Hopefully he can sort his ball distribution skills as so far this is his weakest point. With a bit of luck he will be able to take over completely from Hamman when he retires or moves on. In the mean time i just hope he can learn from Hamman. Hamman was like a rock on saturday. He delt with the their midfield with ease. At one point i remember him being tracked by 3 of their players and he still ended up getting the ball to one of ours. The only way they could stop him was by fouling him, and the thing i really like about Hamman is that he keeps his cool, even when he's been hacked down he just gets on with it. If Sissoko could learn similar qualities at his age he could be awesome for us in the future.

by **bigmick** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 12:18 pm

This "learning from Hamann" thing is all well and good but I think that Sissoko is evolving into a totally different type of player to Didi. Didi is a sitting, holding midfielder who makes up for his chronic lack of pace with experience, awareness and discipline. Alonso is far more likely to learn from Hamann and vice-versa. Sissoko is roving, destructive one-man pack of Hyena's snapping and biting away at the oppositions creative hub. He plays the game quite unlike anybody else in the Premiership (with the possible exception of Phil's comparison, Robbie Savage though I have to say Sissoko is a much better player IMHO) and he will only improve.
FWIW the person he could learn most off in my view is his captain, learning how to use his boundless energy to influence the game in the opposition penalty area, namely in scoring the odd goal or two.
Another thing he should learn and fast is to stop diving. I'm not in favour of diving from anyone at the best of times but Momo must be the worst exponent of the dive I have ever seen. He dives after the tackle has already been made and then looks at the ref in a totally unconvincing and guilty way. He's probably the sort of guy who gets his bags searched at customs every time he travels. Drp the diving Momo, it ain't you mate

.

by **drummerphil** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 12:31 pm

At least you could see why my Robbie Savage comparison is valid Mick,although i agree momo is a better player.I hope he can progress and improve his distribution, passing game but most of all discipline which at the moment is i feel is a problem if we start losing him with frequent bans....

by **stmichael** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 12:35 pm

Excellent thread and fully justified considering the lads last two performances.

This "his passing isn't the best" is a myth. He's barely given the ball away in the last two games.

He's 20 years of age...and has already controlled the midfield against teams like Arsenal and Utd, yet we still have these malconted message board teds knit-picking over a bit of youthful enthusiasm and a few mis-placed passes.

Plus, he's gone 6 games without a booking.

by **tubby** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 12:39 pm

Yes i think the discipline aspect has to improve but like you say hes gone 6 games without a booking. Benitex actually said his passing is 'ok' when he first arrived but he also said the lad has a lot of potential. In his last 2 games against 2 of the best teams in the Premiership he has really stepped up his passing and posession game. Hes been unlucky not to score a few goals this season aswell. I remmber he hit the post against Kaunas i think it was in the qualifiers when we got beaten 1-0.

by **bigmick** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 12:39 pm

You're right Phil he has that headless Chicken, run around like a madman mode which Savage employs. As for discipline I agree again. He's always going to get plenty of bookings for fouls, the last thing you need is him picking up additional ones for Fosberry flops on the halfway line.
The thing is though, and before I type this I know it sounds a bit daft. It almost doesn't matter what he does with the ball when he wins it. That's not a misprint. Such has been his influence on the opposition in the last couple of games and the destructive effect on their ability to gain any rhythm or momentum that it really wouldn't bother me if when he won it he just volleyed into the crowd.
When we have the ball he need to improve and keep it simple, which for me he is doing to an extent. I also think that given his almost superhuman engine he should commit into the box more often and cause havoc in there as opposed to trying to be Alonso and thread a through ball.
I think he's arrived though Phil and am expecting another huge performance from him tomorrow night if selected.

by **tubby** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 12:39 pm

One thing i do notice though is that he doenst play that well when Alsonso is playing but he seemns to work well with Stevie.

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