Liverpool FC Forum

jonnymac1979 wrote:Sissoko has been a revelation this year.  Over the last five or six games (might be a co-incidence, might not be) we have missed him to a massive extent.  Benitez has admitted as much in the Liverpool Echo (one newspaper I do read, and I hate tabloids.)  Simple as.  We've missed him, as we've missed other important players.  He may have made the difference between victory and defeat against Benfica.  For a new player, he's made a massive impression and we've missed him as Finchy would say when asked if he’s going to Chasers, defin-ate-ley.

He had a frightening start to the season.  For me personally, who has watched the lad live in the flesh a few times this season, he was our best player between August - November.  Certainly, a game that sticks out is a game we lost in fact, at Anfield against CSKA Sofia.  Sissoko, best man on the park.  Should have scored as well in the last minute, alas - he hit the bar.

Over the last few years, we have signed players who let's face it, have flattered to deceive.  I'm sick of signing players for the future who simply don't deliver.  By the same token, signing players who have delivered for their previous clubs, but as soon as they sign for Liverpool they (for want of a better phrase) shit themselves.  Big Club expectations and they can't deliver.  Let them go and play for Aston Villa or someone s*i*e like that.  This is LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB.  Too many players have disgraced the sacred name.  It happened so much in the Nineties.  I'm not even naming names, it does my head in that much typing them.  I've just typed a few and deleted them out of both shame and embarassment whilst typing this post.......... they don’t deserve their names to be on this forum.

Sissoko is one exception as far as the proof of the last eight months go.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but this lad is 20 years old? 

Last summer when everyone wanted us to sign Essien and Ibrahimovic and Van Der Vaart and all of the superstars of Europe because we'd won the Champions League and they'd automatically want play for us because we were the best team in the world and blah blah blah…..

Yes.  Benitez went and signed the RIGHT players.  Which he will do next summer as well.

But Christ Almighty, where did he get Sissoko from?  Mali is it?  This boy has already played a major part in the team Benitez left behind in "Va-len-thia".  I've said from the start that this lad can be as good as anything we've got.  People say he's a natural replacement for Hamann.  It's a bit premature to say to be honest.  Still a young guy, whereas Hamann is nearing the end, and it’s funny the way these players who are coming to the end of their career can still “buy and sell” these young players when they have or need to.  Hamann still has something to offer.  That’s another thread though.

But if we're going to discuss Sissoko lets do it.  He was only brought to Benitez' attention because Everton were about to steal him from Valencia.  Thank Benitez we were spared that.  Imagine the job he could have done for Everton?  I'm not as bitter as those blue bastards.  I always thought in the Houllier years that Thomas Graveson could have done a job for us.  But all that "Once A Blue Always A Blue" b*ll*c*ks was ultimately shown up as a sham wasn't it, Wayne?  If it were me, I still would have signed Graveson at the time.  Blue or not.  He was good enough for Real Madrid, but even that doesn’t hold any water anymore does it?  Madrid are a joke.

Never mind that sideshow though, all this might unashamedly demonstrate some details of the relationship between Benitez and Valencia.  The young man Sissoko was potentially (obviously) one of Valencia's best footballers.  If Liverpool and Benitez of all people weren't made aware of his availability, what of this Brazilian left back Aurellio we're supposedly after?  Why the sudden interest in Valencia players now?  I’m just asking have we lost out elsewhere in the past?  Could we have signed Baraja, Aimar etc.....?  I'm just asking.........?  Don’t mention Pellegrino by the way…….  But could we have taken advantage of the calibre of player Valencia had two years ago?  Another argument for another time perhaps?

But why was Sissoko available to Everton and not Liverpool?  Moyes is no transfer market genius.  You don’t need me to reel off his signings.  Look them up yourself if you really give a shit.  But he knew what Sissoko was.  A damn good player, who would have suited Everton’s style of play to a tee.  I'm just bothered about the fact that they were onto his availability before us.  Everton, despite their out-of-date big club protestations shouldn't even theoretically be on the same playing field as us.

Hard to say how the rest of the season would have panned out for Sissoko barring his eye injury though isn’t it and I’m not about to hypothesize.  What’s the point?  It doesn’t take a clever person to say we’ll miss him though, that’s for sure.  I’m no genius when it comes to soothsaying, nor do I know what I’m talking about when it comes to tactics that well.  I watch more amateur than professional football because it’s cheaper and funnier standing on the sidelines with the lads in my local park verballing the useless referees, then we go the boozer afterwards and get smashed whilst watching Liverpool usually live on telly, if we haven’t got tickets for Anfield that is.  I can get by talking about Liverpool and their tactics, but I’m no Bigmick or Sabre, who if you read their regular posts, clearly know what they are talking about, without being blinded by support.

I’m nearly finished now, cause I’ve gone on too much, I’ll mention the Vieira comparisons; no matter how young Sissoko is, they can’t be ignored.  They do look physically similar and with more awareness Sissoko could control and impact on games in a similar way but it’s way off at the moment in my opinion.  Everybody knows that Vieira was consistently one of the best, if not arguably the best midfielder in Europe domestically and internationally over the last decade.  A World Cup winner, a European Championship winner, and countless domestic trophies cannot masquerade that.  Now he plays for the Italian champions and at 29 years of age still commanded a +£12 million transfer fee.  No sell on value there is there?  He’s special.  Enough arse kissing though. 

Sissoko has an unnatural energy about him rarely seen at professional level even this early in his career which has prompted Benitez to uncharacteristically label him as Vieiras heir (if that’s the right word to use).  Actually, Benitez said something along the lines of he’s the player that reminds him most of Vieira.  Some praise that.  Sissoko definitely has the stamina and ability to run games but he is still only 20.  Benitez did warn us this boy could run all day and longer.  In fact, his energy is frightening.  We’ve got him for five years I assume and the reports are he will fully recover from this injury.  He will be raring to go next season.  And the season after that, and the season after that.  Just look at the way he sits in front of the defence.  It’s probably no co-incidence that we have started looking vulnerable (Benfica, Fulham) at the back whilst he has not been in the team.  During the first few months of the season, Jamie Carragher was quoted as saying he had been the most impressive player in the squad at Melwood, and this was said while the super-human Steven Gerrard was wowing the tabloids.  The point?  Listen to Carragher.

When was the last time you were optimistic about a signing for Liverpool who you literally had not heard of?  We’ve had a few of them over the last five or six years.  Medjani, Diarra, etc….. where are they now?  I apologise for not knowing them all but we have taken on a few players “for the future” as 20 year olds and how may of them have made it?

Sissoko could be the real deal already.  We’ve got a fantastic player on our hands here.  A bit of fine tuning and the rest of the league will realise they have to get past him, before they get near one from Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Agger, Riise or Reina.

And if they’ve taken their eye off the ball for that split second already, Sissoko will have already broken the play up, took the ball off them and sprayed it to Alonso, Gerrard, Kewell, Gonzalez or Garcia.  Excited yet?

Top and bottom of it, he might be raw, he might misplace the odd pass, and it’s his first season in a foreign league, but Mohammed Sissoko is worth his weight in gold.

Excellent post Jonnymac, he has been tremendous with us this season and i have to agree with you in every part

bigmick wrote:Sissoko is a freelance game-breaker who doesn't limit his work in a Makaleli fashion to just infront of the back-four, he is quite prepared to rove around in a destructive role making life a nightmare for the opposition. He is going to be a very very good player I fancy.

stmichael wrote:

bigmick wrote:Sissoko is a freelance game-breaker who doesn't limit his work in a Makaleli fashion to just infront of the back-four, he is quite prepared to rove around in a destructive role making life a nightmare for the opposition. He is going to be a very very good player I fancy.

I'd agree with this although suggestions from the likes of Banana that Sissoko is already "class" are way wide of the mark.

As you say Bigmick, he's not there to spray the passes around (we've got other players for that). He's there to mess the opposition up and cover ALOT of ground in the process, and this fan thinks he does it very well.

If Rafa has signed him twice he clearly rates him highly.

I reckon he has an excellent future, is ideally suited to the physical game in the PL, and will go on to become an essential cog in the team. Against Arsenal we missed him bigstyle because we just them play through midfield with little or no pressure at times.

jonnymac1979 wrote:Sissoko has been a revelation this year.  Over the last five or six games (might be a co-incidence, might not be) we have missed him to a massive extent.  Benitez has admitted as much in the Liverpool Echo (one newspaper I do read, and I hate tabloids.)  Simple as.  We've missed him, as we've missed other important players.  He may have made the difference between victory and defeat against Benfica.  For a new player, he's made a massive impression and we've missed him as Finchy would say when asked if he’s going to Chasers, defin-ate-ley.

He had a frightening start to the season.  For me personally, who has watched the lad live in the flesh a few times this season, he was our best player between August - November.  Certainly, a game that sticks out is a game we lost in fact, at Anfield against CSKA Sofia.  Sissoko, best man on the park.  Should have scored as well in the last minute, alas - he hit the bar.

Over the last few years, we have signed players who let's face it, have flattered to deceive.  I'm sick of signing players for the future who simply don't deliver.  By the same token, signing players who have delivered for their previous clubs, but as soon as they sign for Liverpool they (for want of a better phrase) shit themselves.  Big Club expectations and they can't deliver.  Let them go and play for Aston Villa or someone s*i*e like that.  This is LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB.  Too many players have disgraced the sacred name.  It happened so much in the Nineties.  I'm not even naming names, it does my head in that much typing them.  I've just typed a few and deleted them out of both shame and embarassment whilst typing this post.......... they don’t deserve their names to be on this forum.

Sissoko is one exception as far as the proof of the last eight months go.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but this lad is 20 years old? 

Last summer when everyone wanted us to sign Essien and Ibrahimovic and Van Der Vaart and all of the superstars of Europe because we'd won the Champions League and they'd automatically want play for us because we were the best team in the world and blah blah blah…..

Yes.  Benitez went and signed the RIGHT players.  Which he will do next summer as well.

But Christ Almighty, where did he get Sissoko from?  Mali is it?  This boy has already played a major part in the team Benitez left behind in "Va-len-thia".  I've said from the start that this lad can be as good as anything we've got.  People say he's a natural replacement for Hamann.  It's a bit premature to say to be honest.  Still a young guy, whereas Hamann is nearing the end, and it’s funny the way these players who are coming to the end of their career can still “buy and sell” these young players when they have or need to.  Hamann still has something to offer.  That’s another thread though.

But if we're going to discuss Sissoko lets do it.  He was only brought to Benitez' attention because Everton were about to steal him from Valencia.  Thank Benitez we were spared that.  Imagine the job he could have done for Everton?  I'm not as bitter as those blue bastards.  I always thought in the Houllier years that Thomas Graveson could have done a job for us.  But all that "Once A Blue Always A Blue" b*ll*c*ks was ultimately shown up as a sham wasn't it, Wayne?  If it were me, I still would have signed Graveson at the time.  Blue or not.  He was good enough for Real Madrid, but even that doesn’t hold any water anymore does it?  Madrid are a joke.

Never mind that sideshow though, all this might unashamedly demonstrate some details of the relationship between Benitez and Valencia.  The young man Sissoko was potentially (obviously) one of Valencia's best footballers.  If Liverpool and Benitez of all people weren't made aware of his availability, what of this Brazilian left back Aurellio we're supposedly after?  Why the sudden interest in Valencia players now?  I’m just asking have we lost out elsewhere in the past?  Could we have signed Baraja, Aimar etc.....?  I'm just asking.........?  Don’t mention Pellegrino by the way…….  But could we have taken advantage of the calibre of player Valencia had two years ago?  Another argument for another time perhaps?

But why was Sissoko available to Everton and not Liverpool?  Moyes is no transfer market genius.  You don’t need me to reel off his signings.  Look them up yourself if you really give a shit.  But he knew what Sissoko was.  A damn good player, who would have suited Everton’s style of play to a tee.  I'm just bothered about the fact that they were onto his availability before us.  Everton, despite their out-of-date big club protestations shouldn't even theoretically be on the same playing field as us.

Hard to say how the rest of the season would have panned out for Sissoko barring his eye injury though isn’t it and I’m not about to hypothesize.  What’s the point?  It doesn’t take a clever person to say we’ll miss him though, that’s for sure.  I’m no genius when it comes to soothsaying, nor do I know what I’m talking about when it comes to tactics that well.  I watch more amateur than professional football because it’s cheaper and funnier standing on the sidelines with the lads in my local park verballing the useless referees, then we go the boozer afterwards and get smashed whilst watching Liverpool usually live on telly, if we haven’t got tickets for Anfield that is.  I can get by talking about Liverpool and their tactics, but I’m no Bigmick or Sabre, who if you read their regular posts, clearly know what they are talking about, without being blinded by support.

I’m nearly finished now, cause I’ve gone on too much, I’ll mention the Vieira comparisons; no matter how young Sissoko is, they can’t be ignored.  They do look physically similar and with more awareness Sissoko could control and impact on games in a similar way but it’s way off at the moment in my opinion.  Everybody knows that Vieira was consistently one of the best, if not arguably the best midfielder in Europe domestically and internationally over the last decade.  A World Cup winner, a European Championship winner, and countless domestic trophies cannot masquerade that.  Now he plays for the Italian champions and at 29 years of age still commanded a +£12 million transfer fee.  No sell on value there is there?  He’s special.  Enough arse kissing though. 

Sissoko has an unnatural energy about him rarely seen at professional level even this early in his career which has prompted Benitez to uncharacteristically label him as Vieiras heir (if that’s the right word to use).  Actually, Benitez said something along the lines of he’s the player that reminds him most of Vieira.  Some praise that.  Sissoko definitely has the stamina and ability to run games but he is still only 20.  Benitez did warn us this boy could run all day and longer.  In fact, his energy is frightening.  We’ve got him for five years I assume and the reports are he will fully recover from this injury.  He will be raring to go next season.  And the season after that, and the season after that.  Just look at the way he sits in front of the defence.  It’s probably no co-incidence that we have started looking vulnerable (Benfica, Fulham) at the back whilst he has not been in the team.  During the first few months of the season, Jamie Carragher was quoted as saying he had been the most impressive player in the squad at Melwood, and this was said while the super-human Steven Gerrard was wowing the tabloids.  The point?  Listen to Carragher.

When was the last time you were optimistic about a signing for Liverpool who you literally had not heard of?  We’ve had a few of them over the last five or six years.  Medjani, Diarra, etc….. where are they now?  I apologise for not knowing them all but we have taken on a few players “for the future” as 20 year olds and how may of them have made it?

Sissoko could be the real deal already.  We’ve got a fantastic player on our hands here.  A bit of fine tuning and the rest of the league will realise they have to get past him, before they get near one from Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Agger, Riise or Reina.

And if they’ve taken their eye off the ball for that split second already, Sissoko will have already broken the play up, took the ball off them and sprayed it to Alonso, Gerrard, Kewell, Gonzalez or Garcia.  Excited yet?

Top and bottom of it, he might be raw, he might misplace the odd pass, and it’s his first season in a foreign league, but Mohammed Sissoko is worth his weight in gold.