Last year our Malian warrior was earning rave reviews from pundits and fans alike with his destoyer style of play and his ability to cover every blade of grass. He was new to the club, from a different culture, from a different league but he took to this league like a duck out of water. His attributes suited this league very well and still does. He's a work horse first and foremost. If you look at us playing, wherever the ball is you can guarantee Momo is not more than 5 metres away from it. He follows the ball like no other player and seems to never get tired of it. He harrasses, chases and generally makes life on the football field very uncomfortable for the opposition during those 90 mins of playing time. His stamina seems to hold no bounds and his tackling, although sometimes a little naive, generally gets the job done. He's not this box to box midfielder some make out, his short passing is woeful and I don't think I have ever seen him try a long pass, his on the balls skills are also very average along with his decision making. How many times have you seen Momo with the ball running at the opposition and he waits too long to release the ball or have a go and he gets tackled? Neither is he just a defensive midfielder. His defensive skills are good but he either lacks the ability to hold the midfield line/position OR Rafa asks him to play like he does. For me the perfect way to describe the job Momo does for us is "ball winning midfielder".
He's the guy who does all the dirty work, chasing harrying etc to get the ball back for our team to play with, and he is very good at it. In the early part of the season just after we lost Momo, I went to watch us V Bordeux in the group stage at home. I think it that game, it was Xabi and Gerrard in the middle and although Bordeux are a good team, there not up there with Europes elite and the way they were passing it round us made them look like Barcelona. It took us far too long to get the ball back and it showed me how much this team could miss Momo and his ball winning expertise. I think the early comparisions with Viera are a bit wide of the mark, they are both tough, tall, physical players who come from African descent, thats where the similarities end for me. Viera was much more of a technical midfielder, he could pass, shoot and was generally better with the ball. Can Momo learn these skills? Its possible, he's only 21 at the moment and playing and training with the likes of Stevie and Xabi week in, week out will mean he will only get better and better. But to be the next Viera? Nah not for me.
It seems, no actually the ONLY reason Momo's position in the first team is being put in serious doubt is the signing and emergence of one , Javier Maschereno. I don't really know the full details behind the whole West Ham saga but this lad was one of the stars of the worst World Cup in recent memory. Big praise, but considering the so called "big guns" failed to fire in any fashion at the World Cup and the way he played for Argentina its fully justified. He was there at the age of 22, practically running the game for one of the best footballing nations in the world. Every time they got the ball, the ball went through Maschereno, win the ball, pass to Javier, throw in, pass to Javier. I was estastic when we signed him and I hope he goes on to become a very important player for this club. He came in and took a while to get fit but since Rafa put him in the first team, he's practically stayed there through his performances. He is a defensive minded midfielder much in the same mould as Makalele. He sits there in front of the defence and is quite happy just mopping up the loose balls etc. His tackling is one of the best in the squad from what I've seen, and he has the ability and the discipline to sit there and just clean up any possible breaks or attacks by the opposition. I am very pleased with how he has done so far like most Liverpool fans. A few months ago if you would've suggested that Momo might not be a first choice in our first eleven, people would've heckled, laughed and told you wise up. However now with the emergence of Maschereno, and the revival of the solidity that we had at the end of last year, it seems that question is now a major headache for Rafa and fans alike.
Is Momo first choice? For me it depends on the situations surrounding the match - fitness, opposition, conditions etc.
Is Momo good enough to always be considered for first team action? Deffo, what he does he does very well and I suspect he will soon be part of the furniture in a successful Liverpool side.
Next season is going to be very interesting in the centre of our midfield.....
I am...
