Ok, balls on the line for if Sissoko will be a hit or miss

[Bus-Conductor]

Let's give the guy a chance, the negativity about this signing is shocking to say the least. It's as if people think we can buy any player in the world and offer 300k a week wages and we seemed to somehow settle for Sissoko at 75m.

As numerous posters have said, he brings something different, he is strong, powerful, pacey and can really get at a team. This will be crucial to us when Dembele is out injured and when we need to break down a team. On his day he can be unplayable and we have to take some credit that Poch seems to have this ability to bring this out in his players.

It's like there is no winning with some people. Net spend at 0, Levy is a twat and a tight arse, doesn't no what he's doing. Levy spends 30m on a player, he's an idiot, we've payed well over the odds, this guy is useless. When he is clearly a player our manager wants and a good friend to our club captain who wanted to bring him in.

So please tell me, all these people in this thread who are unhappy about this guy. Name another player, with Premier league expereince that we could have brought in, to help out when Dembele is not playing, as everyone can clearly see we miss a powerful strong ball carrier in the middle of the park. Can play further up the pitch if needed and brings a whole lot of versatility, has pace, is in their prime, brings much needed experience to our young team, isn't afraid to take on a man and was one of the best players at the Euro's..... answers on a post card please.

We play a CM2. Sissoko has probably played in a CM2 about 4 times in 10 years. And I doubt any of those were great, otherwise he'd have played there more. Even Pogba has rarely been played as a CM2, and even Yaya has be seen as a liability at times when City played him in a CM2. Why do you and others keep saying he's going to be back up for Dembele ?

 

[thebenjamin]

i also don't understand why, if we wanted this type of player, powerful/direct, we didn't go after Breel Embolo, 7 years younger and about 14m cheaper (and less wages).

Premier league experience.

 

[Lilbaz]

We play a CM2. Sissoko has probably played in a CM2 about 4 times in 10 years. And I doubt any of those were great, otherwise he'd have played there more. Even Pogba has rarely been played as a CM2, and even Yaya has be seen as a liability at times when City played him in a CM2. Why do you and others keep saying he's going to be back up for Dembele ?

Maybe because we don't play a cm 2 most of the game?
On paper we might have a 4231 formation but for large parts of the game we are not in that formation.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

Maybe because we don't play a cm 2 most of the game?
On paper we might have a 4231 formation but for large parts of the game we are not in that formation.

Formations may be fluid but they still come attached to functions and positional disciplines, especially in our case, otherwise why an earth would Pochettino be playing to very defensive and risk averse players like Dier and Wanyama in all three games so far ? And why did he play Dier and Dembele so often last year?

 

[Lilbaz]

Formations may be fluid but they still come attached to functions and positional disciplines, especially in our case, otherwise why an earth would Pochettino be playing to very defensive and risk averse players like Dier and Wanyama in all three games so far ? And why did he play Dier and Dembele so often last year?

Yes but dier was more defensive and dembele more offensive. Our formation more resembled a 3313 formation than a 4231. With our fullbacks playing more as wing backs.

I haven't watched sissoko too much so bow to others knowledge but will wait to see what and where poch plays him.

I will wait till the end of the season to decide if he has done well or not. His price tag shouldn't be used as a noose as it was with lamela.

 

[garyhopkins]

I remember back in the day, wanting us to buy Sissoko from Toulouse, based upon......well, uhm......some people on here saying he was good, and........well, that's about it.
Fast forward and it seems we've finally got our man for about 20-30m more than he would have cost back then. And me, well I've only ever seen him play against us, and well, he looked ok, if not anywhere near the amazing player I'd expected.

Anyway, the guy finally arrives, and all I hear is negativity, "lazy", "only turns up for the big games", "bad attitude", "loves Arsenal", you know the stuff. So, I'm on the fence. Why did we buy this guy?
My first impression? He's bigger and looks nothing like the guy I had imagined or briefly observed him to be (I really don't take much notice of our opponents), and his first words don't win me over either.
But......

he plays for a pretty good international side,
Benitez made him Captain,
Koeman wanted him,
Poch wants him,
and Hugo says he's going to be an asset and is a good guy, but quite shy really.
I like this info, I like it a lot.

So, I'm giving him the benefit of my doubt and not listening to detractors until he's been around for a few months. Go Moussa go!!!

 

[Bus-Conductor]

Yes but dier was more defensive and dembele more offensive. Our formation more resembled a 3313 formation than a 4231. With our fullbacks playing more as wing backs.

I haven't watched sissoko too much so bow to others knowledge but will wait to see what and where poch plays him.

I will wait till the end of the season to decide if he has done well or not. His price tag shouldn't be used as a noose as it was with lamela.

I agree, once the fee is paid then we forget it, in footballing terms and just judge Sissoko on what he does on the pitch.

I don't understand why if Poch is intending to play Sissoko as a more bomb on CM, why he wouldn't play Alli, Winks, Mason, Bentaleb (last year) or Onomah and save 30-40m in fee and wages ?

 

[THFCSPURS19]

I agree, once the fee is paid then we forget it, in footballing terms and just judge Sissoko on what he does on the pitch.

I don't understand why if Poch is intending to play Sissoko as a more bomb on CM, why he wouldn't play Alli, Winks, Mason, Bentaleb (last year) or Onomah and save 30-40m in fee and wages ?

Because none of them can offer the strength Dembele has?

 

[Lilbaz]

I agree, once the fee is paid then we forget it, in footballing terms and just judge Sissoko on what he does on the pitch.

I don't understand why if Poch is intending to play Sissoko as a more bomb on CM, why he wouldn't play Alli, Winks, Mason, Bentaleb (last year) or Onomah and save 30-40m in fee and wages ?

As i said don't know too much about sissoko but poch must see something there that the others didn't offer. Probably will use him in more than one position.

This doesn't look anyway shape or form a levy signing and looks to be poch's choice. Think he deserves the backing and hopefully proves a shrewed move.

 

[Vincent30]

We play a CM2. Sissoko has probably played in a CM2 about 4 times in 10 years. And I doubt any of those were great, otherwise he'd have played there more. Even Pogba has rarely been played as a CM2, and even Yaya has be seen as a liability at times when City played him in a CM2. Why do you and others keep saying he's going to be back up for Dembele ?

You talk about football like everything is set in stone. Because one person has played a certain position at one club it will translate into the exact same result at another club, there are so many differentials but you don't consider them and act like everything should be perceived so black and white.

The way we play, we need one holding defensive CM who can drop into a back three, Dier and Wanyama can fight over that. Then we have a partner who has a little more freedom next to them, thus Winks being suggested by a few. I see no problem at all with Sissoko playing this poistion as well. He may need to defenisvely add a alittle more to his game, but most have argued our CM2 are too defensive any way. So regardless of stats, regardless of where he has played before, it is very unlikely he has played in a team which has a very very disciplined DM next to him and a team that works defensively as a unit.

So why do you keep saying that he can't play there? Didn't he play some of his best football at a young age as the box to box player with Capoue next to him as a DM, yes, but you clearly ignore this to make your points. Newcastle have been a disorganised club for years now, we are a completely different beast.

Yes he can play AM, yes he can play right AM, yes he could probably play bloody well with Dembele and him both in front of Dier or Wanyama as a 3 man midfield. For me this is very exciting and regarldess of how many times you believe he has played CM2, 4 you claim over 10 years, forgetting his career prior to Newcastle as a lot of them were at CM2 as a box to box, he brings amazing flexibility to our team.

Any way, for the sake of our club we are all hoping he takes us forward and i'm delighted with this bit of business.

 

[StartingPrice]

Top info.

I've got to compare that sort of form against that of the team he was playing for though. Pardew's teams are notorious for looking unplayable for 10 games and then go on absolutely barren runs for the remainder of the top flight season until he's fired or he goes and buys about 8 new players in one go.

And enough said about Maclaren the better I guess.

I guess the jury is out; I personally think he's exactly what we've been missing so far this season.

I agree, and obviously the team he was playing for has a big influence. We know nothing of what was going on oop there. Like you say, the whole team being wildly inconsistent could have had the effect of making him the same. And while I would never condone a lazy or uninterested attitude, we don't know what promises he was made when he went up there or how that could have affected his decision. We think of them in the last few years as flirting with relegation and finally succumbing to it. But they were close enough to the top recently enough that maybe they made him promises and assurances about future plans and projections. Maybe he felt like he was going to a club that could compete at CL level and maybe he was pretty much promised the same. And then to play at the shambles they became with incompetent and inexperienced managers (it was like our InterTim experiment, but ours only lasted half a season ), and team-mates allegedly going on night club benders. I don't know, and like I said, I don't want to seem like I am condoning a bad attitude because I don't, but the fact that he was playing in a team in extreme flux and disarray, and not at all what he felt like he was joining, and maybe was promised, may have been instrumental in how he developed (or didn't) there.

The jury is out. As said, I'm more backing Poch to know what he is doing as he can't not know Sissoko's reputation, and he's had the input of Lloris, etc.

 

[RichieS]

We play a CM2. Sissoko has probably played in a CM2 about 4 times in 10 years. And I doubt any of those were great, otherwise he'd have played there more. Even Pogba has rarely been played as a CM2, and even Yaya has be seen as a liability at times when City played him in a CM2. Why do you and others keep saying he's going to be back up for Dembele ?

I'm sure you used to be a big fan of him and Capoue playing in the middle together at Toulouse.

 

[Krafty]

Really surprised we spent 30mill on him, but if it's the player Framce had in the euros then he could be a hit.

He has pace, is direct, and when he wants it shows power and plenty of hard running. Can also hit a ball (but not always in the direction he wants)

On the flip side, I don't think he has the technical skills we might have wanted, and I only see him playing as an AMR, where we already have Lamela. While I think Erik can play elsewhere, we have lots of options there - specifically as the central AM or second striker - I don't think Sissoko is as useful anywhere else.

We need some pace higher up the pitch but I think a Mane, at 5 mill more? is a better value buy.

Ultimately I think he will do pretty well, and if the payment is 6 mill for every season he is with us up to five then that is a great deal

 

[Mark_147]

Really surprised we spent 30mill on him, but if it's the player Framce had in the euros then he could be a hit.

He has pace, is direct, and when he wants it shows power and plenty of hard running. Can also hit a ball (but not always in the direction he wants)

On the flip side, I don't think he has the technical skills we might have wanted, and I only see him playing as an AMR, where we already have Lamela. While I think Erik can play elsewhere, we have lots of options there - specifically as the central AM or second striker - I don't think Sissoko is as useful anywhere else.

We need some pace higher up the pitch but I think a Mane, at 5 mill more? is a better value buy.

Ultimately I think he will do pretty well, and if the payment is 6 mill for every season he is with us up to five then that is a great deal

Don't think mane fit's into our wage structure.

 

[Krafty]

Don't think mane fit's into our wage structure.

Probably quite true, but equally we could have found someone who, like Mane, is more of a forward pushed wide than Sissoko who is a midfielder pushed wide. Neither are wingers, but I think we need someone who can score and create more than another centrally- inclined midfielder

 

[inclineyid]

IMO he'll be played almost always in the front 3 on the right. There was a throwaway comment from hertsyid's itk on deadline day quoting his source confirming this fwiw. I suspect he is only 4th choice in the double pivot behind Dier, Dembele and Wanyama

 

[spurs9]

Just to play Devil's advocate ping pong with you a second, Sissoko had less assists than Danny Drinkwater and Wes Hoolahan (and all of our first choice AM's - Eriksen, Alli, Lamela).

Alli & Lamela are quality players (and playing in a well functioning team unlike Newcastle), Drinkwater didn't get more, he had the same # of assists as Sissoko (and also played in a well functioning team).

Worth noting that we had 3 players in the top 13 for assists (technically top 8 as 6 players were tied at 8th) , Man City had 2 and no-one else had more than 1. We have now signed a player that was tied with 6 others players in the 14th to 19th spots.

With all that in mind, I still think we lack another creative option (as silly as that sounds with our players in last seasons assist charts) and although it sounds like I'm a Sissoko fan, I was against signing him, but I'm really interested to see what he and GKN can bring to the team as both offer something that no-one else in our current squad could.

 

[Lighty64]

i really hope he is a hit, or this thread will reach the 1k mark with those saying miss telling us all "I told you so".

a lot of those shouting "miss", are gutted we never signed the players they had on their list, and god help us if Sissoko is a miss, and Boufal is a hit

 

[Bus-Conductor]

I'm sure you used to be a big fan of him and Capoue playing in the middle together at Toulouse.

They didn't play in a cm2. Toulouse played a 4141. It was a diamond in attack and flattened out in defence. Capoue was the "1" in front of the defence, Didot at the base of the diamond, with Sissoko in either a wide or forward position of the 4.

 

[Lighty64]

They didn't play in a cm2. Toulouse played a 4141. It was a diamond in attack and flattened out in defence. Capoue was the "1" in front of the defence, Didot at the base of the diamond, with Sissoko in either a wide or forward position of the 4.

That's not what his wikipeadia, perhaps you see it different to the experts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moussa_Sissoko

I won't be surprised to see him line up in the middle with either Dier or Winyama on Saturday, either that or Eriksen will make way if Sissoko starts. depends on how Poch see's those when they return from Internationals