Player Watch: Moussa Sissoko

[Col_M]

If Sissoko could add goals to his game on this form he would be the best player in the league

Already the best Left Back in the World!!

 

[newbie]

Who needs wife if you have got sissoko

I’m glad I’m not the only one

 

[oohaahedgar]

I remember one of the ITK's(in the transfer window) saying MP is going to try him in Centre midfield. Although I always thought he did ok and worked hard I couldn't imagine that he could play this well over 6 or so games on the spin. Seems a snip at 30million in todays money.

 

[dtxspurs]

Its perfectly acceptable to think he has been really bad the first 2 years and really good all of the sudden. Both are true.

 

[nedley]

Look up 'awful supporters' in the dictionary and you'll find the above.

Behave.

 

[Woodyy]

Memories that can now be laid to rest!!

Yep I'll happily hold my hands up, I've probably said way worse than that about him as well.

He's definitely bossing it now though, it's crazy what a bit of confidence can do.

 

[davidmatzdorf]

I posted this on the Inter match thread, but it really belongs here:


He hasn't said so, but Sissoko must be feeling hugely vindicated when he hears us singing his name. I fancy that us doing that is feeding into his confidence. We should keep it up, for the sake of the team.

Sissoko has had a career with a pattern much like this. He hasn't been a player whose form fluctuates from match to match. He's had long periods of a year or two when he's been forceful, sometimes unplayable, a real asset to any team, including the France national side, and then his confidence or his fitness will go and it takes him another year or two to get back in touch with himself.

That suggests that he's as psychologically delicate as he is physically powerful. It also explains why it has taken Pochettino a couple of seasons to get into his head and get him back to his proper level.

The only thing about his arrival at Tottenham that puzzles me is that it didn't come after his limp period at Newcastle, it came after his rampaging performances for France. What undermined his mentality? Was it just the late signing and them him finding himself un-integrated in the squad and not quite fit enough to function in a Pochettino team? I'm guessing...

 

[davidmatzdorf]

I remember one of the ITK's(in the transfer window) saying MP is going to try him in Centre midfield. Although I always thought he did ok and worked hard I couldn't imagine that he could play this well over 6 or so games on the spin. Seems a snip at 30million in todays money.

Sissoko has always been a central midfielder. All his best performances for all his clubs and for France have been there. He's lost on the wing. It wastes all his assets: physical power, directness, ball-winning, positional understanding (underrated) and tackling.

 

[SpunkyBackpack]

Just for the record i wasn't comparing Sissoko to a horse with a water cannon, i was pointing out that neither are useful on a football pitch, because he wasn't, he was absolute garbage. A horse with a water cannon would at least have been amusing, and with 4 legs at that point more capable of controlling or passing a football.

I'm bloody delighted that he is playing well but lets not try and pretend that-

a) he wasn't really really really rubbish
b) pointing that out or being bothered by it makes you a bad fan

 

[Mr Pink]

I posted this on the Inter match thread, but it really belongs here:


He hasn't said so, but Sissoko must be feeling hugely vindicated when he hears us singing his name. I fancy that us doing that is feeding into his confidence. We should keep it up, for the sake of the team.

Sissoko has had a career with a pattern much like this. He hasn't been a player whose form fluctuates from match to match. He's had long periods of a year or two when he's been forceful, sometimes unplayable, a real asset to any team, including the France national side, and then his confidence or his fitness will go and it takes him another year or two to get back in touch with himself.

That suggests that he's as psychologically delicate as he is physically powerful. It also explains why it has taken Pochettino a couple of seasons to get into his head and get him back to his proper level.

The only thing about his arrival at Tottenham that puzzles me is that it didn't come after his limp period at Newcastle, it came after his rampaging performances for France. What undermined his mentality? Was it just the late signing and them him finding himself un-integrated in the squad and not quite fit enough to function in a Pochettino team? I'm guessing...

It's probably a combination of variables, and some of them we may never know about or even realise.

But whatever the reasons, when you make a slow start pressure mounts and that psychological fragility you touched on probably compounded the issue massively.

Like a snowball really, the riducule and even piss taking amongst some must of brutally affected him.

But the irony is, regarding his psychological state, is that it takes great mental strength to turn it around and perform at his current level, something I wholeheartedly admire.

 

[parj]

Love to admit that Sissoko is finally looking the part. Always knew he was awesome. Well actually I didn't and I was a fan that just dreaded his name being in the team sheet. Love it when a player turns out around. Would love to see Janssen and NKoudou do the same

 

[SEANSPURS1975]

Ever since we signed Sissoko he has been played out of position as a Right midfielder/winger. He is and has always been a powerful central midfieder. Whether that is in a two or a three man central midfield. Why it’s taken so long for Pochettino to see this is a complete mystery. Playing out of position for a couple of seasons has effected his game massively. Plenty of players would have just given up by now, but he’s just kept on going. We are now beginning to see what he is capable of. I even think there could be more to come as he gets a run in the side and gets even more confident. Brilliant turn around from Moussa. COYS

 

[BringBack_leGin]

I don’t think anyone is saying that being rightly critical of poor performances makes someone a bad fan. I think people are saying that getting on a player’s back constantly and failing to support him, all the while refusing to acknowledge even his better moments and performances, makes someone a bad fan.

 

[Ossie85]

Ever since we signed Sissoko he has been played out of position as a Right midfielder/winger. He is and has always been a powerful central midfieder. Whether that is in a two or a three man central midfield. Why it’s taken so long for Pochettino to see this is a complete mystery. Playing out of position for a couple of seasons has effected his game massively. Plenty of players would have just given up by now, but he’s just kept on going. We are now beginning to see what he is capable of. I even think there could be more to come as he gets a run in the side and gets even more confident. Brilliant turn around from Moussa. COYS

Oh, come on. Now it's Poch's fault
He didn't because he didn't trust him as a CM. A CM needs very good ball retention skills and Sissoko played this last years as if the ball was a hot potato.
Sissoko improved that. His turnaround is not exclusively because they placed him as a CM
Once he improve his ball skills, and given our necessity to cover CM, Poch trusted him. Something no one (and I mean NO ONE) would've done

 

[nedley]

Just for the record i wasn't comparing Sissoko to a horse with a water cannon, i was pointing out that neither are useful on a football pitch, because he wasn't, he was absolute garbage. A horse with a water cannon would at least have been amusing, and with 4 legs at that point more capable of controlling or passing a football.

I'm bloody delighted that he is playing well but lets not try and pretend that-

a) he wasn't really really really rubbish
b) pointing that out or being bothered by it makes you a bad fan

THIS.

 

[SEANSPURS1975]

Oh, come on. Now it's Poch's fault
He didn't because he didn't trust him as a CM. A CM needs very good ball retention skills and Sissoko played this last years as if the ball was a hot potato.
Sissoko improved that. His turnaround is not exclusively because they placed him as a CM
Once he improve his ball skills, and given our necessity to cover CM, Poch trusted him. Something no one (and I mean NO ONE) would've done

Lol. So playing a player out of position isn’t going to affect his game? He has never had the skills to play as a winger. Love Pochettino but he was wrong to play him out there. His displays over two seasons proved that. If Poch didn’t have trust in him to play him in his correct position, what do you think that did to his game/confidence? His turnaround is exclusively because he is now playing in his correct position and having the manager’s confidence to play him there.
Plus he has always had the ability to play in CM, he’s got over 50 caps for France playing in that position??

 

[Shadydan]

Lol. So playing a player out of position isn’t going to affect his game? He has never had the skills to play as a winger. Love Pochettino but he was wrong to play him out there. His displays over two seasons proved that. If Poch didn’t have trust in him to play him in his correct position, what do you think that did to his game/confidence? His turnaround is exclusively because he is now playing in his correct position and having the manager’s confidence to play him there.
Plus he has always had the ability to play in CM, he’s got over 50 caps for France playing in that position??

I think our manager is able to asses whether a player is able to play in a position and whether he trusts them to play there, I think he's at least qualified to do that and it's obvious that he didn't trust Sissoko to play there for one reason or another. It's not as simple as playing him in his favoured position and walla... There's obviously been a process over time whether it's building up his confidence or Sissoko finally learning how to play that role for Spurs and understanding what the manager wants from him but it's taken this long for a reason.

At the end of the day we are where we are now due to the managers and players persistance and trust in each other.

 

[walworthyid]

Jenas would probably have done well in our current side. He'd most likely take Dele's role. Back in the day, we (and everyone else) pretty much played a rigid 4-4-2, with no space for the likes of JJ. He was always better when allowed to do most of his work off the ball - win it, play a simple pass to a teammate, then not see it again until he turned up in or on the edge of the box. It's our flexibility that get's the most out of Dele, and JJ would probably have benefitted also.

I agree to an extent but Dele has proved on numerous occasions that he can also play as a deeper lying CM. He has more composure and positional discipline than JJ. He also has a far greater will to win.

I really liked JJ, he had it all, but he just lacked the heart and determination to reach his potential. Dele love big games and hard battles.

 

[TwanYid]

The crazy part is that he looks exactly the same (and even has the same first and last name!) as the guy we panic-bought from Newcastle in that horrible deal back in the summer of 2016.

 

[Ossie85]

Lol. So playing a player out of position isn’t going to affect his game? He has never had the skills to play as a winger. Love Pochettino but he was wrong to play him out there. His displays over two seasons proved that. If Poch didn’t have trust in him to play him in his correct position, what do you think that did to his game/confidence? His turnaround is exclusively because he is now playing in his correct position and having the manager’s confidence to play him there.
Plus he has always had the ability to play in CM, he’s got over 50 caps for France playing in that position??

So from the start you thought he was a great player played out of position.
Give me a break