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Player Watch: Moussa Sissoko

@Bobby__Lucky

Well-Known Member
Aug 20, 2013
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3,982
TBH I like the fact that he has never tried to hide. He may well know that being at Spurs is the pinnacle of his career. Every time he comes onto the pitch he gives his all, very much like Lamela, we have a couple that do not.
Good to see a player put in a shift rather than coast along, well done Sissoko.

Wholly agree with everything said above.
 

Mr Pink

SC Supporter
Aug 25, 2010
54,770
99,331
Giving a few 7 out of 10 performances less regularly than Jenas infamously did doesn't really make him any less of a poor signing tbh. I know he didn't set the price or specifically ask for the wage, but we've not gotten value for money from his transfer.

Hopefully his turn of form generates some interest in him as I don't think he's a good enough player, even for the squad.

You're a strange fish. So if he keeps up his current form you don't think he's even good enough for the squad?

Fuck, you're having a ?
 

glospur

Well-Known Member
May 19, 2015
2,608
9,806
You know how Pochettino said about a year or so ago something like Sissoko is the best two way runner and transition player in the squad and therefore an important player?

Well maybe - and I mean just maybe because there are a lot of highly qualified people here who contradicted him with all their knowledge and experience at the top level and said otherwise - he actually knew what he was talking about all along. Staggering idea, I know.

I think Sissoko has shown in the last few months just how important his athleticism is in filling holes for fullbacks and players out of position, before - in the same stretch of play, no less - providing options as an attacking outlet.

You only need to look at the passage of play immediately preceding the corner that led to the goal on the weekend. From memory, he starts out forward of the center circle, we lose possession, he immediately busts his arse to fill in for the advanced Davies, he wins the ball back, and then he's off on a 100m sprint to provide an attacking option down the left, where he gets on the ball wide left, about level with the corner of the box.

I know he's not going to provide moments of outstanding quality on the ball, but this passage of raw athleticism, work rate and downright effort was just as worthy of the gasps of admiration as any nutmeg or pinpoint cross field pass or lovely cushioned first touch.
 

TwanYid

Well-Known Member
Aug 1, 2013
1,223
3,484
Dembele says hi...

I gave a you a "Winner"-rating for this because it's exactly how I see Sissoko: as a like-for-like replacement for Dembele. Understand: I am in no way suggesting that he is a carbon-copy of Dems (he's not), but where I feel they are similar is in the way that both can simply put their head(s) down and drive forward through sheer force of will and pure bodily strength (and- in Dembele's case- otherworldly ball-retention skills). To me Sissoko is at his best as a box-to-box midfielder, someone tasked with getting us going in the right direction, the guy who forces our opponent onto the back foot, a player whom our opponent suddenly has to defend.

Now mind you when he first came here he was nothing of the kind. He would make the safe back pass almost always and- as such- added the square root of SFA to our attack. Now, however, not only is he fearlessly bursting through the line Mack-truck style, but he is also passing effectively (at times dare I say it quite effectively). We all knew he had the ability to bomb forward, but pass?!? The answer, these days, is "yup!" He has made some stunning passes lately...

I have to say that I'm kind of shocked by these latest developments concerning our much-maligned 30M acquisition, but then again I'm kind of not. The fact that he was/is a stalwart CM for one of the best international teams on earth suggests that he can play football at a high level, he just wasn't doing it in England for the last-- well-- since forever. The reason for this (I would venture to guess) is that he is 100% a confidence player: when he doesn't believe in himself he reverts to a very inept mean; when he has it- watch out. I mean think about it: didn't we all literally wonder how on earth a highly-paid player could be that bad?!? Something was obviously not connecting in the guy's mind because what we saw was sub-pub standard- and for years at that. Yet even then he would at times do something magical-- as in: highly-skilled-- something which suggested that there was more to him than just eternal suckitude.

I remember a cross he put in in the waning seconds of a League match at home a few years back (I wanna say it was vs. Burnley?) where he drove down the right wing and put in an impossible cross for one of our forwards (Kane? Alli?) who then promptly slotted it home to garner three incredibly valuable points in a game we actually didn't deserve to win. It was pure magic-- the kind of pass you just don't do if you suck as a footballer-- and Sissoko managed to do it when we desperately needed it. He basically singlehandedly won us the game. So yeah, even at his worst-- during those times when he couldn't manage to trap a simple pass or couldn't control a ball while simply dribbling ahead of a defender-- when he was literally woeful- one could make out at least some real talent- it was just buried deep in the bedrock. Thank God Poch has somehow managed to dynamite-blast it out.
 
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-Afri-Coy-

Well-Known Member
Jun 26, 2012
5,838
18,570
Fair play to Messi Sissoko, He weathered a fair amount of hate from pretty much everyone over the past two seasons. I myself have been guilty of begrudging him on occasion but he has always been industrious and worked hard for the team. He kept his head down and always gave 100% to the team and to Poch. That hard work ethic is finally paying off at a very crucial time for our squad with all the injuries we are carrying at the moment.

He needs to start against Chelsea and Barcelona. If he can keep the upturn in form, he may cement a place in our XI as our Dembele replacement, which is something we desperately need. I would still prefer us to go out and sign a world class Midfielder, but in reality Sissoko is our current best option in this department.
 

daryl hannah

Berry Berry Calm
Sep 1, 2014
2,674
7,717
I'm certain the player has put in the work to get to this point - the point at which the fans change their minds about him, but you have to wonder what kind of work the coaching staff have put in. And I don't mean El Pocho. Quite often Poch gets the plaudits for turning a player's abilities around, but I suspect it's more likely Perez and co. behind the scenes working on his game while Poch is giving his 11th interview that day.
 

Paolo10

Well-Known Member
Apr 6, 2004
6,179
7,621
Let's not get carried away here, who has he put semi-decent shifts in against? We know he's not consistent tbf.
 

Kiedis

Well-Known Member
Aug 4, 2013
2,926
8,490
Not meant as a slight on him by any means, seeing as I've always maintained that he's good at what he's good at. However, I'm thinking that the fact that our possession game and midfield in general have struggled this season makes us more dependent on a transition player like Sissoko.
I've earlier thought that we'd be needing his skillset in about 4-5 games per season, but when we're not controlling games with possession and positional play as well as we have done in previous seasons, our games are more "end to end"-y, which suits Sissoko.
 

fishhhandaricecake

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2018
18,702
46,941
He's been excellent so far this season, credit where credit is due.
I also think Poch has given him a slightly different deeper role where he can use his power in transitions rather than being higher up as part of the front 3 behind Kane. Keep it up Moussa.
 
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