Sissoko - Central Midfield Powerhouse or Strong Wideman?

[onthetwo]

V Chelsea I can see poch going

DIER WANYAMA

SISSOKO LAMELA DEMBELE

kick lumps out of them

i reckon it might be 433 for hard away matches: -

Usual Defenders
Sissoko Dier Dembele
Lamela Kane Alli/Eriksen

Take no prisoners!

 

[rossdapep]

Sissoko being a strong wideman is something that baffles me, tbh. What need do we have for someone like that? Poch will almost surely primarily use him as cover for Dembele, IMO. Which is what partly makes that 30m fee extreme. 30m for someone who will not be in the first XI is nuts.

With Lamela, Eriksen, Son and Kane generally roaming across the final third, what you will see is space being created for runners from deep. Sissoko would be excellent at exploiting that space as we currently have no-one who is powerful and quick enough from deep. Dembele, whilst incredibly strong is not quick enough to burst into these spaces.

Sissoko gives us the ability to cause chaos - imagine Walker and Sissoko overlapping on the right hand side, imagine a left back being in two minds about which runner he follows. I spent a lot of time playing as a right back and it's so tough when you have the opposition's full back running at you and a right-sided midfielder who then drifts all over the place.

 

[Bobbins]

I do think he'll be another player - along with the likes of Alli and Dembele, who would thrive in a 4-3-3, but we all know Poch doesn't use the system so I expect him to be playing centrally in place of Dembele until he's back, and then possibly wide right with Lamela pushing to the 10 role and Eriksen on the left. At least I hope so - I don't like seeing Lamela on the left, but Poch may want his defensive work in place there.

 

[walworthyid]

Some really funny posts so far! I think it's difficult to predict where he will play or even whether Poch will change the system because he hasn't had the players for tactical flexibility before.

It's also the case that tactical flexibility isn't just about starting 11s it's about the ability to change games with subs and formations. We can draw teams out with counterattacking pace if it's tight, we can brutalise teams with power etc.

I'm not sold on Sissoko at all, certainly not for the figures being quoted, but he and our other new players add depth and flexibility to our squad.

 

[biscuitbeck]

Wrote this article about where he might fit in: https://tottenhamwords.wordpress.co...ffer-tottenham-and-how-can-tottenham-use-him/

Could see him in the traditional central midfield or right wing roles in the 4-2-3-1, or maybe operating in a 3 man midfield with Dembele and Dier - would give him a bit more freedom to burst forward and support the attack, something that Dembele and Dier rarely do.

 

[Mullers]

The same Pochettino that refused to panic buy a back up striker or defensive midfielder last season because he didn't want someone in his squad that wouldn't strengthen it? That Pochettino is now panic spending £30m for shits and giggles?

He spent 28 million last season on N'jie and Son to cover that position, one season on, he got rid of N'jie and Son has been the subject of transfer speculation all summer to such an extent that Son seems uncertain about the future. He's gone out and spent 20 million on Jansen so clearly that is an admission that last season's experiment has failed.

 

[Colonel Dax]

Sissoko being a strong wideman is something that baffles me, tbh. What need do we have for someone like that? Poch will almost surely primarily use him as cover for Dembele, IMO. Which is what partly makes that 30m fee extreme. 30m for someone who will not be in the first XI is nuts.

I think eventually he will be in the 1st team, possibly at the expense of Alli if he doesn't get his shit together.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

Don't think it's unreasonable to think he's viewed as both. He will provide competition to both Lamela and Dembele. Something they really didn't have before yesterday.

I'd go a step further and say competition for Dembele and the three AMs. As an AM, Sissoko would almost certainly play on the right, but Lamela can play in the middle of the three and Alli can shift out to the left.

If Sissoko does predominantly play in the attacking three, he could still provide indirect competition for Dembele, with Alli sometimes dropping into CM.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

He spent 28 million last season on N'jie and Son to cover that position, one season on, he got rid of N'jie and Son has been the subject of transfer speculation all summer to such an extent that Son seems uncertain about the future. He's gone out and spent 20 million on Jansen so clearly that is an admission that last season's experiment has failed.

I wouldn't say this was a failed "experiment", rather failed transfer dealings. Had Janssen been on our radar a year ago, I'm confident we would have signed him then. Levy failed to sign the striker that Poch wanted (Berahino), then rushed through a deal to get an attacking player (Son) at the last minute. Poch then had to make do with what he had at his disposal. Unlike certain previous managers, Poch has a bit more nous than to publicly come out and say "we only have one striker and none of our AMs can adequately fill in that role, even though they will have to try at some point".

 

[THFCSPURS19]

Watched a bit more of him yesterday- he's fucking rapid, isn't he? I thought he was quick, but I didn't realise he was that fast.

 

[Lenten]

Watched a bit more of him yesterday- he's fucking rapid, isn't he? I thought he was quick, but I didn't realise he was that fast.

I remember reading that he was clocked as the fastest player in the league. But these lists never seem very scientific.

 

[doctor stefan Freud]

Wrote this article about where he might fit in: https://tottenhamwords.wordpress.co...ffer-tottenham-and-how-can-tottenham-use-him/

Could see him in the traditional central midfield or right wing roles in the 4-2-3-1, or maybe operating in a 3 man midfield with Dembele and Dier - would give him a bit more freedom to burst forward and support the attack, something that Dembele and Dier rarely do.

Nice article by the way- I'll look out for more

 

[Mullers]

I wouldn't say this was a failed "experiment", rather failed transfer dealings. Had Janssen been on our radar a year ago, I'm confident we would have signed him then. Levy failed to sign the striker that Poch wanted (Berahino), then rushed through a deal to get an attacking player (Son) at the last minute. Poch then had to make do with what he had at his disposal. Unlike certain previous managers, Poch has a bit more nous than to publicly come out and say "we only have one striker and none of our AMs can adequately fill in that role, even though they will have to try at some point".

Peace was acting like a dick, if I remember rightly, so not really Levy's fault.

Poch could have said no the N'jie and Son transfers but he didn't.

 

[EllenAlex]

Poch was using Dembele in the AM3 - before moving him to the CM2. Dier was a CB and RB before moving to the CM2.

I don't think Poch cares where you played in the past - if you have the right attributes to play the position.

Having said that, I have no idea where Poch sees Sissoko. I don't see him as similar to Mane or Zaha - which is what one report claims Poch was looking for when he wanted to sign Sissoko - so I am dubious about that report - and how that reporter connected the dots. He has pace, but he is not the kind of player to sit on a defenders shoulder, and chase down through balls - imo. I see him as a player who can transition the ball quickly from back to front, and who can help shield the ball with his size. So - I think he will play in the central MF - attacking role.

Also, he is predominantly right-footed - so I don't think he will play on the right in the AM3 - Poch will still want players to cut in from the outside onto their strong foot. Walker will remain on the outside, so a wide right player becomes redundant. So, if he plays in the AM positions, I think he will either play behind the striker, or on the left.

Also, why is it such a concern to have Sissoko starting a little deeper if he doesn't score much anyway?

If he can take us up into the final third and supply a decent ball, then we'll have useful signing. A little like Lampard without the goals. Georges-Kevin N'Koudou is the 'Mane' option in my eyes.

 

[shockTHFC]

Watched a bit more of him yesterday- he's fucking rapid, isn't he? I thought he was quick, but I didn't realise he was that fast.

I mean the guy literally looks quite a bit like Usain Bolt so it's not really a surprise.

 

[Krafty]

One of the attacking midfielders, mostly used on the right I reckon.

I don't think he has either technical skill of a playmaker nor the defensive nous of a DM to really offer anything in the middle other than another body and threat on the counter. I would much rather have Alii or Eriksen as a third central midfielder, or even Winks.

Sissoko can give us pace in the attacking areas, which is something we are only getting from the full backs

 

[Luka Van der Bale]

£30m for a 'Jack of all trades midfielder but master of none' is a ludicrous amount of money to spend especially considering we are not flushed with cash. Before all the sheep start going on about MP being 100% backed, yes he was but he has made massive mistakes before with big signings (Osvaldo anyone)......

£30m for me had to be a game changer who would walk into our first team and make a massive difference, does he....?

Your 'Jack of all trades' comment could easily have applied to Alli or Dembele towards the start of last season. Versatility doesn't prevent you making a position in the team your own.

 

[Luka Van der Bale]

He played two times for France there during the Euro's and was poor then he got moved to RM not AM

Plus the move from AM to CM is harder than CB to DM(unless you're a slow fucker)

Not to mention Dier was 20/21 when he moved not 27

Also I dont understand your point about Mason/Dembele/Bentaleb. All three before moving to our first team were CM's in a 2 man CM/DM. Mason for Swindon, Bentaleb for the U21's and Dembele for Fulham.

It's not exactly an alien position to him though. He played as a box to box midfielder in his first year and a half at Newcastle. With the added insurance of having the best defence in the PL behind him, and the ability of Pochettino to coach the best out of players who previously looked enigmatic, it's certainly an option we'll see him in that position. It's not the ridiculous suggestion some are making it out to be. He's more likely to be used in the AM3 certainly, but that's far from nailed on. We all know how we miss Dembele when he's out; I'm sure Poch hasn't failed to notice. Maybe he sees in Sissoko a potential alternative.

 

[Eric_s]

£30m for a 'Jack of all trades midfielder but master of none' is a ludicrous amount of money to spend especially considering we are not flushed with cash. Before all the sheep start going on about MP being 100% backed, yes he was but he has made massive mistakes before with big signings (Osvaldo anyone)......

£30m for me had to be a game changer who would walk into our first team and make a massive difference, does he....?

Are you the mate of Poch's mate, and have heard through your mate that Poch has pushed Levy to spend 30m on a backup player? Has your mate confirm that Sissoko definitely not gonna be a starting player no matter how well he perform?

Or did you has assume that is the case base on nothing?

 

[Tottenham_God]

I mean the guy literally looks quite a bit like Usain Bolt so it's not really a surprise.

How dare you