Player Watch Player Watch: Yves Bissouma

[tommyt]

I think the difference between him and Hojbjerb at the minute is that Pierre seems to have taken the instruction from the manager better and is moving the ball forward with much more purpose.

But he appears to be a shadow of the player we signed from Brighton. Time will tell.

 

[SpursForever71]

we definitely need to give the Biss-Sarr combination a break for now. we were far more combative when Bents and Hojberg came on. Bents also made the difference for Porro's goal as soon as he came on.
We seem to easy to play through at the moment with our current midfield pair.

 

[ThatisSchoolboysownstuff!]

Firstly hello to all

This is my first ever post so here it goes!

So Bissouma seems to be getting a lot of flak atm & to some degree I feel rightly so. He does seem to be playing in second gear at times (not in a good way) and his defensive instincts are almost none existent (check his recovery run for the Forest goal tonight). Poor tracking back/recovery runs are a common theme regarding him, happened 1st game of the season for Brentford’s opener and has continued throughout the season. Now there are 2 reasons imo for this.

#1. Bissouma is not a natural CDM , a CDM (6) is a defensive minded player first & foremost eg a Matic (Chelsea), Fabinho (Liverpool), Rodri (City), Gilberto Silva (Arsenal) etc. Their job was to protect the back 4 by cutting of passing lanes, tracking runners, making tackles & blocks while also marshalling the players ahead in terms of getting them back into shape when out of possession. All the while keeping the ball ticking over when in possession nothing too fancy just good old ball retention. Now I feel he has shown the ability to keep the ball well but it’s a lot of the other stuff I mentioned that he struggles with.

#2. I also think Bissouma is a victim of us playing Maddison as a #10 as Maddison in this set up basically has a free role, he also offers even less defensively than any other CAM I can think of. At the start of the season Maddison was on fire offensively no doubt about it he was creating and pulling the strings for us, but even than his defensive contribution was poor which meant Bissouma & Sarr or whoever plays the 6 & 8 are having to do so much work due to Maddison’s inability to just plug holes or get back into shape when we lose possession. When we lose the ball Bissouma ends up getting swamped with opposition players bombing on in transition, add to that that he isn’t a natural CDM and your asking for trouble.

Ange has done a decent job so far but I do think he should be seeing that Bissouma doesn’t have the defensive mindset to play as a CDM and that Maddison kills us when out of possession (and even in possession atm).

Sorry I know it’s a little long but just needed to offload my thoughts.

 

[Tottenhamboy85]

Haven’t seen the game today but was he at fault for their goal again?

Udogie takes most the blame

 

[Tottenhamboy85]

He was excellent in the build up for the first goal

 

[14/04/91]

He was excellent in the build up for the first goal

Sadly the only time he injected any pace into his passing.

 

[biscuit]

Firstly hello to all

This is my first ever post so here it goes!

So Bissouma seems to be getting a lot of flak atm & to some degree I feel rightly so. He does seem to be playing in second gear at times (not in a good way) and his defensive instincts are almost none existent (check his recovery run for the Forest goal tonight). Poor tracking back/recovery runs are a common theme regarding him, happened 1st game of the season for Brentford’s opener and has continued throughout the season. Now there are 2 reasons imo for this.

#1. Bissouma is not a natural CDM , a CDM (6) is a defensive minded player first & foremost eg a Matic (Chelsea), Fabinho (Liverpool), Rodri (City), Gilberto Silva (Arsenal) etc. Their job was to protect the back 4 by cutting of passing lanes, tracking runners, making tackles & blocks while also marshalling the players ahead in terms of getting them back into shape when out of possession. All the while keeping the ball ticking over when in possession nothing too fancy just good old ball retention. Now I feel he has shown the ability to keep the ball well but it’s a lot of the other stuff I mentioned that he struggles with.

#2. I also think Bissouma is a victim of us playing Maddison as a #10 as Maddison in this set up basically has a free role, he also offers even less defensively than any other CAM I can think of. At the start of the season Maddison was on fire offensively no doubt about it he was creating and pulling the strings for us, but even than his defensive contribution was poor which meant Bissouma & Sarr or whoever plays the 6 & 8 are having to do so much work due to Maddison’s inability to just plug holes or get back into shape when we lose possession. When we lose the ball Bissouma ends up getting swamped with opposition players bombing on in transition, add to that that he isn’t a natural CDM and your asking for trouble.

Ange has done a decent job so far but I do think he should be seeing that Bissouma doesn’t have the defensive mindset to play as a CDM and that Maddison kills us when out of possession (and even in possession atm).

Sorry I know it’s a little long but just needed to offload my thoughts.

Welcome to the madhouse!

 

[arunspurs]

Sell

 

[ThatisSchoolboysownstuff!]

Yes it was Udogieto blame initially as he got played around with a simple give and go. Then didn’t bust a gut to try to stay with Elanga (who is rapid). But I do feel Bissouma could’ve done more to get back in as he was deeper than Udogie once he got played round, Bissouma could see Elanga’s run but he just kept jogging one paced watching as Elanga burst past him.

 

[ThatisSchoolboysownstuff!]

Welcome to the madhouse!

Cheers pal!

 

[Gassin's finest]

As I was saying in the match thread; that as much as Bissouma seems inconsistent, I think anyone playing his position in this system is on a hiding to nothing. Its exciting that we push our full backs so far up that we overload the wide areas. But at the same time it leaves us so exposed on the transition. The central midfielders are already being asked to be 6/8 hybrids, but then also drop in and cover the spaces left by that aggressive attacking shape. And the full backs end up occupying the space that you'd expect the CF or AM to be in. Again, all very aggressive, but it places so many demands on these four players. Their athleticism is paramount, but also their mental indefatigability. Over 90 mins, across 40+ games, its inevitable that a wall is going to get hit somewhere. Yeah, this is where a strong squad comes into play, as we've seen in recent games (Forest, Luton, Villa). But for me... we need to get some adaptability and balance into the setup that doesn't leave the players blowing out of their arse.

 

[NEVILLEB]

He had Malaria just before African Cup.

Maybe he’s lost energy.

Early season form had us declaring him a revelation.

Ange should be saving him until he’s back to his normal standards.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

As I was saying in the match thread; that as much as Bissouma seems inconsistent, I think anyone playing his position in this system is on a hiding to nothing. Its exciting that we push our full backs so far up that we overload the wide areas. But at the same time it leaves us so exposed on the transition. The central midfielders are already being asked to be 6/8 hybrids, but then also drop in and cover the spaces left by that aggressive attacking shape. And the full backs end up occupying the space that you'd expect the CF or AM to be in. Again, all very aggressive, but it places so many demands on these four players. Their athleticism is paramount, but also their mental indefatigability. Over 90 mins, across 40+ games, its inevitable that a wall is going to get hit somewhere. Yeah, this is where a strong squad comes into play, as we've seen in recent games (Forest, Luton, Villa). But for me... we need to get some adaptability and balance into the setup that doesn't leave the players blowing out of their arse.

I agree, but this wouldn't be a problem with a prime Wanyama / Fernandinho / Makelele in the 6 role. I think we either need to sign a "proper" no.6 in the summer or work on tweaking our system subtly.

 

[Gassin's finest]

I agree, but this wouldn't be a problem with a prime Wanyama / Fernandinho / Makelele in the 6 role. I think we either need to sign a "proper" no.6 in the summer or work on tweaking our system subtly.

It would, because the system stretches it too much for one man on each side to cover. Its fine 2-3 times in a match, but every time we venture forwards? Its too much imo.

 

[Trix]

I would say Udogie was more at fault, but he could have done more

He started fairly well, thought he was going to build on the West Ham game, but he faded quickly. It was right call to sub him.

I still have hope for him longer term though. Both at Brighton and early this season, but also until today he was starting to step up again.

Udogie was way below his usual standard last night(has been for a few weeks), first half especially. Young players do fluctuate early in the careers so that is understandable. Shows the need for competition at LB though.

 

[tevezito]

As I was saying in the match thread; that as much as Bissouma seems inconsistent, I think anyone playing his position in this system is on a hiding to nothing. Its exciting that we push our full backs so far up that we overload the wide areas. But at the same time it leaves us so exposed on the transition. The central midfielders are already being asked to be 6/8 hybrids, but then also drop in and cover the spaces left by that aggressive attacking shape. And the full backs end up occupying the space that you'd expect the CF or AM to be in. Again, all very aggressive, but it places so many demands on these four players. Their athleticism is paramount, but also their mental indefatigability. Over 90 mins, across 40+ games, its inevitable that a wall is going to get hit somewhere. Yeah, this is where a strong squad comes into play, as we've seen in recent games (Forest, Luton, Villa). But for me... we need to get some adaptability and balance into the setup that doesn't leave the players blowing out of their arse.

Completely agree with you as far as during the transition / acclimatisation process is concerned, and this is exactly what we're seeing this season.

But I understand the plan to be that after a season or so the players get accustomed to these roles and are much more effective at it. This will mean less 'brain farts', lack of tracking back or poor positioning, and hopefully less (hamstring) injuries as well.

I think the honeymoon period involved a lot of our best attacking play and also a lot of lucky let-offs in defence, that aren't happening so much these days (case in point Wood's goal involving two nutmegs, one including a deflection and then moments later Wood missing a sitter).

This season we'll be doing fab to get in the Champions League while this process takes place. Next season should be extremely interesting.

 

[ikky]

Biss needs serious competition for his spot as the no6. Maybe it will light a rocket up his arse. Can’t continue being lackadaisical in his passing and more importantly seemingly too lazy in tracking back opposition runners.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

It would, because the system stretches it too much for one man on each side to cover. Its fine 2-3 times in a match, but every time we venture forwards? Its too much imo.

We coped when Walker and Rose used to bomb forwards, with Wanyama / Dier dropping in as a third CB. Our current fullbacks play differently (drift inside, rather than staying out wide), but I don't think this difference in positioning in the attacking third has much impact on the space that they leave behind them.

 

[Thenewcat]

It would, because the system stretches it too much for one man on each side to cover. Its fine 2-3 times in a match, but every time we venture forwards? Its too much imo.

It’s hard to say. What I can say with confidence is it won’t work if you have a 6 who can’t be arsed to track back at all. Watch Bissouma for the Forest goal again- he starts yards ahead of the guy who crossed it and simply doesn’t bother trying to track the runner at all. I’d have subbed him on the spot. I can forgive technical or mental errors but not giving a shit is unacceptable

 

[HildoSpur]

Udogie was way below his usual standard last night(has been for a few weeks), first half especially. Young players do fluctuate early in the careers so that is understandable. Shows the need for competition at LB though.

He probably just needs a rest - as you say we need competition in those wingback areas if only to allow for more rotation.