Liverpool FC Forum

[alxy]

I know this has been discussed before, but after last night, I couldn't help thinking if Sissoko is ever going to improve. I have been one of his supporters in the past, but against Barca and Scum, he seemed to be more useful OFF the ball, then ON it. Yes, he made his tackles and all that, but whenever he got the ball, he either passed it to an opponent or lost it trying to dribble his way out. Why can't this dude pass well? ?? That should be a basic part of anyone's game at that level. Even the defenders and young guys like Agger seem to pass better than Momo.

So, think he will improve? Or fade away eventually like so many previous false hopes?

[Lando_Griffin]

I think people need to accept that Momo is Momo.

By that, I mean that he is never going to be "the next Patrick Viera" or any of that b*llocks. As a footballer, he is sh*t. He just cannot pass to save his life.

But as a destroyer? You find me a better one anywhere on the planet.

He will never score a classy goal (he may never score at all! ), he will never hit a sublime 40 (or 4) yard pass.

But he WILL break up the opposition's play and hound them into making errors. That is his forte. It is his strength.
One of the common misconceptions is that he's a holding midfielder. No he isn't. He is nothing like Didi, or Xabi, or even Mascherano.
He has no positional sense, and he reads the game like a blind man in a welder's mask.

He doesn't do anything other than recover possession via sliding tackles anywhere on the pitch. He isn't even a defensive midfielder, as he actually seeks out the opposition, and hunts them high up the field. That makes him a battling midfielder. A thorn. A plague on the opposition.

And he's a damn good thorn to have on your side, as we saw against Barca, particularly in the first leg.

But if anyone expects him to miraculously turn into a majestic footballer who can tear defenses apart, they'll be sorely disappointed.

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Even the defenders and young guys like Agger seem to pass better than Momo.

momo isnt exactly a veteran mate, he is still a young guy and he has just come back from a few months out so a little leeway is required here.

however i was very critical of him on saturday and feel he should have been replaced at half time as he was woeful.

last night he fared slightly better but i have to laugh when i see him popping up on the wing.

remember this is the guy preferred to gerrard in the center, the mind boggles   

[JoeTerp]

still he should have been able to make that open goal shot, I know in the end it didn't make any difference, but I would have been a lot less stressed out knowing that even if barca scored in those last 10 that it would have gone to extra time.

[The Manhattan Project]

He can certainly disrupt the opposing attacks, but his tackling is clumsy and his passes are far too casual and sloppy. He needs to work on those. While he does that, Crouch can also work on adding muscle mass to his bony frame and get some power and accuracy into his heading. LFC's free-kicks need work and so do our crossing and corner techniques. Too many times they float into the box, which requires the attacker to do a little too much before getting closed down. Crosses and corners need to be whipped right into the six yard area and the striker need only divert the ball into the right direction using the power of the cross/corner itself. Some work on closing people down and not backing off and giving the opponent space to cross or shoot is essential too.

That's what they need to do over Summer.

[alxy]

Even the defenders and young guys like Agger seem to pass better than Momo.

momo isnt exactly a veteran mate, he is still a young guy and he has just come back from a few months out so a little leeway is required here.

however i was very critical of him on saturday and feel he should have been replaced at half time as he was woeful.

last night he fared slightly better but i have to laugh when i see him popping up on the wing.

remember this is the guy preferred to gerrard in the center, the mind boggles   

That's exactly my point: Agger is younger than Momo but yet can pass decently. And being a midfielder, you would expect his passing to be more spot on than say, a Central Defender, regardless of experience. At least, for one who seems to "kick" out Gerrard from central midfield.

Ball-winning is just part of the game. I feel if he cannot improve on the other areas of his game, then there's no use we carry on with him. Guys like Xabi or Mascherano may not be as aggressive as Momo when it comes to tackles, but they're not that bad either. And coupled with their all-round game, would be a better option.

Still, I honestly do hope Momo improves. I like his attitude and spirit and would be a shame if he fails to live up to his promise.

[BOODIDDY]

GERRARD SHOULDN'T BE TAKING CORNERS BECAUSE HE IS ACTUALLY A GOOD HEADER OF THE BALL. ALONSO AND AURELLIO WHEN HE PLAYS WHIP IT IN BETTER LOW AND FAST.

AS FOR MOMO THE LAD IS VERY YOUNG AND WELL NO WHERE NEAR XABI AND STEVIE THE LAD WILL GET BETTER. HE RUSHES TOO MUCH NOW BUT LAST NIGHT HE WAS GREAT. ASK YOURSELF WOULD THE YOUNG VIERA HAVE STAYED ON PITCH WITH A BOOKING SO EARLY AND STILL BECOME YOUR MIDFIELD DESTROYER?

[tubby]

I think as long as we have decent passers of the ball around Momo he can carry on doing what hes doing just fine.

And whos to say he wont improve.

[Sabre]

I know this has been discussed before, but after last night, I couldn't help thinking if Sissoko is ever going to improve. I have been one of his supporters in the past, but against Barca and Scum, he seemed to be more useful OFF the ball, then ON it. Yes, he made his tackles and all that, but whenever he got the ball, he either passed it to an opponent or lost it trying to dribble his way out. Why can't this dude pass well??? That should be a basic part of anyone's game at that level. Even the defenders and young guys like Agger seem to pass better than Momo.

On the contrary, I was a secret criticist of Momo a while ago . I mean secret because I didn't post too much about it.

I didn't like his bad timed tackling he used to have, I didn't like how the ball rebounds 1 meter away when he tries to do a ball control, I didn't like how he runs with the ball with touches that put the ball far instead to stick to the boot, I didn't like his passing.

That's pretty much what I thought about Momo at the beginning of the previous season.

But he has improved. His mad tacklings have gone better, and he's making 11-12 ball recoveries of the ball per game.  In Many of the games he's the best ball recoverer of the team.

His passing is not good, but I don't ask him that neither, so no prob.

I think that just before his injury he was playing at a very good level momowise, he has long legs, he covers a lot of the pitch, the oposition  sees Sissoko first that follows you everywhere, and if they get past him they find a well positioned Alonso. My point is that he complements Alonso very well. I've seen him a bit unaccurate last games against Manchester and Barcelona, but defending he has been splendid. So I just think he needs some games more to recover the level he had before the injury.

So, about the topic of the thread, He's not going to be a Makelele never, I'm afraid. But that doesn't mean he's not very interesting for our team, I think he's a very good partner of Alonso in the middle of the park. He can't be a lone defensive midfielder because he hasn't got the positioning concept in his brain, but he's a perfect partner for Alonso and he recovers so much balls that he'd be interesting for almost any team in Europe.

I think aswell he's very young, and that he can improve further, especially in decissions. About his ball control, I'd put him to kick a ball against a wall until they're decent, it's about practice.

I didn't like the player at the beginning, I like him more now. And I think he's going to improve further.

P.S. I agree Lando's post in many points. I think the most dangerous thing for Momo is too many hopes on him, if we just accept him as he is, better for him and for all of us.

[Big Niall]

One of the  best players around when he doesn't have the ball - i.e. closing down & winning tackles. I can't think of many worse players with the ball though, seem clueless with it.

He's never going to be Platini with the ball but hopefully we can train him just to give the ball to the LFC player nearest you, its not that hard.

[Roger Red Hat]

my personal opinion?   he's pants.

Only my view though. I've never really liked him.

[JBG]

He's absolutely god awful on the ball, comical even. I have rarely seen a player at Premiership (let alone Champions League) level with such poor ability on the ball. Even Djimi Traore had better technique.

Comparisons with Patrick Viera are now wide off the mark. While Momo will probably match Viera physically when he reaches his peak, he has absolutely none of Viera's passing ability. When Viera was 21 and was the junior member of the Petit-Viera partnership at Arsenal he was one of the best short passers of a ball in the Premiership.

He's very good off the ball but unless Momo learns to control it and pass it even 5 yards to a red shirt, we are never going to win the league with the 2007 version of Carlton Palmer in the side.

[metalhead]

There were times where sissoko usually cuts through one player then loses the ball when attempting to pass! 

Not a good footballer.. but one hell of a fighting, determined and working machine! He isn't a destroyer, not even a battleship.. he his a nuke bomb who explodes into the pitch.

[Redman in wales]

I think people need to accept that Momo is Momo.

By that, I mean that he is never going to be "the next Patrick Viera" or any of that b*llocks. As a footballer, he is sh*t. He just cannot pass to save his life.

But as a destroyer? You find me a better one anywhere on the planet.

He will never score a classy goal (he may never score at all! ), he will never hit a sublime 40 (or 4) yard pass.

But he WILL break up the opposition's play and hound them into making errors. That is his forte. It is his strength.
One of the common misconceptions is that he's a holding midfielder. No he isn't. He is nothing like Didi, or Xabi, or even Mascherano.
He has no positional sense, and he reads the game like a blind man in a welder's mask.

He doesn't do anything other than recover possession via sliding tackles anywhere on the pitch. He isn't even a defensive midfielder, as he actually seeks out the opposition, and hunts them high up the field. That makes him a battling midfielder. A thorn. A plague on the opposition.

And he's a damn good thorn to have on your side, as we saw against Barca, particularly in the first leg.

But if anyone expects him to miraculously turn into a majestic footballer who can tear defenses apart, they'll be sorely disappointed.

agree. He will never be alonso/viera/masherano etc

but he will never stop breaking up the play. It's like no team can play their own game, when he's on the pitch.

He's a destroyer. plain and simple.

To use an analagy:
Momo is a tank. he destroys things.
Tanks aren't as fast as racing cars
Tanks aren't as nimble and responsive as rally cars
But tanks blow things up better than any other vehicle.

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