Liverpool FC Forum

[Lando_Griffin]

He's the least able central midfielder in our squad, but he's still an asset.

Those of you moaning about his contract should remember this:

"Rotation". Should Stevie, Xabi or Mascherano pick up an injury next term, we'd have no chance of resting the remaining fit players without Momo.

FFS - he was the best thing since sliced bread 5 months ago, yet now he's viewed like a mouthy Leper. Fact is - he's undeserving of either. He's good to have a s a4th choice CM - simple as.

Talk about fickle.

[aCe']

one word : "OUCH"

thought we'd get rid of him and get some decent money...

signing him up just to sell him next year doesnt make much sense to me because his price will undubitably go down if he doesnt play much next season.

im not even sure he'll make the bench next season if we decide to go for the 4-4-2 next next season when we have GERRARD-alonso-mascherano competing for 2 places with Lucas and Sissoko as backup ...
thats 5 players for 2 starting positions and 1 sub slot.. doesnt look too good for sissoko if all 5 are fit .. i thnk he might be 4th or even 5th choice given Lucas' reported versatility..

people keep goin on about us having enough funds to buy all the players we need... i dont think we have that much... we need 3 or 4 quality players and to me... we should be selling our less imprtant players to raise funds to try and sign as many quality players who would command a first team spot.

8-10 mill for sissoko this season would have been vital because i think it would have made the difference between us signing a decent player (left winger - malouda, simao) and a top quality one (mancini, vicente) ... just my opinion and i know many dont agree..

[Penguins]

I agree Ace to most of what you said.

I'm afraid of a few scenarios.

1.We decide against paying 18m for Masch(or whatever his price is) and that would be a big big mistake since masch is some classes better than Momo and has already shown what he capable of.

2. Just so Momo won't be dissapointed Rafa will play him over masch in games where Momo has no need
(like Blackburn, Portsmouth at home) costing us points.
I will be very dissapointed in Rafa if he does.

For me Momo is good for 5-10 start a season at most and should always be on the bench in a regular league game.
When you play to win and attack Momo should not be on the field. Well, unless we are already winning.
We always go on about how vital scoring from midfield is and even before the season starts we know who will score 0 goals and get 0 assists. Just no acceptable for any midfielder, no matter where you play.
Rafa himself has said that Alonso and masch are holding midfielders and that Momo likes going forward.
That kind of statement brings more quastions than answers.
Momo offers 0 when going forward!
A top side playing possesion football cannot carry a player that can't pass or read play no matter what other attributes he's got.
For me this is Momo's last chance to show that he can pass, keep it simple, and not go on wasteful offensive missions.
If he goes on like last season ended, not liking the added competition, I'd wish he left.

[aCe']

I agree Ace to most of what you said.

I'm afraid of a few scenarios.

1.We decide against paying 18m for Masch(or whatever his price is) and that would be a big big mistake since masch is some classes better than Momo and has already shown what he capable of.

2. Just so Momo won't be dissapointed Rafa will play him over masch in games where Momo has no need
(like Blackburn, Portsmouth at home) costing us points.
I will be very dissapointed in Rafa if he does.

For me Momo is good for 5-10 start a season at most and should always be on the bench in a regular league game.
When you play to win and attack Momo should not be on the field. Well, unless we are already winning.
We always go on about how vital scoring from midfield is and even before the season starts we know who will score 0 goals and get 0 assists. Just no acceptable for any midfielder, no matter where you play.
Rafa himself has said that Alonso and masch are holding midfielders and that Momo likes going forward.
That kind of statement brings more quastions than answers.
Momo offers 0 when going forward!
A top side playing possesion football cannot carry a player that can't pass or read play no matter what other attributes he's got.
For me this is Momo's last chance to show that he can pass, keep it simple, and not go on wasteful offensive missions.
If he goes on like last season ended, not liking the added competition, I'd wish he left.

thing is... we dont even NEED to have him against the big teams... its just that we have seen him perform exceptionally against the top sides because that is when we can use him...  we have also seen mascherano played against top top sides and he was no short of brilliant if you ask me !

he offers a different option ... but one we can do without imo... one we are better off without...

really cant understand how someone would keep a 10mill rated player just because he would be good in 3 or 4 games a season...

[LFC2007]

people keep goin on about us having enough funds to buy all the players we need... i dont think we have that much... we need 3 or 4 quality players and to me... we should be selling our less imprtant players to raise funds to try and sign as many quality players who would command a first team spot.

8-10 mill for sissoko this season would have been vital because i think it would have made the difference between us signing a decent player (left winger - malouda, simao) and a top quality one (mancini, vicente) ... just my opinion and i know many dont agree..

What is there that you fail to see? Rafa has made it PATENTLY obvious that Sissoko is an important player for us. The number of times he has re-iterated his position on Sissoko is innumerable, yet there are still people who pose the question: "We could have got 8-10m for him to help our spending plans".

What do you know about our spending plans? Do you not think Rafa knows exactly what we can and cannot afford? Don't you think Rafa knows how many players we need to bring in and which players we should keep? Who's to say Sissoko's price will go down? - I'd contend the exact opposite. Look at how many Midfielders all the top clubs have, no other league in Europe play as many games and in as short a time as we do in England. The assumption that Alonso, Gerrard and Mascherano will be fit and able to play every game is a fallacy, there will be games where different tactics are required aswell.


Then there is Lucas, he's 20 and completely inexperienced in England - he's a prospect - a youngster. After a tough Copa Libertadores and now an injury, I can hardly see him starting ahead of Sissoko from day one.

Mascherano is not even a permanent signing and has not had a consistent run in the Premiership as yet, he will be coming off the back of the Copa America - Sissoko's legs will be needed - read Rafa's comments on him.


"I think it's very good news – for myself, for the team and for the supporters. It's good that we will be able to see the energy of Momo all around the pitch for a few more years. It's a major positive for us."



"I think he enjoyed a really good first season but last year he suffered some injuries. We have a lot of confidence in him though and I'm sure we'll see the real Momo again now that he's free from injury. He's a player with a lot of energy. For his fellow midfielders and the rest of the team he's really important."

[Penguins]

If there is enough money for Rafa I have nothing against keeping Momo next season. Lucas will get time to show if he have what it takes and as long as he also gets some games I'd be happy enough.

If Lucas does well and shows promise and we tie down Mascherano after another fine season then I'd start thinking about selling Momo.

[ajaxs21]

that is a good news we have to hear better news soon:blues:

[kazza]

To know how talented momo is you just have to see who he was linked with. There were no reports of Spurs or Portsmouth trying to buy him, but rather Juve and Barcelona. The 22 year old Momo is going to be a very good player for us and those that do not see that are left wanting in the "has a clue" department.

[cpc4eva]

he couldnt resist rafa's new 4 year fuzz

[aCe']

people keep goin on about us having enough funds to buy all the players we need... i dont think we have that much... we need 3 or 4 quality players and to me... we should be selling our less imprtant players to raise funds to try and sign as many quality players who would command a first team spot.

8-10 mill for sissoko this season would have been vital because i think it would have made the difference between us signing a decent player (left winger - malouda, simao) and a top quality one (mancini, vicente) ... just my opinion and i know many dont agree..

What is there that you fail to see? Rafa has made it PATENTLY obvious that Sissoko is an important player for us. The number of times he has re-iterated his position on Sissoko is innumerable, yet there are still people who pose the question: "We could have got 8-10m for him to help our spending plans".

What do you know about our spending plans? Do you not think Rafa knows exactly what we can and cannot afford? Don't you think Rafa knows how many players we need to bring in and which players we should keep? Who's to say Sissoko's price will go down? - I'd contend the exact opposite. Look at how many Midfielders all the top clubs have, no other league in Europe play as many games and in as short a time as we do in England. The assumption that Alonso, Gerrard and Mascherano will be fit and able to play every game is a fallacy, there will be games where different tactics are required aswell.


Then there is Lucas, he's 20 and completely inexperienced in England - he's a prospect - a youngster. After a tough Copa Libertadores and now an injury, I can hardly see him starting ahead of Sissoko from day one.

Mascherano is not even a permanent signing and has not had a consistent run in the Premiership as yet, he will be coming off the back of the Copa America - Sissoko's legs will be needed - read Rafa's comments on him.


"I think it's very good news – for myself, for the team and for the supporters. It's good that we will be able to see the energy of Momo all around the pitch for a few more years. It's a major positive for us."



"I think he enjoyed a really good first season but last year he suffered some injuries. We have a lot of confidence in him though and I'm sure we'll see the real Momo again now that he's free from injury. He's a player with a lot of energy. For his fellow midfielders and the rest of the team he's really important."

i know what i see and im not satisfied with what i see...
as a FAN, id like for us to have the best squad...best starting 11 in the league... but if we keep conducting business the way we are atm we are not going to get anywhere anytime soon...

you ask the same question in response to every post and i find it rather annoying tbh... "do u know better than rafa does?" and i know what ull say next..."point out the bit where i said that" ...

anyways all that i said i clearly pointed out that it was my opinion ...no facts and no rafa quotes...

if u honestly believe that we need 5 top class central midfielders to compete for the league then im sorry to break the news for u..but ur mistaken...

compare to the other clubs u pointed out..

MANUTD won the league with Scholes-Carrick-Fletcher?-Oshea?
Chelsea played 4 CMs last year and that was a huge mistake imo and prbably was what led to them losing the title ...they have 4 topclass central midfielder...but with their formation they can accomodate all 4 of them... backup ? L.Diarra and Mikel ?!
Arsenal ? dont get me started !

we have 4 or 5 top player (lucas is still unproven but seems like a very good prosepect)

to me, we can do without 1 of the 5..sissoko would have been the logical pick . limited abilities and seemingly 4th choice... doesnt look too good for him regardless of what rafa says...im sure we'll see quite a bit of him next season but let me ask you this...

dont you think that we would have been better off selling him and using the additional funds to target better players ?

[Bad Bob]

2. Just so Momo won't be dissapointed Rafa will play him over masch in games where Momo has no need
(like Blackburn, Portsmouth at home) costing us points.
I will be very dissapointed in Rafa if he does.

This "point" here illustrates that you chat complete and utter bollox.  Rafa's not going to play him as a charity case and, if you'll recall, Momo played a lot of games for us before Mascherano arrived without costing us points...including a certain 2-legged CL tie against the reigning champions.  There's fair criticism and then there's utterly blinkered rubbish.  Sort yourself out.

[Penguins]

Sigh.
I'm sorry, but my points are very valid.

And if there is one place where Rafa can improve it his view on how to win games.
By that I mean how to make your team go for it and overload in the attacking 3rd and put preassure on the opponents.
Playing 2 CM who offer very little offensive threat will not work in the league. Unless Rafa changes that getting more than 70 goals will never happen.

When it comes to central midfielders it is very clear how they rank for everyone.

Gerrard is our NO 1. cm. yes, a central midfielder and no winger!
For me Masch played more than enough games to show that he is absolute class and we lost 1 game when he started.
And he was still our best player that game also.
Easily our most complete defensive mid.
Alonso has wonderful skill and his passing and vision is second to none. Great option to have when opponents differ.
2nd/3rd choice depending on the situation.

Alonso and Masch, even though both are great players don't offer that much going forward which makes it even more important that the other central midfielders do.

Gerrard does score his share of goals and the new player Lucas sure seems to fit that description also. A midfielder that goes box to box and has nice skills and a nice shot.

That makes 4 central midfielders with nice balance.

Then there is Momo who, even though good, is clear 4th choice. Benitez has himself said he is no holding mid and that he likes going forward. But his offensive skills is abysmal.
He has 0 flair, creativity, vision, shooting = anything that you need to be effective going forward.

Sure Momo played quite alot in the 1st half of the season, but how well did it actually go???
Terrible, that's how well. He offers nothing at all vs 90%
of the teams at home where everything is about breaking down defenses. Only thing Momo does in those games is breaking down our own plays.

And once again the barca tie. Always manages to find those few games where he does serve a purpose.
Barca is not a team you face every week. It is a highly skilled team with great passing and creativity that surpassed our own. Problem is that we play that kind of team maybe 5-10 a season and not more.
I am talking about the normal games vs normal league opposition.

Man city, portsmouth, Middleb., Sunderland etc are the kind of teams that will be standing on the other side of the pitch most of the season and vs those teams Momo serves no purpose at all.
And IF Rafa fail to see that and play Momo vs those teams, I'd find that to be a very big mistake.

[LFC2007]

i know what i see and im not satisfied with what i see...
as a FAN, id like for us to have the best squad...best starting 11 in the league... but if we keep conducting business the way we are atm we are not going to get anywhere anytime soon...

you ask the same question in response to every post and i find it rather annoying tbh... "do u know better than rafa does?" and i know what ull say next..."point out the bit where i said that" ...

anyways all that i said i clearly pointed out that it was my opinion ...no facts and no rafa quotes...

if u honestly believe that we need 5 top class central midfielders to compete for the league then im sorry to break the news for u..but ur mistaken...

compare to the other clubs u pointed out..

MANUTD won the league with Scholes-Carrick-Fletcher?-Oshea?
Chelsea played 4 CMs last year and that was a huge mistake imo and prbably was what led to them losing the title ...they have 4 topclass central midfielder...but with their formation they can accomodate all 4 of them... backup ? L.Diarra and Mikel ?!
Arsenal ? dont get me started !

we have 4 or 5 top player (lucas is still unproven but seems like a very good prosepect)

to me, we can do without 1 of the 5..sissoko would have been the logical pick . limited abilities and seemingly 4th choice... doesnt look too good for him regardless of what rafa says...im sure we'll see quite a bit of him next season but let me ask you this...

dont you think that we would have been better off selling him and using the additional funds to target better players ?

As a FAN    someone who supports Real Madrid!

I'm mistaken that we don't need 5 midfielders to compete in England? The same reason why Chelsea are wrong to have 6 midfielders, the Mancs have 5 midfielders, the same reason why Arsenal have 6 midfielders?. Are they all wrong to have cover in the most demanding area of the pitch? Why have the mancs signed Hargreaves, Chelsea have signed Sidwell?

Leiva is hardly one of our top midfielders, he's a youngster, an inexperienced player who will in all likelhood not start games from the beginning. So that makes four, are four CM's too many for you?


It doesn't look too good for him no? Hence why he has been endorsed by Rafa, time and time again and he's just signed a new deal - course it looks real bad mate.

To your final question, I'll respond by saying this:

"DON'T YOU THINK RAFA KNOWS EXACTLY WHO WE NEED, EXACTLY WHO WE CAN AFFORD AND EXACTLY WHICH PLAYERS WE NEED TO KEEP?"

Would the possibility of selling Sissoko to generate funds not come through Rafa's mind? Who's to say we need the additional funds? Is Rafa not capable enough to understand who we need and who we don't need?

You're so far from reality it's a joke, it's as if you assume Rafa doesn't know whether we should have kept Sissoko or not. 

[Bad Bob]

Sigh.
I'm sorry, but my points are very valid.

And if there is one place where Rafa can improve it his view on how to win games.
By that I mean how to make your team go for it and overload in the attacking 3rd and put preassure on the opponents.
Playing 2 CM who offer very little offensive threat will not work in the league. Unless Rafa changes that getting more than 70 goals will never happen.

When it comes to central midfielders it is very clear how they rank for everyone.

Gerrard is our NO 1. cm. yes, a central midfielder and no winger!
For me Masch played more than enough games to show that he is absolute class and we lost 1 game when he started.
And he was still our best player that game also.
Easily our most complete defensive mid.
Alonso has wonderful skill and his passing and vision is second to none. Great option to have when opponents differ.
2nd/3rd choice depending on the situation.

Alonso and Masch, even though both are great players don't offer that much going forward which makes it even more important that the other central midfielders do.

Gerrard does score his share of goals and the new player Lucas sure seems to fit that description also. A midfielder that goes box to box and has nice skills and a nice shot.

That makes 4 central midfielders with nice balance.

Then there is Momo who, even though good, is clear 4th choice. Benitez has himself said he is no holding mid and that he likes going forward. But his offensive skills is abysmal.
He has 0 flair, creativity, vision, shooting = anything that you need to be effective going forward.

Sure Momo played quite alot in the 1st half of the season, but how well did it actually go???
Terrible, that's how well. He offers nothing at all vs 90%
of the teams at home where everything is about breaking down defenses. Only thing Momo does in those games is breaking down our own plays.

And once again the barca tie. Always manages to find those few games where he does serve a purpose.
Barca is not a team you face every week. It is a highly skilled team with great passing and creativity that surpassed our own. Problem is that we play that kind of team maybe 5-10 a season and not more.
I am talking about the normal games vs normal league opposition.

Man city, portsmouth, Middleb., Sunderland etc are the kind of teams that will be standing on the other side of the pitch most of the season and vs those teams Momo serves no purpose at all.
And IF Rafa fail to see that and play Momo vs those teams, I'd find that to be a very big mistake.

So, it's all on Momo if we fail to beat the likes of Portsmouth or Man City?  Not a chance.  Look, I understand where you're coming from.  I think he's fourth choice at CM at the moment as well and I don't think he needs to play in games where we're going to dominate the middle of the park anyway.  That's fair comment.

You, however, took it to the next level and suggested that if Momo plays in those games we'll drop points, to which I say rubbish.  He's one player out of 11.  If he's surrounded by attacking quality, his offensive shortcomings can be compensated for--hell, that's what happened when he and the team were both in good form the season before last.  And you know he's not going to let you down defensively.  He's a decent option to have when our other CMs are unfit or need a rest.  You're making him out to be some sort no mark Sunday league player which is well OTT.  If you don't rate him as highly as our other CMs that's your choice but don't make it seem like he's the sole reason why we can't break mediocre teams down because he's not.

[Penguins]

I never said he was the sole reason why we can't break down mediocre teams, but for a few reasons it doesn't help to have him in the lineup when his shortcomings are obvious and well known.

We already have a lack of quality attacking central mids/players that create and score goals in the squad.

Masch and Alonso, great as they may be are rather defensive and rarely goes on the offense scoring and creating chances.
And one of those 2 will play 80% of all the games next season at least. Fo me that makes it imperative that whoever plays with one of them is a player that is genuin quality going forward creating goals.

Momo is not such a player and pairing him up with any of Alonso or Mascherano will make our team way too defensive offering too little support to the attack.

As I rate Alonso and Masch as better and combined with the fact that having 2 CM who offers nothing going forward is not going to be a winning formula.

Gerrard and maybe Lucas are the only CMs who might bring an offensive threat to their game and I feel that 1 of our CM has to be able to do that. At least vs most teams.