Liverpool FC Forum

by **babu** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 3:53 am

I think this could be my first topic in this part of the forum, so go easy.

I really was not happy with the role Momo played against reading on saturday. It seemed to me that he played in front of Mascherano. I am not a match goer (only every couple of years) and have to rely on what i see on tv.

I defended Momo's game against Manchester. He got cruficied by the pundits and on this forum after that game. But i thought he did a brilliant job of breaking up the Man U attack early. In fact i thought he was forcing a lot of early passes. His distribution was woeful, but we didn't rely on him for that in Man U game.

Against Reading, he appeared to play in the role the Alonso usually does. (i could be wrong here). I just don't understand why Rafa played him there. the ball would go out wide and usually come back in to momo when there were no options. And every time he got the ball i would cringe.

My question is why did Rafa play Momo in front of Mascherano, or i am completely wrong?

by **Stu.Murph** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 4:16 am

You're wrong...

In all honesty I just think him and Mascherano didn't have the best of games. Mascherano clearly is not going to offer much going forward.

by **babu** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 4:37 am

fair enough.

time to lock the thread.

by **Stu.Murph** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 4:40 am

Don't be so harsh on yourself, I'm just tired...

by **babu** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 4:47 am

Stu.Murph wrote:Don't be so harsh on yourself, I'm just tired...

stop being nice Stu..... its sooo worng. :no

by **Stu.Murph** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 4:50 am

Am not all bad, just don't like people talkin :censored:

about my club.

Ask Mikz, he'll tell ya.

Speak to him regularly on msn.

by **Mikz** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 9:36 am

Yes Ill vouch for that! Stu rocks on msn! Total different person from the guy on this forum!
Hes even talking with an irish accent now :laugh:

by **woof woof !** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 10:11 am

I don't think Momo and Mascherano complimented each other as a central pairing Babu . Momo in particular had a poor game , his attempts at long passing were way off ,he's much better when he just breaks the play and gives a short easy ball to another red shirt instead of trying to assume the role of a playmaker .In fairness he did play one short sublime pass through to Kuyt that almost gave us a goal but that was the only ball from him of any significance throughout the game.

No idea why Rafa went with that pairing. Any combination of two from Gerrard,Alonso,Mascherano and Sissoko apart from the one Rafa chose would have performed infinitely better.

by **babu** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 12:20 pm

yeah i am gonna be killed here, but why couldn't for that game against reading, momo play behind mascherano? I think i am missing something very obvious.

by **dawson99** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 12:26 pm

Well Tim vickery has this to say on Masher:

"They have quickly seen that Mascherano is a class act, a holding midfielder who not only wins the ball, but has the technical gifts and the understanding of the game needed to set attacks in motion."

But i agree with everyone else, if there was one pairing that you would not think would work as well, it was the Masher/Momo one.

by **Bad Bob** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 12:30 pm

Babu, mate, Momo rarely plays behind his CM partner because his game's about buzzing around the pitch and breaking up play. No matter whether it's Mascherano, Alonso or Gerrard next to him, he'll be further up the pitch the majority of the time because that's where his destructive talents can do the most damage. This is why he is not, and will never be, considered a holding midfielder.

The problem, as you've alluded to, is that when we go forward, he's the more available central outlet for a pass much of the time because he's already in an advanced decision. If Mascherano or Alonso hang back, the ball goes into Momo and then who knows where it will end up from there. That's why, based on current form, I'd much rather have 2 from Alonso, Gerrard or Mascherano as the CM pairing, with Momo only playing in tough games where it we need a cleansheet and need to stop the opposition from playing (ie like Barca at Anfield).

by **babu** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 12:36 pm

Bad Bob wrote:Babu, mate, Momo rarely plays behind his CM partner because his game's about buzzing around the pitch and breaking up play. No matter whether it's Mascherano, Alonso or Gerrard next to him, he'll be further up the pitch the majority of the time because that's where his destructive talents can do the most damage. This is why he is not, and will never be, considered a holding midfielder.

The problem, as you've alluded to, is that when we go forward, he's the more available central outlet for a pass much of the time because he's already in an advanced decision. If Mascherano or Alonso hang back, the ball goes into Momo and then who knows where it will end up from there. That's why, based on current form, I'd much rather have 2 from Alonso, Gerrard or Mascherano as the CM pairing, with Momo only playing in tough games where it we need a cleansheet and need to stop the opposition from playing (ie like Barca at Anfield).

aahhh, thanks Badbob.

I think i understand a lot better the criticisms of momo in earlier games and the preference to play him in away CL fixtures.

that has really got me re-evaluting Momo.

by **Owzat** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 1:55 pm

I have been doing an analysis of our man Sissoko among others and, while his bookings are not as frequent as I first thought, Liverpool don't concede less goals with him in the side than without him. His passing is not the greatest, he can be a bit rash in challenges and you can safely rule him out of scoring most games. I don't have the stats to hand but I may well post them when I do. Seemed little point doing any more until after the game tonight anyway

by **bigmick** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 11:36 am

Sissoko is living proof that fashion lives on in football just as much as it does on the High Street. I remember when he got kicked in the head and people thought he would never play again, there were tears shed on the forum and yet a couple of poorish performances since he came back from injury and the arrival of an accomplished midfielder and most are now ready to cash in.

Not me though. I was actually going to start a new thread on Sissoko but noticed this one so I thought I'd bump it.

I've pretty much always liked him, at least after about ten or so games when he suddenly seemed to find his feet. I think he's an excellent player who will get better, much much better. I think he's the most destructive ball-winning midfielder in Europe right now and he would feature in my first choice midfield if I were picking the Liverpool team, every week.
I've read some of the respected (by me) posters on here don't rate him. "Players like him will never win you the Premiership. We need quality and class, World class". I disagree with the first bit, I agree with the second. That he is a World class ball-winning midfield player is absolutely beyond dispute in my opinion, and I repeat myself when I say this but he will only get better. Those that don't rate him are wrong, he will become a monster of a midfield player in my opinion. I know I'm in the minority but hey, it's not the first time.

by **JBG** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 12:02 pm

bigmick wrote:Sissoko is living proof that fashion lives on in football just as much as it does on the High Street. I remember when he got kicked in the head and people thought he would never play again, there were tears shed on the forum and yet a couple of poorish performances since he came back from injury and the arrival of an accomplished midfielder and most are now ready to cash in.

Not me though. I was actually going to start a new thread on Sissoko but noticed this one so I thought I'd bump it.

I've pretty much always liked him, at least after about ten or so games when he suddenly seemed to find his feet. I think he's an excellent player who will get better, much much better. I think he's the most destructive ball-winning midfielder in Europe right now and he would feature in my first choice midfield if I were picking the Liverpool team, every week.
I've read some of the respected (by me) posters on here don't rate him. "Players like him will never win you the Premiership. We need quality and class, World class". I disagree with the first bit, I agree with the second. That he is a World class ball-winning midfield player is absolutely beyond dispute in my opinion, and I repeat myself when I say this but he will only get better. Those that don't rate him are wrong, he will become a monster of a midfield player in my opinion. I know I'm in the minority but hey, it's not the first time.

I no longer agree. I fancied Momo when he first came here although was concerned by his apparent inability to trap a ball or send a square pass. I initially put this down to him being raw and thought that this was something that would improve over time.

However, 18 months on and I see no development in Momo's game. He still covers a prodigous amount of ground in every game and he can really unsettle the opposition, particularly in Europe, but he sill cannot trap a ball and is still carelessly giving the ball away. There comes a point where if we wish to get 90 points in a season and actually win the league, we will have to do more than go out and stop the opposition play, we will have to take the game to the opposition and beat them where THEY are trying to stop US playing, like Man City pretty much did last Saturday. Momo is patently unsuited - in my opinion - to those type of matches and if we are to challenge for the title we would have to expect around 25 games a season where the opposition are not going to try and have a go but instead will set themselves up for a draw. We still do not have the overall quality on the flanks and up front to win 90% of those matches (which we would have to win if we are to win the league) and we are reducing our creativeness further by picking Sissoko.

With the signing of Mascherano I've become further entrenched in my views on Momo as Mascherano can be just as destructive as Sissoko (if not in the same legs akimbo fashion as Sissoko) yet has an infinitely better touch and can recycle the ball ala Makelele (although has still a long way to go to match the Frenchman at his peak). If we are to play it cautious and pick a third central midfielder alongside Gerrard and Alonso (or a second one with Gerrard on the right) at this stage I'd have Mascherano there ahead of Sissoko.

The comparisons to Vieira are now clearly outlandish and far off the mark as the Senegalese-Frenchman was always a far far better player on the ball than Sissoko. If you can cast your mind back to when Vieira was the junior partner to Manu Petit in the great Arsenal central midfield of 1998, while Petit grabbed most of the headlines with his phenomoneol passing over distance and hard running, Vieira was hugely effective both with his hard tackling (which can be compared to that of Sissoko) AND also his hugely effective short passing/possession retention game (which simply cannot be spoken in the same breath as Momo at all). If there is a comparison to be made to a former Premiership player it should be to Carlton Palmer who had a similar all action game to Sissoko but was equally as weak on the ball.

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