Player Watch: Moussa Sissoko

[Tucker]

Knee Jerk Central

 

[lukespurs7]

Didn't manage to see the game today but amazing result.

And really dissapointed to hear the Sissoko ratings/feedback. Did he play CM or RAM and were there any positives at all? Do we think it's a case of him needing time to bed in or have we spunked £30mil?

He had a few outstanding performances for Newcastle and looked qualify for France, I never thought he was worth £30 mil but I was excited that we were signing someone with attributes our squad lacked such as pace, power and directness which would especially be helpful when Demebele is out like today. We got the win but dissapointed to hear Sissoko was so bad...

Any rational feedback please, what was good what was bad?

 

[stevensthfc]

Disappointing today.

Didn't look quick or powerful.

 

[rossdapep]

Didn't manage to see the game today but amazing result.

And really dissapointed to hear the Sissoko ratings/feedback. Did he play CM or RAM and were there any positives at all? Do we think it's a case of him needing time to bed in or have we spunked £30mil?

He had a few outstanding performances for Newcastle and looked qualify for France, I never thought he was worth £30 mil but I was excited that we were signing someone with attributes our squad lacked such as pace, power and directness which would especially be helpful when Demebele is out like today. We got the win but dissapointed to hear Sissoko was so bad...

Any rational feedback please, what was good what was bad?

He was central but often drifted to the right. He didn't have a great performance but I don't think he was rotten either. His final pass was a let-down and I think he could have worked harder. Having said that, I think he is much better alongside Wanyama and Dembele as he wouldn't have to worry too much about getting back into that central role. He wouldn't start ahead of Lamela on the right if we had to put out our best 11 though.

 

[KILLA_SIN]

To be fair I expected him.to rotate with Dembele in the CM2, and wasn't expecting to see him in the three on the right, certainly not to start with.

I think he'll do well, particularly away from home, in the CM2 in the future though.

I agree with backing Poch, I do trust him, but I do have to admit that unless he was brought in as a Dembele backup it's a mystifying transfer. However with regards to Transfer budgets, nowadays you're better off spending it. Because of ever increasing TV money, footballers values rise quite drastically. Sometime spending £10m on a player may allow you to sell him for a lot more money in the future despite his value and contribution to your squad not really being significant. Whereas obviously cash in the bank can only gain interest.

I didn't expect him to be playing on the wing I thought he was signed to compete with Dembele or to play in the CM2. I can only assume Injuries and the number of games coming up and maybe lacking match sharpness as he has had no pre-season and missed all of Newcastles Championship games Poch is giving him minutes on the wing or maybe he sees him playing on the right hand side. Can't work it out but two games in I don't feel very concerned or worried about it. But with both Dier and Dembele out we don't look 'light' as a squad, still rotating and competing.

 

[Colonel_Klinck]

I thought he had a few good moments but a few bad ones as well and by the time he went off he was becoming a liability. Hopefully he just needs time after a shit season in a shit team that got relegated.

 

[gibbospurs]

Think he will enjoy playing City.

 

[Luka Van der Bale]

Think he will enjoy playing City.

Be surprised if he started against City tbh.

 

[Sophos151]

And really dissapointed to hear the Sissoko ratings/feedback. Did he play CM or RAM and were there any positives at all? Do we think it's a case of him needing time to bed in or have we spunked £30mil?

He played as a RAM. He was alright in the first half, cut inside and curled a shot just over the bar early on, and did well to seize upon a rebound later on, somehow it was saved. That said, he didn't really seem to fit in, and was poor in the second half. Whether that's a lack of familiarity with the team or a lack of quality... Who knows?

 

[ajspurs]

If I'm perfectly honest if we were to sign him primarily for the right I too would have preferred Zaha. I know many don't rate Zaha on here but I think he could be a menace in our team at times especially in games like todays where there was space out wide. Saying that Nkoudou could very well have a similar effect, he looks promising but obviously need to see more of him.

I'm really not sure what to make of Sissoko, he has showed signs of being quite dangerous but it's like he's just really not a polished player. I'm not sure if he should be the one racing to the byline attempting to deliver an assist or cutting in to shoot or if he should be driving through the middle of midfield to slot someone else through to do that. The more I see him the more I think the latter. I almost feel like with him being our wide right player we're expecting him to do things he may not be capable of.

I know he's been played there for Newcastle and I can't say I'd watched Newcastle much and when I did I wouldn't have focused on Sissoko but from what I've seen of him with us, to me, he just doesn't seem like a natural wide man. He can obviously fill in there, but he looks just that at the moment IMO, just someone filling in the position.

All in all he definitely has the ability to be effective and of good use to us, it's just how we go about channeling his ability that will be the issue I think.

 

[philip]

I seriously doubt Sissoko is anywhere near as fit or lean as Poch likes his players.
Give him a few weeks of Poch training and we'll see a different Sissoko

 

[millsey]

I too thought he would come in and play center mid. If he didn't today when dembele out then he won't in future. Not quite sure where he can play as doesn't seem a right attacker. Prefer Lamela. People are quite right to ask on our club record signing. Thought he was very poor today

 

[Bus-Conductor]

Rather not.

 

[Everlasting Seconds]

I seriously doubt Sissoko is anywhere near as fit or lean as Poch likes his players.
Give him a few weeks of Poch training and we'll see a different Sissoko

A few weeks? How short time do you think it takes to slim down a top athlete?

 

[yusrisafri]

I'm not really convinced by him and was very surprised we went in for him as I think there were far better ways to spend £30m BUT we need to acknowledge it takes time for players to fit into our system, Lamela and Son being great examples, so let's hope he gets better with more game time. We also can't forget he had no pre-season and can't be as fit as the rest of our squad. #TryingToBePositive

Son came out flying when he first came. An instant star. But faded badly when he got injured. So unfair to put the comparisons in the same bracket

 

[yusrisafri]

We can put this down to a panic buy. If he is going to be used AMR better off spending 20m on Zaha

Agree.

 

[ajspurs]

Son came out flying when he first came. An instant star. But faded badly when he got injured. So unfair to put the comparisons in the same bracket

Yep, he was our shining light in the team before he got injured IMO. Also with Lamela, he was coming to a new league plus had to deal with being in a different country and learning a new language if I remember right. I wouldn't compare either with them to Sissoko who's played in this league for years but I do accept that it can still take time to adjust to a new team.

 

[Cravenspurs]

He was central but often drifted to the right. He didn't have a great performance but I don't think he was rotten either. His final pass was a let-down and I think he could have worked harder. Having said that, I think he is much better alongside Wanyama and Dembele as he wouldn't have to worry too much about getting back into that central role. He wouldn't start ahead of Lamela on the right if we had to put out our best 11 though.

I for one don't see him dropping middle with Wanyama or Dembele. He is on the field to bring directness and play on the wing in our formation.

 

[EastLondonYid]

Far too early to judge, I think he'll come good and have some eating their words though.

Spot on

He wasn't as bad as some of the experts on here are saying.

Its a team game , we dominated and he gave us a nice balance....

Put the knives away ffs.

 

[sammyj]

Must give players a chance to settle