Player Watch: Moussa Sissoko

[Shadydan]

You don't think anybody watched hm or read about him in his 2 and a half years at Newcastle?

That shouldn't have any bearing on the fact he's playing for us now. Some short sighted fans were up in arms about some of our players performances pre Poch and yet here we are two years on the majority have improved so why can't Sissoko?

 

[guiltyparty]

I love threads like this. I agree with pretty much everyone, on all sides of the argument. No one can have an absolute answer after such little time, but as ever, arguing is fun

Anyone saying he wasn't a panic buy is off their rocker - we paid well over the odds on deadline day when we'd pissed about with tiny bids for other players. The fee was a panic to match Everton, if indeed we had always wanted him. It's kind of mental that he's our biggest ever signing, but we'll just have to swallow that one. Not our money

That said, I see something in him that could be good and trust Poch to harness it. He's versatile, which Poch likes. He also definitely offers something we don't have enough of - drive, power, physicality.

Alli will bulk up eventually, but I doubt Eriksen/Lamela will ever have that, and Son/NK are as slight as you like. An attacker who's a bulldozer will be a real attribute and a different option once up to Poch's pace, and as others have said, create space for others, if not banging a few in himself

However, his passing, which should not be down to fitness, looked really poor and he needs to work on that, or if he can't, know his limitations and hand it off to one of the many great passers in our team.

Indeed, someone said he has full back pace and I know what you mean. Bit like Valencia at Utd, I could well see him doing a shift there. Not sure we need him to tho.

Anyway, not sure how anyone can be too down on him after 2 games. His time at Newcastle was clearly enough to throw anyone off course. But he definitely has a lot to prove too

 

[dontcallme]

That shouldn't have any bearing on the fact he's playing for us now. Some short sighted fans were up in arms about some of our players performances pre Poch and yet here we are two years on the majority have improved so why can't Sissoko?

Yes many of our young players have improved. Dembele is probably the only experienced player to have improved.

The difference is many who saw Dembele before he signed for us had seen what a good player he was.

Many have seen Sissoko and don't believe he is of the quality required. Doesn't mean they won't support him but there is nothing worng with having that opinion.

If Poch is so good at improving players then he might as well sign me.

 

[Shadydan]

Yes many of our young players have improved. Dembele is probably the only experienced player to have improved.

The difference is many who saw Dembele before he signed for us had seen what a good player he was.

Many have seen Sissoko and don't believe he is of the quality required. Doesn't mean they won't support him but there is nothing worng with having that opinion.

If Poch is so good at improving players then he might as well sign me.

Sissoko has shown glimpses of what a good player he can be, he just lacks consistency and he was playing amongst some utter shit at Newcastle under average managers. It's evidently clear that he needs some confidence and direction just like most players when they hit walls, don't know why people think that won't happen with Sissoko...Dembele is the only experienced player to improve because he put his head down and put the work in now if the manager deems Sissoko worthy enough and thinks he can improve him then why isn't that good enough for some of you?

I'm not having a go at you for having a cautios opinion it's the people calling him an out and out waste of money even though he's only been here for a month knowing full well that the manager has signed him because he thinks he can get the best out of him, I think we ought to give him a chance at least.

 

[dontcallme]

Sissoko has shown glimpses of what a good player he can be, he just lacks consistency and he was playing amongst some utter shit at Newcastle under average managers. It's evidently clear that he needs some confidence and direction just like most players when they hit walls, don't know why people think that won't happen with Sissoko...Dembele is the only experienced player to improve because he put his head down and put the work in now if the manager deems Sissoko worthy enough and thinks he can improve him then why isn't that good enough for some of you?

I'm not having a go at you for having a cautios opinion it's the people calling him an out and out waste of money even though he's only been here for a month knowing full well that the manager has signed him because he thinks he can get the best out of him, I think we ought to give him a chance at least.

I agree that it's not good reading people writing him off completely but they are entitled to their opinion.

We have bought a 27 year old for a club record fee. Unfortunately a signing like that is for the player to make an immediate impact.

If we had a full strength team available Sissoko wouldn't get in the team. I think people struggle with that idea.

 

[Shadydan]

I agree that it's not good reading people writing him off completely but they are entitled to their opinion.

We have bought a 27 year old for a club record fee. Unfortunately a signing like that is for the player to make an immediate impact.

If we had a full strength team available Sissoko wouldn't get in the team. I think people struggle with that idea.

The price tag definitely fuels negative opinions which is why Lamela still get shit from people saying that he's not a £30m player or some BS like that, don't really know what a £30m player is especially in this day and age anyway I think expecting Sissoko to hit the ground running is a little optimistic and I think it will take a few games for him to find his feet.

 

[Pellshek]

I reckon it's pretty much all mental with Sissoko. You can see on his face during games that his focus is not right. He's not fully concentrated on the game. Too much looking over his shoulder, second-guessing everything. It's a really unnatural and unrelaxed posture on the field, not conducive to playing well.

He looked pretty sullen after the final whistle yesterday. Partly the injury I'm sure, but to me he looked like he knew he wasn't at the races with the rest of the squad. I'm really hoping yesterday was a wake-up call to him - no more fannying around in the provinces, pretending and hiding. Big league now, so get it the hell together. Poch (and Hugo probably) need to go to work on him big time.

 

[spids]

I think some are being overly critical or expectant. We went away from home, and rested key players like Dier, Lamela and Dembele ahead of a champions league game and we totally dominated the first hour and should have had 4 or 5 goals. Sissoko actually played quite well first half an hour, but did not look fit second half. I bet he has covered more ground yesterday than he ever did at Newcastle. I'm happy for him to come in and out of the team as his fitness builds and see what happens when he gets used to our system and players.

 

[rossdapep]

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.

Yeah, that's what I meant. He shouldn't play in the centre

 

[Eric_s]

Deschamp and Poch should feel ashamed. Half of the poster on SC knows more about Sissoko then the two of them, despite not having work with Sissoko.

 

[bubble07]

We recruited well this summer but if we were to shell out 30m on a frenchmen we should have gone balls deep with lacazette

 

[widmerpool]

If we had a full strength team available Sissoko wouldn't get in the team. I think people struggle with that idea.

I think most people would be happy with a £30m super-sub who does something very specific, even if it's just physically smashing through a defence that parks the bus, but we need to see what the special skill is. Soon.

 

[THFCSPURS19]

We recruited well this summer but if we were to shell out 30m on a frenchmen we should have gone balls deep with lacazette

Lyon wanted about £60m for him.

 

[Hoddtastic72]

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

Looking at Jansen yesterday and he looked slightly overweight. But I'm sure (as they both get a few games) they will get up to the right fitness levels required for the team

 

[bubble07]

Lyon wanted about £60m for him.

Thought that was towards the end of the window. Thought 40m would have got him at the start of the window

 

[WiganSpur]

I really want him to do well but I just don't think him playing RM feels right. I don't think he has the agility or skill to play there for us but it's early days of course.

I'd like us to see us try him centrally particularly in a 4-3-3 but I must admit I was quite surprised when we signed him as I did wonder where he would fit in.

 

[THFCSPURS19]

Thought that was towards the end of the window. Thought 40m would have got him at the start of the window

West Ham bid that around the beginning of the window IIRC.

 

[Cravenspurs]

That shouldn't have any bearing on the fact he's playing for us now. Some short sighted fans were up in arms about some of our players performances pre Poch and yet here we are two years on the majority have improved so why can't Sissoko?

I like the idea of Sissoko improving and I by no chance disagree with bringing him into the team. I think he has talent and a skill set that brings a dimension we somewhat lack. But I won't go and say that he will dramatically take some miraculous jump in skill at 27. I love Poch and I think chemistry matter, but I don't think you often discover some hidden trait.

We know what we have. A physical asset that fits well into our team. Will show flashes of brilliance and we should all be excited to see what comes of it. But he will not be making that through ball pass we all wanted to see yesterday. He just isn't that type of player. Poch will get you to buy into the system; he seems to be a master motivator so I think we will be seeing an aggressive Sissoko. His physical side to his game will dramatically improve (endurance, power...), but his natural technical ability, his IQ is pretty much set as of right now in his career.

I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't start the big games, but I can also see it happening due to Poch's love for power. We'll see but I understand both sides of the YAY or NAY argument.

 

[am_yisrael_chai]

No surprise but he admits he isn't fit yet and still getting used to our style of play

http://www.espnfc.co.uk/tottenham-h...oko-excited-about-future-at-tottenham-hotspur

 

[Khilari]

He's not made a great start to his Spurs career and plays into the early scepticism surrounding his transfer, but has shown flashes of promise that hopefully Pochettino will build upon.

Anyone saying he wasn't a panic buy is off their rocker - we paid well over the odds on deadline day when we'd pissed about with tiny bids for other players. The fee was a panic to match Everton, if indeed we had always wanted him. It's kind of mental that he's our biggest ever signing, but we'll just have to swallow that one. Not our money

I suspect the final fee paid may well have been higher than originally planned with Newcastle refusing to budge and Everton (maybe Inter) showing interest, but to suggest that this was a "panic buy" if you're implying it was last minute is incorrect. Spurs had been working on the Sissoko transfer at least 2 weeks before deadline day.