Info on Sissoko

[blast tyrant]

Any info on this highly rated midfield player and how he's supposed to fit into the squad?
Any general discussion is welcome on the players as I am trying to get caught up on the recent signings etc.

[655321]

Any info on this highly rated midfield player and how he's supposed to fit into the squad?
Any general discussion is welcome on the players as I am trying to get caught up on the recent signings etc.

I'll admit I know very little about him other than these two nuggets...

1)he snubbed Everton to come here
2)he played very well on Saturday against Boro.

So far, so good!

[mbrossetti]

Any info on this highly rated midfield player and how he's supposed to fit into the squad?
Any general discussion is welcome on the players as I am trying to get caught up on the recent signings etc.

Besides that:

1- He played in the youth team at Auxerre, they've usually decent at bringing up young players. He had something like 40 goals for them there.

2- Rafa bought him from Auxerre at 18, not sure how many games he played in Rafa's last season, but last year he played I think 17 or so league games. I think he got hurt during the season though.

[zpjohnstone]

We'll have a better idea a little further into the season- But the common comparison is to Vieira. Probably will be used in a CM/DM ballwinner role.

[AndSomeAreAngels]

At Valencia there wasn't a whole lot of time for him to play regularly with the first team - guys like Baraja and Albelda were the ball-winning DM's who were usually preferred. Plus, he was (and is still) very young. In the few games I saw him play for Los Che, he went forward quite a bit, and showed some brilliant ball skills. I specifically remember one game last year where he flicked a pass off his backheel, over his head, took two more touches in the air, then let a rocket fly off his right foot from about 30 yards out. It was saved, but they showed the replay about five times and it was absolutely beautiful.

He seems to be a tireless worker with great stamina. He's got good size and loves to mix it up, going in for tough tackle after tough tackle.

It will be a bit of a task fitting him into our crowded midfield, but I'm sure Rafa will work it out. He needs to be more disciplined in his positioning; he seemed to be all over the place against Boro, going forward quite a bit. I think he'll see time mostly as a substitute when we're playing at home, but he should start on the road quite a bit against lesser quality teams.

Perhaps putting him in the middle of a 5-man midfield behind Gerrard is the best spot for him, assuming he can stay put and anchor the center of the pitch.

Considering his age and the fact that he played in his first EPL game on Saturday, he showed signs of enormous potential.

I would like to see him get another full 90 against Sunderland just so he can get more acquainted with the English game. That said, I think he comes on as a late game sub, replacing Didi Hamann.

[ULL NEVER WALK ALONE]

Sissoko did win back many balls and gave gerrard the chance to go foward,but i think thats not the best place for momo.
Against boro we played like this:-
------------------Xabi---------------
-----------Sissoko----Gerrard--------

sissoko was no good going foward last saturday,so i think xabi and sissoko should swap roles.Xabi is better going foward than staying back and guarding the back 4.

And talking about the boro game,WOW didnt we dominate them!Before the match i would have been happy with a draw cause last season we were totaly outclassed at the riverside stadium.I was so angry after the game,i mean gerrard alone had 4 clear chances of goal.

[blast tyrant]

Thanks for the info gents!
The Reds need a holding midfielder, Diti is good but is getting up in the years.
Looking forward to watching this kid develop with the talent that is around him.

[kopiteinkc]

The interesting thing was that Paul Walsh was one of the commentators on Fox Sports Channel when they showed this match live. He was very negative about Sissoko early on (and he did have a few nervy moments). But instead of backtracking later on when it was evident that Sissoko had settled nicely and was having a very impressive debut, he carried on criticizing him.

I think he was expecting a Cheyrou like performance and it never materialized.

For my money it was one of the best debut performances I have seen in a long time.

[AndSomeAreAngels]

The interesting thing was that Paul Walsh was one of the commentators on Fox Sports Channel when they showed this match live. He was very negative about Sissoko early on (and he did have a few nervy moments). But instead of backtracking later on when it was evident that Sissoko had settled nicely and was having a very impressive debut, he carried on criticizing him.
I noticed that too. He kept bashing him despite what I thought was a good performance. At the very least he was in the middle of a lot of plays b/c Walsh kept mentioning his name.

[never walk alone TPK]

Good player as said, he will be a great talent if he disciplines himself to the liverpool ways of playing football.
With the talented players we have he will gain alot of talent and skills that will probably see him go far.
Otherwise if he was at everton our derbies would have been quite disastrous in the middle.

[blast tyrant]

Only got to see hightlights of the Boro match but what I got to see was excellent stuff.
I would have to agree in the fact that Xabi should be pushed forward and our boy drop back and play the screen role in front of the back 4.

Any news on who Rafa wants to bring in as a center back?
Campbell from Arsenal, Onweyu form Standard?

What about the Owen saga, heard Cisse might be a target for Houllier at Lyon.

[Red Bird]

Any news on who Rafa wants to bring in as a center back?
Campbell from Arsenal, Onweyu form Standard?
Rafa is being Rafa, i.e. keeping his gob firmly shut about potential target(s), but this is the first time I've heard of Campbell being a possibility. Never heard of Onwenyu afore.

What about the Owen saga, heard Cisse might be a target for Houllier at Lyon.Heard about that too and I wondered-- Cissé? Informed wisdom is that the Owen saga will run and run as Real will look to hold for a bid from Man U and Lyon (they are the in-boys these days). I hope he ends up at Anfield as we could use a proved 20-plus-goals-a-season striker.

[Matt Clark]

The interesting thing was that Paul Walsh was one of the commentators on Fox Sports Channel when they showed this match live. He was very negative about Sissoko early

Paul Walsh, eh? The only thing he's an authority on is being injured and losing cup finals. It's fair to say that if he doesn't rate Sissoko then the lad's got every chance of making it big.

[kopiteinkc]

Paul Walsh, eh? The only thing he's an authority on is being injured and losing cup finals. It's fair to say that if he doesn't rate Sissoko then the lad's got every chance of making it big.

No argument here Matt. Walsh did a piss-poor job as a commentator.

He had made up his mind about Sissoko before the ball was even kicked and he couldn't change his opinion mid-stream.

One good pass by Sissoko to Stevie G in the second half was miscontrolled by Gerrard and Walsh blamed Sissoko for the poor pass :rolleyes:

[Lanky134]

Sissoko started out poorly today but got better as the game went on and had a good second half. Maybe it's a period of adjustment to the pace of the EPL. Hopefully he'll continue to improve, because I don't like not seeing Didi on the field.

[liverbird]

Sissoko started out poorly today but got better as the game went on and had a good second half. Maybe it's a period of adjustment to the pace of the EPL. Hopefully he'll continue to improve, because I don't like not seeing Didi on the field.

I'll agree with both of those statements. :)

[Bobinhood]

i was a little suprised didi didnt play today, but theres a long way to go and i think rafa was trying to be offensive to start. didi played for germany too, so he just went with the younger guy who needs the experience. didi will get his kicks.

sissokos gonna be very good, he chased all the way back to help finnan right at the back after he got caught out of position way up and across the field, that was very nice to see, and he beat some guy like a rented mule in the middle of the field, had a shot drew a foul, that was a very nice skill move, and he picked out zendon i think it was in loads of space, made a very nice pass that bolo wasted...so he "flashed" run, pass shoot and dribble, he got a yellow for getting stuck in hard...i like it. he's very raw seems to pass without looking sometimes but loads of potential. brick loads.

[ghazi]

No doubt Sissoko is a diamond in the rough and is gonna make his share of mistakes.

BUT WOW - did you notice the way he continually managed to impose his presence on the game vs Boro? Everywhere you turned, he was making an appearance and impacting play.

True, he turned it over a few times and was sloppy on occasion. But for an EPL debut, he certainly let it be known that he wasnt afraid of mixing it up and that he will grow to impact a game.

I love what i see so far from this kid. I was skeptical of any Vieira comparisons, but i am beginning to think that Rafa may have been right on in his estimation.