You called me mad for trying to engage with what Poch was saying about what Sissoko offers and provide some sort of explanation - don't try and play the hurt card!!
You were hyper-hypothesising to the degree it was as if you were trying to argue only you and Poch could see the imaginary special job Sissoko was doing.
Thats why I called you mad, you had lost it.
It's nice to see that you seem to be acknowledging he may have some sort of value defensively though!
This here is exactly why I stopped posting. At no point have I not acknowledged Sissoko has done a job defensively, and his personal best use to us is in this capacity. Not once have I said otherwise. Yet, all the same, your argue from a position that Im at some kind of extreme.
What I was trying to get at with the long posted that ended our debate last time was that being a part of a Poch system, knowing when to press, when to hold, how to position yourself, how to recognise danger and not lose concentration, these aren't just things that any player can do.
I dont think Sissoko is especially competent in this respect. Its at a passable level, by the teams standards, when he is really on point. Even then, though, his best defensive games are when he is doing the Palacios/Parker game of JUST DEFENDING, as soon as he starts venturing box-to-box the cracks appear.
This is not even getting on to why his physical attributes are completely relevant in a system like ours, but to say that his experience, and his ability to fulfill a selfless team role has actually been a pretty useful asset. Yes he is a squad player, yes West Ham may pick him up this summer, and yes, he shouldn't play if Dembele and Winks are both fit because they have both the defensive nous and more ability on the ball. But Sissoko is not a world away from Dier or Wanyama on a technical level to be made out to be the clown or laughing stock that a lot of people like to paint him as.
Technically Sissoko is not even on the same planet as Dier and Wanyama, its not even close. They have more in game ability than he does, without question.
His physicality is his best asset, possibly his only real asset - again - nothing that has been denied.
I dont believe he has been an especially useful asset. I think, as I always have, he has been a "lets make the best of a bad situation" solution. A "make do". Nothing more. A useful asset would be, well, useful. Would be used more readily. Not only in an absolute pinch.
Anyway, I found the link from Cartilage Free Captain that I was getting at before. It offers a pretty decent breakdown of the differences in ability of playing Poch's system between Dier and Mason. Dier clearly showing he totally gets it. Mason, despite Poch loving him, was probably great on the offensive side of the system but not good enough to play in a pivot because he was a naturally attacking player. I would argue that one of the reasons Sissoko has been valuable, is because Poch knows he can trust Sissoko to be on the pitch and enable the system to function without letting obvious gaps appear (something that happened a lot in Poch's first season). If Sissoko was both a clown with the ball and not valuable defensively, Onomah would still be here for sure, and he would certainly offer more on the ball. But I'd say the reason Sissoko is still here, is because he can be more trusted to make the system function, and ultimately make sure our attacking players get the opportunity to do what they can do.
Anyway, the link is here, and the pertinent text is below:
https://cartilagefreecaptain.sbnati...r-tactical-analysis-pochettino-press-midfield as I said, it's just something that shows that it isn't so easy to just be on the pitch in a Poch system. It requires a lot of concentration, decision making capability, an ability to recognize and prevent danger, and that is something that I feel fairly confident Sissoko has, otherwise he would be offering no value at all (being bad defensively and not someone who is a primary ball player).
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At first glance, Dier does nothing remarkable here. You can briefly see him tracking Memphis Depay early in the clip. After Blind breaks the press with a smart pass to Schneiderlin, Depay drops deep and Dier decides not to follow him.
Though Dier doesn't record any kind of defensive statistic, this play illustrates a positional intelligence that simply wasn't there last season for Tottenham. Dier recognizes the situation is not advantageous for pressing. Ashley Young is streaking up United's left wing, and Kyle Walker is out position, having been a part of the press higher up the pitch. Dier may also be aware that Depay is skillful enough to turn him in the open field, or play a one-two with a United player. United end up playing the ball to their right wing, and the attack fizzles out as Spurs get back in numbers.
In contrast, Spurs handled similar situations poorly last season. Here, Ryan Mason gets turned by Steven N'Zonzi, resulting in a Stoke break.
Part of being a good central midfielder is knowing when to press, and when to back-off. On this evidence, Dier gets it."
Sissoko is still here because he was such absolute garbage last season we couldnt offload him. Dont go making the mistake of thinking its because Poch saw some special utility in him.
Just as, had our primary midfielders been fit to play all season Sissoko wouldnt have seen the light of day. We all know it, which kind of negates any real argument in his favour.
Anyway, what you describe above? It does more to show the gap between Dier and Sissoko than Sissoko and Mason, IMO.
Sissoko isnt anywhere near to Diers level. He is Mason in that same argument. The only real difference is he is stronger/faster/fitter than Mason.
Neither are anywhere close to Dier.
. Negociations seem to be going well don't you think?
