Moussa Sissoko

[SteveAWOL]

He made 35 passes over the whole game (74% success)
Tanguy plays less time and made 37 (81% success)
Winks played less and made 62 (84% success)
I don’t think he ever hides. That’s not a criticism of him if ever agree with. The issue is when he gets it it’s like a grenade and he has to get rid so quickly
That fun he made right at the beginning of the second half was great.. abs he showed his power there when he went 40/60 with the defender to win it when the defender was IMO the favourite. But when he got into the area he delayed his shot just enough for the defender to do a brilliant block. That’s sissoko in a nutshell

as I’ve said for me, against quality sides he has a place. Against weaker sides his place is sat next to Moura on the bench

FWIW... hopefully Bergwijn is back stat.

 

[scaramanga]

I think he hides from the ball quite a lot. I'm not necessarily saying it's a bad thing as we probably want other players on the ball most of the time.

But compare him to Hojbjerg or Winks, never mind better players on the ball. There's a reason the number of involvements and passes Sissoko gets us usually quite low. He doesn't make those moves and runs that others do that put them in a position to receive the ball.

Perhaps hiding is the wrong word, certainly sounds very negative. If he's just playing to instructions and to his strengths and weaknesses that's not really a negative. But he's not one to make himself available to receive a pass all that much, certainly not if it's under pressure. He consistently makes us less press resistant because when opponents put us under pressure he doesn't want the ball and he doesn't put himself in positions to receive it.

Once Fulham gained some confidence they started pressing quite high.

With Ndombele and Reguillon pushing up, our most press resistant players were the wrong side of the press. I rate Hojbjerg very highly and to some extent Winks - both have some great attributes. But for breaking past/through a press, they and especially Sissoko are not the players I want picking up the ball from the back.

 

[braineclipse]

Once Fulham gained some confidence they started pressing quite high.

With Ndombele and Reguillon pushing up, our most press resistant players were the wrong side of the press. I rate Hojbjerg very highly and to some extent Winks - both have some great attributes. But for breaking past/through a press, they and especially Sissoko are not the players I want picking up the ball from the back.

Press resistance remains a big issue. Not helped by not having quality ball playing centre backs.

 

[Finney Is Back]

Once Fulham gained some confidence they started pressing quite high.

With Ndombele and Reguillon pushing up, our most press resistant players were the wrong side of the press. I rate Hojbjerg very highly and to some extent Winks - both have some great attributes. But for breaking past/through a press, they and especially Sissoko are not the players I want picking up the ball from the back.

This is why I would like us to have Ndombele alongside Hojbjerg and then a creative player in front of that (Lo Celso or Dele would be best in our current squad I think) Ndombele can receive the ball in tight situations and his dribbling ability would see him open up space and be able to get the ball into Lo Celso/Dele or to Son/Bergwijn playing wide.

 

[scaramanga]

This is why I would like us to have Ndombele alongside Hojbjerg and then a creative player in front of that (Lo Celso or Dele would be best in our current squad I think) Ndombele can receive the ball in tight situations and his dribbling ability would see him open up space and be able to get the ball into Lo Celso/Dele or to Son/Bergwijn playing wide.

Absolutely, would be my preference too.

 

[braineclipse]

This is why I would like us to have Ndombele alongside Hojbjerg and then a creative player in front of that (Lo Celso or Dele would be best in our current squad I think) Ndombele can receive the ball in tight situations and his dribbling ability would see him open up space and be able to get the ball into Lo Celso/Dele or to Son/Bergwijn playing wide.

I would very much like to see that. I do wonder if that's the plan at some point or if Mourinho sees him more exclusively as an attacking midfielder.

Doing very well in his current role mind, but it does leave us lacking some quality deeper.

 

[elltrev]

This is why I would like us to have Ndombele alongside Hojbjerg and then a creative player in front of that (Lo Celso or Dele would be best in our current squad I think) Ndombele can receive the ball in tight situations and his dribbling ability would see him open up space and be able to get the ball into Lo Celso/Dele or to Son/Bergwijn playing wide.

Yup, I think that would be pretty much everyone’s preference apart from Mourinho’s.

 

[Bishop]

This is why I would like us to have Ndombele alongside Hojbjerg and then a creative player in front of that (Lo Celso or Dele would be best in our current squad I think) Ndombele can receive the ball in tight situations and his dribbling ability would see him open up space and be able to get the ball into Lo Celso/Dele or to Son/Bergwijn playing wide.

The thing i find confusing is that it is such an obvious way to play out of the situations we get drawn in to. No team is perfect there will always be periods of a match when the opponent is in the ascendancy and that's fine. But what is our plan to combat that? It seems purely to try and hit them on a quick break and otherwise just sit deep and flood our box with bodies and stop shooting opportunities.

We have the tools to play even more effective counter ootball if we just played with those players who can resist the press, keep the ball well and can accurately and quickly play it forwards. Is there a more suited player in the entire PL than Ndombele for beating a press and playing it forward. Yet we don't setup that way, instead we play some of our least comfortable players with the ball in the most critical error and he gets confused when his plan isn't working. We have the tools that role is Ndombele and GLC to a tee (even Winks to a small extent).

Does Jose not see that he is hindering his own game plan with his selection choices?

I don't mind playing counter attack (his RM side were a thing of beauty), I don't even mind the sometimes ridiculously low block.

I DO mind the regressive overly cautious approach. It's NOT working and we keep doing the same things over and over again. Even making it worse in the last match truly baffling selection choices. He did NOT pick a side to beat Fulham he picked a side not to lose.

 

[SteveAWOL]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1350438933654548480

https://twitter.com/x/status/1350431563029368833

 

[Bullet]

Oh Jeez... so someone told Sissoko he should be going forwards and trying to get more goals. Great idea that, really great. He is definitely the right man for the job.

 

[AdamB]

Oh Jeez... so someone told Sissoko he should be going forwards and trying to get more goals. Great idea that, really great. He is definitely the right man for the job.

I thought he was crap the other night though to be fair to him half the fault was Jose's in picking him in a position which he isn't naturally suited to. The only reason to play Sissoko RW is if the opposition are better than us and have a marauding LB. He's a very defensive pick as a RW.

Playing Sissoko RW against Fulham made absolutely no sense at all. Moura isn't great but could have played instead, or Bale/Lamela could have played an hour and someone then replaced them.

 

[Daisuk]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1358599068772139012

 

[Bishop]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1358599068772139012

That's also him when the ball gets passed to him and when a defender has the ball and want s to pass to him. Actually that's just him on a football pitch. [emoji30]

 

[Diamond Lights]

Sissoko gets far too much hate for me. He's a good squad player, does the hard yards and has been literally one of the main driving forces in several key games that led to victories. Offers far more to the squad than Winks for example who's simply accepted as being a homegrown talent, but doesn't really offer anything meaningful.

No he won't be great in the attacking third, but when you play with an offensive RB in Aurier he was literally integral in tonnes of games of supporting the defence and gaps that were created by that formation. People like to hate on him because it's easy.

 

[Gazza]

Sissoko gets far too much hate for me. He's a good squad player, does the hard yards and has been non-figuratively one of the main driving forces in several key games that led to victories. Offers far more to the squad than Winks for example who's simply accepted as being a homegrown talent, but doesn't really offer anything meaningful.

No he won't be great in the attacking third, but when you play with an offensive RB in Aurier he was non-figuratively integral in tonnes of games of supporting the defence and gaps that were created by that formation. People like to hate on him because it's easy.

Easy target i agree, but he is not what the squad needs. He always tries his best and is entitled to an off game once in a while. Think he would be great for a mid table team, just not we currently need in the first XI.

 

[Raziel]

Easy target i agree, but he is not what the squad needs. He always tries his best and is entitled to an off game once in a while. Think he would be great for a mid table team, just not we currently need in the first XI.

Squad player .. that's always he's ever been meant to be.

The biggest issue with him now is the team is struggling with balance and control in midfield, not something he helps with.

 

[Gazza]

Squad player .. that's always he's ever been meant to be.

The biggest issue with him now is the team is struggling with balance and control in midfield, not something he helps with.

I think its a waste having him on the bench, he has done his best when he plays and unfortunately its not going to happen for him. I think i am right in saying that Skipp or winks (Who i think should also be gone) can occupy his position on the pitch, at the very least Winks keeps the ball and can defend to a degree, and hoping Skipp can come back next year and really put his stamp on the team.

Feel bad for Sissoko he seems like a lovely guy and definately should not always be the spacegoat for our failings. After all we all know that he has his limitations but tries his hardest, of which i would usually take over players that have more talent but fail to break a sweat.

 

[Raziel]

I think its a waste having him on the bench, he has done his best when he plays and unfortunately its not going to happen for him. I think i am right in saying that Skipp or winks (Who i think should also be gone) can occupy his position on the pitch, at the very least Winks keeps the ball and can defend to a degree, and hoping Skipp can come back next year and really put his stamp on the team.

Feel bad for Sissoko he seems like a lovely guy and definately should not always be the spacegoat for our failings. After all we all know that he has his limitations but tries his hardest, of which i would usually take over players that have more talent but fail to break a sweat.

Not disagreeing, his age and contract winding down probably means this will be his last season with us.

I'd argue that the bigger problem is Winks hasn't been able to keep Sissoko out of the side, and that's more on Winks than Sissoko.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Easy target i agree, but he is not what the squad needs. He always tries his best and is entitled to an off game once in a while. Think he would be great for a mid table team, just not we currently need in the first XI.

He didn’t try vs Chelsea
He actually pointed to others to do the work he was literally there to do
The guys not a good player, but he can be an effective one on certain games and situations

 

[Gazza]

He didn’t try vs Chelsea
He actually pointed to others to do the work he was non-figuratively there to do
The guys not a good player, but he can be an effective one on certain games and situations

One game out of how many? He has worked his guts off and is allowed to have an off day. The whole team as a collective was a shambles