Moussa Sissoko signs for Spurs for like £30m or WatEVA

[Happy Face 29]

 

Player maps from whoscored.com

[Happy Face 29]

He is always in advance of Cabaye (often ahead of Cisse!)...and I would prefer to see those roles reversed. That said, i think the deeper midfielder is a MUCH more important role when it comes to avoid conceding, which is always paramount to Pardew.

 

Sissoko being new to the league and finding his feet probably didn't need that pressure in Pardew's mind, I hope he is more inclined to entrust him with it next season.....if we still have cabaye to move into a more advanced role that is.

 

Sissoko's runs will be much more effective from there too imo, if used more sparingly.

[Brock Manson 0]

Pardew doesn't see anything in Sissoko other than those bulldozing runs, so he's only going to be used in a kick and rush system.

 

You give our tactically naive manager too much credit.

[aimaad22 4156]

I think him skinning Cole in that Chelski game probably gave Pards the idea

 

Then there's the fact HBA was out, Jonas couldnt provide decent delivery if his life depended on it, and Marveaux has a touch about every 30 minutes in a game.

 

Pards may be tactically senile but a some of what he had to do last season was down to him having little other choice.

[Happy Face 29]

Pardew doesn't see anything in Sissoko other than those bulldozing runs, so he's only going to be used in a kick and rush system.

 

You give our tactically naive manager too much credit.

 

Perhaps.

 

His bulldozing runs never amount to anything as he always seems to be running from inside the opponents half and into their final third. Defenders close him down and he never seems to release it quick enough or accurately enough, not since those first couple of games.

 

I'd love to see his runs come from inside our half, into the space before their final third. Draw opposition players towards him but hopefully without the urgency that they swarm around him when approaching the box which always sees him lose possession. Give him a bit more time to look up when he's carried it 20 yards and see other players of ours moving into the space left by players closing him down.

[aimaad22 4156]

Ok its happened again and I'm frankly puzzled...someone has said in the transfer thread that Pardew picked Sissoko mostly on the wing last season. And its also said quite a lot that he she play further back, in beside another central midfielder. I don't think theres a lot of evidence for the former and I take it that the latter comes from his time at Toulouse?...for me, he looks like a classic inside forward, which is what young uns would call an attacking midfielder these days and I think that's where Pardew picked him for most of the games last season. Can someone please explain why its thought he was picked on the wing?...heres something to have a look at, you might want to turn the sound down though

 

That'd be me.

 

Seemed to me he ended up a lot of the time playing down the wings even though he often started out playing behind Cisse.

 

Im just hoping it was lack of other options as explained above, and not because Pards really thinks thats his best role.

[PaddockLad 17245]

He is always in advance of Cabaye (often ahead of Cisse!)...and I would prefer to see those roles reversed. That said, i think the deeper midfielder is a MUCH more important role when it comes to avoid conceding, which is always paramount to Pardew.

 

Sissoko being new to the league and finding his feet probably didn't need that pressure in Pardew's mind, I hope he is more inclined to entrust him with it next season.....if we still have cabaye to move into a more advanced role that is.

 

Sissoko's runs will be much more effective from there too imo, if used more sparingly.

 

See I cant see that....maybe I've missed something but I don't see anything defensive about his game. Perfectly willing to be proved wrong but on the evidence of last season I just dont see it. He's principally a runner as a a player, he needs space to move into to exploit his pace, and he's not going to get that as often if he's doing an overwhelmingly defensive job as you're suggesting. I think our lapse into long ball mode often in the second half of games last season made in a marginal figure late on in games. Our other tactic of trying to catch sides on the break is what he was there to do, and it worked to the extent that he almost always got past his immediate marker...as you say its what happened after that is where it went wrong. Not enough support for his runs.

[PaddockLad 17245]

I think him skinning Cole in that Chelski game probably gave Pards the idea

 

Then there's the fact HBA was out, Jonas couldnt provide decent delivery if his life depended on it, and Marveaux has a touch about every 30 minutes in a game.

 

Pards may be tactically senile but a some of what he had to do last season was down to him having little other choice.

 

Good point about HBA being out, he drifted into the right hand channel a lot. But it pisses me off somewhat when people use the "winger" term to beat Pardew over the head with. Its inaccurate to say the least iyam. Same with Shola. We didnt play 442 post Janaury to any great extent, real width was supposed to be provided by Debuchy and Santon, pushing up to support the 3 in behind Cisse.

[aimaad22 4156]

You cant underestimate the value of someone on the flanks who can regularly beat a man and put a good ball into the box for people to attack. We need that. Thats not Ben Arfa's forte, as has been said he drifts naturally into the middle. And thats where he is at his best at.

[StoneColdStephenIreland 74]

I'd like to see him in the Yaya Toure role where he can make his runs from deep. It just seemed that after his first few games that teams came wise to his style of play behind Cisse, and he couldnt get the space or link up play as well as he was.

[Happy Face 29]

See I cant see that....maybe I've missed something but I don't see anything defensive about his game. Perfectly willing to be proved wrong but on the evidence of last season I just dont see it. He's principally a runner as a a player, he needs space to move into to exploit his pace, and he's not going to get that as often if he's doing an overwhelmingly defensive job as you're suggesting. I think our lapse into long ball mode often in the second half of games last season made in a marginal figure late on in games. Our other tactic of trying to catch sides on the break is what he was there to do, and it worked to the extent that he almost always got past his immediate marker...as you say its what happened after that is where it went wrong. Not enough support for his runs.

 

I don't think there's anything particularly defensive about Cabaye's game either. Nor should there be. He's sat too deep to open locks with his passing. He's alongside Tiote most of the time, passing short balls left right and backwards.

 

When I say he helps avoid conceding I mean purely in terms of retaining possession, not tackling back or owt.

 

Only reason I can see that Sissoko couldn't do that role and make us a better attacking team is that after Ben Arfa, Sissoko is our most dispossessed player. So Pardew has to be wary of him losing possession in dangerous areas.

[PaddockLad 17245]

I don't think there's anything particularly defensive about Cabaye's game either. Nor should there be. He's sat too deep to open locks with his passing. He's alongside Tiote most of the time, passing short balls left right and backwards.

 

When I say he helps avoid conceding I mean purely in terms of retaining possession, not tackling back or owt.

 

Only reason I can see that Sissoko couldn't do that role and make us a better attacking team is that after Ben Arfa, Sissoko is our most dispossessed player. So Pardew has to be wary of him losing possession in dangerous areas.

We're not solving much just by swapping them though. I agree Cabaye seems stifled where he sits in at the moment, but theres every chance we wouldn't make the most of Sissoko's running game if he was told to sit in as well. If he makes a break from 15 yards further back, theres likely to be more players on him than if he receives it on or around the halfway line. I think the answer lies on the training ground, and a maybe one or two (ha!) players with the pace of a Bellamy or Dyer to support him.

[Park Life 71]

Get rid of Tiote and play Siss there. It's his natural position and from there he has space to do scary runs forward ocassionally.

[aimaad22 4156]

Which would also free up Cabaye to do some damage up front.

[scoobos 298]

I hope so, I'm really in two minds about Cabaye , I've had a proper rollercoaster ride with him.

When he first arrived, I don't know why exactly but I really saw a lot of Rob Lee in his play .

But then just three weeks after, he took a heavy tackle and showed his gallic flair, taking his gloves off and throwing them on the floor, sat on his bum with a proper tantrum. This really put me off him, if he can dish it out he needs to take it.

Then, he starts playing out of his skin, with killer longfield passes perfectly into his targets stride.

But, this last year he's just been woeful, all gallic flair and too much despondant play.

I'm just not sure what sort of player Cabaye actually is, and if he even wants to play properly anymore. I've seen him do far too much strolling around without intent.

[Tom 14011]

Christmas Tree?

[scoobos 298]

huh? Are you saying I'm a sockie ? or asking for CT to chirp in?

[Tooj 17]

What a fucking tit he is.

[Tooj 17]

The bit he said earlier on about being unlucky in the FA Cup as well.

[The Fish 10856]

"You could argue that Moussa Sissoko needs to define a position for him. He needs to find a position and he needs to be in the first team"

 

Define a position? Box to twatting Box!

[Gemmill 44847]

This decision will become a lot easier when they sell Cabaye.

[Kid Dynamite 7025]

And even if they don't, Tiote's horrendous form last season means its still an easy choice

[Tooj 17]

And even if they don't, Tiote's horrendous form last season means its still an easy choice

 

You would think that but look at his loyalty to Jonas as well.

[scoobos 298]

Holy fuck Pardew's just gone down 20% in my estimations by that article alone.

 

FFS Tiote was shocking last year at times, what the fuck is wrong with having 3 players for the same positions?

 

You play 2 of them and bench the other you stupid fuck. If you want a number 10 then fucking buy one, or use who is a number 10 in your fucking squad (even Campbell).

This will destroy Sissokos morale, hes already said - along with the INTERNATIONAL MANAGER that hes not a 10, hes a DMF.

 

For fucks sake.

 

Absolutely raging, there's more swearing in this post than my entire posting career.

Holy fuck we're relegated, that's it ..... We need a fucking revolution, 55,000 fans should go into St James and kick the fuckers out and all their furniture come season end.

[scoobos 298]

Quote "Or is he going to play on the side where he played for France and Toulouse?”

 

There's your fucking clue Pardew.

 

You bought him - did you buy him as a number 10, cos if you did you're totally lost.

Edited July 12, 2013 by scoobos