Oh, Moussa Sissoko.
It's difficult not to sing that. But oh, Moussa. We owe you an apology. Not just myself, but every Tottenham fan around the globe. We thought you were not good enough. We saw you as clumsy, erratic and ineffective. But oh, how very wrong we were. Or, if not wrong, incredibly myopic. We really ought to trust the judgement of our manager, who clearly sees more than we do. His faith never waned, and he now reaps the benefits of Sissoko's meteoric rise from scrap heap to star.
There is a direct correlation between Sissoko's rise to stardom and our inability to react to an everchanging transfer market. Prices have become extortionate in recent seasons, so much so that £30m for Sissoko seems a relative bargain by today's standards. But by failing to sign a player in nearly eighteen months, the squad has been down to the proverbial bare bones. A player that many wanted to see the back of last summer - myself included - has become an integral member of the first team, and a strong candidate for our player of the season.
Our club was subject to immense ridicule the day Sissoko put pen to paper. '£30m for Sissoko, thanks Tottenham', the Newcastle fans laughed. In truth, the fee was largely inflated by an immense performance at Euro 2016, which saw Sissoko almost carry the French team to a European Championship before falling short at the final hurdle. With his strong summer perforrmance aside, the general consensus was that Tottenham overpaid heavily for the Frenchman. He was a player many thought to have an attitude problem, where athletic ability was often overshone by a failure to perform week in, week out. Sure, he could run around a lot, but would he really affect a game in the manner you would expect from a £30m signing?
For the first two years, the answer was a resounding 'no'.
 |
| Looking on: Sissoko called the 2016/17 season - his first for Tottenham - the 'worst in his career' (Credit: REX) |
Confidence is a strange old thing. Anyone charting the progress - or indeed regression - of Kieran Trippier over the past nine months will tell you how pivotal confidence is to a player's performance. That glorious free kick seems a million years ago now. Today, Trippier can barely go 30 seconds without turning over possession. Confidence is two-fold, though. As United fans found out with their resurgent form under Solskjaer, confident footballers are almost unrecognisable from their nervy counterparts. And Moussa Sissoko is the perfect example of how an absence of fear can create a dangerous player.
In fact, I theorised that Sissoko may end up a success as a central player at Tottenham - stating in 2016 that he 'undoubtedly has the power and guile to take the ball from the back four and drive at the opposition'. It was clear to everyone that he was never a winger, despite his successes out wide for France. Sure, he can drive at a player, but he is not technically gifted enough to deliver when faced with an opponent. Moussa's skill set relies heavily on physical attributes; incredible strength, explosive speed and unyielding stamina make up his greatest talents. On paper, he had all the tools to succeed from his first year, but after becoming a peripheral figure during our final season at the Lane, his confidence was shot.
With Dembele's inability to play mutliple games a week - and, of course, no longer being a Tottenham player - coupled with the injuries worries of Dier and Wanyama, the central midfield spot was there for the taking this season. While Winks is an exceptional talent, he does not fit the mould of destroyer, and needs a more physical partner. Enter Sissoko [to rapturous applause].
 |
| At 6'2", Sissoko is certainly physically imposing. He retrieves possession with consummate ease. |
The epitome of the aforementioned confidence player, Sissoko has revolutionised our midfield during a period where a hectic fixture schedule has led to multiple injuries. He combines the physicality of Wanyama in his prime, but offers the levels of dynamism Dembele possessed while breaking forward. Sure, he is technically inferior to his competitors, but it has not mattered one iota this season. Fifty yard passes and step overs were never Sissoko's game. His lack of technical prowess was glaringly obvious during times where he was short on confidence and could not find a white shirt, but those days are long gone. He now keeps possession well, recycling the play where possible, and breaking forward whenever there is an inch of space. He has gotten rid of that mental block which prevented him from taking risks, and he now trusts his ability to offer an offensive element to his play. What really impresses me the most, however, is his defensive work rate.
No one would have thought Moussa Sissoko had the defensive discipline to play as a lone defensive midfielder. In truth, we can think of him more as a box-to-box player, a role which compliments his tremendous stamina. But defensively, he has improved no end. Sissoko does not even seem to time his tackles to perfection in the manner we are accustomed to from Jan Vertonghen for instance, but that does not seem to matter. Sissoko simply gallops in front of an opponent before effortlessly placing his muscular frame between player and ball, before racing off in the opposite direction. He makes Victor Wanyama look physically comparable to Tom Carroll. Such strength is an incredible asset to this team. Gone are the days where Tottenham are pushovers - Sissoko's steely determination to win possession means we finally have an heir to Mousa Dembele, albeit without the technique. Sissoko didn't just become a first team player - he became indispensable.
Sissoko's stamina and work rate are by far and away his greatest attributes. He has played an impressive 2,541 minutes this season - only Alderweireld (3,340), Kane (2,924), Eriksen (2,869) and Winks (2,549)* have played more outfield. Remarkably, the former Newcastle man never seems to tire. How many games can you recall where Sissoko's late burst of speed has retained possession and bought us some respite from opposition's attacks. Such an asset is invaluable in today's game. Sissoko is Mr. Perpetual Motion, who at any given time can turn a jog into a sprint and cover half of the pitch. His talents have been revolutionary in Pochettino's tactics this season. While Trippier/Rose et al push high up the pitch - whether as full backs or more conventional wing backs - Sissoko will often slot into the right back berth, covering seamlessly with the stamina to affect both ends of the pitch.
It really is a remarkable turn around, and one that has not gone unnoticed in the stands. The Spurs faithful can be heard chanting the name of Moussa Sissoko, and he is often dubbed the GOAT in a playful manner by Spurs fans. But with performances like this being turned in week in, week out, it's not entirely inconceivable that Sissoko could go down as one of our greatest central midfielders in recent years. Who needs Bale, when you’ve got Sissoko.
*Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.com [https://www.transfermarkt.
No comments:
Post a Comment