By the way, in all the euphoria, let's not forget:- What a load ofshitty corners! We continue to play corners that are worse for our cause than my suggested option of playing it short and then knocking it straight back out for a throw to them by the corner flag. That at least gives us time to get everyone back into position, rather than the current options which seem to be a) Pass it firmly and directly to the first opposition defender or b) Float it up so it loops gently into the keeper's arms. Special mention for Kamara's super-dangerous 'long throw' towards the end, which turned out to be him chucking it straight to their keeper whilst our forwards stood and watched it gently bounce through. That one would have caused chuckles amongst the parents at an under-11s game.
Exactly my thoughts, had Sissoko done that he most probably would have scored or Dennis might have nipped in and nicked it off him.
I agree Clive we really must find a new set piece taker, as Kiko although great at crosses in open play is mostly **** in dead ball situations.
Agreed . The basics are to shoot far post , if you have to shoot near post because for example a defender is blocking your shot then shoot high. However Sissoko knows this , practices this, unfortunately some players just cannot score. Goalscoring is the hardest part in football and those that can score make it look easy which in turn frustrates the fans who see someone consistently making a Horlicks of finishing because it looks so easy .
TBF it is a little bit harder than it looks . Every team has a defender as 1st man who has to be beaten . Then the kicker if he beats the 1st man has to make sure his cross is (a) not too close to the GK and (b) not overhit . However you are absolutely correct . Set pieces are a very important part of the game
This is Sissoko. He most probably would have smashed it about 48 hards over the bar and done that pirouette thing when you're off balance and looked like even more of a nob if he's tried to go across the GK. Let's face it, Sissoko is awful in the 18 yard box and what he actually achieved was quite good for him.
I wonder if it's worth trying the old 'near post flick-on' corner once in a while. Not the original 'tallish player bobs up & down near the front post' as most teams can now counter that, but a runner hitting the front post area is less easy to stop and can also work equally well if the defender inadvertently flicks it on. It surely could not be as 100% ineffective as our current 'plans'.
Whatever we do, we have to mix it up and try different things. Because at the minute it’s a case of ALWAYS hitting the first defender. I’m beginning to think we just play the ball short and try and work a crossing angle from further out or try and get into the box on the floor. We have to do something different because we may as well just kick the ball purposely out for a throw or goal kick otherwise and get back into defensive shape. It’s just utterly pointless what we have been doing all season (and for large parts of previous ones too). There cannot be a team in English football who is even close to being as consistently bad at all set-pieces as we are.
I actually can't think of another midfielder we've had that has been as bad at shooting. I would assume that's because the ones that have been ***** just didn't shoot. Moussa just can't help himself bless him
To be fair to Moussa most of his shots are at least shots he should be taking on. It’s not like he really fancies his shooting and blasts the ball out of the stadium whenever he picks the ball up within 40 yards of the goal. He gets a good chance he should be scoring or at least hitting the target with and then puts it woefully wide/over.
Yep and I give him credit for walking round to applaud the fans (OK not many ) at the end. Takes guts after a team performance like that, he always gives it a go and puts the effort in, he leads by example on and off the pitch, just a shame that others don't take a leaf out of his book!
Sums up the apathy I feel right now, he scored and was clearly delighted but I just didn’t really feel anything for him. Clearly one of the good ones but really can’t see there being a long queue for him when we go down.
You can't fault his workrate and attitude, but the problem is he's essentially a very chaotic player - he never quite knows what he's going to do until he's doing it, and he's not 'disciplined' in the traditional sense. He's an all-action charging bundle of limbs and bulk, and half the time that just carries the ball forward with him through force of personality, but half the time it does the exact opposite. Although he's (laughably, given time served and what it says about anyone else from our squad who might have been eligible) our captain, we don't really get any organisational boost from him as a result, and that chaos factor is run through a midfield (and, indeed, team) that are themselves inherently chaotic, but in a different way - through lack of fundamental skill. Even though they come from separate sources, therefore, when put together those dual elements of chaos do end up resulting in a bit of an 'inmates taken over the asylum' vibe on the pitch. Instead of contributing to an elevation of overall level and dragging teammates up around him, he's colliding with them and contributing to the maelstrom instead.
Watching our captain follow his runner for Chelsea’s 2nd was just embarrassing. A disastrous signing when you look back at it really, thanks for nothing Moussa and goodbye.
Won’t cover it up - I thought he was a great signing at the time. I knew he’d be awful as a goal-threat. But I thought he’d be full of running and a great ball-winner/carrier. But he’s been awful. And expensive. I don’t really blame the club for doing the deal as I think we were entitled to expect better from him - but it’s been another disaster. And they should never have given the captaincy to someone who asked for a clause to leave if we got relegated.
I expect I am in a very small group, who thought he was ok. Did what you want a midfielder to do, won tackles, and his passing seemed ok. He seemed the only midfielder who did carry the ball and linked up the defence and attack. Maybe expectations were higher. He was not as good as Capoue or Doucoure and we got relegated with those two as well.
A quite hilarious leaving statement from our captain: Moussa Sissoko on Twitter: "For the Hornet Family . #MS19 #Football https://t.co/IDf85f5upe" / Twitter
Can’t possibly knock a player who “gave everything”. Just imagine how bad we would have been had he not done this. We have a lot to thank him for.
Complete waffle probably not even written by him. Won't be here next season, won't be missed, get him out of the door asap.
Think I preferred his other post shortly after relegation where he was trying to flog a cryptocurrency or something. Seemed more authentic.
Also I don't want anyone using international caps as a sign of a good player anymore. Sissoko has 70 odd caps for a brilliant France team yet he's absolute gash, I can't get my head around it. It's bizarre how Doucoure never got called up during his few good seasons when this guy was in the French squad.
No big shock, but Edwards today confirmed in an interview with Ian Abrahams that Sissoko is definitely going.
He provably will leave but is the "Moose" a reliable source"!? EDIT: Here is a tweet about it. https://twitter.com/_wfc/status/1539897054255882240
