mademan

ell he's scored on the international scene which is a higher level than league football

He scored for Mali against some other african no marks. No way is that a higher level than The Premiership.

Sissoko's played nearly 100 games at club level without scoring...great 'striker of the ball' eh?

and him being left out of a few games does not mean he'll be out of the picture for good, that's speculation, the way you're talking it's as if he can't improve his game, he's 22 not 32.

He needs to improve then? You told me he was the complete footballer earlier...

Spoony, this is a message board for debating things, if you don't like it, log off. debating, yes, but as per the guidelines - Agree to Disagree . Obviously discussions can lead to disagreements. However, it gets boring if the argument spans over several pages and repeats over the same points. please move on now. thanks, Blandy

Cyber, I cannot prove his passing is poor. I can only comment on what I see, if you disagree with that then I can't physically prove you wrong, much like you can't actually prove me wrong. Opinions are like arseholes, everybody has one, you can say the most ludricous thing and I can laugh at you, but not properly prove you wrong.

On things such as whether he hits a clean ball and whether he won Liverpool the champions league/Super cup, I can prove you wrong with facts.

Benitez has replaced Sissoko. He'll be a part time player now they have Alonso/Mascherano, because they are much more accomplished players.

Sissoko doesn't get picked for his passing and shooting, the guy has never scored a professional league goal and his passing is shocking......so for you to claim he's good here is just stupid. Benitez picks him for his tackling, energy and ability to stop attacks.

So Garcia won the ball every time and took on the whole team. Remember the words of one of the greatest players Zinedine Zidane "Players like Deschamps and Makelele are the water carriers of team" I'll explain what that means if you don't understand, every team needs a player who can get the ball back, You dn't want Kaka, Ronaldinho tackling players you want them to get the ball and hurt the opposition, At Milan that ball winner is Gattuso, Barca its Xavi and who do we have McCann.

Garcia did the damage. Obviously he needed players around him, but surely that's obvious??

Oh and I think you'll find the 'water carrier' comment came from Cantona and it was used in a derogatory manner about Deschamps.

Next time you try to be patronising, at least try and get your facts straight.

Yes and Traore was 22 when he won the champs league was he?

How is his age relevant? I'm making the point that you don't have to be talented to win medals.

omo won the title in spain when he was around 19 years old, so again your argument is floored, you seem to completely miss the point i was making, that crap players don't win as much as he does and play for not one but TWO decent sides without having all round ability, blimey your idle drivel is in over drive today!!, stop crying and move on.

He's a Benitez favourite. I think Everton was about his level until Benitez came in, no other top club would have touched him.

You don't know what you're talking about. You've proven this with your comments about him winning them the champions league/Super cup, with your comment about him striking the ball clean....despite him never scoring a professional goal at club level...and with your comments that medals somehow prove whether a player is good or not. You also seem to think he's a great passer, which is ludricous.

can we please stop arguing about people in no way linked to the villa, its completely futile, if that carries on move it to off topic because it is in no way related to the villa at the minute

Transfer thread: Rumours, speculation and suggestions

Sissoko falls under that and we're discussing him.

Remember him at Anfield? Or is that a memory lapse?

He wasn't anything special.

Garcia tore us apart that day.

Hes a top class midfielder, just ask a few players who have played against him, ask Isiah Osbourne, Petrov, McCann, Our players didnt even get a touch, and i remember rightly they hammered us in terms of possession.

I remember him at Villa Park.

He was awful and got subbed after an hour.

but oh no "he's not good enough!!" , he's won the uefa cup, La liga and the Fa cup!!, all without being able to pass?!!!, yeah right!!

Djimi Traore won the champions league and FA Cup without having any ability at all, it proves nothing.

David May won the treble, Shearer's won 1 league title....does that mean May was the better player?

You judge players on ability, not what they've won.

Obviously you like to judge them not only on what they've won......but what they've haven't won too, like Sissoko winning them the champions league.

Arguing with you is like drowning a puppy....too easy and a bit cruel!

Erm no it's not a "big mistake" as he joined them the exact time they won the damn thing, and furthermore at least he won them the super cup, which is more than Mascharno has won them, you have no proof what so ever that the kid can't pass well, and your notion doesn't seem to be in harmony with the scousers either.

Of course it's a big mistake. You tried to claim he had some massive influence on them winning the champions league....despite them winning it whilst he wasn't at the club!!

Oh and he won them the european super cup, did he? He didn't even come on until after 71 minutes.

How can I prove he doesn't pass well? Just watch him and see. In particular, have a look at Man Utd - Liverpool at Anfield, he was awful.

Mascherano had a great champions league final and excelled against Chelsea too, all whilst Momo was rotting on the bench!

Whos gonna agree to a £100 wager with me that no matter who we sign by Sept 1st, there will be a few that still won't be happy with who we buy

Fans in differing opinions shocker.

Got any more exclusives?

I disagree. Especially if we are to harbour ambitions of playing in europe at some stage and competing in the premiership, we will need a genuine defensive midfielder, a ball winner and someone who will break up play. He would be a brilliant addition to our squad.

Ill put it this way, would you rather we sorted out a new contract for 29 year old McCann attracting attention from Sunderland or signed 22 year old Sissoko who is attracting attention from Barca to replace him?

No contest.

I wouldn't have either.

I'd rather have a box to box midfielder, rather than somebody deemed to be a genuine defensive midfielder.

I think Sissoko is a player that needs quality around him to be good, his overall game is too weak for him to be the main man in a 4 man midfield. He needs a Gerrard round him, somebody he can knock it simple to and let them get on with it or he needs to be in a 5 man midfield where he can concentrate purely on defensive work.

Wouldn't be a good signing at all IMO and I don't think he'd succeed here.

Oh my mistake, i mistook the champions league for the european super cup!!, obviously that proves that i haven't seen the lad play of course!!

Pretty big mistake to make.

And completely blows your argument out of the water, as Sissoko had no influence on them winning the champions league.

He was there when they got knocked out in the 2nd round last year though.

and excuse me what's momo's race have to do with the debate?, you're going way off course here with your feeble argument, the lad can pass, break up play and strike the ball well, i don't know why that fact hurts you so much!!, it's strange.

He can't pass and he doesn't strike the ball well though. That's where I object.

Shows how much you know, Robbie Savage was actually a very good player.

Wouldn't go that far.

He was decent though, very limited though, much like Sissoko.

it's funny, with Sissoko they won the euro cup, without him they lost it,

No, they didn't.

He wasn't there when they won it.

Shows how much you know.

Gerrard was hardly pulling up trees when he was 22 either, and even when he was 24 he was beaten time and time again by Vieria in the midfield battle, i think Momo has the tools to go all the way, if you don't that's fine, no need to shed tears over it.

When Sissoko can score, pass long and short, play through balls and carry the ball through midfield...he'll be fit to be compared with Gerrard, until then he's a black Robbie Savage.

Yeah its easy isnt it, striking a ball that is coming to you at pace, first time from 40 yards - you would have even scored it, that's how easy it is

Just showed his lack of composure. He had time to take a touch and still get the shot off.

It's typical of his game, raw, rushed and technically lacking.

I wouldn't want somebody like Sissoko in a 4 man midfield, he's too limited.

You just said he's the complete footballer, with everything to his game. Have you ever seen him?

Gerrard is pretty close to having everything to his game, now compare him to Sissoko...the difference is vast.

Sissoko doesn't actually play for Liverpool anymore, hence the story. They now have a proper player in Mascherano, a guy who can actually do most things on a pitch.

I wouldn't brag about that shot.

Firstly, he didn't score.

Secondly, lots of players would have scored that.

Thirdly, why anybody would ever try and argue he has a good shot, I don't know...

I think that's a bit of a misguided view, the kid from what i've seen has everything in his game and is still improving, Vieira at his age wasn't as good as him many believe, and against Barcelona in the second leg he hit a cracking shot from about 40 yards that hit the bar, he's not that bad going forward, i remember Everton were very close to getting him before Liverpool stepped in, i doubt they'll let him go but he'd be an excellent signing if we did manage to pull it off.

He's nowhere near having everything to his game.

He's very raw. He can't play killer balls and in fact, struggles to play square balls half the time. He makes McCann look like a footballing genius at times.

The shot against Barcelona was an open goal, which he missed, hardly something to remember...

That sort of game against Chelsea is perfect for Sissoko. He can concentrate on stopping the opposition.

When asked to actually contribute to an attacking game, he is lost.

There was a game against Charlton and after a few shots, Liverpool fans were urging him not to shoot and Charlton fans were shouting 'shooooot' at him.

I ain't ever seen this sossoko.. anyone wanna fill me in as to realisically what he can bring to the Villa cause.

Great tackler. Sends people sprawling with his huge legs, but does a decent of getting the ball. In terms of pure stopping of attacks, he's probably the best defensive midfielder in The Premiership.

It's the passing to his teammates part of the game that he struggles with. And since his eye injury, he seems to have got even worse. Technically he is awful.

We don't need a midfielder who can't pass, we already have McCann.

Breaking news............

Reo Coker has asked for a transfer from West Ham.

If Taylor is being bought as a left back, then that suggests Villa will be playing an expansive, attacking game under O'Neill.

I'm sure he's played most of his recent football on the left of midfield.

That link doesn't exist.

Redknapp is apparently confident of getting Viduka and Yakubu.

Portsmouth are building a very strong side.