In his last year at Paris St. Germain, new Liverpool signing Mamadou Sakho found himself increasingly on the bench for his boyhood club, with Thiago Silva and Alex regularly preferred in defence. The writing was finally on the wall, however, when the Ligue One side splashed out €32 on Marcos Aoás Corrêa aka Marquinhos, a 19-year old Brazilian prospect with little European experience. Given Sakho's copious experience at domestic and international level, you'd think that he'd be the better option for PSG right now, but according to Silva, Marquinhos is just as good as Sakho.
When asked to compare Sakho and Marquinhos in an interview last night, Silva told Living News:
“Sakho has more experience, most notably because he is an international and has come through many important games, but apart from that I would say they are at the same level. Marquinhos has made a lot of progress in recent years.”
Silva's comments are a little unflattering to the Reds' new signing. He's basically saying that Sakho - who is four years older than Marquinhos - hasn't really progressed over the last few, and that a (comparatively) untested teenager is already at the same level.
You'd expect a player to progress between the ages of 19 and 23, and if Sakho is allegedly no better than a teenager with only 29 appearances in European domestic competition, then what does that say about his progress over the last few years?
Silva is ultimately suggesting that PSG don't miss Sakho, and given the defender's emotional connection to the club, that will probably sting.
Is Silva right, though? I haven't seen enough of Marquinhos to form a solid opinion, but having witnessed Sakho's shaky start to his Liverpool career, perhaps there's merit to the Brazilian's view.
Of course, like Silva, Marquinhos is a Brazilian, so there's probably some South-American solidarity there (!), but is the youngster really worth £10m (approx) more than Sakho?
I've watched Sakho dozens of times over the last 3-4 years (I follow Ligue One), and he is a quality player with all the attributes to be a success in the Premier League.
Sakho's problem (IMO) is that in the Premier League, he is squeezed in possession very quickly, which is causing him to be nervous in possession. In France - where the game is slower and less intense - he had much more time and space on the ball.
I'll admit that I'm a little surprised by Sakho's shaky start, and I thought he'd adapt better, but he'll get over it, I'm sure.
Given the choice, who would you rather have at LFC: Sakho or Marquinhos?
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
When asked to compare Sakho and Marquinhos in an interview last night, Silva told Living News:
“Sakho has more experience, most notably because he is an international and has come through many important games, but apart from that I would say they are at the same level. Marquinhos has made a lot of progress in recent years.”
Silva's comments are a little unflattering to the Reds' new signing. He's basically saying that Sakho - who is four years older than Marquinhos - hasn't really progressed over the last few, and that a (comparatively) untested teenager is already at the same level.
You'd expect a player to progress between the ages of 19 and 23, and if Sakho is allegedly no better than a teenager with only 29 appearances in European domestic competition, then what does that say about his progress over the last few years?
Silva is ultimately suggesting that PSG don't miss Sakho, and given the defender's emotional connection to the club, that will probably sting.
Is Silva right, though? I haven't seen enough of Marquinhos to form a solid opinion, but having witnessed Sakho's shaky start to his Liverpool career, perhaps there's merit to the Brazilian's view.
Of course, like Silva, Marquinhos is a Brazilian, so there's probably some South-American solidarity there (!), but is the youngster really worth £10m (approx) more than Sakho?
I've watched Sakho dozens of times over the last 3-4 years (I follow Ligue One), and he is a quality player with all the attributes to be a success in the Premier League.
Sakho's problem (IMO) is that in the Premier League, he is squeezed in possession very quickly, which is causing him to be nervous in possession. In France - where the game is slower and less intense - he had much more time and space on the ball.
I'll admit that I'm a little surprised by Sakho's shaky start, and I thought he'd adapt better, but he'll get over it, I'm sure.
Given the choice, who would you rather have at LFC: Sakho or Marquinhos?
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
Sakho is a sack of crap! poor signing and waste of money!
ReplyDeletedont hold back hahah.....i think hes what we need at the back physically as we have been bullied at times if he can get his positioning and ball control tuned up a bit i think he be okay....the price was steep but when you look at felani at 27m he looks a steal
ReplyDeleteThe guy is absolute useless !!! His first touch is awful!! And not even that commanding in the air!!
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell is this? A handful of games in to his Liverpool career and we're listening to some mercenary Brazilians mutual backslapping in Paris instead of our own manager, and respecting their opinion instead of respecting our own players? What sort of support is this? What a pointless and opportunistic article. Better off sticking to the statistics, this is repellent stuff in my honest opinion.
ReplyDeleteSakho will be a mainstay for LFC for years to come, probably our future Captain. The white stick brigade need to have a look at him Vs Sunderland, how many mistakes did he make, how many misplaced passes, how many aerial battles won, how many tackles won, then come back.
ReplyDeleteYou don't know what you're talking about. He's an excellent player.
ReplyDeleteleave borini out of this we are on about sako
ReplyDeleteShocking signing said it from day 1 seen a lot of Sakho over the years rash in to a tackle and rarely come out with the ball. Another famous panic buy by Liverpool.
ReplyDeleteDitto! absolute shite of a player! which fool said he could also play left back?
ReplyDeleteCost us a goal against Swansea, poor against Southampton and Man Utd.
We didn't need him, we could have signed the Ajax pair for that money and had change!
Deluded LFC fans as usual. Our squad is poor, we don't have enough options and Rodgers isn't the man to sort out LFC.
The guy is shit !!! Don't read the game at all well and clumsy as fuck !! Constantly diving into challenges, he cost us the Swansea game, absolute dogshit !! Money wouldn't have been better spent on a proper attacking midfielder bring back Agger before it's too late!!
ReplyDeleteSack of shit!!
ReplyDeleteDon't read the game at all well, clumsy as anything !! Cost us the Swansea game. Money would have been better spent on an attacking midfielder which the team is crying out for!
ReplyDeleteGet Agger back before this guy costs us more points!!!
Can you not see the Sakho is being tethered, let him loose Brendon.
ReplyDeleteI too have watched Ligue 1 over the years (not as much in recent) but know that Sakho is very good. Very surprised by his unsurity on the ball as I never saw that in any of the games he played for PSG. Having said that, I think Jamie is spot on in his assesment that the lack of time on the ball in the EPL forces sakho to play quicker which I think he'll adapt to over time.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the day what do we expect Silva to say? Sakho is gone and Marquinhos is his teammate and fellow Brazilian. TBH I think its actually a compliment to Sakho because he's using his Sakho's ability to build up his younger teammate. He could easily said "Sakho was good but Marquinhos is just as good and will get better." but instead he says he has progressed to a level on par with Sakho which is a little different but for me speaks for of his acknowedgement of Sakho's ability and trying to convince everyone Marquinhos is the real deal.
Sahko is getting better every match, he's still settling, but still has a ways to go to be at the level required though. Still he is improving with each game so that's a very positive sign.
ReplyDeleteI'm still concerned when he has the ball at his feet and some time as he still looks nervous, and unsure where to play the pass, but hopedully this too will improve with training and game time.
As for Thiago? Well i see nothing wrong with his comments, he's talking about a player who is his CB partner, and a player who has left the club. He's not going to say they let the wrong one go. Its his team mate and i'd expect the same line from any LFC player.
Sakho's pass completion Vs Sunderland, 95.9%, highest of any player, picked in Garth Brooks BBC team of the weekend.
ReplyDeleteseems to have it in for Sakho, seen a couple of comments from silva. Surely the fact these lads hes on about are brazilian has something to do with it.
ReplyDeletewonderful hahaha
ReplyDeleteI think Sakho's already improved greatly on his shaky debut against Swansea and you can see his talents.
ReplyDeleteI don't think his passing is that much of an issue either. He had the highest pass completion rate in the team, against Sunderland (About 96%, I think) and is capable of playing decent ground passes over 10+ yards. You can see certain nerves, but that is to be expected.
I think the current poll result sums up my opinion well. I don't give a crap what Thiago Silva thinks. Sakho did a great job vs Sunderland. I know. I watched it. I'm wondering what match some of you were watching.
ReplyDeletePeople often see what they want to see.
ReplyDeleteAll I keep hearing from some people is how Sakho can't pass, was a liability etc etc. Toure , on the other hand , was a star. Well, let's look at their Sunderland stats:
KT completed 74% of his 34 passes
won 3 out of 4 tackles (75%)
1 block. 0 interceptions
won 1 out of 4 aerial duels (25%)
11 out of 11 clearances (100%)
Sakho completed 96% of his 49 passes
won 1 out of 1 tackles (100%)
2 blocks. 3 interceptions
won 4 of 4 aerial duels (100%)
8 out of 8 clearances (100%)
Sakho made more passes, more accurately, made less tackles, albeit at a higher success rate. More blocks more interceptions won miles more aerial duels and less clearances, but still at 100% rate. He managed 3 100% success areas against Kolo's 1
Yet people are full of praise for KT while split about Sakho based even on that particular game.
I think Kolo is our best defender at the moment. So if Sakho trounces his stats in the same game, I don't think they're being fair to Sakho , just prejudging the conclusion regardless of the facts.....
I think people have a hang-up about the price of players. Just because he cost £18M, he's not allowed to settle or make mistakes. It's obvious to anyone with even a small knowledge of the game that he has the quality to do well in the EPL. Younger players often take longer to adapt to a new league. I'm glad he chose Liverpool.
ReplyDeleteGood point. Especially we got outstanding Toure for free. Sakho did make me nervous in the first or even the second match. But he was doing much better in the last one. He has the quality. We just need to give him time to adapt.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. I don't see what is wrong with Sakho except for his nervous start which is expected for someone coming into a league new to him. People need to give him time to settle into the team and league. He is going to get better and better for us with more game time.
ReplyDeleteHahahah :)
ReplyDeleteJK, you are reading too much into things...again! Tiago Silva meant no insult to anybody. Actually I think he responded to the question(a tricky one at that) very professionally. Imo there was no better way of answering this question...
ReplyDeleteStart boozing after the LFC game is finished, not 3 hours earlier. You were drunk & completely out when Mamadou played at Stadium of Light.
ReplyDeleteI said earlier, stop buzzing before LFC game. You were drunk at Swansea game.
ReplyDeletecome on daniel play your way back into the team like everyone else i expected more from our vice captain
ReplyDeletekolo seens better because he beats his chest and shout so you tend to notice this...carra was a master of playing like this putting in an average game but getting the plaudits because he bellowed away....if you studt football to any degree you cab see through this for what he is ...sako played well against sunderland
ReplyDeleteI'm entitled to opinion and I think he's useless !! I haven got to agree with everyone on this site. I'm big Liverpool fan go home and away. I bet you have never ever been to an field in your life.
ReplyDeleteHaha. Good one.
ReplyDeleteI think to be fair to Kolo his influence has been to calm a jittery defence and lead the way.
ReplyDeleteIn the same way as Stevie rarely has the best passing stats ( Allen used to be king of those!) but often was the difference for us, Kolo has used his experience to great effect.
What I'm referring to is that there is a 'halo' effect with some players, and some players end up with the same prejudgement effect, just reversed; often no matter how well they actually play. Lucas was another who suffered for a long time in this way...
There's certainly a good argument for that point of view.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it IS JK's job to question these things; it's a discussion site !
I know that Marquihino has a big reputation for his age but I think a player saying his countryman and coleague is "as good as" a player who no longer is at the club should not be too read in to. No where does he say that Sakho has not made progress just that Marquinho has. This is the Marquinhos that had displaced Burdiso for Roma and then cost PSG £27m. He is obviously well thought of and once again is the man he is now playing with. This kind of thing happens all the time.
ReplyDeleteAlso I can't see why Jaimie keeps having a go at Sakho. He looks more comfortable on the ball than Skirtle and is also better in the air. This is whilst Skirtle is having the best form he has had for a long while. This is a player who is short on fitness and is in a new league and is still adgusting. Perhaps his first game was not all that convincing and he is certainly not a full back but our two best CB's at present are him and Toure. The stats also tell this story.
What Laser said!
ReplyDeleteYou would hope that the player your team signed for £30m was at least as good as the player he replaced, regardless of their respective ages!
ReplyDeleteOne or two of those passes was when he lobbed a player to get out of trouble. There was one instance where Skirtle and Mignolet played him in to trouble when he had men on him but that was less his fault than theirs. Skirtle had time to turn and instead just played it back to Sakho. Other than that I thought he looked quite assured.
ReplyDeleteWhen people see a defender tackling they see a player doing his job. In fairness there were times when I thought Sakho's position was wrong but thats partly the system and that will improve. But the stats speak for themselves and I would say that it will be hard for Agger to get back in the team if Sakho continues this way. I think that might be a part of it too. There are people who love Agger and don't see his flaws and don't like the idea that Sakho may take his place.
ReplyDeleteI agree with that Mike, lets be honest we are all here talking about it. Job done.
ReplyDelete