The Agent of on-loan left-back Aly Cissokho - the whipping boy du jour at Anfield - has confirmed that the French defender is leaving Liverpool at the end of the season.
In an interview with Napoli Soccer this week, Cissokho's rep, Fabrizio Ferrari, insisted that the much-maligned left back will 'definitely leave Liverpool' this summer, and hinted that a move to Rafa Benitez's Napoli could be an option.
Despite a series of steady performances after Christmas, Cissokho - who cost Valencia €6m in 2012 - has not endeared himself to Brendan Rodgers, or the club's ex-players, who are lining up to slate him. Here is a selection of comments from some of the club's legends.
Phil Babb
“I watch Aly Cissoko playing there and I wonder if he will ever fit the bill”
Jimmy Case
"The more I see Aly Cissoko operate there [as a left-wing back] the less I’m happy with it. I wouldn’t play him there again. His control isn’t there or his first touch, he can’t get past a player from a standing position and he doesn’t have the intelligence to follow the fluency of play".
John Aldridge
"Without being unkind to Cissokho, he just hasn’t fitted in yet. Enrique gives us better balance, both defensively and in attack, and he knows what is expected.".
Ian St. John
"He is very negative and predictable. You will see him receive the ball and then knock it straight back to the centre half 9 times out of 10".
Is Cissokho as bad as everyone seems to think? What to the stats say?
* Passing accuracy: 79.8%
* Passing accuracy - Opposition half: 64%
* Duels won: 58%
* Aerial duels won: 56%
* Recoveries: 22 (One every 23 mins)
* Tackles won: 59%
* Clearances: 20 (One every 20 mins)
* Interceptions: 9 (One every 73 mins)
* Chances created: 4 (One every 128 mins)
* Crossing Accuracy: 7.4%
* Assists: 1
Cissokho's defensive stats compare well with the squad's overall average, but his attacking stats are extremely poor. 7.4% crossing accuracy? That amounts to two successful crosses - i.e. balls that found another LFC player - in 27 attempts. LFC fans also don't rate the defender Last month, I conducted a survey on the site, asking if the defender is good enough for Liverpool:
* 9000 visitors (approx) voted.
* 82% of participants voted NO
That's a pretty emphatic vote of no-confidence by a significant sample of Liverpool fans.
Cissokho himself doesn't seem overly concerned about leaving the club. In February, he told He Sky Sports:
"We will see at the end of the season [about leaving]. I will leave Liverpool if I have to. I am doing a nice job and that is the most important."
An Anfield exit seems inevitable, but Cissokho could leave the club with a Premier League winner's medal, and he would (IMO) deserve it. From January 1st until February 12, he made nine starts in a row, and helped the Reds remain unbeaten in all nine games. That period of games signalled the start of Liverpool's imperious march up the table, and defensively, Cissokho made a good contribution.
Author: Jaimie K
In an interview with Napoli Soccer this week, Cissokho's rep, Fabrizio Ferrari, insisted that the much-maligned left back will 'definitely leave Liverpool' this summer, and hinted that a move to Rafa Benitez's Napoli could be an option.
Despite a series of steady performances after Christmas, Cissokho - who cost Valencia €6m in 2012 - has not endeared himself to Brendan Rodgers, or the club's ex-players, who are lining up to slate him. Here is a selection of comments from some of the club's legends.
Phil Babb
“I watch Aly Cissoko playing there and I wonder if he will ever fit the bill”
Jimmy Case
"The more I see Aly Cissoko operate there [as a left-wing back] the less I’m happy with it. I wouldn’t play him there again. His control isn’t there or his first touch, he can’t get past a player from a standing position and he doesn’t have the intelligence to follow the fluency of play".
John Aldridge
"Without being unkind to Cissokho, he just hasn’t fitted in yet. Enrique gives us better balance, both defensively and in attack, and he knows what is expected.".
Ian St. John
"He is very negative and predictable. You will see him receive the ball and then knock it straight back to the centre half 9 times out of 10".
Is Cissokho as bad as everyone seems to think? What to the stats say?
* Passing accuracy: 79.8%
* Passing accuracy - Opposition half: 64%
* Duels won: 58%
* Aerial duels won: 56%
* Recoveries: 22 (One every 23 mins)
* Tackles won: 59%
* Clearances: 20 (One every 20 mins)
* Interceptions: 9 (One every 73 mins)
* Chances created: 4 (One every 128 mins)
* Crossing Accuracy: 7.4%
* Assists: 1
Cissokho's defensive stats compare well with the squad's overall average, but his attacking stats are extremely poor. 7.4% crossing accuracy? That amounts to two successful crosses - i.e. balls that found another LFC player - in 27 attempts. LFC fans also don't rate the defender Last month, I conducted a survey on the site, asking if the defender is good enough for Liverpool:
* 9000 visitors (approx) voted.
* 82% of participants voted NO
That's a pretty emphatic vote of no-confidence by a significant sample of Liverpool fans.
Cissokho himself doesn't seem overly concerned about leaving the club. In February, he told He Sky Sports:
"We will see at the end of the season [about leaving]. I will leave Liverpool if I have to. I am doing a nice job and that is the most important."
An Anfield exit seems inevitable, but Cissokho could leave the club with a Premier League winner's medal, and he would (IMO) deserve it. From January 1st until February 12, he made nine starts in a row, and helped the Reds remain unbeaten in all nine games. That period of games signalled the start of Liverpool's imperious march up the table, and defensively, Cissokho made a good contribution.
Author: Jaimie K
he's Liverpool's whipping boy du jour because he's crap
ReplyDeletegk simon
ReplyDeleterb santon ?
cb skrtel
cb sakho
lb shaw ?
dm steven
cm scheiderlin ?
am suso
ss sterling
ss sturidge
ss suarez
the power of s hehehehehe just kiddin.........
Not sure he's all that worse than Flanagan who's been a liability in our two last games. LB a priority to sort out in the summer as we need a long term solution to that position and it can't be found in the current squad, unless José can find form again when he returns.
ReplyDeleteAly Cissokho can hold more than his own as a LB. Unfortunately Liverpool need more of a Wing back, like Marcelo, Baines, etc. Cissokho will be great for counter-attacking teams that are satisfied with 1-0, 2-1 wins on a regular basis (Everton before Baines for example).
ReplyDelete"Doing a nice job"?!
ReplyDeleteWtf!!?
I think his ungainly running style and his lack of touch going forward have painted him as not a good all-around LB, and I think that is fair. However, he has proven to be a tough defender and that is an important talent, especially with Agger as the CB on that side in the game. Of the two who is the bigger defensive liability?
ReplyDeleteThey are all fools it is seeing what he can be that makes the Paisley of this world. he is not a full back -diddnt anyone tell them.
ReplyDeleteCouldnt hear a better news, hope aspas alberto moses and maybe allen johnson mignolet follow him too! We badly need a quality LB.
ReplyDeleteCissokho has not been brilliant but he has also not been pathetic.
ReplyDeleteHe's terrible and we all know that, but what good does coming out and saying that do? We're trying to solidify a top four position and make a push for the title. If we pick up another injury in the back and he needs to come in we need him to be as good as he can. His agent publically saying stuff like that will only emphasize that there is no future here for him and risks his average performances turning into dire performances....
ReplyDeleteI've got a bit of a soft spot for Aly.
ReplyDeleteHe is patently not equipped to play at this level any more. He has been robbed of his previously formidable physical presence by injury and lacks the other attributes to compensate. Whenever he is on the ball, you hear a sharp intake of breath,
That said...when he came into the side following the New Year, he got progressively better and at times looked the least likely of our laughable back 4 to make an error (all those times coincided with him not having the ball at his feet). This, to me anyway, shows he is a good pro and took the job of playing for LFC seriously. He is the anti-Moses. Half the talent, twice the application.
Great points. Agree with you re him being a good pro. Like most, I wasn't that impressed with his signing, but I don't recall him making any significant defensive errors during his run in the team, and in the period after Christmas, he seemed pretty solid.
ReplyDeletei dint want to sound harsh but i said from the git go that he couldn't lace joses boots for all joses faults at least he doesn't move like boris karloff on acid
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more. I've always thought he was a good professional. Whilst not putting in spectacular performances during his run of 9 starts he was extremely solid defensively.
ReplyDeleteI think the problem is our style of play isnt suited to a defensive minded LB. We need someone with the ability to push forward and offer something in attack but can also get back and be solid in defense. Unfortunately not many high quality LB's with those attributes are available so looking for one in the summer might be hard work.
Yep Moreno and Shaw seem the obvious choices, but they'll cost top dollar.
ReplyDeleteHe was OK, nothing special. I'm not sure why everyone would be too bothered by him. The worst thing you can do as a Liverpool defender is make defensive mistakes and Cissohko didn't make too many. He certainly was no Djimi Traore. Maybe we have new standards now but Djimi also was a big medal in his day and left the club the next season. These guys are part of successful teams, I hope they are proud of their efforts. We'll want a better player but Cissokho isn't deserving of anything worse than being called "underwhelming".
ReplyDelete