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Let's talk about Sakho

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mark1975

mark1975

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We look alot more stable as a unit now, with him and Can either side of Skrtel, I thought Martin was brilliant against Everton, he has been for a while.

As for Sakho, he's a brute force, he's quick, strong, his passing through the midfield is excellent. My criticisms of him have taken some flack in the match threads, there seems to be this assumption that all players make mistakes, that his moments of erratic play are usually the result of a poor pass to him, etc.

I don't think it's unfair to point out that when under pressure, he flaps. He did it in two big moments yesterday. Everton seemed to target him when he had the ball, pundits and commentators have picked up on it. So is it a myth? Are people going overboard in their criticism's, or is it the one cause for concern in his armour?

When he has the ball with time and space he's one of the best players in the team and I'd rather see us play with him in the team, than without, but I'm not going to pretend he doesn't have my heart in my mouth when he gets the ball under the slightest bit of pressure, because he does. It's not unfounded concerns or criticism, it's a major talking point - people can say that his almost customary "mad minute" per game hasn't cost us yet, fair enough, just about getting away with it shouldn't make is something to be overlooked.
 
I think saying that he flaps when under pressure is completely wrong.
His inability to just hoof the ball away, and his desire to play himself out of trouble, even when under severe pressure, is what is getting him into trouble.
Can did the same yesterday but wasn't targeted the same way and was able to play himself out of the situation.
He may be better equipped to do so than Sakho.
Unless this trait is contagious I suspect they are under instructions not to hoof it away.
 
Feels like we've discussed this over and over.
Great defender and has really improved our defence together with Can and Skrtel.

Needs to learn from his mistakes. Looked a bit nervous in the first half but much better in the 2nd.
All in all he's a key member of our defence and should play when fit.
Very good passer of the ball but needs to learn when he should play it long just to avoid putting us under pressure with a mistake instead.
Was MOTM against West Ham. He's one of the players I'd consider the spine of the team in the future.

Sakho, Can, Hendo, Sterling, Coutinho, Sturridge. After yesterdays impressive display I wouldnt bet against Ibe being part of it in the future either.
 
the count said:
I think saying that he flaps when under pressure is completely wrong.
His inability to just hoof the ball away, and his desire to play himself out of trouble, even when under severe pressure, is what is getting him into trouble.
Can did the same yesterday but wasn't targeted the same way and was able to play himself out of the situation.
He may be better equipped to do so than Sakho.
Unless this trait is contagious I suspect they are under instructions not to hoof it away.
Click to expand...

Yeah I tend to agree, it is instruction, but I do think his, how do we put it? Unorthodox(?) playing style makes him a target and when he is pressured, he does panic and it looks awful. You probably can level the same point at other players, but they're not then passing the ball into a danger zone to the opposition. He also has a habit of playing it into the left back or DM when they have their back to 2 or 3 players, again, putting them under the same pressure.

I don't know, I love so much about him and like I said, I worry now when he doesn't play, so that says alot about where he stands in my ideal side at the moment, I just wish he didn't look so erratic.
 
I agree with the Count but I think the main reason we haven't been punished for any of Sahko's lapses so far is because we have Skrtl as security. The back three really suits us currently.
 
the count said:
I think saying that he flaps when under pressure is completely wrong.
His inability to just hoof the ball away, and his desire to play himself out of trouble, even when under severe pressure, is what is getting him into trouble.
Can did the same yesterday but wasn't targeted the same way and was able to play himself out of the situation.
He may be better equipped to do so than Sakho.
Unless this trait is contagious I suspect they are under instructions not to hoof it away.
Click to expand...

Agree. I think he looks ungainly, which gives a poor impression to TV commentators, but has the strength and confidence in his own ability to play out of (most) tight situations.
 
He was poor yesterday, but I'm hesitant to criticise him too much as plan b is Lovren.

To be fair to Sakho, he had little help from Moreno and he was targeted by Everton. It was always going to be difficult under those circumstances.
 
It's still down to his judgment and decision making on the pitch though - okay, he might be under instruction to try and play the ball out to a team mate as much as he can, but he still has to take the personal responsibility for determining when that instruction has to be followed and when it has to be ignored. Reflection, coaching, proper scouting of opponents, experience (e.g. familiarity with the strengths, style of opposing teams and individuals) will eventually address this if he's smart and a willing learner. I wasn't too convinced by Carragher in his early years too.
 
Got targeted by Everton yesterday as presumably the 'weak link'. Every time they attempted an attack, they tried to go through him, or tried to pressure him when he was on it more than the other two.
I thought he did well considering, he received some dreadful balls, and Allen and gerrard were bollocks as usual offering him an option to pass to, it was either Moreno or a hoof if anything.
On the subject of hoofing, I know we've had a few good clean sheets and we look a bit more settled, but what's going on with ming's distribution? He's just smashing all back passes and 95% of them end up in a turnover and we're back under pressure again.
 
I don't whether I'm imagining it, but he seems to me to get more stupid passes down in that area to the left of the box than any teammate gets elsewhere. Loads of times he'll receive the ball with two opponents racing in to close him down, and he'll pass it, only to get it back in an even tighter space. He needs better support from those ahead of him and a bit more common sense from his fellow defenders.
 
gkmacca said:
I don't whether I'm imagining it, but he seems to me to get more stupid passes down in that area to the left of the box than any teammate gets elsewhere. Loads of times he'll receive the ball with two opponents racing in to close him down, and he'll pass it, only to get it back in an even tighter space. He needs better support from those ahead of him and a bit more common sense from his fellow defenders.
Click to expand...

Now he knows what Mignolet feels like sometimes. 😉
 
Mors said:
but what's going on with ming's distribution? He's just smashing all back passes and 95% of them end up in a turnover and we're back under pressure again.
Click to expand...

Do you really want him to start hitting short passes again? You are a glutton for punishment.
 
Dont think he was poor yesterday tbh. Struggled in the first half but much better in the second.
Everton had 1 shot on target all game. Our defence was very good in total.
 
Love this photo from the Spurs game

B9if5Y_IUAIdz0G.jpg
 
Sakho is our best central defender, has the occasional moment, like the one in the picture above (well what happened just before anyway) but he's just turned 25 (how is that possible?) we should be looking to build the defence around him as he's only going to get better.
 
I think the fact we're playing a set system with the same players has helped. Too much chopping and changing at the beginning of the season
 
Sheik Yerbouti said:
I think the fact we're playing a set system with the same players has helped. Too much chopping and changing at the beginning of the season
Click to expand...
I also think this has helped Mignolet a lot.

Yes he ended up getting in his own head, but the constant changes on front of him didn't help
 
I think it was gkmacca who posted earlier this season about The Beast being good with a party of schoolkids - either they came to Anfield or he went to their school, can't recall which. He's also had some nice things to say about Liverpool being "like a country" and the fans being like those of a national team because they're so committed. I reckon the guy really loves it here, which obv.is great for him and for us.
 
French players that play in this city (for both teams) seem to love the fact we don't regard ourselves as English first & foremost.

I assume that independent streak appeals to them!
 
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