If you are corralling me into the same group then I'd like to point out that none of my comments are meant or intended to make him a scapegoat for the result.
I knew what his role in the game was and I have never attempted to level a lack of team discipline as being a fault of his.
I have been entirely consistent in my criticism of the guy and that has been of the across the board level of the "bread and butter" skills that you would expect from a top flight professional footballer.
His ball control is woeful in comparison with his teammates, from bringing the ball under control when receiving a pass, to keeping it under control to shield it from opponents. His passing is very poor, despite what the stats freaks quote, because he often offloads to players and puts them in immediate pressure, either because they are marked or because they have to check back to retrieve or sprint to beat an opponent to it.
Apart from a straight line running race with the ball his control "in motion" is poor and often results in losing control or farcically standing on or tripping over the ball. I don't think I can recall another professional in over 40 years of watching the game, do this as often as he does.
He seems to possess little or no ability to read or dictate play, he seems entirely reactive to events. You and others claim Dier had a worse game than him, which I think is wrong. Dier has a wonderful grasp of the game and sees passes that will make a difference, and attempts to complete them. As with all "killer" passes they all have a low percentage chance of success and against a defence as packed as Thursdays, that margin gets tighter. I'd rather see people trying to make a difference than players who are just unable to do so.
Sissoko is a big, strong fit and astonishingly fast player for his size and you rarely see players get past him. He carries the ball well in a straight line but has shown no evidence of an end product, either an offload to player more likely to score, a cross, pass or shot that takes advantage of the ground he just made.
More goals and assists than Dier? - if the people that make that comment would seek to justify Sissoko on the team sheet before Dier because of that, then I would suggest they have much to learn about the game.
Sissoko did not let The spam get that result but every time a team carries a passenger it makes the collective output drop, top sides don't have players who can't do the basics right.
Finally any claims that Sissoko was not to blame for the goal may well be true, it was a magnificent strike that I believe would have beaten any keeper playing the game today (unless they had specifically been marking that post)
But - Sissoko was directly in front of the scorer and could have thrown his body in front of the ball to block it as many players (like Dier does all the time) do, but instead - before the ball is struck, he turns his upper body and head away to protect himself, rather than concentrating on the ball and trying to block it.
I think he would have failed, it was that good a strike, but he gave up on it.
My continued participation in this debate is because of the lies and abuse I've received, and has been a patient attempt to explain why I think the guy is surplus to requirements.
I've never called him shit though.
