Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool > Crystal Palace)

Encouraging yesterday. Has done enough to start every week at centre half for me.

Me too.

He's not a left back though.

Like his game a lot, seems like he won't take any crap off of anyone and we need more players with that attitude.

One thing I like about Sakho is his ability to win sliding tackles. I heard the commentators over the past few games say how he was lucky to get the ball and not the man etc. but that's nonsense. This was a big part of his game at PSG and one in which he performed excellently. On the odd occasion though he can look indecisive as to whether stay on his feet or go to the floor and by the time a decision has been made the opponent has gone past him or at the least, released the ball. For his age though I'm sure he will improve that area of his game but he looks accomplished in most other areas already.

 Thought he was excellent defensively tonight and we have I think found ourselves a proper centre half. He is growing into the roll and his surroundings, but he is a monster of a defender in the making.

 On the ball he is sh!te, but I don't mind that in a centre half. Once he realises that we all know he's sh!te with the ball and it's OK if he launches it when under pressure, it'll all be good. 

Thought he was excellent defensively tonight and we have I think found ourselves a proper centre half. He is growing into the roll and his surroundings, but he is a monster of a defender in the making.

 On the ball he is sh!te, but I don't mind that in a centre half. Once he realises that we all know he's sh!te with the ball and it's OK if he launches it when under pressure, it'll all be good. 

I disagree that he's no good on the ball. Maybe haven't seen it from his time here yet but from clips I've seen of him at PSG he's very confident and composed on the ball. Probably still getting used to playing with his new teammates.

I think he's sh*t on the ball too, he takes so long to play a pass. He dwells on the ball a lot, I don't think he'd used to the constant closing down of the English game, he has less time than he realises I think. I think he'll adapt though, still early days.

I also don't like how he rushes out the 18 yard area at times when the opposition are attacking. Seen it a few times, he runs towards Lucas' position to win the ball and it leaves us exposed at the back. One dink over his head and they're in. not liking that side of his game either, needs to work on his positioning a bit more. Why rush in when Lucas and Gerrard are there?

What I do like is that he's a F***ing monster at tackling, not afraid to get stuck in. I'm old fashioned, I like a good old smash of the opposition legs, get at the cu*ts. Not afraid to get his foot in, something we have definitely lacked since Masch left. As long as he wins the ball cleanly, I'm happy for him to keep executing his sliding tackles. Looks solid in the air too, as long as he marks and positions himself correctly then nobody is winning a header against this brute!

Bit of work on his ball control and speed at moving the ball on and I think we have a top center half!

Once he settles, I can't see there being a better CB for attacking the ball.
Not got the silky skills of Agger but he is certainly commanding in the air.

It's clearly all his fault, three games = no wins, sell him !

From what I've seen of Sakho, both here and abroad, I think he's going to be one of those players where we just have to accept his flaws. To get the passionate, aggressive, abrasive side to his play where he'll get stuck in and take no sh*t, we have to accept that he will occasionally go over the top and either surge forward out of position or get himself in trouble with the officials by taking players out.
If it's a choice between that or taming him and trying to make him play with more composure, I'll take the former 

Still unsure about him myself. He has a tendency to telegraph his passes. Still reminds me a little too much of Djimi Traore for comfort.

Still unsure about him myself. He has a tendency to telegraph his passes. Still reminds me a little too much of Djimi Traore for comfort.

Said the same thing to myself when I watched his debut s@int, not really sure about him yet. We really need this signing to work because if it doesn't then that's 15m down the drain.

Thought he looked beast today.

If he keeps playing like he has then Agger will find it difficult to displace him .

B.E.A.S.T.

Going to make a very bold, possibly naive, prediction. I think he'll be recognised as one of the world's best CBs by this time next year.

I disagree that he's no good on the ball. Maybe haven't seen it from his time here yet but from clips I've seen of him at PSG he's very confident and composed on the ball. Probably still getting used to playing with his new teammates.

I definitely agree. Rodgers would not have bought him if he was rubbish on the ball - he wants his centre backs to be ball playing ones, hence why he got Toure and this is what Toure did so well in Arsenal.

 He continues to grow, he's going to be an absolute monster of a defender this lad. Future captain.

The way he passes cracks me up, but in fairness he doesn't misplace very many.

I can see he's good, and he hasn't really settled in properly yet.
The only question for me is how good can he become?

Doesn't hurt that he's got a bit of that Balotelli look to him....just a bit crazy

G. Crooks on BBC: I've watched this lad play a few times for Liverpool recently and I must say he is proving to be an excellent defender with plenty of composure. His relationship with the rest of Liverpool's defence has been key to the Reds' fine form. If they can keep it up, we will have to start taking Liverpool's Champions League ambitions seriously.

Did you know? The Liverpool defender completed 95.9% of his passes in the 3-1 win against Sunderland - a higher percentage than any other Liverpool player.

I thought he wasn't troubled much yesterday especially that Altidore is a bit crap .


I want to see him against tougher opposition before I decide

I thought he wasn't troubled much yesterday especially that Altidore is a bit crap .

Altidore may be not the greatest footballer but he is a big strong powerful forward, something in recent years we can't seem to deal with (lets face it a lot of team deploy them more so than skillful strikers) but so far so good with Sakho. Again great raw ability, if over the coarse of the season he can work on a few things he could be a great addition to the spine of the team.

I thought he wasn't troubled much yesterday especially that Altidore is a bit crap .


I want to see him against tougher opposition before I decide

Altidore is not "a bit crap".

Yes he's American so I'm assuming you think he's automatically garbage but he's a very strong player who has improved technically over the years. If you watched yesterday's game you should have noticed how strong he is and how many balls he managed to win in the air.