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[Albion] Argy Mac v Bissouma



Cowfold Seagull

Fan of the 17 bus
Apr 22, 2009
21,700
Cowfold
Of course there are exceptions but generally when someone move back to a smaller club, its because something has gone wrong, and quite often it has gone wrong for a reason.

As a general rule of thumb, if you have been succesful at a club, and then move on, never be tempted to go back. It very rarely works as well the second time around.
 






Hugo Rune

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Feb 23, 2012
21,724
Brighton
I think people getting carried away and forget how good Bissouma was and also how good he was at dribbling

Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

Indeed.

His acceleration is extraordinary. His fitness was supreme. He has huge power and strength yet some of the delicate little touches he did was sublime. Be in no doubt that Spuds got a £50m+ player at a bargain amount.

https://youtu.be/nl8f_v-8L4A

Happily, there is nothing in the above clips that Caicedo can’t do, and he’ll do it with more goals and assists than Biss could ever dream of.
 


martin tyler

Well-known member
Jan 25, 2013
5,865
Different types of players. - Mac is more a pirlo type player, gets stuck in when needed but drops deeper gets hold of the ball and moves the team around like a master of chess. He is finding more space to play like this by sitting deeper. Biss was more athletic type, not so assured on the ball but a bit more obvious all action CM. Both quality in there own way, but Mac may suit us more in a controlled possession type team we are but don’t be shocked to see managers in weeks to come getting number 10 type players to be on him the minute we get the ball.
 


Weststander

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Aug 25, 2011
64,380
Withdean area
Different types of players. - Mac is more a pirlo type player, gets stuck in when needed but drops deeper gets hold of the ball and moves the team around like a master of chess. He is finding more space to play like this by sitting deeper. Biss was more athletic type, not so assured on the ball but a bit more obvious all action CM. Both quality in there own way, but Mac may suit us more in a controlled possession type team we are but don’t be shocked to see managers in weeks to come getting number 10 type players to be on him the minute we get the ball.

They can try that, but their no.10’s will be taken on journeys all over the pitch, negating their raison d'être.

168451BD-E037-4FF6-BDBB-44458011B54B.jpeg
 




Guinness Boy

Tofu eating wokerati
Helpful Moderator
NSC Patron
Jul 23, 2003
34,370
Up and Coming Sunny Portslade
I love Mac Allister as a player but I also loved Bissouma and the criticism he got for his shooting/not scoring used to really get on my nerves.

They are totally different players but on this shooting/goals thing, for balance I will point out that Mac Allister hasn’t scored a goal from open play since 2nd January so he is by no means a free scoring midfielder. Bissouma has in fact scored 2 goals from open play since Mac Allister’s last from open play.

Then might I recommend the player comparison tool on the Premier League website.

https://www.premierleague.com/stats/player-comparison

biss.JPG

In 20/21 Biss' shooting accuracy was just 10%.

No doubt he can score the odd banger but his decision making that season was atrocious. It improved a little in 21/22 suggesting Potter and the team were working on it with him and he was learning through experience.
 


Johnny RoastBeef

These aren't the players you're looking for.
Jan 11, 2016
3,158
Biss who? ma
 
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DJ NOBO

Well-known member
Jul 18, 2004
6,386
Wiltshire
On his day Biss was the best in the league in that niche central midfield defensive role. He will do well in the Champions League.
Mac is far better at finishing, has a wider range of skills and is improving fast.
Overall I’d say Bissouma is superior. The gap is narrowing though.
Caicedo has the potential to be better than both of them.
 




Hotchilidog

Well-known member
Jan 24, 2009
8,739
Not sure I like the tone of this thread, even though there are many defending Biss on here.

Why do we feel the need to immediately diminish the play of a former player just because we have had success without him. Bissouma was a machine for us. Ok his shooting was not great but he was a one man wrecking ball in midfield capable of securing possession and breaking up opponents attacks on his own. People forget how helpful that was in our decent defensive record.

Mac has thrived since Potter tweaked the midfield and yes he can shoot!

Forget Argy Mac v Bissouma, just celebrate that it's been great to see them in the stripes and the tutelage of the one manager who is capable of getting them to fulfil their potential.
 




Cowfold Seagull

Fan of the 17 bus
Apr 22, 2009
21,700
Cowfold
Zamora, Sidwell, Murray and that’s just at the Amex

Glenn Murray l will give you, very much the exception though. Zamora though did brilliantly with us as a young player, scored bags of goals, and only really returned to us for a very short time at the end of his career when injury prone. Steve Sidwell was such an exciting prospect when we had him on loan in Steve Coppell's days and a shame we weren't able to sign him then.

I wasn't just talking about the Albion when l said never go back, but of footballers in general. Yes always a few exceptions of course.
 


Nobby Nomates

Active member
Jul 8, 2003
154
Brighton
Not sure I like the tone of this thread, even though there are many defending Biss on here.

Why do we feel the need to immediately diminish the play of a former player just because we have had success without him. Bissouma was a machine for us. Ok his shooting was not great but he was a one man wrecking ball in midfield capable of securing possession and breaking up opponents attacks on his own. People forget how helpful that was in our decent defensive record.

Mac has thrived since Potter tweaked the midfield and yes he can shoot!

Forget Argy Mac v Bissouma, just celebrate that it's been great to see them in the stripes and the tutelage of the one manager who is capable of getting them to fulfil their potential.

Completely agree
 


Cowfold Seagull

Fan of the 17 bus
Apr 22, 2009
21,700
Cowfold
Not sure I like the tone of this thread, even though there are many defending Biss on here.

Why do we feel the need to immediately diminish the play of a former player just because we have had success without him. Bissouma was a machine for us. Ok his shooting was not great but he was a one man wrecking ball in midfield capable of securing possession and breaking up opponents attacks on his own. People forget how helpful that was in our decent defensive record.

Mac has thrived since Potter tweaked the midfield and yes he can shoot!

Forget Argy Mac v Bissouma, just celebrate that it's been great to see them in the stripes and the tutelage of the one manager who is capable of getting them to fulfil their potential.

I don't think we are diminishing anyone's ability are we? Both great players, but simply posing the question which one would we prefer given the choice.
 




Silverhatch

Well-known member
Feb 23, 2009
4,345
Preston Park
Bissouma is a world class DM - Spurs & Conte haven’t scratched the surface of a player/person who’s had a very disrupted few months. Ali Mac is an emerging talent who can play in several positions. He is not as good as Biss at breaking up play. Caicedo is more Bissouma in that respect.
 


Swansman

Pro-peace
May 13, 2019
22,320
Sweden
Same position but different player types, difficult to compare. I think we are going to concede more goals this season but also score more and a lot of that will be down to the change of dynamics in midfield. Probably more points against bottom teams and less against the top ones.
 


WATFORD zero

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 10, 2003
25,990
Both top players.

Biss is better at breaking up play
Mac is better at orchestrating play

Also, when teams that are given time to develop, players mature around each other's strengths and weaknesses, highlighting one another's strengths and covering their weaknesses. If players then move to a completely different team, style and manager, it takes time to redevelop that. And Albion seem to be particularly good at developing that maturity quickly.
 








Nobby Cybergoat

Well-known member
Jul 19, 2021
7,116
Different player types, different strengths, used differently

I'm not going to choose between two of my favourite players to watch in recent memory.

All I will say is can we stop calling him "Argy" Mac? Argy is too often used as a term of disrespect to apply it to one of our finest players.
 


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