Liverpool’s liability: Aly Cissokho has been a hindrance to the Reds

When Brendan Rodgers captured Valencia left-back Aly Cissokho on a season-long in the summer, it seemed a sensible move. We’ve seen Jose Enrique dilly-dallying on the ball or attempting outlandish diagonal passes all too often, having a detrimental effect on how the northern Irishman wanted his side to operate. So to draft in an athletic outlet who could potentially keep the Spaniard on his toes for the full-back berth – it made perfect sense.

Liverpool fans caught their first glimpse of the France international in the Red’s trip to Villa Park in August, with Cissokho replacing Iago Aspas in the latter stages of the game. All seemed well until he was clattered in his first start for the club in a cup tie against Notts County, and since returning from the Anfield medical table the former Lyon man has struggled to find his feet. Cissokho is a powerful defender who has been known to stride down the wings at every opportunity. With such an attacking approach comes defensive frailties, and his positioning since he arrived at Anfield has left a lot to be desired. However, with Rodgers experimenting with the 3-5-2 formation and Enrique out due to a knee problem, it seemed natural to throw Cissokho into the left wing-back position. After all, if he is exposed at the back, he has a trio of centre-halves sat behind him to stand in.

The Frenchman soon found fingers pointing in his direction, however, as he allowed Yohan Cabaye to run effortlessly into space before whipping his shot past Tim Krul to give Newcastle the lead, and then again for taking his eye off proceedings and letting Paul Dummett sneak in at the back post to reinstate their lead after a Steven Gerrard penalty. Reactions were mixed. The defender was still struggling for fitness while settling into a new side in a formation that he wasn’t yet comfortable. With the confidence dripping out of him by the second, he put in another limp performance against West Brom the week later, which led to some anxious Scousers ahead of their trip to table-toppers Arsenal, who are probably one of the most fluid-attacking sides in Europe right now. The fears became a reality for those affiliated with Liverpool, as Cissokho turned in his most feeble display in a Reds shirt to date. During his time at Valencia he was accused of being uninterested, sluggish and renowned for making the odd howler, and there was a case for the former two in the build up of Santi Cazorla’s opener. While still looking lumpy, Cissokho misread a stage of play and he was left chasing the shadow of Bacary Sagna down the right flank before making zero effort to try and deter his cross. It was subsequently met by the little Spaniard and slammed into the back of the net, and Cissokho was replaced at the break. Whether he is chasing full fitness has been questioned, but right now he has shown that he isn’t capable of playing the dynamic role that Rodgers is after. Every burst up field is followed by sloppy jog back towards his own goal, and with Jose Enrique coming back into the fold it looks unlikely that Cissokho will be the man starting on the left for the Merseyside derby next weekend. Although he was expected to chip in with attacking duties by Liverpool fans, his delivery has also left a lot to be desired. He has completed just two crosses in his five league appearances while misplacing the other 10.

Cissokho can only get better as he finds his feet, but while Enrique has been rained on with criticism over the last few months, fans of the Anfield club are now starting to realise that sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Luckily for them, though, Enrique is now back in the frame.