Why has Ryan Sessegnon not been good enough for the Premier League

[charliejones141]

What type of player is Ryan Sessegnon? Why he hasn't been good enough in the Premier League for Fulham and may never be

POSTED ON FEBRUARY 21, 2019 BY CHARLES JONES



Ryan Sessegnon, the boy wonder who has flopped tremendously in the Premier League.

There's no way to dress it up, Sessegnon has really not stepped up to the mark upon Fulham's promotion in the Premier League, two goals in 23 appearances isn't good enough for a player who was rated so highly last season.

Sessegnon won a clean sweep at the EFL awards last season beating out the likes of Ruben Neves, James Maddison and David Brooks to both the Player and Young Player of the Year awards. Since then Neves, Brooks and Maddison have all become key players for teams pushing for the top half whilst Sessegnon can't get a game for a Fulham team looking likely to be relegated.

But why has this happened? How has last season's Championship Player of the Year become an afterthought at one of the worst teams in the Premier League?

Sessegnon isn't the player the media or a lot of fans think he is, he has often been portrayed as a tricky winger who can score goals akin to Gareth Bale or Eden Hazard. This couldn't be further from the truth, although Sessegnon does play out on the left he is often found doing his best work in the box finding spaces.

Sessegnon is not a winger but a raumdeuter or 'space interpretor'. This role was invented and the term was coined by Thomas Muller.

A raumdeuter is a player who doesn't take up a specific area on the field and is given the opportunity to roam, they rely on their mental and tactical strengths rather than physical or technical qualities.

Unlike Maddison, Neves or Brooks Sessegnon's abilities aren't as obvious. Where Maddison can score a screamer, Neves pick out a 50 yard pass or Brooks dribble past four men and score Sessegnon's skill comes with being at the right place at the right time.

Sessegnon has an incredible football mind for his age which allows him to find and exploit space in the final third time and time again. A look at his goal map from last season tells you everything you need to know.



In this goal map which we have created, you can see that the majority of Sessegnon's goals last season were in and around the six-yard box and barring an exceptional goal against Sheffield United they were all inside the box.

This was never going to be the case in the Premier League with Fulham. The Whites' squad just isn't good enough to create these clear cut chances in this division, whereas in the Championship Fulham were one of the best teams in the league.

There is no doubt that Sessegnon could one day be a top player in the Premier League but that isn't going to be with Fulham due to the team's quality not being suited to his best attributes.

The perfect fit for the 18-year-old would be at Manchester City playing out on the left wing where he can get onto the end of the low crosses and chances created throughout the squad.

Sessegnon isn't a Hazard or a Bale, he will never create something from nothing or dazzle you with a bit of individual brilliance. He is more akin to Thomas Muller, finding space in the area and consistently getting on the end of things his teammates create. Although he has the potential to be incredible in that role it just doesn't suit a team battling relegation from the Premier League.

https://fulloffulham.com/fulham/what-type-of-player-is-ryan-sessegnon-why-he-hasnt-been-good-enough-in-the-premier-league-for-fulham-and-may-never-be/

[Twig]

He is plenty good enough. That numpty CR just needs to play him in his correct position along with TC and build a team around them that is not based on a back five with attacking FBs.

[Sgt Fulham]

We will see how plenty good enough Sess is next season. You can only do so much in a failing team.

[filham]

I guess that for a player of his age the step up from Chsampionship to the premier league is difficult especially when the supporting players and the coach are below par.

[Southcoastffc]

The thread title does not accord with the content of the article does it?  The article, dubious as it is anyway (eg 'Sess has played 23 games' whereas he's made 23 appearances equating to 16 games given substitutions) argues that he needs a better team around him for him to shine.  Pretty poor article IMO.

[The Rational Fan]

Great Article, easy to read, lots  of fresh ideas and balanced.  049:gif

[Twig]

Great Article, easy to read, lots  of fresh ideas and balanced.  049:gif

I agree, insightful and well argued. lol

[YoungsBitter]

I think the comparison to the other 3 stars of last year's Championship was an interesting one as undoubtably the other three Madison, Neves and Brooks are all doing well.
Sess had a tough start, started at left wing vs Palace but missed a sitter, started at right wing vs Spurs, missed a sitter, benched vs Burnley, benched vs Brighton, started at left back vs Citeh, left back vs Watford, left attacking mid against Everton, missed a sitter.Left wing back vs Arsenal, left wing vs Cardiff, left back at the disaster that was Huddersfield away ( the game that probably finished Joka) and left wing again vs Liverpool where again he missed a goal that he was putting away for fun last year.
So he hardly had a consistent start in terms of knowing his role. As the team lost momentum after Brighton he continued to try his hardest, setting others up but also fluffing his own lines in front of goal on more than one occasion, I think because he cares a lot and instead of just relaxing ad let it come he is forcing it.
In comes CR and he had watched a lot of highlights and was obviously disappointed in Sess so the lack of consistency continues until recently when he is just consigned to cameos from the bench.
Its been a crappy season and we have not had any rub of the green that early on that would have maybe changed the momentum ( Mitro handball vs Brighton anyone? Spurs and Liverpool away); plus times the poorly assembled and thrown at the wall approach of Slav (Arse at home, Everton and Cardiff away) meant that we got thumped so many times the confidence is shot throughout the squad let alone an 18 year old.

[Karlos]

Flopped tremendously  seems a bit strong considering he's been in and out of a disjointed team with no solid base. I would argue we've looked better whenever he has been  on the pitch and for an 18 year old to be one of a premier league teams best player shows how good he is!

[Robbie]

Maybe he is just not good enough. Only one in one thousand make it from the lower leagues to the Premier League.

At the end of the day there are only 800 to 1000 top players across Europe.

[ALG01]

I think sess has been good and one of the highlights.
Trouble is he has never played the same role two games in a row.
He is strong enough, did a good job marking Sterling, better than Bryan could dream of,
The team around him is an issue and the mad tactics of the Italian.

[Matt10]

This is typical isolating thinking. You're only as good as your system, teammates and chemistry. This is a problem we all have where we love to isolate players and call them crap or great. There is no middle ground.

If you defend 80% of the time, you're not using the system that made Sess great last two years. He functions well in a high possession system that creates opportunities from nothing. Cue in the likes of Stefan Johansen, Tom Cairney and Kevin McDonald - that combination exactly. McDonald, safe passes, Cairney, mix of both, StefJo - takes chances and will thread a pass. Reason why he was our leader in assists last year - go figure.

This is a growing problem. Systems do not get enough credit, but players get all the blame.

[YoungsBitter]

This is typical isolating thinking. You're only as good as your system, teammates and chemistry. This is a problem we all have where we love to isolate players and call them crap or great. There is no middle ground.

If you defend 80% of the time, you're not using the system that made Sess great last two years. He functions well in a high possession system that creates opportunities from nothing. Cue in the likes of Stefan Johansen, Tom Cairney and Kevin McDonald - that combination exactly. McDonald, safe passes, Cairney, mix of both, StefJo - takes chances and will thread a pass. Reason why he was our leader in assists last year - go figure.

This is a growing problem. Systems do not get enough credit, but players get all the blame.

Very astute and accurate. Thats actually the major tragedy of this season. We had a system that we played through Academy to 1st team and everyone knew what we did/how we played and what we looked to do with the ball. No wonder CR is struggling, its not a system he likes or coaches too and the squad is a mix of the old Fulham way and the current not completely thought-through Fulham way. Having a system in place should make it easier to recruit too, shame we seem to have lost our way with that too.

[ALG01]

This is typical isolating thinking. You're only as good as your system, teammates and chemistry. This is a problem we all have where we love to isolate players and call them crap or great. There is no middle ground.

If you defend 80% of the time, you're not using the system that made Sess great last two years. He functions well in a high possession system that creates opportunities from nothing. Cue in the likes of Stefan Johansen, Tom Cairney and Kevin McDonald - that combination exactly. McDonald, safe passes, Cairney, mix of both, StefJo - takes chances and will thread a pass. Reason why he was our leader in assists last year - go figure.

This is a growing problem. Systems do not get enough credit, but players get all the blame.

Very nicely said. I tend to call it chemistry. Getting the right combination of  players into the right system so they perform to their best and often the whole being greater than the sum of individual parts... that is the job of the manager, and clearly the current one makes us less good.

[The Rational Fan]

In 18/19, Ryan Sessegnon has offical statistics of 2 goals, 5 assists and 7 big missed chances in 1450 minutes (16 x 90 mins). If Ryan Sessegnon had put one more of the big chances away, then he'd be averaging a goal or assist every 180 mins (about the same as Mitrovoic).

If Sessegnon can get back to being the kind of a player that barely misses a chance like last season, then he would have scored 8 goals in 16 full games this season combined with 5 assists, good defensive skills and extreme fitness that would make him quite a player.

[Mince n Tatties]

Two ex pros have come out and stated,the latest one yesterday being Paul Dikov,that they can't understand why he isn't in the side...I go along with that.

[Facts Not Fiction]

He was never going to carry the side, and given the shambles we have become, it's no surprise people think he hasn't lived up to expectations.

He has contributed to 7 PL goals this season, more than most of our squad. Been forced to play an unnatural RW or ST position on a couple of occasions by Jokanovic and Ranieri. It's clear he has to play on the left, and given the chance to roam about and help Mitrovic.

Trouble is his contract. We have to sell him because it expires in a year. However I don't think it's out the question that he signs another. He is 19 in May, and another year in a weaker league could be more beneficial to his development than a lower mid table side.

[HillingdonFFC]

Despite agreeing with some of that, also found it a bit harsh & if Im a honest a little disrespectful. Its a bit dismissive to say he might never become a premier league player.
I always thought the comparison with Bale & co was off the mark because Sessegnon like most players doesnt have Bales blistering pace, but at the same age I'd wager Sess was a far more rounded player. Think its a bit unfair to say hes never going to get you a goal out of nothing & I wouldnt say hes been this massive flop people keep talking about.
The other players you compared him with have 2-3 years on him & not aimed at you but I've seen other people almost write obituaries for an 18 year old which is bloody ridiculous. Its not always an upward curve with young players ,theres times where it plateaus out but they're young enough to come again. Hes finding his feet a bit slower than we'd hoped but it happens.
The complete & utter shambles this season has been hasnt helped, from having a pointless pre season , to starting the campaign with players who had barely trained together. Chuck in the fact that Ranieri obviously doesn't fancy him, some of the bollocks hes been saying about an 18 year old kid has been scandalous.
The times I've seen Sessegnon in recent games hes been one of our brighter performers in my opinion.

[JoelH5]

You need to get better at using commas Charlie

[Sting of the North]

The Article seem to completely miss the fact that Sess has missed quite a few sitters this season, which was not the case last season (which was also pointed out by other posters). Thus, he is getting chances even in one of the weakest teams in the PL. Would he be better in a better team? Yes, of course he would (as would anyone). Also, regardless of what the Article claims, Sess is not a one trick pony that is only on the field to score goals. He can assist, help out defensively, stretch defenses with timely runs and is generally very good at keeping possession by keeping it simple (which is not a common characteristic for an 18 year old, one might add).

For me to be able to take an article like this seriously, it would have helped if hyperbole such as "flopped tremendously" had been avoided. Maybe some people had the misguided belief that Sess was expected to score 15 goals as an 18 year old making his debut in the PL, but the fact that it didn't happen (unless he goes on an unrivaled scoring spree) does not mean that he is a flop. Given how the season has been for the team, I would say his general play has been just about what should have been expected (and the lack of goals is a bit disappointing).

In my opinion, over the course of the season Sess is one of a few players that have at least fairly often showed that he has what it takes to compete in this league.