Mousa Dembele (from Rumour to DONE)

[ItsBoris]

Really high praise from Fulham fans, I'm excited reading their views although it sounds a bit hyperbolic but still:

There were two big moments where Dembele’s transition from ‘luxury’ to ‘awesome’ were really accentuated. The first was QPR at home, when we won 6-0 and Dembele (among 10 others it has to be said) gave an imperious performance from right midfield. This was importantl; it was the first time we saw Dembele deeper, having almost exclusively been played behind the striker at Fulham and as a very far forward winger at AZ, and hinted at his ability to drive at a defence from deep as well and pass the ball in space as well as win the ball back. The second was the first time he ever played in central midfield, against Chelsea away, where he gave a dominant demonstration of how to put yourself about in the middle and how to make top class players look silly. Whether it was by accident or design, and I’d suggest it was a bit of both considering the manager’s hand was forced into that formation due to injury troubles, Jol had finally unleashed the beast that was Moussa Dembele, a central midfielder who ended the season topping the stat charts of tackles won, dribbles completed (by a considerably scary distance) and passes completed in the league.

As I say, Dembele never looked back from that masterstroke, and we Fulham fans should consider ourselves fortunate that we could witness such supreme talent blossom so wonderfully. Not to say that we still owe him anything, in fact we were marvellous for each other, but to see such talent in a team is rare, and much more so the combination of things that made Dembele the player that he is. He has limits – he isn’t directly involved enough in creating and scoring goals – but those are offset by his utterly remarkable penchant of beating a player. No matter who they are, how experienced they may be, how many medals they’ve won, Dembele could beat them with the most simple and subtle change in direction. It is quite incredible to watch something only otherwise seen, at least on my screens, in Messi (but that is where my comparison will stop), but there is no doubting his change of direction, pace, balance, just awe-inspiring.

His passing is not particularly creative or strong but he has flair – see Dembele’s gorgeous backheel to Pogrebnyak in the 1-0 victory over QPR in February - and that is capped off with an enormous work rate and tackling success. His ball-winning abilities can not be understated; as a majestic ball player you would traditionally associate that with lightweight defensive capabilities but Dembele well and truely breaks the mould, using his quick feet and considerable upper-body strength to gain possession back for his team. His mobility and stamina complete all the attributes one would need in a central midfielder. So there’s no doubting that he is unorthodox in that position, but it works, and how it does.

I will enjoy watching Tottenham this season. I previously thought that would be more impressive than last season, with a manager who is naive but talented and with a squad much more receptive to his ideas than the one which failed in last season’s Chelsea experiment, and Dembele’s transfer will just encourage me to take more of an interest. So all the best to Mousa Dembele at his new club – I just hope, and I think I say this on behalf of all Fulham fans, he doesn’t discover how to score goals when we face him in the opposition line up!

Will we replace Dembele with a similarly-abled player? No. He’s just gone to a club which will be aiming for a top 3 finish in the league and will play a very important role in that effort.

I would agree that I would only stop the comparison of his skill on the ball with Messi, I was always thankful we had the opportunity to see this guy at fulham

I am pretty gutted - he was and is Champions League quality and Spurs are now a class above us altogether with him.

Brilliant read mate. Dembele is destined for great things. I've never felt so gutted about any Fulham player leaving but at the same time, I've never felt less angry about it. He wont be at Spurs for long.

http://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?topic=24261.0

 

[Matthew Wyatt]

Nice, ItsBoris. Those Fulham fans sound ok.

 

[RJ1882]

Dembele would be a good signing. No doubt about it. He has always impressed me, and was a standout performer at WHL last season. For anything under £15m it also looks like a very good deal compared to some transfers happening and some players we are linked with.

Its not as an exciting a signing as perhaps Moutinho, Ganso, Willian may be though.
I'd be happy with Dembele if it left funds for another winger and a striker.

Now I just need my winger and striker.

 

[dynamoSpurs]

guys.. anyone wanna predict when he'll play for us?

 

[hellava_tough]

guys.. anyone wanna predict when he'll play for us?

Probably in a '2' with Sandro, as a box-to-box type player

But if Moutinho comes in and VDV leaves, then he might push further forward

Who knows really? But it's good to have a few versatile players in the squad.

 

[hellava_tough]

We usually go a goal or two up against the likes of Man Utd, Chelsea or Arsenal, only to lose horribly

So it would be quite amusing to revert to this formation after taking the lead:

-------------------------LLoris---------------------------

Walker---------Kaboul--------Verts----------------BAE

Dembele---Parker---Livermore---Sandro---Moutinho

---------------------------Bale---------------------------

Try breaking that down, you ****s

 

[dynamoSpurs]

Yeah, but WHEN? Suppose he'll need time to settle in and stuff.. Just concerned about the lack of creativity and invention in the middle of the park, which I think has been our problem these last 2 games..

 

[hellava_tough]

Yeah, but WHEN? Suppose he'll need time to settle in and stuff.. Just concerned about the lack of creativity and invention in the middle of the park, which I think has been our problem these last 2 games..

Well luckily he's Premier League proven and match-fit already - oh, and also we're playing at home on the weekend

So basically, he's nearly there - just needs to get into synch with his team-mates now

Throw him in against Norwich and see how he does

I suspect he'll be fine, especially with better players around him (no disrespect to Fulham)

 

[davros]

Yeah, but WHEN? Suppose he'll need time to settle in and stuff.. Just concerned about the lack of creativity and invention in the middle of the park, which I think has been our problem these last 2 games..

I think we'll see him on Saturday. Probably not as a starter, but he's been playing already this season (including against Norwich) so his fitness wont be an issue. He just needs to gel with the team. I predict an impressive 20 minute sub appearance (probably replacing VDV if he's still with us) and a late goal.

 

[StartingPrice]

"He won't be at Spurs long."

 

[SoulDog]

Good signing IMO think he is a good player.

 

[carpediem991]

Any news/infos what squad number he gets?

 

[puella]

Tottenham Hotspur ‏@SpursOfficial
We can confirm that @MousaDembele will wear the number 19 shirt.

 

[Scutch]

 

[danielneeds]

Fantastic piece on Dembele's influence this year. Some of the stats are incredible...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football...unsung-hero-of-tottenhams-premier-league-ti/?

 

[Nigel Spinal]

I thought we'd announced a pre-contract with the Fulham striker when I saw this suddenly appear!

 

[Col_M]

So not MS2 then?

 

[danielneeds]

I thought we'd announced a pre-contract with the Fulham striker when I saw this suddenly appear!

Only Dembele thread I could find in the search function!

 

[Luka Van der Bale]

Why not go for Dempsey? Isn't he on the market now? He's technically a midfielder I think, and he can certainly score lots of goals.

Stroke of genius.

 

[mil1lion]

I dont recall our fans singing a players song as often as we sing Dembele. It shows how much we appreciate him.