" One incident shows why Mason is preferred to Dembele

[HotspurFC1950]

Agree. The likes of Townsend, Lamela, Eriksen are there to make the runs beyond the striker. If Mason does as well, we need the other CM to sit back and hold the midfield.

I think the point being made is that Dembele never makes a forward run beyond the ball carrier. It is not in his pshyce.

 

[ultimateloner]

Good point that not all our midfielders are willing to run; may it be lack of intelligence or stamina.

I think this is why Chadli is important to us and why he is now nailed on starting despite doing naff-all most of the time. He knows what space to get into and when, with a final ball that is just good enough to cut the mustard when it matters. This is why he is such a 'stats' player.

Paulinho has this in his game too though offers little else.
Dembele doesn't have it.
Lamela doesn't have it either but offers something else.
Neither Townsend/Lennon have it.

 

[St José Dominguez]

Mason and Paulinho are the only central midfielders at the club that have this in their game. In fact I'd go further that we only have 4 players in the whole squad that ever make any sort of intelligent runs into the box. Problem is by playing a midfield 2 if you ever make these runs and we're dispossessed it leaves one hell of a gap in the middle of pitch. All the CMs at the club would operate better in a midfield three.

Also I've no idea at all where this Pochettino likes two busy bastards in CM thing has come from. At Soton he had Schneiderlin and Wanyama who work extremely hard but they're not in this buzzing about like a wasp mould, think they controlled games with Davies/JWP helping out.
I still think Dembele-Stambouli-Mason or Bentaleb-Capoue-Paulinho in a 3 with Eriksen-Kane-Lamela ahead would work much better than what we're seeing currently.

 

[ultimateloner]

Tbh i dont understand this 'busy midfieder' obsession.

A good CM basically:
1) Doesn't lose the ball. Comfy in possession.
2) Offers an outlet to defenders
3) gets the ball to the attackers quickly and into good areas
4) Get hold of loose/2nd balls
5) Turn defence into attack fast

Goals/lung-busting-runs/long-shots are all nice-to-haves but aren't essentials.

None of the list above includes 'busy'.

 

[midge]

Paul plays this role very well..during the dark days of TS Paul was th one making the runs into the box to support the attack

I am kinda surprise he is not thriving in this system under MoPo

 

[DaSpurs]

Paul plays this role very well..during the dark days of TS Paul was th one making the runs into the box to support the attack

I am kinda surprise he is not thriving in this system under MoPo

Because he doesn't pass forward... at all. The very foundation for Poch's system is established through quick, transitional, forward passing, which is just something not even remotely in Paulinho's locker. He has always played a very calm and fluid game, and maintains possession for the wide players to move the ball vertically.

So yes, while there's no denying that Paulinho is top drawer at finding space in a box or running behind defenders, it's the getting the team to these positions, a responsibility crucial to his position for the sake of the team, where Paulinho is the extreme opposite of what Poch's system demands.

 

[cliff jones]

interesting, also in that the run cited was a critical part of a high speed breakaway. For me the late run from a deep position, past the man in possession is the way to crack the deadlock against the dozen or so park the bus teams. Wenger's teams do this excellently, playing one twos down the middle and overlapping at pace in the wide areas. Now in Kane we have someone who can hold the ball up and consistently pick out a runner with good technique and vision. Yes he still makes wrong choices but who doesn't at his age? I'd be more than willing to bust a lung if Kane's looking for an option. Lamela and Townsend in particular always want the ball to feet so they are easy to read/snuff out.

 

[yankspurs]

Obviously Dembele wouldnt have bombed forward if Mason was. It would have left us exposed in the center of the pitch for a potential counter attack. That is what you dont want and if something happened, you would have slammed him then like you are now. We have 2 holding mids for that reason. 1 goes forward, 1 stays back. Maybe Dembele would have made that run or maybe not. You dont know. But it is incredibly unfair and just naive to rip him apart for staying in a deeper role. It wasnt laziness or anything. He did exactly what he was supposed to do. It doesnt take a rocket scientist to know this.

 

[DaSpurs]

Obviously Dembele wouldnt have bombed forward if Mason was. It would have left us exposed in the center of the pitch for a potential counter attack. That is what you dont want and if something happened, you would have slammed him then like you are now. We have 2 holding mids for that reason. 1 goes forward, 1 stays back. Maybe Dembele would have made that run or maybe not. You dont know. But it is incredibly unfair and just naive to rip him apart for staying in a deeper role. It wasnt laziness or anything. He did exactly what he was supposed to do. It doesnt take a rocket scientist to know this.

Mostly true, but he wasn't playing one of the deeper, holding roles. He was playing CAM, with Eriksen moved to the left. As an attacking mid in a side currently tied at nils at that point, ideally he could have done more than he did with the knowledge that someone would have recognized the runners and filled the spot(s). Not "should," but he certainly could have as the opportunity it could have presented was with far greater likelihood than a successful counterattack on the other end as a result of him not being there or covering for Mason.

I do think people are being too caught up though in that relative moment, that Mason moved and Dembele didn't. What's more important here is that you would never see such a run made by Dembele. Whether that's simply due to Dembele being lazier or being less mobile/agile, regardless it's this lack of movement from deep that has very much limited us since the departure of Modric.