What's new

Ex-Player Watch Player Watch: Mousa Dembele

dontsalebale

Active Member
May 12, 2011
441
571
Barely starting games, whilst being available since the start of the season, one good game in the last 5 months and his demise is greatly exaggerated ? Not sure it has to be honest D.
Your bias against old Dembers is becoming tedious as you struggle to Acknowledge that his strengths contribute so much to the better performances we have strung together over the last 4 years. Go on surprise yourself give him 20 % of the credit he undoubtedly deserves.
 

ralvy

AVB my love
Jun 26, 2012
2,505
4,603
Barely starting games, whilst being available since the start of the season, one good game in the last 5 months and his demise is greatly exaggerated ? Not sure it has to be honest D.

At least he's fit enough to play, unlike Winks...
 

Donki

Has a "Massive Member" Member
May 14, 2007
14,451
18,966
Have to say he was incredibly infuriating yesterday, and how the hell he wasn't booked in the first half is unbelievable. Yes he is brilliant at keeping the ball and gliding past players but his passing was so slow, we need more players with vision, and more so balls, to play a one touch pass.
 
Last edited:

dagraham

Well-Known Member
Sep 20, 2005
19,115
46,080
Have to say he was incredibly infuriating yesterday, and how the hell he wasn't booked in the first half is unbelievable. Yes he is brilliant at keeping the ball and gliding past players but his passing was so slow, we need more players with vision and more so balls to play a one touch pass.

The frustrating thing was last week against Everton he was releasing the ball much earlier.
 

dagraham

Well-Known Member
Sep 20, 2005
19,115
46,080
Have to say he was incredibly infuriating yesterday, and how the hell he wasn't booked in the first half is unbelievable. Yes he is brilliant at keeping the ball and gliding past players but his passing was so slow, we need more players with vision and more so balls to play a one touch pass.

This, and it goes way beyond Dembele. Most of our players take far too long to get the ball under control and decide what to do with it.
 

Donki

Has a "Massive Member" Member
May 14, 2007
14,451
18,966
This, and it goes way beyond Dembele. Most of our players take far too long to get the ball under control and decide what to do with it.

I said in another thread, the build up to the late Kane miss was brilliant, direct and simple quick passing. Its nothing flash.
 

EastLondonYid

Well-Known Member
Jan 26, 2010
7,837
16,145
Everyone having a pop at Moussa yesterday, he wasn't great...but.....

He wasn't exactly helped playing alongside the majority of the team way way underperforming....
 

Donki

Has a "Massive Member" Member
May 14, 2007
14,451
18,966
Everyone having a pop at Moussa yesterday, he wasn't great...but.....

He wasn't exactly helped playing alongside the majority of the team way way underperforming....

I very rarely have a pop at anyone but he was bad, did you watch the game? I am not being patronizing here btw.
 

EastLondonYid

Well-Known Member
Jan 26, 2010
7,837
16,145
I very rarely have a pop at anyone but he was bad, did you watch the game? I am not being patronizing here btw.


Never mind did i watch the game, stupid question...

Did you read my post more to the point...i said he wasn't great....and there were worse...whats the problem?

He wasn't great and there REALLY were worse
 

talkshowhost86

Mod-Moose
Staff
Oct 2, 2004
48,105
47,061
I think the way we set up yesterday meant that Dembele was being asked to do a role that he isn't comfortable with these days...i.e. get forwards and knit the play between defence and attack.

I think he's now better sitting deeper and covering, before every now and again bringing the ball forwards, so when he's then paired with Dier we have quite a similar pairing.

I actually think our midfield options are quite badly balanced on this front. I think Dier and Dembele can be excellent holding midfielders, and whilst Wanyama does get about the pitch a lot more, his focus has always primarily been defensive rather than attacking.

I think we've really missed Winks in recent weeks as currently it's taking an age to get the ball into our attacking players, and with Winks out nobody else really fulfills that role.

It's something I've thought we need to look at for a while, and it was particularly noticeable with no Eriksen to drop back and perform that role.

We need another midfielder capable of linking defence and attack, and I'm not convinced that's the role for Dembele these days.
 

Donki

Has a "Massive Member" Member
May 14, 2007
14,451
18,966
Everyone having a pop at Moussa yesterday, he wasn't great...but.....

He wasn't exactly helped playing alongside the majority of the team way way underperforming....

I think it was Dembele seen so much of the ball played so many passes but only created one chance, he was our play maker, he was so slow to release the ball. His discipline was also terrible.
 

EastLondonYid

Well-Known Member
Jan 26, 2010
7,837
16,145
I think it was Dembele seen so much of the ball played so many passes but only created one chance, he was our play maker, he was so slow to release the ball. His discipline was also terrible.


Which = he wasn't great in real money.
 

Japhet

Well-Known Member
Aug 30, 2010
19,232
57,389
Dembele always draws at least one player to him when he has the ball and that gives a player like Eriksen a bit more space. Our problem is that our movement off the ball isn't good enough and Dembele often holds onto the ball as a result. He's not a long range passer either. I also think we're missing Winks at the moment because he's pretty good at finding little bits of space and making clever passes (although recently he's been passing sideways far too much). With Dembele alongside Dier in CM we simply don't have that versatility and the forwards aren't using movement enough. For me, Dele is the main culprit at the moment for being too conservative and too predictable.
 

Cravenspurs

Well-Known Member
Jul 31, 2011
2,864
3,680
Dembele is a puzzle that I have yet to solve as an armchair scout. He has all the ability in the world, but still leaves me scratching my head as to where he fits in the team.

Is he a DM?

He lacks the defensive abilities to be a complete DM like Wanyama, but his ball carrying skills are perfectly suited for the role of the player that takes the ball off the back 2 or 3. A DM in the offensive sense is everything Dembele is: comfortable under pressure, a good passer at short lengths to link play, and has the ability to beat a press from deep. The defensive part is where he lacks and thus isn't a true DM. Vic has him beat in every defensive category and is thus the better option.

Is he a B2B Mid?

This may be his most natural position as he again can beat people and break the lines with the ball at his feet. He can receive the ball under pressure. He is an outlet players are confident in finding when looking for pass in the middle third. His defensive contribution is pretty decent in this area as he uses his burst and strength to win balls against other B2B mids that are attempting to start their attacks. But where he falls short, and drastically short is with his ability to release the ball quickly. The great B2B mids move the ball by passing and cutting the lines. Moose just can't do this. Our best option as of now is Winks.

Is he an AM/Front 3?

When Dele first got on the pitch there were a couple games where Dembele played up the field and for me that is where most of his strengths shine. He is an incredible presser and when unleashed up field he is able to win the ball back closer to the goal and use his dribbling ability to get into the box. He started out as a striker and continued to move further back as time went on. But for me he is a quicker thinker when he is forced to stay up the pitch and purely look at the goal verse 3/4's of the pitch. With less space in front of him, he is forced to make quicker decisions. Is he the best option we have up front? No, but I think this is where his strengths are most utilized.

That is my armchair analysis. I have been saying for years that he gets lost in the midfield and hampers our ability to move the ball quickly. This is just my take as I know this isn't the popular opinion on these boards. He is one hell of a talent, but I feel he is best suited up the pitch where his mental checklist is shortened.

@dontsalebale why spam this out of curiosity? Is it clickbait? Is it sensationalized? If you disagree click the disagree rating, but I don't see how this is Spamming the thread when it is an opinion.
 
Last edited:
Top