Ex-Player Watch Player Watch: Mousa Dembele

[allpaths]

He was never finished. Some people are way to quick to jump to conclusions.

bang on and those fans spouting such nonsense should be ashamed of themselves. Their the same lot that want to run Danny Rose out of the club, because they expect unquestionable loyalty from all of the players at all times. Hypocrites.

 

[Trix]

He was never finished. Some people are way to quick to jump to conclusions.[/QUOTE

His injuries and fitness are a concern and have been for some time. He can't play 3 games in 7 days anymore at a high standard.

bang on and those fans spouting such nonsense should be ashamed of themselves. Their the same lot that want to run Danny Rose out of the club, because they expect unquestionable loyalty from all of the players at all times. Hypocrites.

What a load of crap!

I don't expect unquestionable loyalty from any player. What i do expect is the same level of professionalism I would expect from any employee, and that is to keep any issues they might have in house. They are doing a job they get paid extremely well for, and if they were to leave at the clubs request they are hugely compensated for doing so. I'd happily see Dembele at the club in another capacity when his playing time is done. That is loyalty to a servant of the club, not playing them when it is no longer the best option for the team.

 

[allpaths]

What a load of crap!

I don't expect unquestionable loyalty from any player. What i do expect is the same level of professionalism I would expect from any employee, and that is to keep any issues they might have in house. They are doing a job they get paid extremely well for, and if they were to leave at the clubs request they are hugely compensated for doing so. I'd happily see Dembele at the club in another capacity when his playing time is done. That is loyalty to a servant of the club, not playing them when it is no longer the best option for the team.

Totally missed my point, I dont care if you think Rose should go, what he did was extremely shitty. But as a fan you cant bang on about how Rose is a total snake and should be burned at the stake for his disloyality, then want to ship Dembele off at the first inclining of his decline. Fans want loyalty from the players I get that, but it's a two way street and a lot of fans didn't hesitate to ship Mousa off to the old age home.

There's a difference if the club thinks he no longer fit enough to do his job and fans. He clearly still has a lot to offer in the squad, Poch and his team just need to manage him carefully.

 

[OPModric]

Along with eriksen and Kane our most important player.

If he had more guile in the final third he'd be a superstar. Still love him.

He would be a superstar with the right recognition. In PL only Kante is on the same level the last couple of seasons.

 

[kcmei]

With his strength on the ball I think he can even play center forward

 

[rocklink]

Only if he could know to release the ball more faster..

 

[Griff001]

With his strength on the ball I think he can even play center forward

He started his career as a striker I think...

 

[lol]

The current set of “mid-table teams” is Burnley, Leicester, Bournemouth, Everton, Watford and Brighton. Are you suggesting that this is Dembele’s level? Have you seen any of these teams play this season?

he would be a star in those teams, exactly what i said in my previous post.

I'm all for a healthy debate. The starting point is all important as to whether it possible to have a sensible one. You have started off with an extreme view that he is not a top class midfielder. That is simply not true as you acknowledged in your later posts. You need to accept that when old Dembers is on it he influences our play and makes us a better team.

i dont get why saying dembele isnt top class isnt a sensible argument. top class to me in prime yaya toure, prime stevie g, luka modric. i genuinely believe he is not that level. when dembele is on it he DEFINITELY makes us better, but thats also because a top form dembele is better than a top form winks. dembele IS our best ball carrier option, but he is not top class. just because hes the best in his role in our team doesnt automatically make him top class.

 

[dontsalebale]

Great post. The truth is he will never be a top class midfielder because he lacks the most crucial aspect in every cm role. He will always be a jack of all trades, a star in a mid table team but will never make it as a bonafide starter in a top team

This is where the discussion started. You then start talking about Modric et al, I have seen him bully Yaya on a number of occasions. Whatever your trying to sell I'm not buying it.

 

[Vincent30]

I never get the.... he doesn't move the ball forward quick enough. I would say the opposite, most of the time he pings the ball forward to either the FB out wide or one of our AM, i always hear he moves the ball too slow but i have never quite got that comment.

Really hope he stays fit for the run in, not been at the races the first half of the year. But the old Dembele is starting to come back and on his day there really isn't another CM in the league i would have over him.

 

[lol]

This is where the discussion started. You then start talking about Modric et al, I have seen him bully Yaya on a number of occasions. Whatever your trying to sell I'm not buying it.

every player has a role when they play a certain position.

for eg.
defensive midfielder - most important job : ball winning, shielding. bonuses would be long passes, long shots,
b2b midfielder - most important job : classic ball carrier, transit from defense to attack, surge the team forward
playmaker CM - most important job : make plays ( lol ) bonuses would be tackling, long shots etc.

dembele is the closest to a classic b2b, except a top class b2b needs to first be able to surge the team forward with either runs or his passes, extra man in defense and attack, do abit of everything. dembele is clearly in the dribbling/run category but he drags on just a tad too much, if he can just release the ball quicker and pass the baton to the recieving 10, that'll make him closer to top class.

currently hes not at wanyama level of defending. not gerrard level of B2B, not modric level of playmaking, precisely why i say hes a jack of all trades, but master of none that will solidify him as a genuine top class.

theres 2 way to be top class imo, 1 is to excel at what you do( see roles above) or be pretty darn fucking good at everything, aka stevie g b2b style. dembele imo is good at everything, but great at nothing. ok maybe great at dribbling past players but it means nothing if you dont finish the play right, aka aaron lennon

 

[Griff001]

IMO Gerrard was never a top central midfielder. A top AM definitely, but not CM. He always used to look out of place playing in a CM2, defensively he wasn't great. Personally I'd say Dembele is a better CM than Gerrard was. Gerrard was the better player, but not at CM. In my opinion!

 

[Shadydan]

IMO Gerrard was never a top central midfielder. A top AM definitely, but not CM. He always used to look out of place playing in a CM2, defensively he wasn't great. Personally I'd say Dembele is a better CM than Gerrard was. Gerrard was the better player, but not at CM. In my opinion!

Surely you mean DM, Gerrard in a 4-3-3 with no defensive responsibilities was a monster.

 

[Shadydan]

every player has a role when they play a certain position.

for eg.
defensive midfielder - most important job : ball winning, shielding. bonuses would be long passes, long shots,
b2b midfielder - most important job : classic ball carrier, transit from defense to attack, surge the team forward
playmaker CM - most important job : make plays ( lol ) bonuses would be tackling, long shots etc.

dembele is the closest to a classic b2b, except a top class b2b needs to first be able to surge the team forward with either runs or his passes, extra man in defense and attack, do abit of everything. dembele is clearly in the dribbling/run category but he drags on just a tad too much, if he can just release the ball quicker and pass the baton to the recieving 10, that'll make him closer to top class.

currently hes not at wanyama level of defending. not gerrard level of B2B, not modric level of playmaking, precisely why i say hes a jack of all trades, but master of none that will solidify him as a genuine top class.

theres 2 way to be top class imo, 1 is to excel at what you do( see roles above) or be pretty darn fucking good at everything, aka stevie g b2b style. dembele imo is good at everything, but great at nothing. ok maybe great at dribbling past players but it means nothing if you dont finish the play right, aka aaron lennon

How many box to box mids can beat players and dribble round them like they're cones from a standing start? He's unique in a way that he doesn't stand out as a typical CM would however he has his own traits which are unique that not many top CM's have so the trade off with not being able to thread a defense splitting pass is being able to float pass players as if they're not there. Maybe he shouldn't been compared to other players as a top CM, maybe we just need to realise that he's playing for a top side in Europe and is still recognises as many as one of the best midfielders in the league, that should tell you enough.

 

[bubble07]

Order of importance
Kane
Eriksen
Vertonghen
Alderweireld
Dembele

 

[dontsalebale]

How many box to box mids can beat players and dribble round them like they're cones from a standing start? He's unique in a way that he doesn't stand out as a typical CM would however he has his own traits which are unique that not many top CM's have so the trade off with not being able to thread a defense splitting pass is being able to float pass players as if they're not there. Maybe he shouldn't been compared to other players as a top CM, maybe we just need to realise that he's playing for a top side in Europe and is still recognises as many as one of the best midfielders in the league, that should tell you enough.

Good summary

 

[bat-chain]

I’m sure I've said this before but even when he can’t play anymore I want him coaching our players. We need to pass some of his magic down to our younger players if we can, be that Winks, Onomah, TOB or Skipp.

 

[diamond lights]

When we look back at the great players that have pulled on our shirt and have debates about who was the best and what does an all time 11 look like Dembele will probably not come into contention. That's such a pity.
I'm 50 and have seen some fantastic players over the years but Mousa is my favourite. If we could have got him when he was 20 and had Poch Dembele would have about 4 players of the year awards.
Cool guy too.

 

[Mr Pink]

For me Dembele and Eriksen are our most important players for us playing to top standard as a team.

Ones the muscle the other is the brain.

 

[JayB]

He was never finished. Some people are way to quick to jump to conclusions.

It's not that he's finished (he's not, you're right), it's that with his fitness travails we shouldn't be as reliant on him as we are. Imagine how much different our season would be looking right now had he not been fit -- as has been the case for the majority of the season, and frequently in seasons past -- over the past week.

Dembele is incredible when he's fit and on form and we don't need to get rid, but that does not mean that we also don't need to bring in another top class CM to play when he cannot, with a view to replacing him in the long run.