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Spurs Dont Need A New Number 10

lazarus

Well-Known Member
Sep 10, 2004
6,101
96
Who needs a new number 10? Certainly not Spurs.

Frankly I'm glad we didn't waste our money on Willian, as we didn't need him. We have a player that's equally dangerous, quick and talented and who scores more goals per game to boot!

'Contentious' you may say, 'stupid' you may mutter...but the fact is we do have one of the best attacking midfielders in England, possibly the world, playing at our club at the moment.

No, I'm not talking about Sigurdsson. Who is in my opinion an excellent addition to our squad and brings many qualities.

I'm not talking about Holtby either. Who is also talented and an excellent option to have, at a bargain price (well done Levy)

I've even heard talk of Paulinho filling that role at the lane. I don't think so; though he would do a great job (that guy could probably do a great job in any part of the pitch, but that's another story).

Ladies and gentlemen; I have the pleasure to introduce you to our very own Wayne Rooney, Willian and Yaya Toure all rolled into one, the multi talented and supremely capable: Mousa Dembélé.

"Now hold your horses!!" I hear some of you cry. But wait...check out these points.

Dembélé has scored almost 60 goals in 335 professional appearances.

He was primarily used by AZ Alkmaar and Willem II as an AM and led AZ to the Eredivisie playing in that role. As well as for the Belgian national team.

Its only been since his move to WHL that he's been primarily deployed a bit further back, restricting his attacking forays. Yet we've seen glimpses of what he can do when played further forward last season, in games against Lyon and Liverpool away in particular, as well as Villa at home and Man Utd at home when he waltzed through the Utd defence to set up Dempsey, who's shot was saved by De Gea.

People forget that Dembélé was named in the Guardian's Top 100 players in the world 8 months ago as selected by a panel of 11 world wide experts http://www.theguardian.com/football/datablog/2012/dec/24/world-best-footballers-top-100-list . The only other Spurs player to appear in the list was Bale (and since then Paulinho has also joined).

I fully expect, with the midfield additions we've made during this transfer window, we'll see a lot more of Dembélé played further up the pitch as we did on Sunday against Swansea. With the presence of Sandro, Capoue and Paulinho; I don't expect Dembélé to sit on the bench. No, he'll play the big games behind Soldado, and he'll create havoc.

He may not score as many goals at the moment as some, but I fully expect him to develop over this season, terrorise defences and create chances for himself and others.



Spurs don't need a new number 10, we just need a replacement for Bale when/if he goes (good job there too Levy) and Lamela (or someone like him) will fill that role.

In AVB & Levy we trust.

COYS

(Originally posted this in Spurs chat, but realised its more of an article, enjoy... I hope)
 

JamieDaCosta

Well-Known Member
Nov 14, 2003
1,954
1,243
I'd like to see Dembele deployed in that role more often, I believe he would really flourish there, lets put it like this....

If we don't sign a specific player to play there then perhaps it will be a good thing and we'll see Dembele become an even greater player than he already is :)
 

balalasaurus

big black member
Dec 29, 2012
2,065
3,101
Lol at Dembele as our no.10. Sorry but he just doesn't have the vision or reactions for that role. I will however agree that a no.10 isnt really a priority for our style of play. If it was AVB/Baldini and co. would have made that no.1 on our to-sign list. TW almost over and I haven't seen one come in yet and honestly don't think one will. Besides we've got Carroll ;)
 

Roynie

Well-Known Member
Oct 2, 2007
3,116
3,882
Agree about TC, undecided on Mousa for that particular role.
 

N17Jack

Well-Known Member
Jun 11, 2007
1,258
1,306
I'd like to see Dembele deployed in that role more often, I believe he would really flourish there, lets put it like this....

If we don't sign a specific player to play there then perhaps it will be a good thing and we'll see Dembele become an even greater player than he already is :)

I don't believe he can finish well enough for that position to be honest
 

lazarus

Well-Known Member
Sep 10, 2004
6,101
96
Lol at Dembele as our no.10. Sorry but he just doesn't have the vision or reactions for that role.

What kind of reactions do you think a number 10 requires?

With regard to vision; its a bit hard for anyone to pick a pass through two banks of four. And with the way we play; more and more teams are parking the bus.

Therefore you need someone in that position thats going to glide past his marker and thereby force their defenders to step to challenge him, this leaves space for strikers to move into and thus creates chances.

While i like Tom Carroll; I'm afraid he's not that kind of player. I suspect he's not going to get many chances in the premier league this season; however he should get plenty of game time in the Europa League and League cup, where opposition teams are less likely to park the bus.
 

JimmyG2

SC Supporter
Dec 7, 2006
15,014
20,779
I would like to agree, it would save us £25/30 million for a start.
He is third choice in midfield behind Paulinho and Capoue at the moment
and possibly fourth when Sandro gets fully fit so it would help if we could shift him forward.
He is not incisive enough for the no 10, too slow moving and slow thinking.
Keeps the ball well and glides past opponents but then doesn't do very much with it.
Play comes to a bit of a standstill once it disappears into the Dembele black hole.
and his shooting is not the best either.
Not impressed with him so far this season.
 

balalasaurus

big black member
Dec 29, 2012
2,065
3,101
What kind of reactions do you think a number 10 requires?

With regard to vision; its a bit hard for anyone to pick a pass through two banks of four. And with the way we play; more and more teams are parking the bus.

Therefore you need someone in that position thats going to glide past his marker and thereby force their defenders to step to challenge him, this leaves space for strikers to move into and thus creates chances.

While i like Tom Carroll; I'm afraid he's not that kind of player. I suspect he's not going to get many chances in the premier league this season; however he should get plenty of game time in the Europa League and League cup, where opposition teams are less likely to park the bus.
Excuse me if I'm wrong but I think a no.10 needs to be quick to move the ball forward once they receive it. On a number of occasions I've seen Dembele stay on the ball longer than he should simply because he doesn't have the positional awareness to know where his team mates are and subsequently pass the ball quickly to them. Yes a 10 needs to draw out the opposition but that isn't solely for the strikers. It's about creating space on any part of the pitch that can then be exploited to produce a result hence the 10 is the fulcrum of the team. Moussa unfortunately performs neither role which is why I find it hard to believe that anyone would consider him to be our 10.
I say Carroll because while he's young he clearly is technically capable and not to mention the fact that he seems to know where his teammates will be (most of the time - he's still only getting used to the big stage) which is key when looking to link play and form an attack. Besides spending money is all well and good but lets not forget that some of the best teams got where they are on home grown talent. With the facilities and training we offer I see no reason why we shouldn't be able to trust our own product.
 

theShiznit

Well-Known Member
Jul 26, 2004
17,799
23,813
I feel Dembele will be marginalised if as expected Eriksen and Lamela come in plus another striker who can play in the front three.

He is not good enough a passer, indecisive and slow to release, so feel he will be backup to the midfield 2 mostly and if Capoue, Sandro, Paulinho and Holtby are going to get most games there he will struggle to get in. In the ACM role i would put; Paulinho, Chadli, Eriksen, Siggy and Lamela, all ahead of Dembele.

Maybe he could get a look in at RWF or even up top as he is very good on the ball?

Shame because he has some great attributes, but unfortunately passing and quick decisions are not on the list.

Unfortunately with signing lots of players there will undoubtedly be casualties.
 

spurs-r-us

Well-Known Member
Aug 21, 2008
2,201
3,017
To the OP - I simply can't agree. Dembele is far better deeper, I don't think he's shown the vision and technique to play such a precise role.

To those who think Dembele doesn't have a guaranteed place in the side - I also can't agree. He may not be as polished in the tackle as Sandro and Capoue, or as evidently involved as Paulinho, but Dembele brings a unique attribute in his fantastic dribbling that no other top club has. He breaks down moves and retains possession by running through the midfield and supplying our inside forwards with smaller balls into their feet.

We look a far better side with him in it.
 

Spurs1960

Well-Known Member
Jul 26, 2011
2,424
1,220
Dembele isn't a creative midfielder, he's a link midfielder, signing a creative attacking midfielder as an upgrade on Sigurdsson was essential, thankfully we now have Eriksen.

Paulinho was our furthest forward against Swansea, not Dembele. His job is to bring from defense, defensive midfield to the attacking midfield and then join in, it's a role he does very well. It's not always eye catching enough for some but it's an essential element of our system.
 

Chris Finch

Well-Known Member
Aug 14, 2012
1,769
7,136
Couldnt disagree with this any more than I already do. Dembele is not good enough to be in our first team when everyone is fit.
He is behind Paulinho, Sandro and capoue in the deeper positions and behind Eriksen and Holtby further up imo.
He is way too predictable
 

dagraham

Well-Known Member
Sep 20, 2005
19,115
46,080
Sometimes I wonder if I'm watching a Spurs in a parallel universe. The idea of Dembele playing as creative attacking midfielder is just wrong.

Dembele strarted out as striker and has been progressively moved backwards down the pitch throughout his career, including Fulham. Is this a coincidence? Of course not. Its because he does not have natural goal scoring tendencies, nor does he play with this head up and have the vision to play others in on goal.

What he is brilliant at (as well as his physical attributes) is retaining the ball in tight areas and taking others out of the game with his dribbling. Unfortunately, when he gets into space after some quite brilliant dribbling he has no idea what to do with it other than play the obvoius pass.
 

Kiedis

Well-Known Member
Aug 4, 2013
2,926
8,490
I think his attributes are best utilised in a more conventional midfield role, or even as a holding midfielder.
When he played in a duo with Parker, he was always the most sensible and disiplined of the two when it came to positioning.
 
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