Mousa Dembélé

[Real Mad Yid]

Absolutely love Dembele. Strong, powerful and a great dribbler; he can waltz past anybody effortlessly. His best position baffles us all but I am happy to see him playing further up the pitch. If we can sort out the middle and give him the freedom to stay further up, I think he will be a right handful this season. Very excited about the potential of having him attacking high up from the right, just hope he gets a decent run to prove his worth to the team.

Some fans have their doubts, but I just think we are a far better outfit with him playing.

 

[gibbs131]

I'm glad that he seems to be settling back in again, but I can't imagine him having a real strong year again for us.

He's hardly ever played there. Dembele recently admitted it was a newer position for him. Even when he did start there the handful of times under Sherwood, AVB and Poch, he ends up being a victim of his power/versatility because subs usually means he's put back into a DM role mid game. This happened again on the weekend.

The few (partial) games he has played further forward, he's always played well. He's never been a weak link.

I can't understand why you would watch what happened when Lamela was put there in the second half..along with the aftermath...That you would not imagine Dembele having a strong year there? The first half was proof positive that he is a rock on the right. We were so creative/solid with him pulling the strings with more power.

http://www.thetottenhamway.com/2015...about-leaving-midfielder-committed-to-spurs/?

“I never thought about leaving” – midfielder committed to Spurs

Dembele has been linked with a move away from Spurs this summer – understandable given that he started just one of the final 12 league games last season, the final day victory over Everton – but he says he never thought about leaving the Lane.

“Everybody speculated about [my future] because in the past I played quite a lot and then last year I didn’t play as much, so people are going to speculate – that’s the job of the press,” he told journalist Ben Pearce.

“But I never thought about leaving to be honest, even last year when it wasn’t perfect. I want to fight for my place and I want to be important for this club because I like to be here.

“I did a full pre-season, I’m happy about that. I’m happy that now the manager has given me confidence – I don’t know why now yes and last year no. But I’m not a player who tries to think a lot, to tire myself out.”

Speaking about his new role in the team, Dembele said he hoped to influence proceedings in an attacking way.

“It’s a new position for me. I try to think a lot about what I can do better. I think in an attacking role I can be more dangerous and get more shots off. I’ve started thinking about that a lot and if the manager gives me a chance to play a lot in this position I will try to do better and better and be more dangerous in an attacking way.

“In the past, at Alkmaar in Holland, I played on the right wing as well, and I did the same role as here. It’s not really a wing position, you’re coming inside so it’s more of a right midfielder, so I like this position as well.”

 

[SinghYid]

Though not entirely convinced ... yet, tbh, I'm quite excited about this new role.
Really hope that he adds more goals/assists this season.

 

[Bergmattsson]

Though not entirely convinced ... yet, tbh, I'm quite excited about this new role.
Really hope that he adds more goals/assists this season.

Mate, explain the GIF will ya? It's quality.

 

[SinghYid]

Mate, explain the GIF will ya? It's quality.

It's from 2 seasons ago.
We were hammering Southampton. We were still winning, but during one point of the game, Ade and Dembro were one-on-one with the GK. Dembro went for the finish ... and just missed it. And Ade vented out. But I think later on, Dembro assisted Ade for his second goal, so they were all happy again and stuff.

:ade:

 

[Bergmattsson]

It's from 2 seasons ago.
We were hammering Southampton. We were still winning, but during one point of the game, Ade and Dembro were one-on-one with the GK. Dembro went for the finish ... and just missed it. And Ade vented out. But I think later on, Dembro assisted Ade for his second goal, so they were all happy again and stuff.

:ade:

Haha, that does ring a bell. The GIF was quality regardless. "Mouuuuusaaa!!!!!!!"

 

[ILSpur]

He's hardly ever played there. Dembele recently admitted it was a new position for him. Even if he starts there the handful of times under Sherwood, AVB and Poch, he ends up being a victim of his power/versatility because subs usually means he's put back into a DM role mid game. This happened again on the weekend.

Gibbs, I'm thoroughly confused by you. You generally just click disagree when we communicate at all, but then you pull up a post from almost a month ago and decide to comment now, but whatever.

I wasn't necessarily commenting on him playing on the right, just in a more offensive role. Under AVB, he was pushed up almost into a CAM role, which was okay but didn't suit him really well. My comments were basically because I feel that although he is a talented player, I really struggle with how he fits into the team and makes us that much better.

For me, he's not dynamic enough on the flanks to stretch a defense, he's confident in controlling the ball but almost never puts in a well placed cutting pass to split open a back line that we need in a CAM, and he's not aggressive enough for a CDM role. With that, I just wonder how he best fits into the squad.

The few (partial) games he has played further forward, he's always played well. He's never been a weak link.

That's the problem for me. We always talk about him not being the weak link, but we almost never talk about him being the MotM or even being one of the outstanding players. He plays well enough that he can work his way into the team, but he doesn't offer us so much that I would automatically add him to the team sheet on a weekly basis.

I can't understand why you would watch what happened when Lamela was put there in the second half..along with the aftermath...That you would not imagine Dembele having a strong year there? The first half was proof positive that he is a rock on the right. We were so creative/solid with him pulling the strings with more power.

I never compared Dembele to Lamela, so I'm not sure why you brought it up. With the way he's played lately, almost anybody looks like an improvement to Lamela. Hell, I'd probably throw Townsend out there at the moment in fact.

I really hope that I'm wrong about him, but I just expect another season of good enough but not great performances out of him.

 

[gibbs131]

Gibbs, I'm thoroughly confused by you. You generally just click disagree when we communicate at all, but then you pull up a post from almost a month ago and decide to comment now, but whatever.

I wasn't necessarily commenting on him playing on the right, just in a more offensive role. Under AVB, he was pushed up almost into a CAM role, which was okay but didn't suit him really well. My comments were basically because I feel that although he is a talented player, I really struggle with how he fits into the team and makes us that much better.

For me, he's not dynamic enough on the flanks to stretch a defense, he's confident in controlling the ball but almost never puts in a well placed cutting pass to split open a back line that we need in a CAM, and he's not aggressive enough for a CDM role. With that, I just wonder how he best fits into the squad.

That's the problem for me. We always talk about him not being the weak link, but we almost never talk about him being the MotM or even being one of the outstanding players. He plays well enough that he can work his way into the team, but he doesn't offer us so much that I would automatically add him to the team sheet on a weekly basis.

I never compared Dembele to Lamela, so I'm not sure why you brought it up. With the way he's played lately, almost anybody looks like an improvement to Lamela. Hell, I'd probably throw Townsend out there at the moment in fact.

I really hope that I'm wrong about him, but I just expect another season of good enough but not great performances out of him.

It was on the previous page so I didn't know it was a month old. My bad.

Still, only 2 games have gone and we were more creative than Utd in their own stadium and the first half on the weekend we were mustard. It was only when we took him away from the right and put Lamela there did we fall apart. He was dynamic enough to put MS's dick in the dirt.

Essentially he's only played there 90 mins this season. And he was the best midfielder in both cases along with Mason.

Dembele needs pace in front of him or next to him. Hopefully the new signing will help the dynamic aspect. One player can't have it all. If he did, Lev would have sold him.

Like I said, on the weekend it only fell apart when Poch MOVED him from the right and put Lamela there. IMO it would be madness to put anyone else there apart from a change of formation where you use Rose and Trippier as wingers.

Dembele's role is not a winger. He's a right sided midfielder that cuts in. The way we are currently set up, its a perfect role for him. I hope Poch starts with the same lineup again. he packed the midfield with power and steel and the op could not cope.

Dembele is a solid platform for attacks. If you put somoen with pace in front of Walker..You could get another Townsend, Lennon, Lamela cricket score chaos. Just because someone has more pace than Dembele, does not mean they can impact the team better than he does. If there was ever a nailed on player to start, it's Dembele. So underrated...It's fun to watch his opposite number being snuffed out like they are not there.

 

[Dutch]

Have to completely agree with ILSpur, I'm struggling to find the promise in Dembele that some many one here seem to have. He certainly had a decent performance against Stoke and I think he can still be a valuable member of the squad but I just don't see the upside. I see a talented player that is more or less content playing keep away. I love his physical presence when on the ball but he doesn't strike me as a natural attacker and he is so inconstant in his effort levels. Don't get me wrong I don't think he's a weak link and deserves blame for the last two fixtures but I really struggle seeing his upside in this squad. His biggest and most consistent threat is physically bullying people of the ball and holding it. This might sound crazy but considering the lack depth at striker could he serve as a holding man up top when Kane needs rest. I'm out of ideas for this guy because DM and on the flank don't seem to be his strong suite but that's just my opinion.

 

[Team Tanguy]

As his self declared biggest groupie i'm glad he's been playing well and seems to have convinced Poch that he deserves to start. Big change that because even i was ready to let him go, if you are that talented than you need to show more. Early days but he's been pretty good so far, i only fear that his hip injury is a lot worse than they claim. He always seems one minute away from asking for a substitution.

Biggest groupie you say? Triple threat match between you me and gibbs131 for that title tbh. :carrollwtf:
I for one was never ready to let him go

 

[BAE32]

Dembele is fantastic at keeping the ball and taking pressure off other players. He is strong and can cover a decent amount of ground. Unfortunately I don't think it warrants him playing up at RW position when we desparately need to create more goal scoring opportunities for players like Kane and Chadli; Eriksen can't do it all himself.

Having Dembele there makes sense against teams who are going to keep it tight and be hard to break down, but if there is space available we have to go for a more attacking lineup. Dembele's assist and goal numbers are always very poor for a player who looks like a god on the ball. If he could look up and pick out a through ball every now and then he would be fantastic. Unfortunately from his skillset and what I've seen from him at his time at Spurs I think he hasn't got the all around game to be truly comfortable anywhere on the pitch. Needs improvement to passing and shooting if he wants to play further forward, needs improvement on discipline and tackling to play further back.

Of course he always comes out and plays amazingly well 1 out of 10 games but that is just Dembele.

 

[Team Tanguy]

It's from 2 seasons ago.
We were hammering Southampton. We were still winning, but during one point of the game, Ade and Dembro were one-on-one with the GK. Dembro went for the finish ... and just missed it. And Ade vented out. But I think later on, Dembro assisted Ade for his second goal, so they were all happy again and stuff.

:ade:

It was against Swansea

Rose assisted Ade for the last goal, but Ade still celebrated with Dembele. Probably said "pass it like that you cunt".
After the game Ade said he asked Moose why he didn't pass, and Moose said because he thought he would score, which Ade said was fair enough.

Not that any of this matters.

 

[gibbs131]

Dembele is fantastic at keeping the ball and taking pressure off other players. He is strong and can cover a decent amount of ground. Unfortunately I don't think it warrants him playing up at RW position when we desparately need to create more goal scoring opportunities for players like Kane and Chadli; Eriksen can't do it all himself.

Having Dembele there makes sense against teams who are going to keep it tight and be hard to break down, but if there is space available we have to go for a more attacking lineup. Dembele's assist and goal numbers are always very poor for a player who looks like a god on the ball. If he could look up and pick out a through ball every now and then he would be fantastic. Unfortunately from his skillset and what I've seen from him at his time at Spurs I think he hasn't got the all around game to be truly comfortable anywhere on the pitch. Needs improvement to passing and shooting if he wants to play further forward, needs improvement on discipline and tackling to play further back.

Of course he always comes out and plays amazingly well 1 out of 10 games but that is just Dembele.

His creative stats are poor as he was played as a DM for 95% of his Spurs games. The onus back then was for Soldado, Ade, Defoe, Townsend, Lamela, Eriksen, Lennon, Holtby and wingbacks to create and score.

If he played all season in the position he's in now, and played a whole season and had his stats, I'd be the first to get on his back (like I did with Towsnend, Lennon and co)

 

[DeeGee]

He's hardly ever played there. Dembele recently admitted it was a newer position for him. Even when he did start there the handful of times under Sherwood, AVB and Poch, he ends up being a victim of his power/versatility because subs usually means he's put back into a DM role mid game. This happened again on the weekend.

The few (partial) games he has played further forward, he's always played well. He's never been a weak link.

I can't understand why you would watch what happened when Lamela was put there in the second half..along with the aftermath...That you would not imagine Dembele having a strong year there? The first half was proof positive that he is a rock on the right. We were so creative/solid with him pulling the strings with more power.

http://www.thetottenhamway.com/2015...about-leaving-midfielder-committed-to-spurs/?

“I never thought about leaving” – midfielder committed to Spurs

Dembele has been linked with a move away from Spurs this summer – understandable given that he started just one of the final 12 league games last season, the final day victory over Everton – but he says he never thought about leaving the Lane.

“Everybody speculated about [my future] because in the past I played quite a lot and then last year I didn’t play as much, so people are going to speculate – that’s the job of the press,” he told journalist Ben Pearce.

“But I never thought about leaving to be honest, even last year when it wasn’t perfect. I want to fight for my place and I want to be important for this club because I like to be here.

“I did a full pre-season, I’m happy about that. I’m happy that now the manager has given me confidence – I don’t know why now yes and last year no. But I’m not a player who tries to think a lot, to tire myself out.”

Speaking about his new role in the team, Dembele said he hoped to influence proceedings in an attacking way.

“It’s a new position for me. I try to think a lot about what I can do better. I think in an attacking role I can be more dangerous and get more shots off. I’ve started thinking about that a lot and if the manager gives me a chance to play a lot in this position I will try to do better and better and be more dangerous in an attacking way.

“In the past, at Alkmaar in Holland, I played on the right wing as well, and I did the same role as here. It’s not really a wing position, you’re coming inside so it’s more of a right midfielder, so I like this position as well.”

Don't think he was put back into a DM role at all v Stoke.
The game I watched Bentaleb came on for Mason and Dier stayed at DM. Lamela replaced Kane and took Dembele's place on the right.
Dembele then went to where Kane was playing. In the so called No10 role.
Far form a DM role.
Still needs to let go off the ball quicker and tends to be too left sided and miss quick passes on the right side in favour of moving it to the left.
He's the most frustrating player ever to wear a Spurs shirt. So much talent but rarely produces any end product.
I just hope the other midfielders start scoring this season. Having only 2 out of 7 regular midfielders scoring is not too good.

 

[DeeGee]

It's from 2 seasons ago.
We were hammering Southampton. We were still winning, but during one point of the game, Ade and Dembro were one-on-one with the GK. Dembro went for the finish ... and just missed it. And Ade vented out. But I think later on, Dembro assisted Ade for his second goal, so they were all happy again and stuff.

:ade:

Swansea?

 

[DeeGee]

His creative stats are poor as he was played as a DM for 95% of his Spurs games. The onus back then was for Soldado, Ade, Defoe, Townsend, Lamela, Eriksen, Lennon, Holtby and wingbacks to create and score.

If he played all season in the position he's in now, and played a whole season and had his stats, I'd be the first to get on his back (like I did with Towsnend, Lennon and co)

Not really, Sandro and Parker were the defensive midfielders.

Dembele played on the right of a 442 at Fulham sometimes, but mostly just off the striker ( like the game v us) in a 442 in his last year at Fulham. He still only managed 2 goals. and a couple of assists.
He was never a high scoring AM when we bought him.

 

[ILSpur]

It was on the previous page so I didn't know it was a month old. My bad.

Still, only 2 games have gone and we were more creative than Utd in their own stadium and the first half on the weekend we were mustard. It was only when we took him away from the right and put Lamela there did we fall apart. He was dynamic enough to put MS's dick in the dirt.

Essentially he's only played there 90 mins this season. And he was the best midfielder in both cases along with Mason.

Dembele needs pace in front of him or next to him. Hopefully the new signing will help the dynamic aspect. One player can't have it all. If he did, Lev would have sold him.

Like I said, on the weekend it only fell apart when Poch MOVED him from the right and put Lamela there. IMO it would be madness to put anyone else there apart from a change of formation where you use Rose and Trippier as wingers.

At the moment, yes, I think he's our best option there but I still don't think that it's because he's providing us that spark. When going forward, most of the action is not coming through Dembele. Against United, anything happening on the right was mostly due to Walker overlapping along the flank, otherwise everything moved up through the middle. Against Stoke, almost all of the movement and attacking threats came along the left. He was integral in that he helped us control the ball and lock up the right a bit, but there's really very little that he's offered thus far that helps us on the attack.

Again, it's not that he was bad or put in poor performances, it's just he seems like we're running him out there not because of how great he's performing but rather that the other options are so poor.

Dembele's role is not a winger. He's a right sided midfielder that cuts in. The way we are currently set up, its a perfect role for him. I hope Poch starts with the same lineup again. he packed the midfield with power and steel and the op could not cope.

Dembele is a solid platform for attacks. If you put somoen with pace in front of Walker..You could get another Townsend, Lennon, Lamela cricket score chaos. Just because someone has more pace than Dembele, does not mean they can impact the team better than he does. If there was ever a nailed on player to start, it's Dembele. So underrated...It's fun to watch his opposite number being snuffed out like they are not there.

I get your point, but it was just infuriating last year to watch us struggle to get forward on attack at times and break down a defense. Pace obviously isn't the most important thing, so I'm just not looking for a fast winger, but I was originally excited about Lamela because I thought that he added another creative and pacy threat to our offense. It turns out that was a pipe dream, but I still don't think that Dembele offers us an attacking threat, which is something that we cannot do without.

 

[NorseYid]

Sandro. Blast from the past. Is he still injured?

 

[S.L.R]

"I am not a player that likes to think much, tiring myself out"

Yeah, it sure is tiring. Doing all that thinking and stuff

 

[gibbs131]

Not really, Sandro and Parker were the defensive midfielders.

Dembele played on the right of a 442 at Fulham sometimes, but mostly just off the striker ( like the game v us) in a 442 in his last year at Fulham. He still only managed 2 goals. and a couple of assists.
He was never a high scoring AM when we bought him.

Heat maps and Dembele saying this attacking position is new to him along with dozens of threads showing him as a DM in match threads contradicts you. Dembele averaged a shot at goal every 2 games. He was a DM.