An ode to (soon-to-be departing) Mousa Dembele

On that note although I'm not a massive fan I'd take shaqiri or Rondon I'd take them both given they are better than what we have.

 

And while I'm at it keep Dembele and Toby regardless of their contract situations. We paid around 25m for the pair and for the service we have had is nothing. Keeping them would all but guarantee champs league football again which would bring about millions in comparison to what we paid. If they won't sign extending deals than they can have another year on a measly 80 grand while their biological clocks and legs tick down. We will get 25m back for Toby anyhow. What sort of deal will Toby get in 12 months time as a nearly 31 Yr old. Two year deal somewhere at best ?

 

Dembo will be a very tough man to replace no mistake.. I don't believe there is a better holding midfielder on the ball in world football.. further he's one of the very few Spurs who can consistently beat his man on the dribble and create space for his teammates

If there is a limitation to his game these days it's that he no longer seems to have the inclination or ability to press forward into the final third. Perhaps it is a tactical consideration from the manager.. most likely though it's a bit of both.. I'm not sure he has the engine or athleticism to cover the extra ground anymore

Of course that's not necessarily a flaw.. in an ideal world you would pair him with a more forward thinking partner in midfield and Dembo would be perfect.. unfortunately in Dier and Wanyama we don't have that

If we do try to replace him with another destroyer.. no matter how technical.. maintaining the standard will be extremely difficult. However an opportunity to improve the overall team dynamic is there.. if we can bring in a mid who can make forward runs from deep and has an end product

Needless to say the player in question needs to be of a very high quality

 

Well Poch got a Tune out of him at Saints...

I also think Shakiri in the right set up with better players around him could improve dramatically , potential is definitely there.

 

Big fan of JRod myself... was a massive coup for West Brom (and at a snip for £12m) last summer.

PL proven and can play anywhere across the front three — and knows Pochettino system well.

Talented player who's had some bad injuries at bad times... at one point I think he was nailed-on for an England spot at the 2014 World Cup, but tore his ACL in the May against Man City.

Would rather us spend £10/£15m on him than a player "who needs time to adapt" (a la N'Jie, N'Kodou) or a player totally unsuited to our style of play (Janssen; Llorente).

 

Shaqiri is an interesting proposition.. clearly he is a player of immense technical ability.. his absurd goal against Poland at the last Euros (amongst others) would suggest that

That said how you go from Bayern to Stoke is a mystery to me

I'm not sure he fits Poch's profile in terms of work rate/team ethic.. I wouldn't necessarily be against signing him but after bringing in Lucas we appear fairly loaded in the attacking midfield positions

 

Poor old Sonny.. he's a one man band for this South Korean team

The pressure upon him to perform looks to be unbearable

 

That's more like it!

 

Don't know what happened there sorry. Meant to say fully fit he gets around a goal every 3 games in epl football. Can't argue with that.. Shaqiri certainly doesn't fit our profile in terms of work ethic but he does price wise and can play anywhere behind a CF

 

As a top 4 side, as we have been these past 3 seasons I personally would not class the likes of Grealish, Shaqiri, Rondon, and Rodriquez as top 4 players or players to enhance the squad. They are what I see as "stagnating" buys! We need to either go big (Bale, Zaha, Modric, Martial etc) or continue to buy young potential (Gray @ Leicester, Loftus-Cheek, Wegli @ Dormund, NDombele @Lyon etc) who under Poch will develop into top 4 players therefore we are continuously progressing. These players or similar type of player in my opinion are the sort of players that will be pushing most in our starting 11! Not players just to bolster the squad and use when others are injured. We need proper competition for places if we are to progress and get the best out of everyone.

COYS!

 

He's a real conundrum. Doesn't shoot, doesn't score, ghosts past players in safe areas, is never a threat to the opposition, and yet......he is adored at WHL. How did that happen? A career blighted by massive underachievement. Thank you Mouse for not a lot and all the best.

 

Dembele does divide opinion! Mine is, if you added 10-12 goals a season to his game he then becomes world class because that would mean he would have advanced into opposition areas to really hurt them. I accept his ball retention, strength on the ball is exceptional but as you say bruski its in safe arrears and I get that can draw opponents and create space but the old Dembele 360 can also slow the attack down.

End of the day, would I rather have him in the Spurs squad than not, I would have him there all day long but looking forward I would also be happy to get 30mill for him and reinvest it in a young Loftus-Cheek or Ndombele for example.

 

You do realise what position he plays don't you? And our preferred formation?

He's a holding/defensive midfielder.. his responsibility is the centre of the park.. you will never get 10 goals from that position unless you're taking penalties.. double digit goal scoring midfielders like Lampard and Gerrard played completely different roles in completely different formations

In a 4231 (particularly how we play it) you'd like one of your holding mids to make the odd forward run if they have a sense for it and can cover the ground.. still it will be a rare occurence if they are not to neglect their main defensive priorities

Dembele is world class.. that's pretty much widely accepted among those in the football community

 

Don't deny what you are saying Anthony but if you follow the post I think there is an acceptance that signing anyone significant isn't going to happen. It's just going to be two or three squad players moved on to make space for a similar number of similar quality squad players to move in. In the meantime Harry Kane scores an hatrick meaning his price tag rises to joy of levy and Co for his inevitable impending sale. I think this summer could be when he leaves.

 

I get fans' gripe with Dembele not scoring enough, but he really isn't a 15-20 goal a season man. By expecting that from him, you're misdiagnosing his entire game.

As I've written, a lot of fans said that same of Modric before he left: "If he scored 10-15 goals a season, he'd be world-class..."

I think if you added 10-15 goals to any midfielders game in the PL they'd be labelled world-class, or at least up their with the best in the game.

 

The criticism of Modric was more understandable given he was the more adventurous of a proper central midfield pairing in a flat four

That said he was.. and still clearly is.. world class

Goals and assists as a viable measure of performance only gain credence the more forward and central you play

Judging a defensive midfielder by such stats is plain shortsighted.. Kanté won player of the year scoring one.. he plays in a different system but his responsibility is the same

Dembele scored 20 for club and country one season when he played as a forward in Holland.. while by his own admission he's not a natural goalscorer played in the appropriate position he knows how to put the ball in the net

 

Fran - I'm not sure I'd be looking at any of that crew at any time.

 

I think either I haven't described/explained my point not that well or you have misunderstood it Jam.
We all know the ability and job Dembele has and does for the team. Brilliant! But what you have described him as, is a water-carrier! That's fine most teams need them but that for me does not make him world class!
When was the last time you heard a commentator say "what a ball by Dembele" or "What a strike/goal by Dembele" You would argue that's not his job and I would agree, but any water-carrier in my book can never be described as world class! Dembele is very good at what he does and an asset to the team. But to label him world class without being able to see a pass to open up a defence or be able to strike on goal and score occasionally from outside the box then never for me could he be considered world class!

 

Modric was a exceptional play maker and did occasionally contribute to our goal tally. = World class.
Dembele (good as he is at what he does) is a water-carrier and therefore for me could never be described as world class!