Gutter Boy
Tim Sherwood
And how many did Dembele start last season? We are talking about Eriksen's cover
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General Transfer Rumour Discussion Thread
- Thread starter Sandman
- Start date
And how many did Dembele start last season? We are talking about Eriksen's cover
Gutter Boy
Tim Sherwood
I don't think we'll sell Ade (i.e. receive any fee)
It will be about how little of his wages can we continue paying
Robspur12
Nick Barmby
Just because you don't like dembele doesn't mean you should make up nonsense about him. Watch the Chelsea and Arsenal home games and you will see how balanced the midfield looks when he played. I think it highly unlikely he will be sold this window.
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Bedfordspurs
Mark Falco
Dembele is our most effective attacking player with the ball against decent sides
He should be played in the middle 3 with Mason and Bentelab a lot more before writing him off
It amazed me Poch couldn't see it last season
Well he did play him in those fixtures you mention, presumably for that reason - I'm not sure he's as useful against teams who sit back though
I
indianspur
Guest
That Suarez midfielder has looked horribly limited the few times i saw him. Id rather keep Stambouli if this is his replacement
Bedfordspurs
Mark Falco
No he isn't as effective in that role against the poorer sides I agree
But half the sides at least last year had a real go at us and he was badly under used with his strengths
Pirate55
The Last Man Standing 17/18
Exactly. Horses for courses. Against the better teams Dembeles name should be among the first on the team sheet imo.
Nigeyman
Chris Armstrong
sad.... but I know you are right.
Still freeing up even half of his wages means we have room to manoeuvre...Berahino may be content with 30-50k a week.
DublinSpur
Scott Parker
Pritchard has played a total of 7 minutes of football above Championship level in his entire career. You're not seriously comparing him with Dembele on those terms, are you?
I get you're a fan of Pritchard (I didn't watch Brentford last season so I don't have an opinion one way or the other). But dismissing Dembele because he didn't start many games last season, while at the same time championing a guy who has never started a single one in his life (at the level we're talking about) is odd.
For the record though; Dembele played 1841 minutes last season. That's more than 20 full games across all competitions. It's also a fair bit more than Paulinho (1387 minutes / 15+ matches) or Capoue (1282 minutes / 14+ matches) or Stambouli (1440 minutes / 16 matches). We've lost those three from midfield already this summer (assuming the stories about Stambouli are true). Plus we also need to make up for Lennon's 587 minutes* (6+ matches) and the 3 matches that Sandro and Holtby played early in the season.
Just because none of those players finished the season in the first team doesn't mean the time they did spend on the pitch can be conveniently ignored. So between Paulinho, Capoue, Stambouli, Sandro, Lennon and Holtby, we're losing guys that played 56 full matches between them.
I am mystified by anyone who can confidently state that two youngsters (Pritchard and Alli) - both of whom are untried at premier league level (let alone "challenging for top four" level) - are absolutely ready to handle 56 matches in a season between them, at the quality we need them to be. On top of that, you seem positively eager to lose Dembele also; leaving Pritchard and Alli having to bear the weight of 76 full matches between them.
I'm all for giving the youth a chance. It's working for us. But what you're suggesting is just reckless. It'll only take one of either Alli or Pritchard to fail to handle the pressure (or for Mason's level to drop) and we can pretty much say goodbye to the entire season. It's one thing to give the youth a chance; it's another thing to send them out there with no experienced leadership and little backup... and demand they succeed under the brightest spotlight in world sport.
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* I'm including Lennon in this because there's a lot of folks seem to think Pritchard would spend some time at least on the right wing if he were to be part of the first team.
Nicely broken down Dublin, never clocked the amount of game time our fringe players picked up - the numbers give a new perspective
I'm edging towards thinking Dembele will stay lately, these numbers certainly make a case for the importance of extra men need in the middle
I'm edging towards thinking Dembele will stay lately, these numbers certainly make a case for the importance of extra men need in the middle
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Dear GHod, no. Incredibly overrated and worth no more than half that.
DublinSpur
Scott Parker
It's just common sense. Bentaleb and Mason combined have at best a season and a half top level experience. Alli and Pritchard have zero. To me it's just silly to suggest that's a sufficient midfield going into a new season, with four competitions to handle. It's one Bentaleb cruciate ligament away from "serious relegation fears" (and I'm only half-joking when I say that).
Gutter Boy
Tim Sherwood
Remember though, this is where Mitchell's expertise is supposed to lie.
He told Soton to sell Chamberlain, because his data predicted Clyne would perform better the next season anyway. Perhaps its telling him the same about Pritchard and Alli?
Armchair Expert
Vedran Corluka
I would be extremely disappointed if we sell Dembele. I'm always more confident and feel we have a greater solidity to us when he is in the side.
What will the potential transfer fee be? 8 million? 10 million? It certainly won't be a big fee thats going to fund any sort of overhaul. I was bemused last year that he wasn't a regular and it was one major gripe I had with Poch. When we played well Dembele was often outstanding, and seemed to drop out of the first 11 picture after the occasional bad performance in matches when he was certainly no worse than those around him.
Who are we going to bring in for similar money and wages that will make the upheaval/settling in period worth while? From about Christmas onwards last year I'd have been playing him instead of Mason, who faded almost to non-existence. No-one will convince me Mason is a better bet for a starting berth than Dembele.
What will the potential transfer fee be? 8 million? 10 million? It certainly won't be a big fee thats going to fund any sort of overhaul. I was bemused last year that he wasn't a regular and it was one major gripe I had with Poch. When we played well Dembele was often outstanding, and seemed to drop out of the first 11 picture after the occasional bad performance in matches when he was certainly no worse than those around him.
Who are we going to bring in for similar money and wages that will make the upheaval/settling in period worth while? From about Christmas onwards last year I'd have been playing him instead of Mason, who faded almost to non-existence. No-one will convince me Mason is a better bet for a starting berth than Dembele.
Yiddo
Jack Jull
Mason isn't better than Dembélé, but in the "Poch System" Mason is apparently the better option. Would still love to see Dembélé either as a number 10 or wide right where he had one of his best games at Liverpool the season before last.
Armchair Expert
Vedran Corluka
I'd perosnally play Dembele as one of the deeper two midfielders; i.e next to Bentaleb. I think he is solid in the tackle, positions himself well and shields the ball superbly. I know that distribution isn't his strong point, but i still feel we have more steel and sturdiness in the side when he is in the heart of midfield. That he has that versatility to play in a variety of positions makes him even more valuable to the team.
EDIT: rather than 'would play' i should've written 'would have played'. Last season Mason needed dropping badly, and we had a player ready to come in who was superior and should have been starting anyway.
Bedfordspurs
Mark Falco
You do t mean chamberlain do you? You mean Chambers?
Wow... The data can tell the future for a player who hardly played a game for them really
I'd hazard a guess that they were really happy with the price for a lad with virtually no first team experience or impact and bit there hand off