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Mousa Dembele
- Thread starter SDOGG11
- Start date
Gilzeantoscore
Justin Edinburgh
People wanted him gone, because he was brick. I'll bet the management were of the same mind, he was given a last chance, a rocket up his arse and he has since improved.
milo
Jack L. Jones
@kanoute16 @Gilzeantoscore - I don't remember many people saying that he should be sold. There was discussion about whether he would be happy to remain at the club if he was a squad player but that was based on him making up the numbers in the three behind Kane and before he re-established himself at the base of midfield.
Bedfordspurs
Mark Falco
He has never been brick. He has been spacegoat for some and others haven't seen what he can offer as much as others but it's also true that he is playing his career best football now as he is fitter and arguably more settled (I can't comment in him at AZ when they won the league)
I've said it a lot in the last but he has everything to be the best player in the league and he is vital to how we play. Our recent run coincided with his return to the team
Rorschach
Sonny Walters
He was never brick and only a vocal minority ever wanted him gone. The fact that he has outlasted most at the club, including the cull of the prima donnas that has happened since Poch has been here is probably more an indication that management didn't want him gone as you suggest. And thankfully they didn't as he's vying for the player of the season now.
metalgear
Luka Modric
it was down to poch giving him a role that included the freedom to do his thing. from my view we are seeing dembele ust playing as himself - he isn't releasing the ball any faster,in fact he is dribbling much more now since poch arrived. he isn't shooting more, he is tackling better but he always had a penchant for that.
i recall that there were transfer rumours about dembele too -it was that obvious he wasn't fitting in at the time. its just me-i firmly believe that poch didn't know either until 8-9 games into this season, when we couldn't get beyond a draw, and decided to take more risks by letting some players wander a bit more - dembele, alli, lamela comes to mind.
i recall that there were transfer rumours about dembele too -it was that obvious he wasn't fitting in at the time. its just me-i firmly believe that poch didn't know either until 8-9 games into this season, when we couldn't get beyond a draw, and decided to take more risks by letting some players wander a bit more - dembele, alli, lamela comes to mind.
Gazzasrightboot
Pascal Chimbonda
I disagree. I think Poch has shown great faith in Mousa and that is now being repaid. I don't think that it is a co-incidence that a lot of our players have clicked at the same time. Getting used to this system, when to press, how to press, where to position yourself, who to look out for and upping fitness levels are all things that take time to perfect. Especially if it is new, and especially when up to this point in time, they've never worked for a manager that is so meticulous with his training. Mousa is just one example of a player who had always shown promise but (like 99% of the team) didn't show it enough.
This season we have seen many of our players turn it up a notch which just goes to show that we as fans should show more patience with the players and stop being so quick to write off a player. Labelling players as brick, or even just saying things like "so and so is yet to convince me" when they're in their first EPL season/are still young/still settling is just silly. Dembele, Lamela, Rose, Davies, Walker, Chadli, Kane, Carrol, Mason and perhaps even Bentaleb are examples of players who were written off by some way too early.
Some people are already starting to do it with Clinton. Poch and this team will make mistakes and sometimes I feel a vocal part of our fanbase love pointing these out. I don't know if it is because I have kids, but when someone makes a mistake, often the best thing to do is support not criticise.
Lemonade Money
Les Medley
milo
Jack L. Jones
I don't remember anyone spacegoating him. In fact even amongst those who questioned his position in the squad, there was widespread recognition of his ability.
The question was how would he fit into a Poch team and whether his tendency to dwell on the ball made him unsuitable for a central midfield role in this team.
The situation has changed since then. Dembele's form has increased significantly, to the point that he is playing the best football of his Spurs career and he has greatly improved on the weaker elements of his game.
you know when something sounds like a good idea in your head but you are unsure if others agree ;-)
this was one of these moments
ricky2tricky4city
Steffen Freund
I'm sure the Billy Nic or Bricklayers crowd will be gentle with you.you know when something sounds like a good idea in your head but you are unsure if others agree ;-)
this was one of these moments
Bedfordspurs
Mark Falco
West Ham last season we he was subbed despite not being as bad as plenty of others there were people saying we should sell him
There are other comments about him too but I'm not going to dig back
milo
Jack L. Jones
I can't remember reading those but I generally avoid the OMTs because of this type of over reaction.
I think that what I have said is a fair representation of most of the views of the posters who were unsure of his long term position in the squad last summer/autumn.
I think that it is worth remembering that even amongst his most ardent supporters at that time, very few were calling for him to play his current role in the team.
parklane1
Tony Galvin
Great post mate and I agree with every word and especially the bolded bit. I have said on here before I am amazed that Poch has been able to do those things and done it in such a short period of time. It sound/looks a easy thing to do but I can assure folks its not, getting all players to adapt their game to it is difficult in most cases and to be able to do so quickly is a sign of all the players have complete belief and understanding in what Poch wants from them.
I know it is still relatively early in his term here but I really think that we are going somewhere and its a great time to be a Spurs supporter.
Bedfordspurs
Mark Falco
I think the double fitness trading sessions also include a lot of work around shape and discipline So it's a catch all situation
Everyone gets it from front to back
When Toure lost the ball on Saturday it was because 4 Tottenham players hit him like a wave. No one shirked their role
metalgear
Luka Modric
i hope you are not talking about me dissing a player as I've always supported dembele and a player, and always thought that poch couldn't fit him in. respect your point of view but I'd urge you to watch our first 8 games again if you can. the coincidence you mention is about getting the risk balance right; our players were too afraid to lose possession early in the season; we had very few quick turnovers and/or through balls. but lots of dithering... maybe subtle to you, but it was night and day to me.
BucurestiSpur
Sean Davis
I just read the last few pages and saw no mention of Dembele's (supposed) long term hip(?) problem.
Wasn't this supposed to be a major issue with him? It wasn't just if he would fit in Pochs system, or if he was able influence games regularly the way his ability would allow it was fitness issues due to his hip, no?
Do i have a faulty memory? Have his injury issues been sorted?
His resurgence has been fantastic to see.
Wasn't this supposed to be a major issue with him? It wasn't just if he would fit in Pochs system, or if he was able influence games regularly the way his ability would allow it was fitness issues due to his hip, no?
Do i have a faulty memory? Have his injury issues been sorted?
His resurgence has been fantastic to see.
Gazzasrightboot
Pascal Chimbonda
No I'm not specifically talking about you in terms of writing off players because to tell you the truth I wouldn't even remember if it were you.
In terms of watching the first 8 games, I may do but don't think it is going to really solve anything. It may be subtle so I just don't get it. I'm not a professional, I don't see the intricacies of football tactics until it is explained, and for the life of me I don't get why some days every player collectively has an off day. And you may just get all these nuances because you are so knowledgeable on this topic. I just don't agree with you that it is because players were too afraid, or because there has been a sudden tactical shift from Poch or that there has been some sort of epiphany. I think to embed a different style of play, especially one that relies on people pressing in the right, co-ordinated way will always take time. Let's just assume that the players were all afraid. Could it be that this is because losing possession was something that previous managers had instilled into them over the past 3-4 years that it has almost become second nature to them? If that were the case, then would it not take some time to get used to a different way of thinking and changing the way they play? Perhaps a stupid example, but I drive in a certain way. For me to change that driving style to a completely different one will take concentration and no doubt there would be some lapses to old style. Could the same be the case for our set of players? I don't think Mousa's change in form is down to a change in role as you suggest. I think it is one of a number of factors that include the players around him also being better. For me it is no coincidence that all of our players are playing better at the same time.
Some players will get it, some others won't. Until everyone gets it, players in some positions will be exposed and look worse than they really are. A striker is only as good as the service that he gets. A defence can look amazing with the right midfield ahead of them. A midfield can look bad if the defence just hoof the ball up the pitch at every opportunity.
parklane1
Tony Galvin
I agree. And it backs up what he is supposed to have said " a player does not sign up to play, he signs up to train" ( or words to that effect). You can see how much work he has done with them on the training pitch to achieve both aims.
