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Mousa Dembele

Interesting stat on the Premier League's website today:

Further upfield, the absence of dynamic midfielder Mousa Dembele (£5.5m) continues to affect Harry Kane’s (£11.0m) Fantasy Premier League potential.


Kane scored just one goal in the 11 Premier League matches that Dembele did not start in 2015/16. With the Belgian in the first XI, Kane netted 24 times in 27 outings.
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Never knew about this. Something in it or just a coincidence? Certainly seems like too statistically significant to ignore...
 
was Dembele injured at the beginning of last season? i can't remember - could explain it as Kane was slow to start and had a poor finish - probably just coincidence
 
Can't come back soon enough.

Today was a mess, but the key as always is the midfield. Alli and Eriksen need a little more space to operate effectively and this has been lost to them since Dembele has been missing. Every player he draws to him (and holds off or beats) opens up a more space for the others and since he has been out the whole dynamic of the team has changed.

Today was a prime example in that we could not break through the Liverpool's forwards press and we resorted to the long ball repeatedly. Last season we had so much more variety to our play from the back. Now we pass it short to the CB and they hit it diagonally long over and over. As far as I can see all penetration via the middle has disappeared with Dembele's absence. I think we need to buy an new CM who can hold the ball and release it accurately under pressure, to cover for Dembele. To coin a phrase we need to take back the middle ground, and the Dier/Wanyama combo is not doing this thus far.
 
Rorschach said:
Can't come back soon enough.

Today was a mess, but the key as always is the midfield. Alli and Eriksen need a little more space to operate effectively and this has been lost to them since Dembele has been missing. Every player he draws to him (and holds off or beats) opens up a more space for the others and since he has been out the whole dynamic of the team has changed.

Today was a prime example in that we could not break through the Liverpool's forwards press and we resorted to the long ball repeatedly. Last season we had so much more variety to our play from the back. Now we pass it short to the CB and they hit it diagonally long over and over. As far as I can see all penetration via the middle has disappeared with Dembele's absence. I think we need to buy an new CM who can hold the ball and release it accurately under pressure, to cover for Dembele. To coin a phrase we need to take back the middle ground, and the Dier/Wanyama combo is not doing this thus far.
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My thoughts as well.
 
I hate this "can't wait for 'whoever' to return" it puts so much 'extra' pressure on that player and then eventually the whole team.

We need Eriksen to get back to some sort of form, still like him but he's not in good form ATM.
 
Bedfordspurs said:
But who is there???
I know it's not our job to indentify that player bit I've seen no one who cAn play like Dembele

We really need some kind of cover and I can only assume that will come from within as players can learn from him
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As you say its not our job and it will not be easy, but ( imo) we need to have more creativity in the CM and at the moment we have pretty much nothing different from the likes of Lamela/ Eriksen ( who i will add are very good players). In other words we are a little predictable and i see ( so far) nothing from Onomah/Winks and before that Mason and Bentaleb to change that.
 
There isn't a chance of him coming back at the Monaco game, without a single minute on the pitch in 12 weeks and 4 days, and making the huge change to the team that everyone thinks he will.
 
Bedfordspurs said:
But who is there???
I know it's not our job to indentify that player bit I've seen no one who cAn play like Dembele

We really need some kind of cover and I can only assume that will come from within as players can learn from him
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Of the players currently "in play" , I think Steven Nzonzi is the nearest.
 
Pirate55 said:
Of the players currently "in play" , I think Steven Nzonzi is the nearest.
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I quite liked Nzonzi at Stoke but the few times I have seen him for Seville he has been poor. I couldn't tell you if they were exceptions or a pattern, but finding a player to step in for Dembele on our budget will be nigh on impossible me thinks.
 
Hope Dembele knows he owes us some good performances when back ...

His lack of discipline has cost us significantly.
 
Raziel said:
Hope Dembele knows he owes us some good performances when back ...

His lack of discipline has cost us significantly.
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oh come on, its up to the manager to come up with a system that is not reliant on one player. Players get injured, lose form, get suspended. A top team copes when any player is out

Dembele owes us nothing. He simply made an uncharacteristic mistake and has paid the price.
 
indianspur said:
oh come on, its up to the manager to come up with a system that is not reliant on one player. Players get injured, lose form, get suspended. A top team copes when any player is out

Dembele owes us nothing. He simply made an uncharacteristic mistake and has paid the price.
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Disagree mate, yes all teams suffer when any of their top players are out.

When that happens due to injury, card accumulation, etc. really not a lot you can do about it.

When it happens due to pure indiscipline, then its the players fault/responsibility.

Not saying burn him at the stake, but he's got something (his mistake) to make up for, team needs him, he needs to hit the ground running.
 
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