NaijaSpurs
Les Ferdinand
What really impressed me yesterday was his skill and ball control, he made drifting pass players look so easy. He has totally mastered the body swerve
http://www.spurs-web.com/spurs-news/vertonghen-praises-dembele/?
Jan Vertonghen was full of praise for fellow Belgian international Mousa Dembele who came into the side to replace the suspended Eric Dier and put in a man-of-the-match performance in the holding midfield role.
“I spoke to him this week,” he said.
“Obviously we have got some injuries and suspensions, he was ready to play and I think he is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League and I think everyone agrees on that, he is a nightmare to play against and a joy to play with him.
“I gave him some bad balls and wanted to say sorry but then he quickly turns and throws some of the midfielders in the stands, he is an unbelievable player and I hope he can stay fit, I hope he is back now for the rest of the season.”
He was excellent yesterday. I reckon he should be our Left DM and Mason Right DM, with Dier as understudy, when all are fit.
Constantly finding myself reevaluating my position on him - ultimately though i think he's probably got the season to prove himself valuable to the manager otherwise it's unlikely he'll be offered a new contract and not sold - ideally he'll do that and he and Dier will provide the competition for one part of our central midfield options which would mean another position sorted for the next few years.
I think after the summer window it's clear that Poch isn't interested in passengers or those not suited to his style, and for now at least it looks like he and the chairman are on the same page in that respect, so all in all it's not much to worry about - either he proves himself and stays or doesn't and leaves
Harsh assessment. Spurs had a bad first 15mins and that certainly was not solely down to Dembele. I actually thought the intense the pressure on both fullsbacks was the real problem and really unsettled us. IMO it was Dembele who dragged us back into the match with some sublime ball winning . He has his faults but yesterday there were little of them on show, especially if you factor in he was the holder and somewhat excused from the creative side of things.
That got me quite excited....can we get back to the football now!suggest intensive hypnotherapy sessions consisting of soothing female voices repeating phrases like, "Release!", "Get in the box!" and "Shoot!"
That got me quite excited....can we get back to the football now!
I'd go with
---Dier - - - Dembele - - -
Lamela - - Alli---Eriksen-
---------Kane-----------
Although Son walks back in when fit.
The problem with that is that you are going to see a lot of square balls out to the fullbacks from central midfield.
The last time we saw that regularly was when AVB was manager and Sandro and Dembele were playing together. At the time half this board was complaining about our slow build up play.
As I remember it, when Sandro and Dembele were in their pomp, we very often completely dominated midfield. Our problems then were further forward as without Bale we were toothless and we became very reliant on him and that was the problem.
The problem with that is that you are going to see a lot of square balls out to the fullbacks from central midfield.
The last time we saw that regularly was when AVB was manager and Sandro and Dembele were playing together. At the time half this board was complaining about our slow build up play.
He was excellent yesterday. I reckon he should be our Left DM and Mason Right DM, with Dier as understudy, when all are fit.
Dembele still has to be more progressive, getting into the box, forward passes and perhaps taking fewer touches once he is in command of the ball, he is aware of this but just needs to deliver, even if occasionally the pass goes astray. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
If he and Eriksen could forge a technical understanding with Mason's running power we have the makings of an excellent all round midfield. With Son, Kane and another striker or Lamela in a fluid role would be very exciting.
People were complaining before Bale left.
The problem was compounded by having central midfielders who looked to play the safe ball. This is something that both Sherwood and Poch sought to address early on.