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Mousa Dembele

That's because we had sweet all creativity in front of the CMs. With Dier being the dedicated DM this season,this gives the other CM much more license to play in a progressive way. The double privet didn't really suit Dembele but paired with Dier this would be much more formidable, especially against the better sides. Against those likely to park the bus, Alli or Mason would be better in that role to help the faster transition. Horses for courses really IMO.

So you are talking about this as an option for 6-8 games a season?
 
So you are talking about this as an option for 6-8 games a season?

Plus European games, cup games and allowing for rotation and cover for Dier when absolutely necessary. Mousse can do a job in lots of roles. He certainly isn't one dimensional. He seems more appreciated by his teammates and fellow countrymen than some supporters on here. I think we will really miss him if he leaves.
 
So you are talking about this as an option for 6-8 games a season?

6-8 games as a starter on merit, and then probably 15-20 for either rotation or coming in for injuries. Because of his versatility he can play he can play as one of the 2 deeper midfieders or as one of the 3 further forward. Not many of our other midfielders can do so, and in particular I think he is the only midfielder who can take Dier's place.

He gives us options, and if we are leading against a team with 20 minutes to play, there are worse ideas than taking off someone like Chadli and replacing him with Mousa to shore things up.

I'm sure he is a bit of a nightmare to play against and get the ball off him. I also think that he is also one of the players that is going to benefit from the pace that Son and N'Jie can give. A quicker release and we have a real top class player on our hands.
 
6-8 games as a starter on merit, and then probably 15-20 for either rotation or coming in for injuries. Because of his versatility he can play he can play as one of the 2 deeper midfieders or as one of the 3 further forward. Not many of our other midfielders can do so, and in particular I think he is the only midfielder who can take Dier's place.

He gives us options, and if we are leading against a team with 20 minutes to play, there are worse ideas than taking off someone like Chadli and replacing him with Mousa to shore things up.

I'm sure he is a bit of a nightmare to play against and get the ball off him. I also think that he is also one of the players that is going to benefit from the pace that Son and N'Jie can give. A quicker release and we have a real top class player on our hands.

I am certainly not trying to push him out of the door and think that he definitely has a role to play for us.

I would question whether we need to start him alongside Dier in the big games. Apart from individual mistakes against Man United, I do not think that we have done a lot wrong in our bigger league games this season and removing a passer from midfield may just result in inviting pressure.

Where I do see a role for Dembele is as cover/rotation for Dier and the three behind Kane and as an option from the bench when we are trying to hold onto a lead. My only question has been, will he be happy with such a role.
 
I am certainly not trying to push him out of the door and think that he definitely has a role to play for us.

I would question whether we need to start him alongside Dier in the big games. Apart from individual mistakes against Man United, I do not think that we have done a lot wrong in our bigger league games this season and removing a passer from midfield may just result in inviting pressure.

Where I do see a role for Dembele is as cover/rotation for Dier and the three behind Kane and as an option from the bench when we are trying to hold onto a lead. My only question has been, will he be happy with such a role.

Nutshell.
And even then I would much rather bring in a Mason/Alli/Bentaleb/Njie/Pritchard...for me, it is the final 20 mins of games where this squad will really develop into one which kills games off by taking charge at pace/fitness rather than soaking up or holding on. Dembele needs to be more progressive when moving forward with the ball, and take some shots too. He has one of the most accurate shots at the club but simply does not pull the trigger enough.
Moussa is a good player but not for us any longer IMO. I think he will leave at the end of the season.
 
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

Just saw this Billy, and agree. Ditto Pirate, I agree, he is a conundrum!
 
I am certainly not trying to push him out of the door and think that he definitely has a role to play for us.

I would question whether we need to start him alongside Dier in the big games. Apart from individual mistakes against Man United, I do not think that we have done a lot wrong in our bigger league games this season and removing a passer from midfield may just result in inviting pressure.

Where I do see a role for Dembele is as cover/rotation for Dier and the three behind Kane and as an option from the bench when we are trying to hold onto a lead. My only question has been, will he be happy with such a role.

I agree with that, and actually I think this will mean a fair few games. With players being either injured or out of form, plus Europa and the cups, I think that he would be able to play a fair few games. But, only he would be able to answer that and I guess we will see for the rest of the season if he signs an extension or not as I doubt we will let him go into the final year of his contract (I think he's in his penultimate year).

I think it's a nice conundrum to have. There are far worse squad players and his flexibility is helpful to us. I personally think that we are about as high as he will go, so why would he want to leave as he's still getting in the national team and playing a fair bit.
 
It's astonishing that despite his man of the match performance in Saturday's game some posters still steadfastly cling on to the view that
he is not good enough for us or he doesn't fit Poch's system despite the fact that he gets plenty of game time and our manager ruthlessly culls players who do not fit into his plans. unbelievably we have posters blaming him for our lack of goals on Saturday! When every other opinion outside our club said he was outstanding. Where's the open mind? He has become the new Dawson . I am sure Poch values Dembele far more than the posters on here.
 
It's astonishing that despite his man of the match performance in Saturday's game some posters still steadfastly cling on to the view that
he is not good enough for us or he doesn't fit Poch's system despite the fact that he gets plenty of game time and our manager ruthlessly culls players who do not fit into his plans. unbelievably we have posters blaming him for our lack of goals on Saturday! When every other opinion outside our club said he was outstanding. Where's the open mind? He has become the new Dawson . I am sure Poch values Dembele far more than the posters on here.
He was outstanding on Saturday, but that's one game. That also wasn't our normal system.
I'm ambivalent at him to be honest, after all the time he's been here no one seems to know his best position, what system suits him or how to consistently get the best from him.
The big tell for me is that if Liverpool or Arsenal came in for him i wouldn't be worried about it weakening us or improving them massively.
 
Although Dembele was OK today I prefer Dier in the holding role. Dier is a cleaner, safer tackler, and busier too. Dembele is a bit languid. If he was a bit more confident about taking on players and shooting I'd rather he was a back up #10 as slowing down play in their penalty area or holding the ball up there isn't so much of a problem as doing the same thing in midfield.

Dier safer tackler...why was he missing again?
 
He was outstanding on Saturday, but that's one game. That also wasn't our normal system.
I'm ambivalent at him to be honest, after all the time he's been here no one seems to know his best position, what system suits him or how to consistently get the best from him.
The big tell for me is that if Liverpool or Ar5ena1 came in for him i wouldn't be worried about it weakening us or improving them massively.


My feelings as well, he is into his forth season and has over 100 games and neither the fans or Poch seem to know what his best position is. Now we have fans who say he should be back up for Dier but that would be unfair on him as he would be nothing more then a fall back. For his own sake it would be better for him to move on to a team who will play him n a regular basis, I also would not be concerned if he moved to a top club ( to be honest I would be more surprised if any wanted him)/
 
Headline sensationalises the quotes there and gives off the wrong impression of what's being said there 'Dembele Demands talks with Manager' when the quotes just say he and Poch need to work out where he fits best

Completely agree. He is actually being quite reasonable and is just saying that he believes that he is versatile himself. Reading that article has shown me that Dembele is happy with his role and just wants to concentrate on improving. That is exactly the right attitude to have
 
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