Ousmane Dembele - Barcelona Player

Zehner

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KennyBurner said:
After Messi, dembele is the next best player on the ball. This is a weird comment. I do agree he might be lacking in confidence but that’s it. Would love him here if things don’t work out and Neymar also on the move.
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Come on, the second best on the ball? Arthur, de Jong, Griezmann, (formerly) Coutinho, Rakitic and Busquets are comfortably better on the ball than him. Dembele has many strengthes but technique isn't one of them. He's a highlight player, for every great dribbling there are two or three occasions where he has bad close control or kicks the ball to far in front of him. His first touch is fluky, his passing average. In spite of his occasional moments of brillance, his technique is very inconsistent. And as Cruyff puts it:

Technique is not being able to juggle a ball 1000 times. Anyone can do that by practicing. Then you can work in the circus. Technique is passing the ball with one touch, with the right speed, at the right foot of your team mate.

Dembele couldn't be farther from that description.
 

Infordin

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Eddy_JukeZ said:
Personally never thought he was THAT talented to begin with.
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He isn’t. His first touch and passing is borderline amateur at times. His dribbling isn’t that good either. He lacks close control and finesse. His acceleration is also rather poor (although his top speed is obviously great).

The way some people go on about his talent, you’d think that he was Neymar. He’s not even close.
 

giorno

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Wow, this thread :lol:

People forgot what he was at dortmund. Not just in the Bundes, but in CL as well

Yes he's erratic, yes he's probably not a good fit for barcelona(at least this particular version of barcelona) but this is still a player capable of turning a game on its head with one jaw-dropping play where he leaves 3 defenders for dead and then either scores a stunner or puts in a ball for the easiest of tap-ins. Even last season there was a period were he was constantly saving barca's arse with late-game heroics. Including one fairly unimportant goal at the metropolitano to rescue a point...

Injuries and fortnite have been his greatest stoppers in barcelona
 

VJ1762

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giorno said:
Wow, this thread :lol:

People forgot what he was at dortmund. Not just in the Bundes, but in CL as well

Yes he's erratic, yes he's probably not a good fit for barcelona(at least this particular version of barcelona) but this is still a player capable of turning a game on its head with one jaw-dropping play where he leaves 3 defenders for dead and then either scores a stunner or puts in a ball for the easiest of tap-ins. Even last season there was a period were he was constantly saving barca's arse with late-game heroics. Including one fairly unimportant goal at the metropolitano to rescue a point...

Injuries and fortnite have been his greatest stoppers in barcelona
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He was sensational at dortmund. He was so good in the DFB-Pokal final in 2017. Should have probably stayed there a couple more years. The pressure in Barca must be insane right now, what with their board going all in to make the maximum of Messi's remaining prime.

And I was surprised that they spend upto 81%(!) of their revenue on wages. That's just ridiculous. Do the Spanish banks sponsor them or something?
 

#00F

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If someone is incapable of making simple passes or has loose touches, it's pointless to blame the tactics or manager. He is already in his 3rd year; probably his last if he doesn't improve quickly. Barca board won't have more patience.
 

kouroux

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Zehner said:
Come on, the second best on the ball? Arthur, de Jong, Griezmann, (formerly) Coutinho, Rakitic and Busquets are comfortably better on the ball than him. Dembele has many strengthes but technique isn't one of them. He's a highlight player, for every great dribbling there are two or three occasions where he has bad close control or kicks the ball to far in front of him. His first touch is fluky, his passing average. In spite of his occasional moments of brillance, his technique is very inconsistent. And as Cruyff puts it:

Technique is not being able to juggle a ball 1000 times. Anyone can do that by practicing. Then you can work in the circus. Technique is passing the ball with one touch, with the right speed, at the right foot of your team mate.

Dembele couldn't be farther from that description.
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Nice summary.
 

giorno

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#00F said:
If someone is incapable of making simple passes or has loose touches, it's pointless to blame the tactics or manager. He is already in his 3rd year; probably his last if he doesn't improve quickly. Barca board won't have more patience.
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He can make all the loose touches and bad passes he wants when the next time he gets the ball he proceeds to create a chance or a goal from nothing, entirely on his own

He hasn't kicked on because he's lost almost the entire first season to injury and then a good chunk of his second as well. That, plus he's immature and unprofessional and nobody at the team seems to trust him

Nothing to do with some perceived lack of ability or talent
 

zkap

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giorno said:
He can make all the loose touches and bad passes he wants when the next time he gets the ball he proceeds to create a chance or a goal from nothing, entirely on his own

He hasn't kicked on because he's lost almost the entire first season to injury and then a good chunk of his second as well. That, plus he's immature and unprofessional and nobody at the team seems to trust him

Nothing to do with some perceived lack of ability or talent
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I disagree, as it depends on the team and style of play. If he's playing in a defensive side that relies on counters, then yes, misplacing four passes out of five is fine if the fifth time he'll run past several players and place an accurate assist.
But in Barcelona, this is not good enough. If he is likely to screw up passes and miscontrol he ball, and we play a style that involves an above-average number of passes, then he will slow us down and break down our play more often than not. This sometimes means we have a man down, as players will look for other options than Dembele because they don't trust him. Any quality opponent will know this and plan for it. Basically, with him on the pitch we have a player that cannot be trusted to consistently receive and pass the ball well. This is a no-go in Barcelona.

With players like this, you sacrifice consistency, rhythm and flow for the sake of the occasional flash of quality. I would not trade consistently fluent passing of the ball for a few goals that "save" us, particularly since sometimes we may need saving in the final moments because otherwise our attack has been subpar and incapable of breaking down defenses, which again has to do with Dembele not being on the required level. I don't think the damage that is done by players avoiding to pass to a certain team-mate can be overstated, and in any team that wants to dominate and attack, this is just not good enough.

Of course, all of this has to do with Valverde as well, who failed to bring out the best in Dembele, but still, Dembele gets too many basics wrong too often.
 

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They better land Neymar now with Coutinho gone otherwise they're "very" light attacking wise, specially when it comes to player capable of playing on the wing
 

3KDré

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zkap said:
I disagree, as it depends on the team and style of play. If he's playing in a defensive side that relies on counters, then yes, misplacing four passes out of five is fine if the fifth time he'll run past several players and place an accurate assist.
But in Barcelona, this is not good enough. If he is likely to screw up passes and miscontrol he ball, and we play a style that involves an above-average number of passes, then he will slow us down and break down our play more often than not. This sometimes means we have a man down, as players will look for other options than Dembele because they don't trust him. Any quality opponent will know this and plan for it. Basically, with him on the pitch we have a player that cannot be trusted to consistently receive and pass the ball well. This is a no-go in Barcelona.

With players like this, you sacrifice consistency, rhythm and flow for the sake of the occasional flash of quality. I would not trade consistently fluent passing of the ball for a few goals that "save" us, particularly since sometimes we may need saving in the final moments because otherwise our attack has been subpar and incapable of breaking down defenses, which again has to do with Dembele not being on the required level. I don't think the damage that is done by players avoiding to pass to a certain team-mate can be overstated, and in any team that wants to dominate and attack, this is just not good enough.

Of course, all of this has to do with Valverde as well, who failed to bring out the best in Dembele, but still, Dembele gets too many basics wrong too often.
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Listen, if you don't want him, we'll have him. We'll give you Sanchez back as well, we'll even throw Jones in for you.
 

Casanova85

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3KDré said:
Listen, if you don't want him, we'll have him. We'll give you Sanchez back as well, we'll even throw Jones in for you.
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Dembélé is unprofessional and childish. He's the new version of Anelka.

And Sánchez back to Barça (loan + wage) is not a crazy idea at all. Could work for both him and Barça.
 

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not confirmed yet, but apparently he's out untill the end of the year. another muscle injury.
 

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Injured again for another 2 weeks while being out due to injury.

Just comical now.
 

do.ob

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Cassidy said:
He wasnt at BVB though right?
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Only missed the one game due to yellow card suspension.

InfiniteBoredom said:
Watzke must be pissing himself laughing.
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Partly probably yes, but having to let him go so late in the window and only being able to bring in Yarmolenko and Sancho as replacements really messed with Dortmund's season that year. Almost cost them top 4.
 

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What a waste this guy has been. Add Coutinho, and Barcelona has pissed away almost 300m Euros (wages notwithstanding) on two duds. That's a club that makes Woodward look almost competent.

It's a crime that haven't been able to win more CLs with arguably the best player in history.


 
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Ish

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Dembele has been really unlucky with injuries. Makes Jones look relatively reliably fit.

Hope he overcomes the injuries - can’t be good for his confidence nor his physique (long term).
 

SouthPredators4

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If not Sancho, then Dembele. Both are generational talents and should be considered for our right wing. With their offensive abilities, they will be well compensated by having the ultra defensive AWB behind them. We will own the right flank in most games.
 

Pexbo

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SouthPredators4 said:
If not Sancho, then Dembele. Both are generational talents and should be considered for our right wing. With their offensive abilities, they will be well compensated by having the ultra defensive AWB behind them. We will own the right flank in most games.
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Brought to you by FIFA 2020.
 

Eddy_JukeZ

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SouthPredators4 said:
If not Sancho, then Dembele. Both are generational talents and should be considered for our right wing. With their offensive abilities, they will be well compensated by having the ultra defensive AWB behind them. We will own the right flank in most games.
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Dembele a generational talent?

He's one of the most overrated 'talents' out there. If you can even still call him a 'talented prospect'.

He's been terrible for Barcelona and he's unprofessional.
 

golden_blunder

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Renegade said:
His just injury prone by the looks of it.
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Not necessarily. He’s a fast player who may need to have his training adjusted or they may not have got to the root cause of all his niggles.

I remember giggs going through similar injury runs when he was young til they found the issue and adjusted his training regime.

Gary Pallister had such back problems that he had to sleep on a bed in the team coach after games.

It may be that Dembele just needs to have his injuries managed better
 

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Eddy_JukeZ said:
He's been terrible for Barcelona and he's unprofessional.
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What does this have to do with his talent? He's definitely one of the most talented youngsters out there, but his attitude and injury record suck.
 

troylocker

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SouthPredators4 said:
If not Sancho, then Dembele. Both are generational talents and should be considered for our right wing. With their offensive abilities, they will be well compensated by having the ultra defensive AWB behind them. We will own the right flank in most games.
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Haha! Sancho is on another planet than Dembele. The technique and passingskills of the two is not comparable. Dembele also looks to be made of glass, is massively overpriced and misses sitters when it really counts.

Funfact: Haaland used 134 minutes to beat Dembeles goaltally in the bundesliga. Dembele scored 6 goals in 2040 minutes over 32 matches in his "magic" season in 16/17.
 
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Inigo Montoya

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harms said:
What does this have to do with his talent? He's definitely one of the most talented youngsters out there, but his attitude and injury record suck.
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Odd! You just referenced his professionalisms as well
 

Bondi77

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The transfer fees of Neymar, Coutinho and Dembele have to be the most inflated fees in the history of football for their contributions to their clubs, Madness!
 

Mainoldo

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Suedesi said:
What a waste this guy has been. Add Coutinho, and Barcelona has pissed away almost 300m Euros (wages notwithstanding) on two duds. That's a club that makes Woodward look almost competent.

It's a crime that haven't been able to win more CLs with arguably the best player in history.


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Imagine claiming them as a poor run club and messing up a rebuild in a United forum :lol:

I truly believe if there is not a contiguous plan to get Pep as Messi is on his way out Barca won’t be looking like a top club in a long time.
 

Zehner

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Mainoldo said:
Imagine claiming them as a poor run club and messing up a rebuild in a United forum :lol:

I truly believe if there is not a contiguous plan to get Pep as Messi is on his way out Barca won’t be looking like a top club in a long time.
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They've got de Jong, Arthur, Fati, Puig, Alena and a whole lot of other future prospects. Messi's retirement will free what, 50% of their salary budget? And Guardiola aside, there are also Ten Haag, Tuchel and Sarri as fitting coaches, two of them will probably look for new jobs in the summer. Setien could also still succeed as his philosophy suits the club.

So yeah, they aren't going anywhere. They'll may. Go through a dry spell of a few seasons but eventually they'll be back atnthe top.
 

Mainoldo

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Zehner said:
They've got de Jong, Arthur, Fati, Puig, Alena and a whole lot of other future prospects. Messi's retirement will free what, 50% of their salary budget? And Guardiola aside, there are also Ten Haag, Tuchel and Sarri as fitting coaches, two of them will probably look for new jobs in the summer. Setien could also still succeed as his philosophy suits the club.

So yeah, they aren't going anywhere. They'll may. Go through a dry spell of a few seasons but eventually they'll be back atnthe top.
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I don’t think you’ve been paying attention to their miss management. They’ve failed to replace Neymar and Iniesta. They have no real transfer strategy and they haven’t identified a good coach. I think it would be quite naive to assume this current structure will get it right. But they said we wouldn’t fail so you know.
 
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