Mousa Dembele

Scarecrow

Having a week off
Joined
Feb 6, 2012
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Was one of the best players of his generation, wasted on mostly shit teams. Spurs could’ve actually won a CL had they not sold him. Thoughts?
 
Should have signed him in 2012 - PM proven, still 'on the up' and even with Glazernomics, he was available for slightly less than Kagawa or thereabouts, and he could solved 50% of the the midfield issues (even at the cost of temporarily parking the long-term playmaker issue, which Kagawa didn't really solve either) ...
 
Guy was super press resistant and comfortable on the ball. Used to leave other midfielders behind with simple drops of the shoulder and body feints. Great ball carrier.

That profile of player would be worth its weight in gold for us then, and still does for us now
 
I remember a game back in 2012/13 when he looked levels above our midfield, which albeit was Anderson and Cleverly, but still he looked like a world class midfielder that day.

The fact that he put in such a performance and we never went in for him was crazy, you don't even need to scout him after that he's just gone and done it right infront of you. He would have solved many of the midfield problems we had over the next 5 years.

There was a point in the game where Anderson looked up at the bench and just said "What do you want me to do? this guy is too good."

I found this short highlight of his performance.

 
Always thought he would have been a sensible purchase. He seemed to regularly be the best midfielder on the pitch when playing against us
 
ZH1 said:
I remember a game back in 2012/13 when he looked levels above our midfield, which albeit was Anderson and Cleverly, but still he looked like a world class midfielder that day.

The fact that he put in such a performance and we never went in for him was crazy, you don't even need to scout him after that he's just gone and done it right infront of you. He would have solved many of the midfield problems we had over the next 5 years.

There was a point in the game where Anderson looked up at the bench and just said "What do you want me to do? this guy is too good."

I found this short highlight of his performance.

Click to expand...


Oddly, Anderson actually had a lot of the same qualities that Dembele had, just not as consistent or conditioned. Midfielders who can run with the ball and pick a pass are gold dust, one of the reasons Giggs was able to move there late in his career is that even at 35+ most midfielders still couldn't handle his change of pace and balance.

Dembele was excellent, a bit odd how he fell off so quickly at the end from being one of the most highly regarded midfielders in the league to in China a few months later. The lack of end product held him back, 10 in 249 for Spurs is a woeful record for a guy of his talent, and wasn't a prolific assist provider either.
 
Always thought he was good but not much of a danger for the opposition
 
I remember being gutted when Spurs signed him, and he duly delivered. One of the most underrated midfielders of the PL era, in my opinion.

Spurs had a habit of signing players that exploded in terms of expectation: Bale, Modric, Eriksen, Dembele, Son etc. It used to be very frustrating watching them sign players that were highly rated but no other clubs were touching for some reason.

Thankfully they are now signing the likes of Romero, Sanchez and Perisic.
 
Bobski said:
Oddly, Anderson actually had a lot of the same qualities that Dembele had, just not as consistent or conditioned. Midfielders who can run with the ball and pick a pass are gold dust, one of the reasons Giggs was able to move there late in his career is that even at 35+ most midfielders still couldn't handle his change of pace and balance.

Dembele was excellent, a bit odd how he fell off so quickly at the end from being one of the most highly regarded midfielders in the league to in China a few months later. The lack of end product held him back, 10 in 249 for Spurs is a woeful record for a guy of his talent, and wasn't a prolific assist provider either.
Click to expand...

Yeah they were similar in that aspect, Anderson probably better technically too, but it was a great sight seeing Anderson just run through a midfield. Injuries and professionalism was always Anderson's issues, he loved the city way too much, if he had the right mindset he could have been great here.

Dembele had a few injuries in his last year at Spurs and when a time for a move came he knew that he wasn't going to go anywhere and win trophies. In his career I don't think he ever got a mega contract so he decided that he would secure his future and take a mega deal from China, can't blame him really.
 
ZH1 said:
Yeah they were similar in that aspect, Anderson probably better technically too, but it was a great sight seeing Anderson just run through a midfield. Injuries and professionalism was always Anderson's issues, he loved the city way too much, if he had the right mindset he could have been great here.

Dembele had a few injuries in his last year at Spurs and when a time for a move came he knew that he wasn't going to go anywhere and win trophies. In his career I don't think he ever got a mega contract so he decided that he would secure his future and take a mega deal from China, can't blame him really.
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Not all all, though it was a pity as a fan as he was good to watch.

Belgium of that era much be among the most underachieving teams ever
 
Used to be a striker, but he didn't score enough so got turned into a midfielder at Fulham.

When he was still a striker he once scored this incredible goal with AZ Alkmaar.

Internationally he rarely showed up though. That semi-final versus France at the WC was his chance but he wasn't very good. Doesn't have the same legacy in Belgium as other players who came up around that time, like Fellaini and Vertonghen.

 
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