Regarding Dembele and how teammates are ignoring him...
Maybe some guys here should stop to post crazy conspiracy theories and crazy alibies and just go with Occam's razor principle in similar cases in the future.
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam's_razor
So, for example, if a player doesn't play too often (let's say Malcom).
1. the most likely explanation is: he doesn't play because he is meh
2. other, more crazy explanations are: he slept with EV's wife or EV is mad at the board for not buying Willian and a poor guy Malcom is suffering
On larger samples, you guys will realize that probably in 80-90% of cases, the most simple and the most logical explanation will turn out to be a correct answer.
The same is with: if a player doesn't play under 3-4 different coaches in a row (but fans rate him highly). Well, he usually doesn't play because he sucks, not because ALL coaches hate him for some reason.
The same, if a player (for whom fans think that he sucks, let's say Rakitic) is playing as a starter under several different coaches, there is usually a strong reason for that.
Again, it is NOT because he has EV's nudes or something.
Now, apply the same logic for Dembele (or any other player) and teammates who are ignoring him.
1) the answer could be some crazy conspiracy theory (South American connection, they don't like him as a person or who knows what).
2) or the simplest: players play together for several hours every day during rondos and 5 vs 5 matches (or whatever the combination is), and more or less they know: player's good sides, player's bad sides, player's IQ and similar.
I remember one match from 3-4 summers ago when Halilovic debuted for A team during a preseason match, and he was often free at a right flank, but Pique and teammates were ignoring him all the time.
People here wondered why, and whether our players are idiots or maybe they just hate a poor kid.
A few years later, it is quite clear that they were ignoring him because he was dumb as fuck and he would ruin every single action with solo action because he doesn't have any IQ.
Regarding Dembele, anyone who watched Barca during the last 2 years knows that:
1. Dembele has a huge talent
2. he can do some things which no one else can
3. but also he has lots of flaws, struggles in some basics
4. his IQ is still questionable
5. and Semedo and Dembele are probably two players with least connections and sync with other teammates (Coutinho comes close also)
So, when you pair Dembele's low-ish IQ, how even on his good days he doesn't look like fitting our system too well and add some injuries and how he is rusty and easily losing balls currenty...
= is it that crazy to guess that teammates were ignoring him because in this moment he is not the best option (again, paired with his IQ and decision's making, since our teammates are familiar with his decision making abilities?)
** Iirc, there were similar questions regarding Semedo in the past: why are teammates ignoring him when he is in good positions etc?
Well, because they see him on training grounds every day and teammates probably figured out that he is a lost cause in attack and that he totally lacks confidence and that he will just pass the ball backwards in almost every action.
So why bother and passing the ball to him?
Anyway, the simplest solution won't be the correct answer in EVERY single case.
But you can play a number's game and have more faith in numbers and the most simplest (and logical) solutions.
So: if someone is benched all the time, there is usually a reason.
If some player is a starter all the time, even though he sucks currently, there is a strong reason behind that. (Remember the posts: why is Suarez playing, he sucks! Why is Pique playing, anyone could play better than him! Well, they returned to their form later in a season, didn't they, and we are on a verge of a treble BECAUSE a stupid coach actually had faith in them when they played bad.)
If someone is ignored or looked for all the time (Messi) on the pitch, there is usually a strong reason for that.
