11 - Ousmane Dembélé - V1
- Thread starter Jair Ventura
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Obiaseti
New member
It's been a while since I've posted here but I wanted to add my two cents on this topic. I think for a 20-year-old player he shows a lot of promise. Unfortunately for him, he hasn't been too lucky with his start here. I'd give him at least one full season before passing serious judgment. Right now he still is in a debutant mode and understandably so. He needs a good run of games with the same teammates to develop some understanding of the playstyle of the team and the league. His nervousness in the first 15 mins of the last match was palpable. His eagerness to prove himself combined with the nervousness explains the questionable decision making. If we expect him to perform like a full-fledged match winner right away we are setting ourselves up for disappointment. The fact that we went for him either means the board didn't do its homework or that it did and he was bought keeping the future in mind. The whole Neymar replacement thing sells well as a story but I don't see it that way at all. If we really want to force the comparison I'd compare seasons at the same age. He may fail but if he does I hope it is after getting a fair amount of chances and time.
xXKonan
Senior Member
I just can't see how anyone could make up their minds this quicky and judge a player harshly without giving him time and a run of form.
Neymar was considered one of the best young talents in the world at his age before coming to Europe. But there were a lot of people who doubted him as well as they claimed he was too weak and to much of a diver to make it in Europe.
Fast forward now Neymar is a household name and he proved a lot of people wrong along the way. What Dembele has done in the last couple of seasons in France and Germany should not be ignored, Ligue 1 maybe weak but Dembele backed it up in Bundesliga the following season. and with the glimpses he has shown here I could see him further doing it as well here soon if he avoids serious injuries.
I just can't understand how anyone could just straight up say "Lol this guy is dumb and doesn't have the ability to make it here" without giving the kid a chance.
Neymar was considered one of the best young talents in the world at his age before coming to Europe. But there were a lot of people who doubted him as well as they claimed he was too weak and to much of a diver to make it in Europe.
Fast forward now Neymar is a household name and he proved a lot of people wrong along the way. What Dembele has done in the last couple of seasons in France and Germany should not be ignored, Ligue 1 maybe weak but Dembele backed it up in Bundesliga the following season. and with the glimpses he has shown here I could see him further doing it as well here soon if he avoids serious injuries.
I just can't understand how anyone could just straight up say "Lol this guy is dumb and doesn't have the ability to make it here" without giving the kid a chance.
BusiTheKing
Senior Member
He's a funny player this one. I can't really recall seeing anyone who plays quite like him ever. He doesn't really have great composure or ball control. He has speed and is actually quite intelligent in the sense that he knows how to trick defenders and do the unexpected. This mix of qualities make him kind of an either/or player. There's not much inbetween. Not much nuance or even beauty in what he does.
The main reason why he's struggling right now is obviously a physical one. He's had serious injuries probably for the first time in his life and still needs to learn how to deal with them. At the minute, he might be over-compensating and holding back more than he ought to because he's afraid of the hamstring flairing up again. In any case, he suddenly has new things to worry about and take into account in every situation and it's clearly throwing him off a bit. His mix of qualities also mean that when he's not in balance with his body, almost every part of his game is compromised.
Because his dribbling relies less on skill and control and more on the combination of speed and vision, that aspect of his game is entirely contingent on correctly anticipating when he is able to take the critical touch and go past his man. A lot of the factors that go into this constant analysis naturally have to do with your physique (how fast you know you can accelerate, which balls you know you can reach before the opponent etc.). When you spend your youth developing this dribbler's instinct, you will inevitably be thrown off a bit when your body suddenly is held back by new forces.
Even though we're talking about slight changes, they can mean the difference between success and failure for a dribbler and especially an either/or dribbler like Dembele. He's looked like a player that hasn't been able to do the things he thought he could do and I think it's fucking him up a bit, because it can be quite disilliusioning to come to terms with and takes a toll on your confidence. Especially since he doesn't really have much to his game, that isn't affected by this.
As soon as he gets his body back in tip top form and recalibrates his dribbler's instinct, my guess is that he will be like a totally different player. A bit of a weird post this, but hoping that it makes sorta sense.
The main reason why he's struggling right now is obviously a physical one. He's had serious injuries probably for the first time in his life and still needs to learn how to deal with them. At the minute, he might be over-compensating and holding back more than he ought to because he's afraid of the hamstring flairing up again. In any case, he suddenly has new things to worry about and take into account in every situation and it's clearly throwing him off a bit. His mix of qualities also mean that when he's not in balance with his body, almost every part of his game is compromised.
Because his dribbling relies less on skill and control and more on the combination of speed and vision, that aspect of his game is entirely contingent on correctly anticipating when he is able to take the critical touch and go past his man. A lot of the factors that go into this constant analysis naturally have to do with your physique (how fast you know you can accelerate, which balls you know you can reach before the opponent etc.). When you spend your youth developing this dribbler's instinct, you will inevitably be thrown off a bit when your body suddenly is held back by new forces.
Even though we're talking about slight changes, they can mean the difference between success and failure for a dribbler and especially an either/or dribbler like Dembele. He's looked like a player that hasn't been able to do the things he thought he could do and I think it's fucking him up a bit, because it can be quite disilliusioning to come to terms with and takes a toll on your confidence. Especially since he doesn't really have much to his game, that isn't affected by this.
As soon as he gets his body back in tip top form and recalibrates his dribbler's instinct, my guess is that he will be like a totally different player. A bit of a weird post this, but hoping that it makes sorta sense.
xXKonan
Senior Member
I see Dembele is a creator than a goal scorer.
While I want him to improve his goal scoring abilities, it's important to have another Winger/Forward hybrid who can create since Messi is getting older and we can't keep relying so much on him especially when it will get to that point where he cannot play every game like he use to.
While no one can be Leo, assuming Dembele keeps fit and develops properly, He will likely be the guy who would fill Leo's role as the creator when needed.
While I want him to improve his goal scoring abilities, it's important to have another Winger/Forward hybrid who can create since Messi is getting older and we can't keep relying so much on him especially when it will get to that point where he cannot play every game like he use to.
While no one can be Leo, assuming Dembele keeps fit and develops properly, He will likely be the guy who would fill Leo's role as the creator when needed.
M
MessiCam
Guest
Wow... This thread!
This special talent is first and foremost an out and out winger. They make risky passes, dribble and lose the ball A LOT. Get over it already...
I'm guessing his performance against Girona after his nerves settled has a few detractors tight lipped and as such they're now clinging to every little thing the press put out there. Family problems, diet, night life... Hell some have even gone as far as bringing into question his behaviour to push through a move. Great!
He created more chances than everybody other than Suarez, was in the top 5 for final third passes (88% success rate), put in more crosses than anybody else, had more take on's than anybody else, drew fouls too and wait for it... Had more ball recoveries than anybody else (7).
All this for a guy who has played the magnificent amount of 260 La Liga minutes and is still getting to grips with a style of football that many never really adapt to. Yeah, I know which side of the fence I'm sitting on...
This special talent is first and foremost an out and out winger. They make risky passes, dribble and lose the ball A LOT. Get over it already...
I'm guessing his performance against Girona after his nerves settled has a few detractors tight lipped and as such they're now clinging to every little thing the press put out there. Family problems, diet, night life... Hell some have even gone as far as bringing into question his behaviour to push through a move. Great!
He created more chances than everybody other than Suarez, was in the top 5 for final third passes (88% success rate), put in more crosses than anybody else, had more take on's than anybody else, drew fouls too and wait for it... Had more ball recoveries than anybody else (7).
All this for a guy who has played the magnificent amount of 260 La Liga minutes and is still getting to grips with a style of football that many never really adapt to. Yeah, I know which side of the fence I'm sitting on...
FinBarcelonafan
Well-known member
The problem is he is shitty finisher. Needs to learn from Messi/Suarez. He could be so much more, If he could finish better. Neymar had similar issue, but he is still way better goal scorer than Dembele.
Ousmane Dembélé
Banned
I know he's only played so few games and minutes so far which might skew his stats a bit, but considering his shaky start to his life at Barcelona so far he is putting up very good playmaking stats.
It's easy to dismiss the stats above by saying Dembele's sample size is far too small, but let's compare Messi's stats from last season to Dembele's at Dortmund.
Dembele had better playmaking stats than Messi last season.
This is not to say that Dembele is or ever is going to be a fraction of the player Messi is because he probably isn't, and we all know stats can be misleading and aren't the be all and end all, but they do prove he is already close to a world class creator.
It's easy to dismiss the stats above by saying Dembele's sample size is far too small, but let's compare Messi's stats from last season to Dembele's at Dortmund.
Dembele had better playmaking stats than Messi last season.
This is not to say that Dembele is or ever is going to be a fraction of the player Messi is because he probably isn't, and we all know stats can be misleading and aren't the be all and end all, but they do prove he is already close to a world class creator.
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henias
New member
I think his biggest threat is his crosses. Perfectly timed and well executed, something we suffered at the start if the season with Deulofeu, and even Roberto sometimes struggle with. Dembele made it look effortless. To top it off, he is lightning fast so it gives him an edge to beat the defenders line. Doesnt have to keep it too complicated because Messi is there to provide him the ball, probably just needs to polish his finishing. Definitely has loads of potential.
FinBarcelonafan
Well-known member
I think Dembele is our key to success in CL this season. If he is not going to play, I don't see how we are going to beat any of the real heavy weights. Dembele can open up space for Messi. Right now we have no other threat, because Suarez is marked up high and MEssi with 3-4 players. Dembele would give Messi instantly more room to work with. Chelsea could man mark Messi with so many players, because there's no other threat. Conte made sure Messi would never have any space and it killed our offense completely. We can't let that happen again.
We need Dembele, even this season.
henias
New member
Very true. I think the presence of Dembele in itself is already a huge advantage for both Messi and Suarez. Not to mention the immense talent Dembele has, would give Chelsea loads of problem if they are just gonna mark Messi. Look at his game vs Juventus, he isn't in his best form but just him running behind defenders gave Messi so much options to score. Many times Chelsea zonal marked one side of the pitch and left acres of spaces on the other, Paulinho failed to exploit many of the spaces and imagine what Dembele could do especially with his speed and dribbling ability.
Could come on as a sub against Chelsea, and I guarantee Messi and Suarez will has more spaces to work with and wont be too isolated upfront.
Dembele is indeed the key.
M
MessiCam
Guest
I know he's only played so few games and minutes so far which might skew his stats a bit, but considering his shaky start to his life at Barcelona so far he is putting up very good playmaking stats.
It's easy to dismiss the stats above by saying Dembele's sample size is far too small, but let's compare Messi's stats from last season to Dembele's at Dortmund.
Dembele had better playmaking stats than Messi last season.
This is not to say that Dembele is or ever is going to be a fraction of the player Messi is because he probably isn't, and we all know stats can be misleading and aren't the be all and end all, but they do prove he is already close to a world class creator.
The problem for Dembélé right now is that he is going to see the ball a lot more (he is already averaging 12 more passes per game than at Dortmund at this early stage) and he is going to be starved of the sort of space that he had at Dortmund. If he can keep those numbers playing against parked buses, win more than 50% of his dribbles and contribute about 15 goals per season then he'll be a massive success here...
I'm not too concerned about his defensive contribution at this stage because now I just want him to press.
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