11 - Ousmane Dembélé - V1
- Thread starter Jair Ventura
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FCB1987
Banned
Dembele's all around game was definitely better in our other matches, but it reminds me of Paulinho where people significantly overrate his general ability based on a brief scoring spurt.
I'm not sure what exactly it is but Dembele always seems very "unstable" when he's in possession. Most of the great players have the ball almost glued to their foot but he's always very easy to dispossess for some reason.
I'm not sure what exactly it is but Dembele always seems very "unstable" when he's in possession. Most of the great players have the ball almost glued to their foot but he's always very easy to dispossess for some reason.
Especially poor indicates that his average performance wearing the Barca jersey is considerably better than what he displayed yesterday. This is simply not true; yesterday was close to the average performance he has been displaying over the past year. I think the problem here is that a lot of you guys are in denial that Dembele’s skills are limited and in a best case scenario he will turn out to be a Di Maria
It boils down to the relationship the player has developed with the ball. I used to play football when I was young and I personally had a love relationship with the ball itself. You get to know it, feel it and then master it. It is the only constant thing in the field, a familiar home; both the ball and the goal.
I do not think all players address football in this manner, an it seems Dembele doesn’t fit in that category either.
Thank you. That is the point I am trying to send across but as usual if it doesn’t fit the script then it gets rejected. Poor performance is a relative condition to the average performance of a player!
People here conveniently forget most dangerous passes and attacks usually come from him.
So yeah he's wasteful, but he's also the only one with Messi and Coutinho creating any kind of danger for the opposing team.
Subbing him at the half didn't work out that well yesterday.
So yeah he's wasteful, but he's also the only one with Messi and Coutinho creating any kind of danger for the opposing team.
Subbing him at the half didn't work out that well yesterday.
Not sure it was wise to bench him because somehow he always does provide. Still he is overall awfull and is more of an individual than a part of the puzzle. He is very talented but he needs to improve or he will rely too much on his individial talent and if he doesnt provide all what will be left is an awfull performance.
He's not more awful than the rest of the team outside of Messi. What IS awful is the slow building play of Barcelona. It used to make sense with prime Iniesta, Xavi, Messi and Suarez. It doesn't make sense at all nowadays when only Messi is still there (well, technically the ghost of Suarez is still there too I guess).
Play faster, with people moving into space, and you'll get a far better Dembele. You'll get a far better team actually.
Play style is terrible right now, nothing to do with Dembele when nobody's actually playing fast or running anyway.
Makes me the same impression as redcafe forum where MU fans criticize Pogba every day where he actually has nobody to make long passes to (you know, his strong point) because well... unlike France NT, nobody runs into space at MU either.
Watch Dembele in France - England game and tell me he's still "awful". Football is a team game. Your partners don't move, nothing will happen, even if you're the best in the world.
Watch Messi in Argentina WC team, he's so "awful" lol. Well, no, his team is awful actually. He's the same as in Barcelona. He can hardly do more.
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Watching a lot of old Neymar videos (2013/2014) and it's very similar to what we're seeing: constant loss of possession, not a lot of involvement in build up play, lots of loose touches, and moments of individual brilliance. We all know how Neymar improved on those aspects during his latter seasons at the club. Not comparing their talent, just saying I'm seeing a lot of similarities in their struggles. Barcelona fans just have to be a bit more patient with 21 year olds, especially with wingers that have an idiosyncratic style like Neymar and Dembele.
vlad
New member
Neymar today isnt much different than neymar you described, he had great season when he decided to play simple football. I agree with you that dembele reminds alot on neymar.
I dont like such type of players and i think barca would benefit more with fast wingers that play simple, without complicating things, david villa, guily, pedro...those types of players, with neymar and dembele, they are not usefull much against teams that defend with 10 players
Joan
Well-known member
Couldn't agree more.
Neymar's a lot better, and I mean A LOT, at shielding the ball and his first touch today than he was during his first season. Sure his in game intelligence has gone down the hill after 15/16, but his technique and resisting a press has improved a lot. Things like shielding the ball are things that can be taught and learnt with time, so I'm not worried.
Also I don't understand how "simple" players are more suited to Barcelona than flair players mindset, when our most famous players like Ronaldinho, Neymar, Cruyff, Laudrup, Figo, Ronaldo Nazario, and Messi are flair players lol.
henias
New member
Only partially correct, I feel we need a mix of both unpredictability, pace. Too predictable we get broken down easy and not like our system is more superior now like during those times.
Every team is going to try and defend against us, whether u like it or not, it's the matter of how u break down the teams, play fast on the counter. If you are ineffective, playing with a lousy system, even if teams dont defend they still can attack and expose your defence. Last season we broke down Juventus in a few counters through pace and a fresh system even though they are a team that stays compact. Last season we also destroyed Girona with a similar system.
Bear in mind, he is playing a deep LW role, which is probably not his comfortable position. Too constraint on the left where he needs to link up with mainly Suarez upfront, who simply cant return with the best pass or use pace to get past defenders. The wide RW role will suit him best and put in crosses to strikers like Suarez, Messi who naturally plays deep central will work best in this setup, occassionally can pick out Dembele or use him as a decoy(movement).
Neymar is has always been a special case, because he holds on to the ball for way too long (attempts too many dribbles almost 300 in a single season btw, no one in Europe surpassed that 200 dribble attempts that season), goes to the ground way too often. Dembele is far from that, little, apart from that, he is a great talent, team player.
To be fair, as much as I hate Neymar, and our Barca had problems with old players and the departure of Alves, who were taking care of the right flanks along with Messi who made us so formidable. Now Messi primarily drifts central, our right side is barren.
Dembele would be a perfect fit for that. You'll always still need a talented winger, fast and unpredictable.
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