Ousmane Dembélé

[KingLeo10]

I defended him so long and even at the beginning of this season...but he's just not an elite player.

He's a guy who will dominate low to mid level LL teams, but barely ever show vs elite opposition in CL or WC KOs.

Not a bad player to keep around on decent wages, but you can't shell the bank on this guy. No chance.

 

[DonAK]

Only a very small group seems to think he is an amazing player.

He is only valuable for us because we do not have access to the elite wingers and that will not change anytime soon.

You'll be surprised at how he's viewed online

That can change if Laporta does the right thing instead of delaying the inevitable. Turn the club into a S.A.D and open up for investment. He'll probably leave that decision to his eventual successor though who will have no choice but to do it after Laporta have sold off more assets.

 

[Birdy]

Same old crap put forward by his haters

He is not an 'elite winger' like other teams have...
and when you ask for a name of an elite winger, the best answer you can get is prime Neymar

As if Dembele at Barca is known for making a difference in big CL games. Literally his most high profile moment at the top is missing an absolute sitter in a CL semi. He is known for being a top player vs Elche, Osasuna, and the majority of the midtable sides in Spain this season. Against medium level defenders or lower, players that he can dominate with his pace.

Dembele is simply not good enough past a certain level. CL and World Cup semis and finals are clearly out of his league. Because he also doesn't have much middle ground, he either dribbles players for fun, or he gives the ball away a lot.

Same old dump take about not being able to play high level games
When he plays in a team that gets tactically outfoxed in big games, his haters expect HIM somehow to make the difference and turn the tide of the game
But only he is being held to these standards
Not any of the other Barca players (Pedri, Gavi, FDJ, Lewa), NOT a SINGLE ONE is being held to this kind of criticism
For them it's all coach's fault.
For Dembele though it's that he cannot make the difference

 

[Porque]

I don't think his strengths were utilized well by Deschamps. They frequently ignored his side, opting for Mbappe-Griezmann-Theo triangle on the left. He gets far more touches at Barca, which allows for more playmaking. He also was relegated to a right wingback essentially due to Kounde's playstyle at RB and Mbappe's lack of defending on the left.

Deschamp was setup to take advantage of what Dembele excels at though. Sit back, hand possession to the opposition and counter with the space of the turnover.

It just so happened that France had a superior option on the left and chose to prioritise on it.

 

[malvolio]

To be hauled off before HT is a humiliation for any player. For that to happen in the greatest game there is in football and basically the greatest game you'll probably play your whole career is something that will hang above your head forever.

This clown has been shown time and again not to be dependable in pressure situations. We might have laughed it off and said that what happened against Liverpool was a one off or really didn't matter. But that's the moment that defines Dembele's career.

 

[CatalinR10]

To be hauled off before HT is a humiliation for any player. For that to happen in the greatest game there is in football and basically the greatest game you'll probably play your whole career is something that will hang above your head forever.

True.


Funny how I was scared before the game that he would be the one to decide the game for them since I expected Mbappe to be heavily marked but he only got himself subbed off at halftime due to a stinker.


I don't even think he had a good game for us in big games, did he ? Cause I clearly can't remember....

 

[OVI9323]

True.


Funny how I was scared before the game that he would be the one to decide the game for them since I expected Mbappe to be heavily marked but he only got himself subbed off at halftime due to a stinker.


I don't even think he had a good game for us in big games, did he ? Cause I clearly can't remember....

He had a few, against Real madrid, Seville, some would say Totenham. But it's a few game compare to all the bad game he gave us when we need him.

Here some delusional people still see him as some type of great player who is top 5 winger in the world but with the World Cup final performance + liverpool.
The debate can be closed, this guy will never be a top player

 

[Birdy]

The debate can be closed, this guy will never be a top player

Yeah,
if you and the Messi fanboy brigade say so, it must be thus...

 

[CatalinR10]

against Real madrid

which one ?

 

[Temptation]

Any player who doesn't have the "Barca DNA" or are Mavericks like RL9 or Dembele get criticised for anything they do here lmao.

Both have been definitely better than the golden boy Pedri but guess what? Pedri will be defended at everybody's expense coz he has the DNA and shit.

And those posters have the cheek to diss Busquets acolytes for doing the same thing they do with their boys. Delightful.

Qatar winning Messi the WC has really brought out the worst in this forum and I fucking love it. I saw it on my first week here.

 

[KingLeo10]

Qatar winning Messi the WC has really brought out the worst in this forum and I fucking love it. I saw it on my first week here.

Imagine it's Christmas and this lowlife is still seething

 

[Temptation]

Imagine it's Christmas and this lowlife is still seething

State a blatantly obvious fact=seething.


This is how a certain deluded fanbase processes information.

 

[ajnotkeith]

Any player who doesn't have the "Barca DNA" or are Mavericks like RL9 or Dembele get criticised for anything they do here lmao.

Both have been definitely better than the golden boy Pedri but guess what? Pedri will be defended at everybody's expense coz he has the DNA and shit.

And those posters have the cheek to diss Busquets acolytes for doing the same thing they do with their boys. Delightful.

Qatar winning Messi the WC has really brought out the worst in this forum and I fucking love it. I saw it on my first week here.

Dembele will never be cheered on by fans because he is a reminder of the Barto era, he will always be stained by that however much he tries. For most fans he will always be connected with his big price tag and that disastrous era however well he does, when he does badly it always comes back to that and how he isn't good enough for the price.

People just need to accept that even though he will never be the legendary or generational player that they are seemingly expecting, he is still one of the best players we have and pretty far from the list of problems.

 

[te amo barca]

Dembele caused the penalty but wasn't any worse than any of Mbappe, Griezmann and Giroud in the first half. Taking him off proved to be the right decision but let's not pretend he was the reason France were 2-0 down after 40 minutes. The entire team was abysmal, and didn't really improve until the 70th minute.

Deschamp was setup to take advantage of what Dembele excels at though. Sit back, hand possession to the opposition and counter with the space of the turnover.

It just so happened that France had a superior option on the left and chose to prioritise on it.

Disagree that sitting back and countering with space is best use for current Dembele. Years at Barca taught him how to be more methodic with the ball and attack spaces in parked buses. He often makes the wrong decision on counter, but makes right decisions in positional attacks. Xavi's Barca even with Dembele, Ferran and Raphinha hardly ever counter-attacks.

I mean even when you think about Dembele's best version at Barca, the image that comes to mind is not a one-man counter-attack. For me it's him receiving the ball 1v1 on the wing in a fairly static position, skinning 1 or 2 players and making a good cross in the box.

 

[fergus90]

I like Dembele always have done but if there is one accusation you can definitely throw it at him, is that his end-product needs to be more consistent. He still makes too many questionable decisions around the box at times.

I thought France's success more coincided with Coman being introduced, who definitely had a lot of joy down the rightside when he came on.