Yes I agree, but the art of football management at the highest level is making sure your best players believe in club's future and direction. Maybe the club have let down our best players, so they all pee off sooner or later, as our recent history shows.
Dembele could over time become more important then Modric, yet recently I have felt Dembeles importance has been escalated by our craving of a creative midfielder, or someone to fill the Modric gap, as Dembele strolled into our team and was all of a sudden claimed to be this future great. I remember the same happened with WIlson Palacios a few years back, after his performance against the goons at home, he was already pencilled in as a future great. Obviously I'm not comparing the two players in terms of ability, but Dembele has some way to go before he can match Modric and because of Dembeles reputation (already) no one criticises him, even when he makes faults.
We can't afford to pay these players the wages that they can command at other clubs, especially those with artificially inflated pockets. It's unfortunate but there's nothing that we can do about it.
I'd be very surprised if Madrid are willing to pay anything more than 35million. Bale is a good player but 55 million is just crazy. I'm pretty sure after the disappointment of Modric, they'd be cautious to splash that much cash.
He didn't look great against QPR as Mbia roughed him up, but maybe Dawson bypassed him too often with his diagonal balls, whatever he looked pretty static at times. Up until that game I had not seen him lose a ball. I'm hoping we see the best of him against United reliving his triumph from his Fulham days. The dictionary is suggesting I have spelt Fulham wrong and that it should be Alhambra. Do they have a Spanish connection I don't know about!
True . He has be come our " great white hope " . As we are starved of creation at the moment ( not AVB's fault ) our bets are all on him. Being honest I think he is a little overrated as he goes missing and doesn't provide a dominating influence in midfield as he has a defensive midfielder providing him with a good platform. Still a good player but deep down I would rather have a Hazard, Oscar , Modric, etc.
Yes it needs to be at least 65 million, taking into account potential CL earnings for the club, not too mention the PL. Selling him for 55 million could see us lose out on income in the long run.
I was just reading this article on Dembele V Modric http://fourfourtwo.com/blogs/statsz...a-modric-s-boots-in-tottenham-s-midfield.aspx and aside from some odd comments, such as "As it happens, Spurs have actually returned to a 4-4-2 system in recent weeks, more in line with what Harry Redknapp preferred during his spell at Tottenham" They talk about Dembele rarely losing the ball and his pass completion rate being higher then Modrics, yet they also mention how Modric was keener to play more ambitious passes (hence him losing the ball more often), also Modric created a higher number of chances for team mates (but can we trust these stats, as what do they class as a chance?) Also, while Modric was pretty abysmal in terms of scoring, he attempts more then twice the number of shots per game then Dembele does, so I'll like to see Dembele take more risks with his passing/shooting, or you could say his current role is perfect for keeping the ball and if we had a real creative midfielder in front of him then Dembele would compliment him. However overall I still think Dembele is learning/maturing into his role as a central midfielder as when he first arrived in English football he was signed as a striker, then used as a winger by Fulham, until being deployed in the centre.
If Dembele stays in his current role, then having a player such as Oscar operating in front of him would be ideal, just what happens if Villas Boas attempts to sign Moutinho, what was his intentions in terms of playing Dembele & Moutinho in the same line up?
Yes I find the quote you have highlighted the least convincing part of the article. It's simplistic to say we have returned to the 4 4 2 played by Harry the line up may be numerically the same but the movement isn't.
£55m is an incredible amount of money but I personally think Bale, in the current market, is worth a bit more if I'm honest. He's one of the best players - a case can be made for the best - in the Premier League and at 23, he's still developing. So ability wise, you're looking at £55m, potential wise, there has to be another £5m-£10m on top in my opinion. Though of course, if I were Levy, it'd need a £100m for me to even consider selling, some players are priceless to a club and Bale certainly falls into that category for us. He's also got about 4 1/2 years on his deal left, something else that works in our favour.
Well, no doubt the Phoney Pharoah, Al Fayed, would love to live in the Alhambra Palace!!! His delusions of grandeur knows no bounds!! Lol
I think its quite simple, Dembele does not have the vision of Modric and probably never will, lets not let transfer hatred get in the way of how good Modrics passing was on his day (not you btw!). I've not seen anything from Dembele like that, even at Fulham. His background was playing keepball as a kid in a small play area, not playing matches. That shows in his game today, fantastic close control and balance and like when he was as kid, surrounded by players makes no difference, once he's broke free from his pursuers, this is when Moussa's game is a little predictable, simple pass first, occasional long pass if a simple one's not on, hopefully not a shot, by his own admission he's not that good and never has been.
Maybe overtime Dembele will develop more and become just as important as Modric (in a different manner) as much depends on us signing a creative midfielder as if we compliment dembeles game with a player that he can link up with through the centre, then i believe that will take us up another gear. Currently, as you say Dembele is predictable, as really too much is placed on Dembele to not just keep the ball, but also push us forward, yet he doesn't have the game to to do both effectively on a consistent basis. As for rat face, superb vision and I would actually welcome him back.
I see Dembele as a great ball winner, and user of a second ball, he then attracts opponents and goes by them taking them out the game, thats his job done and needs someone to take over from there, and quickly while these players are out the game, but generally it slows and we mess it up! I don't understand the comparisons with Modric, two different players and he won't become Modric all the time he has a hole in his rear! Juan Mata is the kind of player we are looking for to compliment MD imo, vision, goals, and can deliver quality passes/set pieces.
Dembele's a tricky player in the final third too but I think he's more aware of his defensive responsibility with us than Fulham, probably in part due to our wingers being more attacking and liking to come inside too. This demonstrates what he can do and I remember him playing a number of difficult passes in the final third to open up defences at Fulham and I'd like to see him do it more with us. [video=youtube;CA4hw9c0gPY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CA4hw9c0gPY[/video]
Its a numbers game YV, now and again he's bound to pull off such passes at some point, but he's not renowned for it, its not his A game. Are you trying to transfer him to me with your you tube clips? I take from your post you believe he has the same vision as Modric.
Just saying that at Fulham he got in and around the area a lot more and was more positive moving the ball forward, whereas at Spurs he's more disciplined but I do wish we encouraged him and others to take the game to the opposition by trying difficult passes and commiting forward more. The Youtube clip was just an example you cheeky
