20 Jun 2025 09:31:42
Ed001,
Apologies if this is the wrong page, wasn’t sure where else to post.
I value your opinion on players and you have great info, so I wanted to ask about Moussa Dembele at spurs.
Watched abit on him this morning, players opinions on him etc.
He looked top top class. Why did he never take off? What held him back?
Thanks as always,
And just delete if on the wrong page!
Cheers.
{Ed001's Note - he was one of my favourite ever players, ed77 sent me a clip about him the other day which brought the memories flooding back. I remember him at Fulham and he just stood out a mile as by far the best player on the pitch, it was astonishing to me he only went to Spurs rather than Madrid or Barca to be honest. He really was that good. I really have no idea why he never went to one of the best teams, it seems a waste of his career to not have the trophies his talent deserved.
I loved the way he glided across the ground but also he was strong as an ox and could protect the ball physically, as well as using skill. Maybe it was because he rarely scored thar he never quite took his career to the places it should have gone?}
20 Jun 2025 10:45:11
Interesting one Ed, that's for sure. Maybe he didn't have the elite mentality or hunger needed?
But boy oh boy what a player. Like you said, how he would glide across the pitch. A real physical specimen. Beautiful player to watch.
20 Jun 2025 10:46:12
Those days, I hoped for him and Gary Medel in our midfield.
20 Jun 2025 10:51:23
Possibly the most press resistant midfielder I've ever seen.
20 Jun 2025 11:03:29
Gary Medel is a blast from the past. Loved him as a player. Dembele was a Rolls Royce of a player though but didn't he have injury issues as well? I didn't manage to look it up but I recall him missing a fair few games.
20 Jun 2025 11:26:20
I believe ED01 was a huge Gary Medel fan back then too. what year was that at all? . seems ages ago!
{Ed001's Note - I loved Medel, proper midfielder, massively underrated as he had the quality to play everywhere but most people just noticed his tackling.}
20 Jun 2025 11:47:46
I loved Dembele and would have taken him in a heartbeat. Also on a completely unrelated note to actual football, but he was a beast of FIFA back in the day when I played it.
20 Jun 2025 12:12:12
Ed1 - 20 odd years on this site and probably showing it with saying that I remember the time you were pushing for us to sign him. Great player he was in his prime.
{Ed001's Note - Dembele or Medel? I assume Dembele, no one is going to consider Medel (much as I loved him) a great player! I have to say, Gravy has shown some of the Dembele touches over the course of the season. He does have the gliding across the turf down pat and holding multiple players off before spinning out and leaving them out of the game too.}
20 Jun 2025 12:31:23
Ed1. Was actually talking about Medal. I remember you pushing for us to sign him all those years back.
On Dembele, I agree with everything you said about him. He was head and shoulders above anyone else at Spurs at the time. He had everything!
{Ed001's Note - ah ok I wasn't sure as I wanted us to sign both. Medel was just exactly what we were missing then. We have Endo now to do the same job now. I did love Medel though, he was a standout for Cardiff when he was in the Prem with them. Their one player who looked like he belonged in the top flight.}
20 Jun 2025 12:31:50
I adored Moussa Dembele. In his peak, he was phenomenal but it seemed Delle Alli was getting a lot of the hype as a midfielder at the time cos he scored a lot of goals.
But Dembele? What a player, my goodness.
20 Jun 2025 12:50:49
What a player he was. He was able to skip past a player from standing and was impossible to get the ball off.
Honestly can't remember how his career wound up. I think he went to China when that was a thing.
Silly to say this as he hasn't reached the heights, but I always felt Curtis Jones had very similar attributes to Dembele. Similar body type and ability to hold off opposition and break the press. Perhaps not the raw power that Dembele had though. And definitely not the consistency!
20 Jun 2025 13:03:51
Oh man, a blast from the past. Dembele a class player and Medel, one of the hungriest for the ball.
As a Chilean, I was desperate for us to get "El Pitbull" (Medel) back then. He was exactly what we needed at the time. I remember him destroying Messi a number of times while at Sevilla and when playing for the national team. He always man-marked him and gave him a hard time.
Was so disappointed LFC didn't take much of a look at him. Also when Sanchez picked Arsenal. I desperately wanted a Chilean at LFC. Mark Gonzalez didn't really have much of a career at LFC but I feel Medel or Sanchez would've gone on to become really important players for the club history, they were difference makers.
20 Jun 2025 13:43:18
Ed1, did we ever show interest in either of them? both absolute quality who would've improved any team.
{Ed001's Note - not that I am aware of, no.}
20 Jun 2025 14:49:40
Loved Medel too. Saw him later in his career when he played DM for Bologna. told my kids (american)! that is the REAL pitbull.
20 Jun 2025 14:55:54
@Gregarious, there is a reason why we never signed him. Ed01 had been been screaming on here till our ears went neard broken for us to sign Medel and we didn't. Why? Cos Ed01 is cursed.
Cos whenever Ed01 wants us to sign a player, we never do at least 90% of the time. That's why we did not get Medel, a guy who ended up playing for Cardiff in the PL in 13/ 14. Go figure.
20 Jun 2025 15:10:53
DON'T say Medel, Gregarious - he was Ed001's crush for a few years!