Mousa Dembele Is Showing Signs of a Resurgence with Tottenham Hotspur
August 18, 2015
Tottenham Hotspur supporters had plenty to be disappointed about as their team blew a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Stoke City last weekend. A poor defensive effort in the game's last 15 minutes, questionable substitutions and the lack of depth upfront these changes partly confirmed, all underpinned a lost opportunity to secure a first win of the Premier League season.
One individual performance that did not disappoint was Mousa Dembele's. Indeed, off the back of a decent effort a week earlier against Manchester United, the midfielder is showing promising signs of enjoying a welcome resurgence in north London.
Dembele entered the new campaign with his future up in the air. Though called upon 38 times in 2014-15, only 10 of those appearances were league starts. For the first time since joining Tottenham in 2012, he was essentially back-up rather than first-choice.
Talk of a transfer emerged earlier this summer. Spurs' need to trim a crowded midfield was clear, and the Belgium international would have undoubtedly attracted suitors if made available.
Instead, Etienne Capoue, Lewis Holtby, Paulinho and Benjamin Stambouli were the midfielders to exit, with head coach Mauricio Pochettino confirming on the eve of the season that Dembele is "in my plans."
"The last season, it’s true, was difficult for him," Pochettino told his pre-Man United press conference. "But not only was [it] difficult for him and Tottenham, but his national team too. For that we need to try to find the best position for him, show the qualities he has. We need to try like a staff to help every player and Mousa is another player we need to help to try to be the best on the pitch when we have the possibility to play."
In the first two games of the season, Dembele has responded well to the faith shown in him, working hard to make the most of his starting opportunities.
Erik Lamela still feeling his way back after his late return from Copa America duty and the injury-enforced absences of Alex Pritchard and Andros Townsend made Pochettino's choice to start the 28-year-old in attacking midfield against Manchester United easier.
Utilising Dembele's more substantial presence was also a calculated call in Spurs' attempts to resist a Red Devils attack that had overwhelmed them so severely in March's 3-0 defeat (Dembele's arrival off the bench had helped halt the flow in that game).
It was not a roaring success. Spurs lost the match 1-0 (a scoreline that might have been avoided had Nabil Bentaleb not given possession away prior to Kyle Walker's own goal) and Dembele was a little tentative in participating in advances from his right-midfield position at times. Still, the improved resistance at Old Trafford had undoubtedly been helped by his more disciplined inclinations.
Though again occupying a nominal right-midfield position, Dembele was given more freedom to influence the game against Stoke.
Late on, the Spurs attack took on a dishevelled look following striker Harry Kane's departure and the aforementioned inability to offer a genuine alternative upfront. Prior to then, their ambitious passing and interchanges of position had led to them twice finding ways to successfully penetrate the Potters' otherwise sturdy back line.
Dembele provided the majority of the fading, threatening attempts to sustain this superiority, as Spurs' collective forward efforts faltered in the final half-hour. His 70th-minute long-range shot forced a decidedly improvised save from Jack Butland that required the Stoke goalkeeper to readjust quickly to stop Lamela's rebound. As the momentum swung against Spurs, Dembele continued to try his best to push Spurs forward.
It was in keeping with an urgency about his game that offers the best hope this is, indeed, a player revitalised.
Dembele did not do much wrong in his tough year last season. He was mostly tidy in possession, did not too often shirk his defensive responsibilities and showed glimpses of his tremendous skill. Yet compared to the energy and aggression of players like Kane, Ryan Mason and Danny Rose (latterly at least for the left-back), he too often looked like he was going through the motions. Efficient at best but too often a non-presence.
The 41st-minute incident against Stoke, when he lost the ball advancing down the right but then sprinted into his own half to recover it back, was not extraordinary by most people's standards. But it spoke of a desire about Dembele that had been lacking for a while. A need to impress and contribute for his team, rather than just an obligation.
Footballers' words are too often little more than platitudes, but coupled with his initial showings it does seem Dembele is attempting to back up his assertion "this season I want to be successful personally and with the team."
"I hope to fight for the team and that’s the first thing I’ll do, fight for the team and try to do what the manager asks of me," he said, speaking to Tottenham's official website, while also honestly admitting "I need to score more goals."
Even accounting for the defensive duties he has often been asked to perform, of five goals in three seasons with Spurs is too few for a player whose rare contributions here have often been most impressive.
It is early days and it remains to be seen whether Pochettino intends to persist with Dembele in attacking midfield. He may be dropped back to a more central role, or perhaps he will have to contend with being rotated in and out.
Wherever and however he is deployed, there is still ample room for improvement. A good start has at least given Dembele something to build on.
Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.