Dembele’s Selflessness a Vital Asset at Tottenham

On Sunday, Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino made one crucial switch to the side many expected him to field: he asked Mousa Dembélé to sit deep alongside Eric Dier and moved Dele Alli forward.

Now, in practice, this is what often occurs anyhow. Dembélé might be deployed in a number 10 role, but his proficiency at tight marking and pressing tend to mean he drops deep more often than not. That allows him to bring to bear those pressing skills against the opposition’s attempt to play out from the back, while also covering for Alli’s tendency to move up the pitch when Tottenham is in possession.

Dembélé’s nominally more advanced positioning has also had the added benefit of allowing the Belgian to occasionally make his own runs forward and, on three different occasions over the last month, such movement has resulted in a goal.

Scoring has never been Dembélé’s primary quality on the pitch. After three seasons and 135 appearances in all competitions with Tottenham, those goals against Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Anderlecht were only his sixth, seventh and eight times he’s scored for the club. That sharp increase in offensive potency led many to assume that an advanced attacking role was Dembélé’s to lose at Tottenham, and he might even keep the likes of Ryan Mason and Érik Lamela out of the starting XI going forward.

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In truth, no one is asking goals of Dembélé. His contributions match to match mean so much more than an ability to regularly score. Expecting the Belgian international to be a consistent goalscoring threat would be like discovering that a cement mixer can also make ice cream then promptly forgetting that the machine is still best suited for mixing cement. Let Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Heung-min Son be concerned with such matters as scoring. Dembélé has another, equally or possibly more important job to do.

Nevertheless, football’s obsession with goals means that Dembélé’s profile increases every time he scores, as presumably do the chances he’s offered a new contract at Tottenham. No one could blame Dembélé for wanting more goals, more often.

So then a certain amount of admiration is due to Dembélé for accepting the more thankless central midfield role given to him by Pochettino Sunday. Assisting Dier in midfield is to cut off West Ham attacks before they start, reclaim the ball and lay it off in simple passes to more advanced players. It’s not flashy or even all that obvious to the casual observer. Perhaps most importantly: it reduces the likeliness of a goal pretty dramatically.

Next: How Spurs Won: Home vs West Ham

Dembélé consequently managed zero shots in the game, but did notch up four tackles and three interceptions. Meanwhile, Alli, who took over the number 10 role ahead of Dembélé, had a barnstormer of a game, frequently running forward into West Ham’s box and creating three chances on goal, one of which was converted.

Beyond his ability to do what he does, Dembélé’s willingness to step back and allow Alli into a role many figured he’d made his own over the last month makes him among the more important players at Tottenham. That versatility and emotional maturity should be an example that everyone at the club should follow. It is the type of team-oriented play that could finally earn Tottenham a return to the Champions League, and possibly more.