- Nov 8, 2011
- 1,089
- 678
The "Fat Dane".Jan Molby is an interesting point of comparison. He undoubtedly knew when, where, and how, to release the ball. He always seemed to have a ridiculous amount of time on the ball though (partly because of his vision, obviously; partly perhaps because of Liverpool's general dominance at the time) - no way would he stand out to the degree Dembele does in the modern game. Dembele is a clear class above Jan on this form.
Is Dembele a class above? He certainly looks more impressive on the ball, with his balance, control and strength. He looks "busier", with that ability to shrug off challenges and retain the ball. He's better than Wilshere, but not Wiltshire, the county Jack is often mistaken for.
Perhaps, with more physical limitations, Molby learnt to release the ball earlier to more effect. The phenomenal increase in fitness(plus the ideas of nutrition and technical advances to monitor fitness) has meant that Molby would have to upgrade to play at the top level(although Huddlestone was a key partner with Modric in CL qualification).
That dominant Liverpool were renowned as a hard drinking team, not uncommon, something that now would be regarded as poorly as calling Nelson Mandela a terrorist.