ZonalMarking.net's Michael Cox uses the FREE FourFourTwo/Opta StatsZone app to compare Spurs' new Belgian hero with their former star...



In a fascinating interview with the Daily Mail last weekend, Mousa Dembele rejected comparisons with Luka Modric, the central midfielder he effectively replaced at Tottenham in the summer. Ã¢ÂÂI never saw myself as the replacement for Luka,Ã¢ÂÂ said Dembele. Ã¢ÂÂI feel like IÃ¢ÂÂm a totally different playerÃ¢ÂÂ¦IÃ¢ÂÂm very much impressed by him, but heÃ¢ÂÂs a different kind of style.Ã¢ÂÂ

In a way, Dembele wasnÃ¢ÂÂt replacing Modric directly. Andre Villas-Boas taking over from Harry Redknapp meant a significant change in the way Tottenham played, and a different tilt to the midfield zone.

Under Redknapp, Spurs played a slightly old-fashioned British game, using the midfield to spread the ball wide to the wingers, who attacked at speed. Villas-Boas, at least in his early weeks, wanted more verticality from his players, combined with constant rotation of the midfield trio.



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. The inconsistent form of Clint Dempsey and Gylfi Sigurdsson, the two men used at the top of the midfield, meant Villas-Boas has turned to a striking partnership of Jermain Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor, despite an early setback when Adebayor was dismissed in the first half of the eventual 5-2 defeat at Arsenal.

That has changed DembeleÃ¢ÂÂs role slightly. In the early days, particularly in TottenhamÃ¢ÂÂs debut win under Villas-Boas, away at Reading, Dembele was the catalyst for rotation in the centre of the pitch; he could drop deeper than Sandro, or move in advance of Sigurdsson. Now, with only the Brazilian alongside him, TottenhamÃ¢ÂÂs midfield has a more permanent structure. Sandro sits and holds, while Dembele attacks. In that sense, DembeleÃ¢ÂÂs role is now more similar to ModricÃ¢ÂÂs Ã¢ÂÂ physically theyÃ¢ÂÂre entirely different, but on the pitch, theyÃ¢ÂÂre playing a similar role.

ThereÃ¢ÂÂs one important exception, of course Ã¢ÂÂ DembeleÃ¢ÂÂs still a thrillingly direct player, able to take on opponents at speed, suddenly providing bursts of pace and dribbling from the centre of the pitch. Modric could beat a man, but not nearly as frequently as Dembele does...

But whatÃ¢ÂÂs particularly fascinating is DembeleÃ¢ÂÂs passing ability. For a converted winger or forward, and someone accustomed to taking the ball forward solo, you might expect DembeleÃ¢ÂÂs distribution to be wayward. Instead, heÃ¢ÂÂs incredibly reliable when spreading the play wide, as his passes in TottenhamÃ¢ÂÂs most recent two matches have demonstrated.

His distribution is reminiscent of ModricÃ¢ÂÂs. Compare two equivalent games from this season and last Ã¢ÂÂ home draws against Stoke Ã¢ÂÂ and they have more in common than Dembele admits, being left-of-centre and generally sideways.

The clear difference is in accuracy. Modric was always regarded as a reliable passer, but his completion rate was 87.4% last season, whereas Dembele boasts a rate of 91.2% in 2012/13.

Modric is keener to play ambition passes, and creates 2.7 chances per match for teammates, compared to DembeleÃ¢ÂÂs 2.0, which explains why the CroatianÃ¢ÂÂs passes more frequently went astray. ItÃ¢ÂÂs also slightly surprising that Dembele, considering his positional history, attempts just 1.1 shots per game, compared to ModricÃ¢ÂÂs 2.3. As the Belgian explains in the aforementioned interview, as a kid his playground games didnÃ¢ÂÂt involve goals Ã¢ÂÂ the object was to dribble the ball towards a lamppost, then Ã¢ÂÂtouchÃ¢ÂÂ the ball against the post. It explains his love of taking on defenders in tight spaces, and his reluctance to pull the trigger.

Still, itÃ¢ÂÂs highly impressive that Spurs have managed to replace Modric with a midfield that offers similar quality of passing. Dembele can still improve, and contribute more in the final third, but purely in the midfield zone, Spurs havenÃ¢ÂÂt experienced a dip in quality since ModricÃ¢ÂÂs departure.

Stats Zone is a free-download app from FourFourTwo powered by stats from Opta, updated LIVE in-play, and pre-loaded with all data from the 2011/12 and 2010/11 Premier League and Champions League. Stats Zone is brought to youin association with FFT's bet partners Coral

Download SZÃ¢ÂÂ¢ Europa League SZÃ¢ÂÂ¢Read more about it Ã¢ÂÂ¢ More SZ analysis