So when Tottenham had travelled to Craven Cottage the previous month, Dembélé played in one of his final games as a number 10. He played off Bobby Zamora in a 4-4-1-1, with the more defensive Steve Sidwell partnering Danny Murphy in central midfield. Clint Dempsey and Damien Duff played on the left and right wings respectively. Tottenham had Scott Parker and Luka Modrić in the middle of their similar 4-4-1-1, with Younès Kaboul and Ledley King the centre back pairing.
Despite losing 3-1, Fulham performed well and deserved at least a point from the game, having three times as many shots as their visitors. Dembélé had a good game, but it's interesting to compare him to the other number 10 in the game (formation wise), Rafael van der Vaart. A good game for the Dutchman usually involves a lot of incisive play from inside and around the box, but Dembélé instead played a more withdrawn role, coming deep for the ball to instigate attacks.



Of course van der Vaart used to do similar at times, but his intention was always to get in the box afterwards, unlike the Belgian.
Because of Dembélé's tendency to drop deep, he was rarely running at Tottenham's back line, instead finding himself out on the wings. This led to Zamora being largely isolated up front, especially in the first half, with only Dempsey coming in from the left to support him. When Dembélé did receive the ball in advanced positions, he displayed his dribbling skills to good effect.



His dribbling has always been his best attacking strength; most of his 10 league goals at AZ Alkmaar (a career best) involved him running with the ball.
Dembélé's defensive work was outstanding throughout the game. His energy and athleticism won Fulham possession on numerous occasions; it was easy to see why he was only a month away from being put in a more central and involved role.



During Tottenham's recent striker injury crisis, Dembélé said that he would be willing to play up front if called upon. And with none of Spurs' midfielders really able to hold down a place alongside Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon in André Villas-Boas' 4-2-3-1, some fans were calling on Dembélé and his dribbling abilities to be given a chance there (less so since Sandro's injury). Perhaps he would benefit from better players around him in a more advanced role, but he would still play his own usual style: dropping deep towards the midfield. It seems counter intuitive to position a player further back to attack more, but being less shackled in midfield means his temamates ahead of him can make room for his marauding dribbles - and this is where Dembélé threatens best.