Jol not bringing on Dembele

[Deanothefulhamfan]

I was thinking earlier, why on earth did Jol not bring Dembele on when we were 2-1 down, or even when he brought kaca on when it was 1-1.

Whether you feel he is ready or not is another matter, but Jol is  the victim of all this abuse and had a win win situation with bringing on the young Dembele.... The fans were calling for it, and would have gone crazy (in the good way) if he had got brought on, not only this but if and it is  big IF he had scored an equalizing goal, the fans would have actually given him a tiny bit of respect for making a bold and brave substitution, and maybe just maybe that would have been the spark we needed to kick on.

Bent had an awful game, and should have been subbed regardless, but I just feel Jol missed a trick here by not bringing on the youngster, it really was set up perfectly for him, and Jol could have taken the plaudits.

[MJG]

He never had any intention of bringing him on, it was just for show.

[Deanothefulhamfan]

Yeah I know, but why not roll the dice.... the fans were calling for it very loudly for long periods of the second half. He could have taken a lot of the hostility away from him just by bringing him on.

[Bassey the warrior]

Because he's Jol. Why are you surprised?

[JBH]

Sorry but not bringing him on was the correct decision I feel that the player who should have been brought on was Ashkan

[FFC1987]

I haven't had the pleasure of watching the game this week (in full) as I had a cup match myself BUT were we massively lacking width? If so I can understand the substitution. However, judging by the criticism aimed at Bent and the reaction to Boatang being substituted, I can only imagine Jol made some rather questionable decisions.

[LBNo11]

...whichever way you look at it, the fact that the loudest and longest chant of the day was for a player that many have yet to see live is a sad testament to how the fans view the team...

[God The Mechanic]

...whichever way you look at it, the fact that the loudest and longest chant of the day was for a player that many have yet to see live is a sad testament to how the fans view the team...

Or how many people are gonna be bitterly disappointed?

[EJL]

I'm glad he didn't. No young player should be subject to that sort of poisonous environment and be expected to perform. And that's what it was: expectation. It wasn't a case of "he's a young player, let's see what he can do". People were chanting his name, for Christ's sake. We're talking about a teenager who has only played a handful of U21 games.

[FFC1987]

I'm glad he didn't. No young player should be subject to that sort of poisonous environment and be expected to perform. And that's what it was: expectation. It wasn't a case of "he's a young player, let's see what he can do". People were chanting his name, for Christ's sake. We're talking about a teenager who has only played a handful of U21 games.

I guess people are clutching at hope at this stage....

[JBH]

...whichever way you look at it, the fact that the loudest and longest chant of the day was for a player that many have yet to see live is a sad testament to how the fans view the team...

Actually it was Jol Out

[JBH]

I'm glad he didn't. No young player should be subject to that sort of poisonous environment and be expected to perform. And that's what it was: expectation. It wasn't a case of "he's a young player, let's see what he can do". People were chanting his name, for Christ's sake. We're talking about a teenager who has only played a handful of U21 games.

Spot on  :028:

[DJinNJ]

In the likely event that Dembele didn't score in his first 20 minutes of Premier League football, I would think Jol would get just as much criticism for trying to ingratiate himself to some vocal fans at the expense of trying to win the game. I also don't think he was on the bench for show, he was there because Rodallega is injured and we don't have any other strikers. He was unlikely to play, but that doesn't mean he was there for cynical reasons.

I didn't think the substitutions were too bad. Boateng was on a yellow, I think already had a bad foul in the second half, and we were down a goal at that point so bringing on Sidwell made sense. I was expecting that change to be made when it happened. Can't argue with Ruiz coming off, but if we're going for width I don't get why Alex comes on before Ashkan. Parker was spent at the end, and you never know what Taarabt might do. I don't really like that throwing the dice with Taarabt is our "plan" when we need a goal, but honestly, with five minutes left and Swansea pulling back so that the counter attack wasn't an option, I don't see how else we were going to score other than a cross accidentally going in.

[Two Ton Ted]

If we were winning with 10 minutes to go, or Bent was injured, then maybe, but losing in front of a bear pit is not the best environment for a 17 year old to make his debut.

[Deanothefulhamfan]

Tarrabt did well when he came on, as did Sidwell.... I understand it may not have been the right environment, but imagine what sort of reception he would have got should he have got on, would have been a massive confidence booster, and in all fairness he would have been more of a threat than Berbatov and Bent.
I think Khan wants Jol to play young players, the fans want something new, and this was the perfect opportunity to bring him on. We won't get such a good chance again this year. As I say he might not be ready but he is a wildcard and could have done absolutely anything.

[Holders]

When he brought Kaca on it was obvious to me that Dembele wouldn't get on as Jol seems to think that Kaca links well with Berba.

As to whether he should have come on is a moot point. He might have changed the game; to have replaced Berbatov in his first game would have looked good on his CV and maybe given him confidence. I think he would have if we'd been 2 or 3 up. In the last 10 minutes? I can see arguments both ways.