Dele Alli - Player watch

[dtxspurs]

He’s way more Thomas Muller than he is Frank Lampard.

 

[THFCSPURS19]

So fucking indecisive today.

 

[Tottenhamboy85]

I don't think it's a fitness issue, he's been off the boil for over a year now. I think the issue is that he doesn't really have much of a football brain. Whilst the likes of Gerrard, Lampard Fabregas Modric etc were/are constantly aware of what's around them and know what to do with the ball before they've even received it, Dele hasn't shown he has that sort of awareness recently. He's more than capable of playing one or two touch football and moving into space, he's done it before. I honestly believe it's an issue with his application due to having such a meteoric rise at such an early age. He hasn't had to graft for it. The argument that he should be playing further up the pitch is a valid one but unless we only play that system for the foreseeable future then Dele is going to find himself on the bench because he can't be trusted with the ball.

Yeah those years playing in league one as a 16 year old was easy ?

 

[tooey]

Yeah those years playing in league one as a 16 year old was easy ?

You mean the 2 seasons which is significantly less time than most youth players spend on loan at lower league teams? Yeah, he's had it easy.

 

[Tottenhamboy85]

You mean the 2 seasons.

Yea they just let him chill out with no graft ?

 

[tooey]

Yea they just let him chill out with no graft ?

Care to add anything to the discussion or just entertain us with your white hot wit?

 

[heelspurs]

It seems my original post in this thread has been deleted...that is unless I didn't use the search function well enough. All the replies are there but not the original. Maybe it was deemed inflammatory considering the resulting debate was shutdown.

Either way Dele is not what most supporters think he is and needs to up his game. If that f*cker has an unquestioned spot in the XI next year it will be criminal. No one, not one apologist on this board can point to any tangible area of improvement from this player in over 2 years. Not one bit of improvement. He does what he always did and he still does it as poorly as he ever did. Nothing, touch not better, passing not better, marking and positioning not better, etc etc etc. If he's not tapping them in he is just a passenger.

I read some of the embarrassing posts about this player from the first 20 pages and it's awful. I suffered tons of shots for stated the facts that are right before our eyes almost 2 years ago and nothing has changed. Folks still thinking there is some 'world class' player here and excusing everything he f*cks up on the field because he's tired, or injured, or dealing with personal shit, or is changing agents. The tide is slowly shifting and it's a shame though. Part of it's Dele's fault for not having the self-discipline to improve, part Poch's fault for always playing him and part Levy's fault for not getting in competition for his position. When everyone realizes exactly what he is they're gonna start hating on him just like Tripps.

Last summer delusional folks said Dele (and Eriksen) could play deeper even though that experiment was tried when he first started here and was an abject failure. I said it would hurt us defensively and offensively and was a horrible idea. I guess needs must but it was an error to ever allow a 19 year old to establish himself and an unquestioned starter. Can't imagine he would take kindly to some rotation now.

 

[Fredo]

Few times he had so much time and space to place one good through ball then leading to most likely a goal. So frustrating

 

[Tottenhamboy85]

Care to add anything to the discussion or just entertain us with your white hot wit?

He’s just short of fitness and out of form due to playing multiple different positions.

It happens but if there’s one thing that can’t be going against him is that he’s had it easy. He’s grafted for everything he’s got

 

[tooey]

He’s just short of fitness and out of form due to playing multiple different positions.

It happens but if there’s one thing that can’t be going against him is that he’s had it easy. He’s grafted for everything he’s got

Good points. There certainly are some mitigating factors in his performance levels but I'd like to see him take the bull by the horns and step up when we need him the most (more frequently). Perhaps that will come with age.

 

[heelspurs]

He’s just short of fitness and out of form due to playing multiple different positions.

So how long is his fitness regime? Because he was absolute turd last year (and into the WC) and if you evaluate his overall play from his first game with us not much is really different except there are not the late winning goals. He was always dogshit during open play hence the 'FFS Dele' joke. This sounds like excuse not explanation.

 

[Tottenhamboy85]

So how long is his fitness regime? Because he was absolute turd last year (and into the WC) and if you evaluate his overall play from his first game with us not much is really different except there are not the late winning goals. He was always dogshit during open play hence the 'FFS Dele' joke. This sounds like excuse not explanation.

Absolute turd? He was our highest players in assists and scored double figures again.

He got injured in the first WC game yet scored in the quarters.

FFS dele joke is by idiots for idiots ??

 

[13VanDerBale13]

Very lackadaisical today & lacked the killer instinct infront of goal, his confidence seems to be low when it comes to shooting

 

[Primativ]

It’s not a fitness issue come on guys.

Absolute turd? He was our highest players in assists and scored double figures again.

He got injured in the first WC game yet scored in the quarters.

FFS dele joke is by idiots for idiots ??

He’s an incredibly poor player in open play and always has been. His thing was scoring goals and when he isn’t doing that he’s just a passenger and very average

 

[Gassin's finest]

He was shite today TBF.

 

[JCRD]

He didnt look right but he is a far better player than what he showed today particularly in an attacking sense. Having said that he did play a great through ball to Davies and also had a chance int eh first which he really should have played it to Son first time but nonetheless should have scored when he decided to take it on himself.

He plays way better with Kane and whether that is because Kane makes him look good I dont know, but Dele is far more effective. Dele at times slows down the play so id suggest Poch has a quiet word with him to speed the fuck up

 

[punkisback]

Few times he had so much time and space to place one good through ball then leading to most likely a goal. So frustrating

I agree, we just lack a lot of footballing intelligence. Having players like Him, Dier, Sissoko in midfield doesn't help. We don't really look like a spurs team and lack players who can play with the ball at their feet. He's been very bumbly especially in situations in MF where it doesn't help.

 

[tobi]

He seriously needs to learn to pick his moments better and move the ball quickly.

He has above average technique, his movement and positioning are his best attributes.

 

[King of Otters]

He’s a supremely talented player, but he frustrates the shit out of me at times. A saw someone refer to him as a ‘street footballer’ the other day, and I think that’s apt. All the ability in the world, but is often more concerned with megging his opponent than making a quick pass on the break.

 

[heelspurs]

He seriously needs to learn to pick his moments better and move the ball quickly.

He has above average technique, his movement and positioning are his best attributes.

I would absolutely quibble with the bolded. Positioning in the attacking third, without the ball ie like Mueller then yes he gets good marks. But his defensive positioning is schoolboy. Just look at the example of last weekend's ManCity game. He has no idea of what is going on around him and this wasn't the first time he has had to be moved because were suffering.

If Dele has 'above average technique' the can you name me a player with 'average' technique. Are you using average in the common football way to mean bad or in the real sense of the word being a measure of central tendency. Because Dele's technique is what let's him down and why his can't make passes on time or control a ball very easily...and precisely why he wasn't able to make that easy pass to Sonny with his left foot. If he actually had AAT I would have significantly fewer complaints with him because he wouldn't be caught out so frequently.