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Dele Alli - Player watch

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BringBack_leGin

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Jul 28, 2004
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I understand what your saying. In practice that would work. Trippier plays against Wolves on the weekend and then Aurier/KWP plays against Barcelona in a midweek CL match.

But in actuality? You know Poch will put Trippier out there against Barca. Against City. He's a hard worker who gives everything for the team. I admire and respect that. So does Poch obviously. But that doesn't change the fact that he's not talented enough to do what we've been asking him to do.

He’s maybe not athletic/ quick enough but talented, that’s one thing he is. He links with our attack through passing moves, and puts in better crossses, than every other fullback in recent years.
 

kmk

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Oct 5, 2014
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https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-c...g-take-risks-without-fear-says-england-stars/

Dele Alli was willing to take risks – he was without fear, says England star's mentor ahead of World Cup opener

17 JUNE 2018 • 10:48PM

Dan Micciche laughs when asked if he thinks Dele Alli, his former protege, will be overawed by his World Cup debut on Monday evening.

There have been, Micciche explains, plenty of times in Alli’s career when he should have been nervous - not least when he played Alli, then aged 14, against an adult non-league side to test him.

But now, as then, Micciche is convinced that Alli thrives under pressure - and the bigger the stage the more the 22 year old relishes it. For an England team that has too often seem overawed by the spotlight, Alli’s fearlessness might be just what they need.

“I went to Tottenham’s last game of the season and went to see Dele afterwards,” says Micciche, who was head of the MK Dons Academy between 2007 and 2013 as Alli came through the club’s youth system. “You’d never think he’d just played in a Premier League match and was about to go to the World Cup.

Instead he was reminding me about a game I left him out of when he was 15! He just has no fear.”
Micciche witnessed this early.

The first time he saw Alli play was for MK Dons Under-12s against Tottenham, when the small No 10 scored twice in his side’s 5-4 defeat, and attempted to chip the goalkeeper from 30 yards.

“Dele was very creative, very different - a little bit more extravagant than anyone else,” he explains. “Kids often play safe at that age but he would try things.”

dele3_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqEDjTm7JpzhSGR1_8ApEWQA1vLvhkMtVb21dMmpQBfEs.jpg


At that age football was Alli’s escape from a childhood that was far from typical. His father, Kenny, left the country a week after he was born and his mother, Denise, struggled with four children to look after. He is now estranged from both parents.

“I was aware of his situation - to develop the player you need to know and understand the person,” says Micciche. “So rather than giving him a b******ing if he missed training it was about being aware and empathetic to the fact he might not have been able to get there as easily as someone else. It wasn’t about bending the rules for him, it was having empathy for an 11-year-old kid.”

That empathy remained throughout the six years they worked together as Micciche became one of the key influences on the youngster’s life and career. Alli has previously referred to Micciche as his mentor, but until now the latter has not fully explained the lengths he went to in order to ensure Alli fulfilled his potential.

“The thing with Dele is he always wanted to be challenged,” says Micciche. “He was the type of young player that it might be easy as a coach to be put off by - he was a risk-taker. Things would go wrong and he would make mistakes.

“He responded more to the environment he was in than direct coaching. Aged 14 I realised he might respond more to playing against St Albans’ first team than to a structured coaching session. He loved that environment, playing against 28 year-olds.

“Sometimes we would turn up to games with 10 players to see how they would cope. I asked Dele to play against a professional Futsal team, and we’d change the pitches they played on, make them narrower to funnel play into the middle. We did those things so that

Dele and the other players learnt the game. In order to be creative you need to problem solve – and Dele always could.”
The one problem Alli struggled to solve, though, was his temper. Micciche’s solution was unusual - he introduced a one-minute sin-bin for any player that stepped out of line, no matter the stage or importance of the match.

“If he did something the ref didn’t see or he got away with something he wouldn’t in an adult game then he would go into the sin-bin for a minute,” says Micciche. “He could calm down, reflect, slow his breathing down.

“People term Dele as being on edge, but I think it’s more that he’s competitive. But there was a balance there [between competitiveness and controlling his temper].”

With his temper under control, Alli thrived under Micciche and his innovative coaching methods. At the same time his circumstances off from the pitch were improving as he moved in with the family of a team-mate, Harry Hickford.

“The Hickfords gave him excellent support, and they deserve a lot of credit. From my point of view I just made sure I was approachable, that I saw him as more than a footballer. His schooling was important and Dele was always intelligent, though he wasn’t motivated by school. His teacher said to me he was bright and it came naturally to him but football was his love. That was where he always felt most comfortable - out on the pitch.”

Others began to notice his talent. After a 12-year-old Alli scored twice in a 4-3 win over Tottenham, Micciche was approached by Chris Ramsey, then at Spurs.

“He said to me: ‘I’ll pay £5,000 for your No 10 tomorrow’,” Micciche recalls. “I said: ‘Chris, that wouldn’t pay for the little toe on his left foot’. Six years later they ended up paying £5 million for him.”

And 10 months after moving to Tottenham, Alli made his England debut. He is now central to the hopes of both club and country and is expected to shine over the next month. So, did Micciche think he’d be this good?

“Anyone who manages a young player and says ‘yes’ to that question is lying,” laughs Micciche, who went on to coach the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ryan Sessegnon while working with the England youth teams, and recently managed the MK Dons first team.

“Ask Chris Ramsey if he thought Harry Kane would be this good at 13 and he would say no, 100 per cent. I coached Harry at that age and he didn’t stand out.

“But all the strategies we worked on were designed to work out where Dele was heading, and what experience he needed to be ready. He always saw it as his stage to go and perform.

“I am very proud of him. It’s weird - I went to the airport and he’s on a huge advert there, I pick up a magazine and he is on the cover. But he hasn’t changed. He’s still Dele.” And that may be just what England needs.
 

Frozen_Waffles

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Jan 26, 2005
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He gets alot of stick on here and from other fans, but after watching years of fear demolishing both England teams and Spurs players who wouldn't risk anything just to keep a high pass percentage or didn't have the bottle....

I am so glad we have a guy who goes out and trys things, with those players the impossible is always possible.

Very few guys like that pass through Spurs, but we have had a few Bale and Gazza spring to mind. His potential is limitless he needs bigger and bigger challenges to keep pushing him. He could be the key to this world cup for England.
 

JimmyG2

SC Supporter
Dec 7, 2006
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Love this boy.
More and more.
And more.

Show em tonight D.
A real talent that has been blessed
with his support and coaches.
 
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spursfan77

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Aug 13, 2005
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He gets alot of stick on here and from other fans, but after watching years of fear demolishing both England teams and Spurs players who wouldn't risk anything just to keep a high pass percentage or didn't have the bottle....

I am so glad we have a guy who goes out and trys things, with those players the impossible is always possible.

Very few guys like that pass through Spurs, but we have had a few Bale and Gazza spring to mind. His potential is limitless he needs bigger and bigger challenges to keep pushing him. He could be the key to this world cup for England.

I’m amazed at the stick he gets from some of our own fans.
 

Frozen_Waffles

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Jan 26, 2005
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I couldn't believe what I was listening to last night. On the Guardian wc pod.

Barry Glendenning and the other guy suggesting RLC should be picked ahead of Dele?

Are they drunk? Dele brings goals, assists, endless running, gets fk's and others booked, presses well, runs abaat quite a bit etc...

What does RLC bring? Except the old he has a nice touch for a big man. Seriously baffled why everyone is so positive over this guy, he is bang average.
 

yido_number1

He'll always be magic
Jun 8, 2004
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I couldn't believe what I was listening to last night. On the Guardian wc pod.

Barry Glendenning and the other guy suggesting RLC should be picked ahead of Dele?

Are they drunk? Dele brings goals, assists, endless running, gets fk's and others booked, presses well, runs abaat quite a bit etc...

What does RLC bring? Except the old he has a nice touch for a big man. Seriously baffled why everyone is so positive over this guy, he is bang average.
I think Loftus Cheek will prove a good player but Alli is light years ahead at the moment. I think Loftus cheek needs to learn how to use his physicality better, but he does have a good ability to beat players when he goes for it.
 

hughy

I'm SUPER cereal.
Nov 18, 2007
31,842
56,932
I couldn't believe what I was listening to last night. On the Guardian wc pod.

Barry Glendenning and the other guy suggesting RLC should be picked ahead of Dele?

Are they drunk? Dele brings goals, assists, endless running, gets fk's and others booked, presses well, runs abaat quite a bit etc...

What does RLC bring? Except the old he has a nice touch for a big man. Seriously baffled why everyone is so positive over this guy, he is bang average.
Glendenning sounds drunk 90% of the time. He is hilarious though.
 

dtxspurs

Welcome to the Good Life
Dec 28, 2017
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Would be interested to hear what peoples thoughts on him are with his more defensive role at the World Cup. We've seen him projected in that spot a lot for the upcoming Tottenham season. I wasn't able to watch enough of Englands games to make a judgement.
 

Colonel_Klinck

Well-Known Member
May 19, 2004
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He didn’t have a great WC for me but then England didn’t use him like we do. Hopefully Gareth and Poch can pick all the lads up and we don’t suffer a slump at the start of the season.
 

tiger666

Large Member
Jan 4, 2005
27,978
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Would be interested to hear what peoples thoughts on him are with his more defensive role at the World Cup. We've seen him projected in that spot a lot for the upcoming Tottenham season. I wasn't able to watch enough of Englands games to make a judgement.

A waste imo. He's at his best playing off Kane.
 

DCSPUR

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Apr 15, 2005
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a selfless world cup - played through injury from the first game until the knockout phase/ lots of work for the collective.
If Winks had been fit would love to have seen him slot into midfield and Dele take his position closer to Kane.
 

parj

NDombelly ate all the pies
Jul 27, 2003
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Alli made the sacrifice playing through injury and seemed to be playing deeper. For me this is where he made it at Spurs and he needs to learn how to play that role again so he can control the game more. He has so much more to offer than just playing off Kane.

So much ability but when teams drop deeper he needs to be able to pick the ball up and start trying to dictate play more.

I actually think Dier and Alli feed of each other more than Kane and Alli. When Dier and Alli are playing well you really see the difference.
 

Clark28

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2016
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If Winks had been fit would love to have seen him slot into midfield and Dele take his position closer to Kane.
Winks in CM spraying balls over the top for Alli to run on to.

Hopefully Winks can get over the ankle injury this season, and he'll be in the starting 11 for Euro 2020.
 
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