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Dele Alli at Everton

Gassin's finest

C'est diabolique
May 12, 2010
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Totally agree. His form dropped off under Poch back in March when he came back form his hamstring injury into a diamond formation and had to play deeper, and he really needs to be one of the front three. In Kane's absence we should play him as a false 9 with 2 of our speedsters either side of him.
He's not clinical enough to be a forward in that sense.
 

dontcallme

SC Supporter
Mar 18, 2005
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That cameo last night will give Jose a few things to think about. I wonder if we'll see him further forward in the next game.
Alli's future is an interesting one. I get that many are frustrated with his performances for the last season and a half. Also difficult as he plays with a swagger. When performing well this can make him look supremely confident but when underperforming, arrogant and not really trying.

Due to his physicality we have tried playing him slightly deeper but it's clear his real talent is in getting goals and assists.

Would love for Mourinho to find what makes him tick and get the best from him.
 

Nick-TopSpursMan

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Aug 4, 2005
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I've been very critical of him recently but I thought he was bloody brilliant when he came on last night.

Played the ball much quicker, accurately and with more purpose and looked much sharper around the pitch. I really hope he can keep up that kind of form because he was fantastic.
 
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DEFchenkOE

Well-Known Member
Feb 13, 2006
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Also I feel a lot of his goals come from timing runs from deeper. Very different game to leading the line.

Without an actual number 9 I fear he would get marked more easily and have no one to aim at.

Problem is, all 3 of Son, Lucas and Dele look better when playing with a no9. We just don't have one.

I don't know what the solution is though. I would much prefer to have Ndombele playing in midfield as opposed to Dele and play a 3 with Winks and Lo Celso. But Ndombele's lack of fitness has shown that's probably not possible yet. So in the meantime we probably have to setup like how we did against City and hope to retain the ball a bit better, somehow.
 

nailsy

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Jul 24, 2005
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Alli's future is an interesting one. I get that many are frustrated with his performances for the last season and a half. Also difficult as he plays with a swagger. When performing well this can make him look supremely confident but when underperforming, arrogant and not really trying.

Due to his physicality we have tried playing him slightly deeper but it's clear his real talent is in getting goals and assists.

Would love for Mourinho to find what makes him tick and get the best from him.

A lot of people on here seem to have written him off, but I think playing under a new manager and learning to play the game with new coaches with new ideas could really help him to improve.
 

dontcallme

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Mar 18, 2005
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Problem is, all 3 of Son, Lucas and Dele look better when playing with a no9. We just don't have one.

I don't know what the solution is though. I would much prefer to have Ndombele playing in midfield as opposed to Dele and play a 3 with Winks and Lo Celso. But Ndombele's lack of fitness has shown that's probably not possible yet. So in the meantime we probably have to setup like how we did against City and hope to retain the ball a bit better, somehow.
Absolutely, for this season it is a conundrum with Kane out.

Other problem is we can't really retain possession with Son, Moura and Alli all on the pitch. Son and Moura are very head down and constantly looking to turn and shoot while Alli is constantly trying to create chances.

We won yesterday through their ability to get goals. For the rest of the season I guess we'll play our match winners but will usually get outplayed for large periods.
 

dontcallme

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Mar 18, 2005
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A lot of people on here seem to have written him off, but I think playing under a new manager and learning to play the game with new coaches with new ideas could really help him to improve.
I am certainly in the "on the fence" side, or no side at this stage.

I don't doubt his ability. I hope he is willing to learn. If he is willing to learn and adapt his game he can be a great player.
 

DEFchenkOE

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Feb 13, 2006
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Absolutely, for this season it is a conundrum with Kane out.

Other problem is we can't really retain possession with Son, Moura and Alli all on the pitch. Son and Moura are very head down and constantly looking to turn and shoot while Alli is constantly trying to create chances.

We won yesterday through their ability to get goals. For the rest of the season I guess we'll play our match winners but will usually get outplayed for large periods.

Yep, which makes it a hard watch in truth. I expect next season José will look to play a bit more expansive when our ball playing midfielders are more integrated and with a few more signings. But for now and the rest of the season it's just going to be about grinding out results whichever way possible. And for that I see why Dele is key as he can pop up with big moments which I don't think anyone here is disputing.

It just gets really frustrating when all our attackers are giving up possession so needlessly.

And for Dele who pretty much has a free role, I feel that if he could keep things simple like yesterday, he would be so much more useful to the team and our general gameplay.
 

jimbo

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Dec 22, 2003
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23-year old attacking midfielder with 85 goals and 68 assists in 300 appearances may not be 'good enough' say Spurs fans
 

IfiHadTheWings

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Aug 5, 2013
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23-year old attacking midfielder with 85 goals and 68 assists in 300 appearances may not be 'good enough' say Spurs fans


This tickled me but I actually struggle to accept that people in our fanbase think he's Watford level or just some plodder, yeah we accept he has flaws and is not a 90 minute man but without his contributions since breaking into the first team we would not have had half the great days/nights we have had.
 

dontcallme

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Mar 18, 2005
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23-year old attacking midfielder with 85 goals and 68 assists in 300 appearances may not be 'good enough' say Spurs fans
I think most Spurs fans agree he has ability.

But there is so much more to the game than goals and assists. Defoe used to get a lot of criticism for not offering anything but goals. Seems a weird criticism but when a striker can't hold the ball up, link with other players, win anything in the air or offer work rate then 1 goals in 3 games isn't enough of a substitute for the lack of what else he offers.

I think a lot of fans would be more positive towards Alli if he played it simple more often and saved the flash stuff for when he is in a more dangerous position.
 

HildoSpur

Likes Erik Lamela, deal with it.
Oct 1, 2005
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I think most Spurs fans agree he has ability.

But there is so much more to the game than goals and assists. Defoe used to get a lot of criticism for not offering anything but goals. Seems a weird criticism but when a striker can't hold the ball up, link with other players, win anything in the air or offer work rate then 1 goals in 3 games isn't enough of a substitute for the lack of what else he offers.

I think a lot of fans would be more positive towards Alli if he played it simple more often and saved the flash stuff for when he is in a more dangerous position.

There are sure, but none of them are as important.
 

dontcallme

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Mar 18, 2005
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There are sure, but none of them are as important.
Completely meaningless comment.

No team will be successful if they just play attacking players with good goal and assist stats. The players have to offer more than that. The only players that get a truly free role are those offering extraordinary numbers of goals and assists. Alli's numbers are very good but not to the level where other parts of the game can be ignored.
 

HildoSpur

Likes Erik Lamela, deal with it.
Oct 1, 2005
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Completely meaningless comment.

No team will be successful if they just play attacking players with good goal and assist stats. The players have to offer more than that. The only players that get a truly free role are those offering extraordinary numbers of goals and assists. Alli's numbers are very good but not to the level where other parts of the game can be ignored.

Yeah but you only need that one player in the squad who can change a game on his own by a killer pass or a goal from nothing - We have that in Dele and we are very fortunate to have him.
 

Guernman

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Aug 24, 2013
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Dele gets a lot of stick when his "flicks and tricks" don't always work out,

But it is worth watching the build up to the penalty time and again to rejoice in when they do.

He takes three touches of the ball only!

Touch 1, being in the right place to receive Southampton's misplaced pass, Dele's single touch nutmegs the referee - totally intentionally as he has practised this skill thousands of times - and he runs around the bemused official.

Touch 2. a perfect backheel completely flummoxing the player closing him down and releasing Gedson to run into space. In the meantime Dele legs it down the wing to receive the return pass.

Touch 3. Once again hitting it first time, he manages to nutmeg Vestergaard from a distance where such things just shouldn't be possible and the perfectly weighted pass lays the ball perfectly at the feet of Son.

I don't know of any other player who is capable of a sequence of impudent skill like that - not even Dele Alli's brother...
 

dontcallme

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Mar 18, 2005
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Yeah but you only need that one player in the squad who can change a game on his own by a killer pass or a goal from nothing - We have that in Dele and we are very fortunate to have him.
We are. Problem is at the moment we have Son and Moura who are very head down but get goals. This is resulting in a very uncohesive attacking lineup.

We can't retain possession as the 3 attacking players constantly give it up. For now their goals are helping us muddle through a difficult period but long term they are going to need to adjust their games.
 

HildoSpur

Likes Erik Lamela, deal with it.
Oct 1, 2005
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We are. Problem is at the moment we have Son and Moura who are very head down but get goals. This is resulting in a very uncohesive attacking lineup.

We can't retain possession as the 3 attacking players constantly give it up. For now their goals are helping us muddle through a difficult period but long term they are going to need to adjust their games.

I agree but that's not Dele's fault.
 

dontcallme

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Mar 18, 2005
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I agree but that's not Dele's fault.
No but he is part of the team.

He has found himself on the bench a few times. If he wants to be one of the first names on the team sheet then he needs to improve other areas of his game, it is not his goals and assists that are putting him on the bench.
 

HildoSpur

Likes Erik Lamela, deal with it.
Oct 1, 2005
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No but he is part of the team.

He has found himself on the bench a few times. If he wants to be one of the first names on the team sheet then he needs to improve other areas of his game, it is not his goals and assists that are putting him on the bench.

He is still young and has time to improve on those aspects of his game - that stuff can be worked on and hopefully he will become a more well-rounded player but he does have that special talent that most players don't and it's very valuable to the team.
 
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