Player Watch: Dele Alli

Neon_Knight_ · Sep 17, 2017

Did anyone else notice how much he is being kicked and pushed about this season? He's a known threat now, so opposition teams will make a point of giving him a hard time.

This is something that most attacking players go through, following one or two standout seasons. The top players are the ones who successfully adapt and improve to compensate for this.

It happened to Bale after his breakthrough season, with teams doubling up on him and tackling hard. It often meant he was relatively quiet, but he was occupying two opposition players for 90 minutes (creating space for others) and consistently came up with something special on the occassions that he did find an extra yard of space.

ajspurs · Sep 17, 2017

Thewobbler said:
The problem we have is when dele and eriksen are having an off day we have no one to come in in place of them and offer the same quality.

We spent so long chasing barkley that we didnt really have a plan b which we clearly needed. Not signing an AM this window was a huge mistake. I said in another thread that poch is great at signing defensive players but his forward buys are not so great.

Thing is an Eriksen off day is different to an Alli off day. Even yesterday without Eriksen doing a great deal in an offensive sense I still felt that his passing was quick and precise and there's a bit more urgency and meaning to his play even if it was all mostly from a deep position.

Alli can certainly be more frustrating. Trying flicks and fancy passes when we're already generally struggling to create anything as well as poor long range efforts and hanging on to the ball for too long, attracting pressure when he should be laying the ball off ages before. It can just be annoying seeing this in the build up to our play, especially when we're already playing a bit shit and we don't need to be unnecessarily losing possession and slow down our play. Try it closer to goal by all means, we've seen what can come off from him in that respect.

I just think he needs to find ways to get his foot on the ball more and to also keep it more simple. He's a very clever passer of the ball for his age and perhaps needs to change his mindset of his role in the team a bit. He has the ability to carry a team in the way Eriksen does when he's on song IMO but a lot of the time seems to play for his own individual satisfaction and like he's in the playground just a bit too much. I'm not saying he's a selfish player at all but I just mean he sometimes plays so he can prove that he can do some of these fancy things and does some stuff the hard way when it should be done quicker and more simply.

Neon_Knight_ · Sep 17, 2017

Thewobbler said:
The problem we have is when dele and eriksen are having an off day we have no one to come in in place of them and offer the same quality.

We spent so long chasing barkley that we didnt really have a plan b which we clearly needed. Not signing an AM this window was a huge mistake. I said in another thread that poch is great at signing defensive players but his forward buys are not so great.

That's when we are reliant on Kane or Son coming up with something from nothing. They both came up with the goods many times last season, but nothing quite came off for them either yesterday.
Lamella is the other player in our squad who can find that final pass...can't wait to have him back.

Trix · Sep 17, 2017

ajspurs said:
Thing is an Eriksen off day is different to an Alli off day. Even yesterday without Eriksen doing a great deal in an offensive sense I still felt that his passing was quick and precise and there's a bit more urgency and meaning to his play even if it was all mostly from a deep position.

Alli can certainly be more frustrating. Trying flicks and fancy passes when we're already generally struggling to create anything as well as poor long range efforts and hanging on to the ball for too long, attracting pressure when he should be laying the ball off ages before. It can just be annoying seeing this in the build up to our play, especially when we're already playing a bit shit and we don't need to be unnecessarily losing possession and slow down our play. Try it closer to goal by all means, we've seen what can come off from him in that respect.

I just think he needs to find ways to get his foot on the ball more and to also keep it more simple. He's a very clever passer of the ball for his age and perhaps needs to change his mindset of his role in the team a bit. He has the ability to carry a team in the way Eriksen does when he's on song IMO but a lot of the time seems to play for his own individual satisfaction and like he's in the playground just a bit too much. I'm not saying he's a selfish player at all but I just mean he sometimes plays so he can prove that he can do some of these fancy things and does some stuff the hard way when it should be done quicker and more simply.

How old is Dele and how old is Eriksen? The difference in their off days is down to experience. Go back 3-4 ears and read some of the criticism Eriksen got when things weren't going well. The problem is not with the young players who will inevitably have off days it's with the fans over expectation of what are very inexperienced kids. What should be remembered though is that although they are different, what Dele is achieving already(in my opinion at least) far surpasses what Eriksen was doing at the same age 4 years ago.

SUIYHA · Sep 17, 2017

Alli had a shit start to last season too - in fact him, Eriksen and Dembele were all poor until around December time. Then they exploded. Alli and Eriksen were arguably the two best players in the league from then on.

He is out of form. But he will come good again. He is too good not to.

ajspurs · Sep 17, 2017

Trix said:
How old is Dele and how old is Eriksen? The difference in their off days is down to experience. Go back 3-4 ears and read some of the criticism Eriksen got when things weren't going well. The problem is not with the young players who will inevitably have off days it's with the fans over expectation of what are very inexperienced kids. What should be remembered though is that although they are different, what Dele is achieving already(in my opinion at least) far surpasses what Eriksen was doing at the same age 4 years ago.

Yeah that's very true and certainly understandable, especially in concern with the 'going missing' label as I used to say the same with Eriksen. Despite that though, going missing was the only real criticism of Eriksen back then, he was still tidy and effective when in possession even if he wasn't in possession as much as we'd all like IMO.

It is vital to remember his age and let him learn and develop, but I still think there are certain aspects of his game that he can change now to enhance his play. His influence in games and ability to get on the ball more, that's hopefully something that will increase in time but the wanting or more so choosing to do certain things the hard and more fancy way is something that doesn't need a great deal of time to change. This isn't a knee jerk criticism either, I've always said I think he's a better player when he keeps things more simple. It's of course important to remember his age and not actually get on his back but that doesn't mean we still can't have concerns over his performances because at the end of the day, no matter what age a player has to face criticism or shortcomings of their games to develop the right way. He is already massively overachieving, we just want to see him playing to his capabilities.

kaz Hirai · Sep 19, 2017

I'd like to see him play a bit deeper tonight and in general.

Think he's a good poacher but playing as a virtual striker is limiting for him, always had 2 huge CBs kicking and pressing him as soon as he receives.

Playing as a proper midfielder could bare more fruit. Perhaps his goal return will be lessened but his all round output will increase

spursfan77 · Sep 19, 2017

He needs to ride it out. Dropping him would be counter productive.

He's going to have to learn that he's going to get kicked every game and I suspect the fact he knows he can't react one percent is holding him back.

yido_number1 · Sep 19, 2017

Alli is just one of those players. Coasts along not looking like he is doing anything and then out of nowhere he scores or assists. So many games last year were the same but you just have to accept he positively impacts games with goals and assists.

lol · Sep 19, 2017

alli needs to learn how to be more incisive. too much dragging and slowing of momentum

thebenjamin · Sep 19, 2017

Sounds from Poch's words that Dele's going through some tough times off the pitch for whatever reason.

Neon_Knight_ · Sep 19, 2017

SUIYHA said:
Alli had a shit start to last season too - in fact him, Eriksen and Dembele were all poor until around December time. Then they exploded. Alli and Eriksen were arguably the two best players in the league from then on.

He is out of form. But he will come good again. He is too good not to.

I had actually forgotten about Alli's poor start last season. I believe he got similar criticism then to now. Let's hope they don't wait as long as December to "explode".

Neon_Knight_ · Sep 19, 2017

yido_number1 said:
Alli is just one of those players. Coasts along not looking like he is doing anything and then out of nowhere he scores or assists. So many games last year were the same but you just have to accept he positively impacts games with goals and assists.

It's really not his work-rate though, from what I can see. As he develops his overall game, his impact between his special moments will increase.

Over the last two seasons, we generally lacked drive in midfield, when in possession, unless both him and Dembele were playing.

Univarn · Sep 19, 2017

Neon_Knight_ said:
I had actually forgotten about Alli's poor start last season. I believe he got similar criticism then to now. Let's hope they don't wait as long as December to "explode".

I think this is part of it but also his style of play involves a lot of things that don't get you credit. Most of what him and Eriksen do is create space for each other and cut off passing lanes in transition. When we're firing on all cylinders this creates a lot of goals and turnovers. When we're not it just looks like hapless running. Dele is also being clearly targeted but teams can't sacrifice targeting him for Kane so they're just kicking him, knowing they won't get a yellow for it until the 2nd half and never a second yellow for it.

worcestersauce · Sep 19, 2017

Someone mentioned Bale, I'll mention another, Ryan Giggs, many people won't remember but he smashed his way onto the scene at 18 and got all the plaudits he deserved but two to three years in everybody knew how good he was and set out to stop him playing and it worked, well it worked to the same degree you might think it is working with Dele, the thing is that Giggs and Bale gained experience through that adversity and over came it, Dele is doing the same.
At Swansea the defenders knew they couldn't give him the time to use his quick feet and beat them so they just fouled him, time and again and that is what will make him an even better player, he'll be taking that experience and expect more of the same and get to the point where they'll be fouling clean air, I think this is a development year for him, he is the real deal make no mistake.

Charly*** · Sep 19, 2017

If you're an attacker that runs with the ball, or someone pacey running in behind, the start of the season is usually pretty good for you. Defenders aren't up to pace and defensive systems are still being worked out. Son's done well so far as has Kane, who's been running with the ball a bit more this season and looking more of a monster. But for players like Alli and Eriksen, it's about team interaction, as it is for our attack as a whole. We always start defensively solid, but it always takes time for the attacking interplay, and hence the form of players like Eriksen & Alli, to click.

It's a pretty safe bet that if we judge Alli's form come the end of the season he'll have done really well, as he has each season he's been with us. I don't hold a lot of store in judging early season form in isolation. It's frustrating we're not all guns blazing but that's the type of team we are, we take a while for it to all come together, once it does it's a thing of beauty.

Johnny J · Sep 19, 2017

Charly*** said:
If you're an attacker that runs with the ball, or someone pacey running in behind, the start of the season is usually pretty good for you. Defenders aren't up to pace and defensive systems are still being worked out. Son's done well so far as has Kane, who's been running with the ball a bit more this season and looking more of a monster. But for players like Alli and Eriksen, it's about team interaction, as it is for our attack as a whole. We always start defensively solid, but it always takes time for the attacking interplay, and hence the form of players like Eriksen & Alli, to click.

It's a pretty safe bet that if we judge Alli's form come the end of the season he'll have done really well, as he has each season he's been with us. I don't hold a lot of store in judging early season form in isolation. It's frustrating we're not all guns blazing but that's the type of team we are, we take a while for it to all come together, once it does it's a thing of beauty.

I'm not sure why we can't hit the ground running, injuries aside. I guess Wembley is a big factor, unavoidably.

Charly*** · Sep 19, 2017

Johnny J said:
I'm not sure why we can't hit the ground running, injuries aside. I guess Wembley is a big factor, unavoidably.

I guess team interplay requires understanding which is built up with games, so by the end of the season it's all flowing nicely but after a summer break it's not quite there and it takes a little while to get there. And we are very much a team that plays to system rather than relying on individuals. Probably more so than most of the other teams in the league.

agrdavidsfan · Sep 19, 2017

Apparently cupped his ears in his celebration to the fans tonight?

Spurrific · Sep 19, 2017

agrdavidsfan said:
Apparently cupped his ears in his celebration to the fans tonight?

Fuck me, stop the presses

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Player Watch: Dele Alli

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