Dele Alli at Everton

Marty · Mar 16, 2023

I don't think Trent will deteriorate like Dele but he's had a very difficult year so it's food for thought.

ajspurs · Mar 16, 2023

dontcallme said:
His all round game clearly wasn’t great but his ball control, physicality, ability in the air, timing of runs, aggression and finishing made him a real goal threat.

Most top teams would happily have had Alli in their squad when he was at his best.

True. I don't disagree with any of that for when he was at his best. I feel like because he doesn't have that all round game or a certain set of skills with the football at his feet that when those attributes you mention are lacking he doesn't really have anything to fall back on. Even someone like Winks can always rely on his tidy passing to be potentially valued at a certain club and I think that's an easier skill to transfer from club to club than those that Dele used to excel in.

easley91 · Mar 16, 2023

Sod it, bring him to Crawley.

Stamford · Mar 16, 2023

Pochemon94 said:
Super biased opinion. But I think he should come over to the states. Could really help jump start his career. Make good money, play in a decent growing league that still has massive market cities. Maybe feeling like a big fish in a small pond will help jumpstart his confidence and get him going again. If he does well enough, could earn a gig back in the prem.

Honestly he's done. I admire the patience but it's very clear and has been for awhile that it's over

theShiznit · Mar 16, 2023

Stamford said:
Honestly he's done. I admire the patience but it's very clear and has been for awhile that it's over

Football's loss is Twitch's gain :cautious:

He's in the rare position that he can actually stream himself gaming as himself in the game .

Tiberius Gracchus · Mar 16, 2023

Marty said:
Bostock never made it to the first team though.

For someone to score 50 PL goals by age 22, score in a World Cup quarter final at the same age, and then fade into total insignificance within five years is pretty much unheard of.

Maybe someone like Lee Sharpe or Nicky Barmby?

Partizan · Mar 16, 2023

I'm still expecting Freddy Adu to become the next Pele

Duke of Northumberland · Mar 16, 2023

Pochemon94 said:
Super biased opinion. But I think he should come over to the states. Could really help jump start his career. Make good money, play in a decent growing league that still has massive market cities. Maybe feeling like a big fish in a small pond will help jumpstart his confidence and get him going again. If he does well enough, could earn a gig back in the prem.

Good call!

Duke of Northumberland · Mar 16, 2023

There's always the fall-back of Club Ambassador and working the lounges on match days...

mattspur1986 · Mar 16, 2023

I’m really beginning to wonder if he’s okay mentally? And I don’t mean that in a horrible way.
I like many people thought it was just attitude issues etc etc, but I’m genuinely beginning to believe he’s losing his head.

Freddie · Mar 16, 2023

mattspur1986 said:
I’m really beginning to wonder if he’s okay mentally? And I don’t mean that in a horrible way.
I like many people thought it was just attitude issues etc etc, but I’m genuinely beginning to believe he’s losing his head.

I don't follow his social media or anything but is there any odd behaviour to suggest that or has he just lost his love for the game?

I have no idea what's happened but I always felt he over-achieved for a couple of years in a team that was flying and had a perfect role for him which hid all weaknesses. Not to say he didn't have talent- he had loads, but thereafter was always going to be a decline. Coming to terms with that, not being able to adapt to a new system which didn't naturally accommodate him and the whole country talking about you was always going to be hard. He endured the full circle treatment from the English media of young footballers (linked with Real for 140 million, constant talk of his downward spiral, look at his silly hair/car, more concern for his Twitch account). Unless you have incredible mental fortitude you can get lost in your own mind or become disillusioned.

spursfan77 · Mar 16, 2023

hughy said:
Has there ever been a bigger waste of pure talent than Dele? I absolutely love the guy, he gave us so many amazing memories in his first few seasons with us, but he has been piss poor since the age of 23. He will be 27 next month and should be reaching his absolute peak, but instead he's fading away like a 34 year-old.

An element of me feels sorry for him, but at the same time I feel like he only has himself to blame. As long as he's in an OK place mentally and doesn't have any regrets then it's all good, but I hope it's nothing deeper than that for him.

The feeling sorry boat has long since sailed for me and I used to have a load of sympathy given his upbringing and the challenges he overcome.

RuskyM · Mar 16, 2023

The argument that he wasted his talent assumes there'd have been a consistent trajectory upward, but he still played in a CL final, a World Cup semi and scored 51 Premier League goals. That's still a career 99.99% of players won't have.

Flashp · Mar 16, 2023

RuskyM said:
The argument that he wasted his talent assumes there'd have been a consistent trajectory upward, but he still played in a CL final, a World Cup semi and scored 51 Premier League goals. That's still a career 99.99% of players won't have.

Which really just underlines how much he has wasted his talent. Even with no further upward trajectory, he would still be a class player if he stayed at the same level. He has obviously regressed markedly, however.

richard_gleeson · Mar 16, 2023

Too much money, too many side influences and a celeb ex girlfriend who he wasn't happy with - loss of focus on football

newbie · Mar 16, 2023

ajspurs said:
I always thought he was a bit of an enigma to be honest. To me he never had real stand out attributes with the ball, in that he was an average general passer of the ball, not the greatest striker of a football, not fast with it etc. His best attributes were probably his movement and his mind but when he couldn't really incorporate those things into a match, for whatever reason, it would make him look like a poor player.

Even someone like Sissoko who you could say was far less talented, has more easily transferrable skills in the sense that if you buy him he will more or less deliver what you bought him for. He can be very average, but still provide a necessary or useful physical presence, for example. I think things have to really click for Dele because he doesn't have particular skills to fall back on when he's not really in the game or if he's not in sync with the team and his teammates.

the funny thing about such a talentless player was he scored a lot of goals and created havoc in his prime, the kid was a genius in the final third, he just lost his spark.

lets not forget Dele was amazing!

newbie · Mar 16, 2023

spursfan77 said:
The feeling sorry boat has long since sailed for me and I used to have a load of sympathy given his upbringing and the challenges he overcome.

did he waste his talent ? not so sure he made the most of it just retired early lol

ajspurs · Mar 16, 2023

newbie said:
the funny thing about such a talentless player was he scored a lot of goals and created havoc in his prime, the kid was a genius in the final third, he just lost his spark.

lets not forget Dele was amazing!

It's not a case of him being talentless, it's a case of the talents that he has being somewhat more synonymous with the team around him. If he's playing in a team with little off the ball movement and a defensive nature for example, the attributes that he does excel in aren't really going to be brought to light. People always compared him to Lampard for instance in the sense of arriving in the box, but Lampard was more technically talented with the ball at his feet, struck the ball very well and was a good passer of the ball, could ping long range passes about the pitch, which are skills that can be used in any side irrespective of the style of football or setup.

Bluto Blutarsky · Mar 16, 2023

ajspurs said:
It's not a case of him being talentless, it's a case of the talents that he has being somewhat more synonymous with the team around him. If he's playing in a team with little off the ball movement and a defensive nature for example, the attributes that he does excel in aren't really going to be brought to light. People always compared him to Lampard for instance in the sense of arriving in the box, but Lampard was more technically talented with the ball at his feet, struck the ball very well and was a good passer of the ball, could ping long range passes about the pitch, which are skills that can be used in any side irrespective of the style of football or setup.

Not to mention Dele was never a CM, and was at his best when playing as a second striker.

So, when Dele "arrived" in the box, he was almost always ahead of the ball...

philll · Mar 16, 2023

richard_gleeson said:
Too much money, too many side influences and a celeb ex girlfriend who he wasn't happy with - loss of focus on football

And he was assaulted and robbed at knifepoint in his own home. I'm not saying it is or isn't a contributing factor but different people deal with trauma like home invasions in different ways.

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