Player Watch: Dele Alli

[talkshowhost86]

Him and Bentaleb in midfield next season? He is more attacking, but both very mobile and hard working and give us a very tall team.

I think you need more of an enforcer in there, but personally I think we should go to more of a 4-3-3 formation anyway and play that enforcer (Stambouli at the moment) with two from Mason, Bentaleb, Alli, Dembele and I suppose Paulinho if he stays. Give one of them the licence to get forwards more (as Dembele has been doing in recent games) and I think that's a really good balance.

 

[JonnySpurs]

Alli looks to me to be a forward thinking, athletic midfielder that will come deep for the ball but drive on and look to score and assist. That said, all I've seen is highlights of his attacking work so I don't know if he is any good at tackling back.

He has been described as the next Steven Gerrard so I'd be delighted if he can get anywhere near that level. He certainly looks impressive, however, I do wonder if we have settled on Stambouli and Bentaleb as our combative, holding midfielders or if we still plan to go after Schneiderlin or McCarthy in the summer?? Alli will compete with Mason and most likely be his understudy in the short term.

 

[Luka Van der Bale]

Mate. Thats a quote that goes straight on the 'lets all laugh at Tottenham' thread on the Everton forums. Probably all forums!

Barkley has the potential to be world class. Not saying this fella doesn't but I can't see him being good if not better than Barkley. Based on what? League 1 football?

A year ago you'd be laughed at for saying Kane would have a better career than Barkley. Now I'd be very surprised if he didn't.

 

[littlemandefoe]

A year ago you'd be laughed at for saying Kane would have a better career than Barkley. Now I'd be very surprised if he didn't.

Who says Kane has had a better career than Barkley? I will judge that when they both retire 15 years from now.

 

[Luka Van der Bale]

Who says Kane has had a better career than Barkley? I will judge that when they both retire 15 years from now.

Speaking of Kane in the same breath as Barkley would have been ridiculous. Now they are the same level of prospect, with Kane probably edging it. That is my point.

 

[littlemandefoe]

Speaking of Kane in the same breath as Barkley would have been ridiculous. Now they are the same level of prospect, with Kane probably edging it. That is my point.

Your first comment didn't suggest that was your point but yea I see it now. Both very talented players with good futures.

 

[LexingtonSpurs]

squawka scouting report

Sounds more like a future Mason replacement than a defensive CM. If he is ready, I suspect we will see him on the same path as Kane this season - in terms of usage. Europa and Cup games with occasional bench roles in the league.

In a perverse way, with a young team, we may be better with Europa than Champions League next season - easier to play a fully rotated squad in Europa group games than CL group games. That will help with development of players like Alli, Dier, Yedlin, etc.

 

[hughy]

Dele Alli in 2014:
"Harry Winks and I were talking about who I play like and he was trying to tell me I’m like Fernandinho but I’m not having that," he said. "I’d prefer to think I’m a cross between Gerrard and Yaya Toure."

how did he know harry winks ?? :S

England u19's, I'd guess.

 

[dudu]

Dele Alli in 2014:
"Harry Winks and I were talking about who I play like and he was trying to tell me I’m like Fernandinho but I’m not having that," he said. "I’d prefer to think I’m a cross between Gerrard and Yaya Toure."

how did he know harry winks ?? :S

Probably seen him blink and just assumes he can do it with one eye

 

[HildoSpur]

You spelt his name wrong- it is 'Dele Alli', not 'Delle Alli'.

Whoops! Thanks for pointing that out!

 

[Flobadob]

The young midfielders we already have in the youth are excellent, but this guy is a cut above IMO. Fantastic prospect for our future!

 

[Gaz_Gammon]

Mate. Thats a quote that goes straight on the 'lets all laugh at Tottenham' thread on the Everton forums. Probably all forums!

Barkley has the potential to be world class. Not saying this fella doesn't but I can't see him being good if not better than Barkley. Based on what? League 1 football?

I don't really give a shit what Evertonians think. In fact i am laughing at them taking Lennon o.k.

The movement, pace and ability of Alle is there for all to see, and i see him and Barkley as similar players but i feel Alle has the potential to score more goals.

Do you think that Everton fans are laughing at Mason and Kane let alone Bentaleb? Kane plied his trade at lower league level and yes i am basing Alle's ability on lower league football. Not all players have to be star studdied diamonds imported from exotic European clubs to be a success. You only have to look at our Magnificent Sevn to understand that fact.

Finally "lets all laugh at Tottenham" is a reality that we have all had to endure over the past three seasons, irrespective of what kid gets plucked for the lower leagues. I thought that even you would have realised that fact.

 

[newbie]

I don't really give a shit what Evertonians think. In fact i am laughing at them taking Lennon o.k.

The movement, pace and ability of Alle is there for all to see, and i see him and Barkley as similar players but i feel Alle has the potential to score more goals.

Do you think that Everton fans are laughing at Mason and Kane let alone Bentaleb? Kane plied his trade at lower league level and yes i am basing Alle's ability on lower league football. Not all players have to be star studdied diamonds imported from exotic European clubs to be a success. You only have to look at our Magnificent Sevn to understand that fact.

Finally "lets all laugh at Tottenham" is a reality that we have all had to endure over the past three seasons, irrespective of what kid gets plucked for the lower leagues. I thought that even you would have realised that fact.

The kids looks really special, and in answer to someone else question he knows Winks, and proberly a few others from England duty, Oduwa, Miller, winks, Sanoupe, Connor Oligive all played under 18s for England laset year so hopefully he will know quite a few of them. Spurs and arsenal where meant to trying to buy him since he was 13 yrs old. I think he could already offer more than Paulinho or capoue from what I have seen which is not much and agree with my ex nemesis new buddy Gaz.

 

[chinaman]

He doesn't seem to be interested in expanding his game. Collectively, I've watched him for over 600 minutes and I haven't seen him carry the ball more than 5 yards. With him, it's always the quick pass, which isn't a bad thing in and of itself. But when pressured lightly, he'll never quickly carry the ball east or west to buy time in order to find something positive and avoid passing backwards. If the game were simply about keeping possession, he should be among the first few names on the team sheet because that he does very well.

That description is very much like one of our legends. I'd say it's very Perrymanish. I'll get negged maybe 30 times for saying that.

 

[chinaman]

squawka scouting report

Sounds more like a future Mason replacement than a defensive CM. If he is ready, I suspect we will see him on the same path as Kane this season - in terms of usage. Europa and Cup games with occasional bench roles in the league.

In a perverse way, with a young team, we may be better with Europa than Champions League next season - easier to play a fully rotated squad in Europa group games than CL group games. That will help with development of players like Alli, Dier, Yedlin, etc.

You've got a good point there although everyone would prefer the CL for the money and prestige and therefore the ability to attract star names.

 

[DaSpurs]

The official MK Dons website says he is 6'2", so I think he probably is.

Haha oh buddy, that is never proof. Back when I was playing in college, one of the trainers for the team told us they were specifically instructed to round up an inch, even if the player was square on an inch, in every single scenario. Happens all the time. I'm not saying that's necessarily what's going on here, but frankly, his club's official site is the last thing I would point to for the sake of authenticity when it comes to player height. To my eyes, there's just no way he's as tall as Yaya Toure or Adrien Rabiot.

Certainly not a problem though, as he looks to have plenty good size for his age, and height is way down the list for priorities in midfield behind athleticism, strength, stamina, technical ability, etc.

 

[newbie]

Haha oh buddy, that is never proof. Back when I was playing in college, one of the trainers for the team told us they were specifically instructed to round up an inch, even if the player was square on an inch, in every single scenario. Happens all the time. I'm not saying that's necessarily what's going on here, but frankly, his club's official site is the last thing I would point to for the sake of authenticity when it comes to player height. To my eyes, there's just no way he's as tall as Yaya Toure or Adrien Rabiot.

Certainly not a problem though, as he looks to have plenty good size for his age, and height is way down the list for priorities in midfield behind athleticism, strength, stamina, technical ability, etc.

if you 6ft 2 with a good build at 18 yrs old you have far more chance of getting game time then if you are 5ft6-5;ft8 and very slight though and what ever you say size is in away more important than technical ability at a lot of clubs. Years back anyone see Liverpool vs Spurs in the next gen. we had all small technical players like Munns and Pritchard they had a bunch of massive ogres with pace. Admittedly one of there team was sterling who imho was out played that day by munns and Pritchard but was so bloody fast he looked dangerous, and they had a 7tf monster upfront who made out back 4 look like primary school kids.

 

[DaSpurs]

if you 6ft 2 with a good build at 18 yrs old you have far more chance of getting game time then if you are 5ft6-5;ft8 and very slight though and what ever you say size is in away more important than technical ability at a lot of clubs. Years back anyone see Liverpool vs Spurs in the next gen. we had all small technical players like Munns and Pritchard they had a bunch of massive ogres with pace. Admittedly one of there team was sterling who imho was out played that day by munns and Pritchard but was so bloody fast he looked dangerous, and they had a 7tf monster upfront who made out back 4 look like primary school kids.

Oh I'm not saying size is irrelevant, nor am I denying that a more sizable kid has a higher likelihood of seeing top flight game time sooner, but I maintain that there are several attributes which IMO are far more conducive to the position of central midfield than height specifically. Xavi, Iniesta, Pirlo, Modric - all top shelf central midfielders each under 6', and most of them well under it. But of course, you have one of IMO the most underrated players on earth in Yaya Toure being particularly sizable.

So anyway, point is that height is not necessary for good midfield play, especially since it can often even be a disadvantage since it can lead to a reduced agility for maneuvering tight spaces. This kid though looks a complete package. Plenty good size and plenty athletic. Very much looking forward to seeing what he can do.

 

[Mullers]

I think people are expecting too much, players like Gerrard only come along once in a blue moon. I wouldn't expect the kid to make any kind of impact for at least two or three years, maybe even longer.

 

[jambreck]

I think people are expecting too much, players like Gerrard only come along once in a blue moon. I wouldn't expect the kid to make any kind of impact for at least two or three years, maybe even longer.

I've only ever seen a few youtube highlights reels of him so I couldn't say how good his all round midfield play is. But there is one thing that stands out like a beacon.......the kid has a natural, God given ability to score goals. You can't teach what he has. He gets himself in the right places with pace, power and intelligence. He is adept with both feet. And he keeps his head in front of goal. It's a priceless asset and one that will only be helped by playing alongside better players.

And it's for that reason that I'm confident that he will make a near instant impact with our first team - even if it's most often as a late substitute initially.