As things stand, you’d be hard pressed to find a more deserving recipient of this season’s Young Player of the Year award than Dele Alli. The 19 year old Spurs midfielder has been a revelation and is rightly expected to be an important part of Roy Hodgson’s England plans for the Euros this summer.
His rise to prominence since his move from MK Dons has been the stuff of dreams with the talented youngster becoming an integral part of a Spurs team that are beginning to look the real deal, mounting a genuine title challenge, with the club sitting just two points behind leaders Leicester City. Alli’s seven goals and five assists have been eye-catching, particularly the goal of the season contender he scored against Crystal Palace; the control, poise, composure, technique and sheer audacity were magnificent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciFK6smUTAg
The exciting talent has been very well harnessed by Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino, and Moussa Dembele re-establishing himself in the team alongside Eric Dier has allowed Alli more attacking freedom, including that stunning volley at Selhurst Park. It’s not just about the skills, vision and technique with him though; he is tenacious and also has the devil about him.
It was in Tottenham’s Europa League tie away at Fiorentina the other night, where Alli was fortunate to escape with just a booking for appearing to kick Nenad Tomovic. After the game, Spurs manager Pochettino told reporters “We need to look at the video and try to teach him. He is a young player and he has a lot to learn about elite football.”
Alli claimed the incident was not intentional and had shook hands with Tomovic, but said “Do you need an aggressive streak to thrive? You could say that. A lot of the great players have that mentality. I want to be the best I can and if that’s what I need to do it, that’s what I do.”
Last month, Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew accused Dele Alli of stamping on Yohan Cabaye during their Premier League match, so it’s not the first time Alli has shown his aggressive side. Certainly, when you watch him play, his willingness to get stuck in is there for all to see. Alli himself said “Coming from League One, a lot of tackles go in and that is where I’ve learned my trade.”
That devil streak is a trait that can understandably be seen as a weakness and if the inner fire and aggression cannot be channelled and controlled over time, then yes, it will be become a weakness. It must be remembered that he is only 19, a baby in the footballing world and truly in the infancy of his career. In recent years, two other outstanding English talents, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney, also had that fire and aggression about them. Even as a Liverpool fan, it was impossible to excuse a few of the tackles Gerrard made in the early years of his career when anger and frustration got the better of him. Rooney too made some really poor challenges and also got away with an elbow smash in a Premier League match against Wigan. As they grew up and matured, those ‘red mist’ moments became fewer and farther in-between, but their respective managers didn’t try to completely remove it from them because the aggression was a part of who they are and in addition to their talent, what helped them succeed. It was a matter of trying to correctly channel that aggression into an avenue that helped them and their respective team mates, rather than make them a potential liability.
Alli is very young and should mature, not just as a footballer, but as a man and will hopefully learn to curtail his outbursts. If he can continue his progress, he will soon have the attention of Europe’s biggest clubs and it’s important that he retains the right type of aggression to fulfil his fantastic potential and not let petulance blight him. One of the greatest ever talents in the game, Zinedine Zidane, had that devil in him. You only saw it fleetingly and although one such infamous moment was the last thing he ever did on the pitch, his career was not defined by it and neither should Alli’s. As long as the aggression is channelled correctly, his passion and desire should ensure that his supreme talent reaches its full potential.
Cheap journalism …………..