Where did it go wrong for Dele?
Once a World Cup star, now an outcast
IN aN interview earlier this year Sir alex Ferguson said: ‘I thought Dele alli was going to be a top player, must admit. I don’t know what’s happened there.’
The good news for alli is he has time to prove Ferguson right. at 25, his best years should still be ahead of him. The bad news is that it is going to be a long way back.
From the boy who had the world at his feet as he returned home from England’s euphoric run to the World Cup semi-final in 2018 to warming the Tottenham Hotspur bench under three separate managers — you wonder how it has come to this.
Some of alli’s decline has been of his own making, some totally out of his control.
His biggest problem has been a lack of confidence. Former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino made alli feel like he could float on air. But, during Jose Mourinho’s 18 months in charge, the Portuguese slowly destroyed his self-belief.
It wasn’t merely the fact that he wasn’t playing — or being left out of matchday squads altogether under Mourinho — but it was the lack of communication that proved most telling.
Mourinho is cut from old-school cloth. alli doesn’t respond to that style of management.
Pochettino identified very early on that alli requires an arm around the shoulder.
It’s no surprise that alli’s most productive days were under Pochettino and Karl Robinson at MK Dons, who both embraced the midfielder like he was family.
at his best, alli is the swashbuckling central midfielder who swaggers across the football pitch with the air of a man destined for the very top.
Some will call it ego. Maybe it is but the best players often have that streak of arrogance.
Off the pitch, however, alli is very different: a quiet and timid man in need of support, not a rollicking.
It’s no surprise then when Pochettino tried to re-sign alli for Paris Saint-Germain last January, the midfielder was left devastated that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy vetoed the move.
Mourinho made a personal beeline to alli at the time in an attempt to quell tensions. But it was too late, the relationship was dead in the water.
The Special One’s eventual sacking in april and Nuno Espirito Santo’s appointment in the summer provided hope of a fresh beginning. But, after a promising start to life under the former Wolves boss, alli quickly found that Nuno was also from the tough love school of coaching.
another trait the Portuguese pair of Mourinho and Nuno had in common was for playing alli out of position. He was often shunted out to the wing under Mourinho or viewed as a midfield ‘runner’ by Nuno.
Injuries and fatigue after the World Cup also played a significant role in alli’s downward spiral.
Antonio Conte was only appointed by Spurs last month but has already arrived at the same conclusion as his predecessors.
Can all three managers be wrong about him? Thankfully for alli, he has plenty of time to dispel their conclusion. The opinion that he became too invested in a party lifestyle isn’t a true representation of the player’s dedication.
When rumours of alli’s alleged nights out on London’s celebrity circuit started to emerge, he showed little evidence of burning the candle at both ends, according to those who worked with him.
One training ground source said: ‘We’d always hear that he’d been going out a lot but then you’d see him in training and you’d think there’s no way he could have been.
‘He was always at the front of running drills, always among the fittest players in the squad.
‘He either wasn’t going out or he is just a freak of nature. It didn’t add up.’
The party-animal tag has stuck though and it irks alli, who is known to put himself through punishing training regimes during the close season.
While his dedication has been questioned, the fact he took it upon himself to take up yoga and hire a private nutritionist tells a different story.
Yes, he enjoys a night out during the summer months but claims of big nights out on the town during the season are largely fictitious.
Certainly, over the previous two seasons, alli has been conspicuous by his absence on the party scene — with the midfielder rarely pictured at social events.
So, all being well physically, he will leave Tottenham when the transfer window reopens next month.
and make no mistake, he wants to leave. Of course, his affinity with Spurs is undeniable but his desire to play regular football again supersedes that connection.
a January move can revive alli’s once soaring career. If it doesn’t then it’s hard to see a way back.