Not biting back
at them because it won’t put you off your game. Dele has shown that already and there are now signs he can control his temperament along with it, doing the business on the pitch.”
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has introduced greater tactical variety in his team selections this season, shifting away from a 4-2-3-1 shape to 4-1-4-1 or even 3-5-2 prompting Alli to adjust.
“He’s evolved and mixes up his game more — coming short, trying to get on the ball and make things happen as well as someone who can run past the central striker and get in the box, almost like a second striker,” said King.
“He has had to adapt his role because the shape of the team has been a little bit different as well. He has to play sometimes on the left or in the middle but whenever he has performed, he is a bright spark in the team and always looks like a goal threat which is a huge bonus for a midfield player. He is a bit similar to Frank Lampard in that respect, someone you can count on to get a significant amount of goals from midfield in any given season. Players like that are gold dust.”
That talent was recognised at the London Football Awards last season and his rivals for the Young Player of the Year honour this time include Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin and Alex Iwobi. The awards provide funds for Willow — the only national charity providing Special Days for seriously ill 16-40-year-olds.
Alli is at the vanguard of a team on the cusp of proving they can mount a prolonged challenge for the title. An important mental barrier to overcome is to finish above Arsenal for the first time since 1995; it is a task King was unable to achieve during 13 years at the club before retiring in 2012 but one the 36year-old believes this crop are ready to complete after falling agonisingly short on the final day of last season.
“When I was playing, we were a team who were just trying to get into the top four whereas Arsenal were probably looking to win the League,” he said.
“If that meant finishing above Arsenal, then great but our first step was top four, then top three or top two.
“With this team, they already feel comfortable competing for a top-four spot and, having been second for a lot of last season when they really should have finished above Arsenal, they will be keen to do that as well as finish in the top four. It would be a big thing. This group wants to be the team to finally break that run. From a psychological point of view, it would do wonders for this group to be the ones to do that because they would go onwards and upwards.”
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