Let the Alli cat put on style
Redknapp calls for Barkley bite too
HARRY REDKNAPP wants Gareth Southgate to show he has got “style” now he is the permanent England manager – by building a team around Dele Alli and Ross Barkley. The BT Sport pundit read recently that he, Glenn Hoddle and Stuart Pearce were being mooted as a Three Lions management dream team and chuckled at the suggestion. “I thought, ‘That sounds a good team, I could work with that one’,” he said. “Who’d be in charge? Oh, I’m in charge! But yeah, we would’ve done all right if we’d have had the chance. “Certainly, I love Glenn – he’s fantastic. If Glenn had kept the job when he had it at that time, we’d have gone on and done good things. He had a way of playing. You would have had a style. “What will be interesting for me under Gareth is how England are going to play. What are we about? What is our identity? Have we got one?” Redknapp had accused England of being “bland with no flair” in November and hopes the recall of Barkley for the first time since Euro 2016 can spark a new era for the national team. “Dele Alli would be a big part of your team if you were managing and with Ross Barkley, there’s some good young players around at the moment,” he said. “Play them both. Too often, we’re wedded to the idea that we’ve got to have a holding midfielder, we’ve got to have a defensive midfielder. OK, I know Chelsea have got the boy N’Golo Kante who sits in. But why can’t Barkley play? “Barkley’s 6ft 2in tall, incredible build; Dele Alli’s 6ft 1in. We’re not talking about tiny little kids who can’t defend or can’t tackle or have no strength. “Play your good players. Why can’t they play together? The pair of them can run all day, can tackle, they head it; they have got everything.” Alli, 20, also has a fiery side, and while he insists a series of talks with Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has turned him into a calmer character, he makes no apology for a temperament which continues to land him in trouble.
Alli was recently sent off against Ghent for a horrendous studs-up challenge on Brecht Dejaegere in the second leg of their Europa League clash, which appeared to be an act of retribution after the referee failed to spot him being fouled moments earlier.
Spurs, down to 10 men, crashed out of the competition as a result and Southgate can ill-afford such indiscipline.
Alli said: “I have so many things to learn from this season. Everyone makes mistakes and it’s important that you bounce back. I felt horrible straight after it but it’s important to put it behind me and make sure I learn from it and keep improving.
“Mauricio Pochettino knows that’s who I am. We’ve had a few talks and he has been really supportive. It’s good to have a manager behind me who trusts and supports me as much as he does.
“I have calmed down a bit but I’m never going to take that out of my game. I’m never going to say sorry for wanting to win or for trying as hard as I can.”
Even though this is still only his second season in the top flight, Alli is already showing he is not afraid to dish out a few talkings-to of his own at Spurs.
“It’s important we help each other when we can,” he said. “If something needs to be said, then we aren’t scared to say it.
“That’s the great thing about this team. You feel comfortable telling other players what you need to tell them and they take it as a positive. That’s good.”
In truth, Alli can be forgiven a multitude of sins while he is rattling in the goals, particularly right now, when both Spurs and England are missing the input of the injured Harry Kane.
Alli took over his team-mate’s penalty-taking duties in the 2-1 win over Southampton on Sunday, scoring his 17th goal of the season and his 24th Premier League goal in only 60 games.
“As soon as Harry got injured, we felt it was important that we all stepped up, did our piece and chipped in with the goals,” said Alli. “He will keep supporting us off the pitch and it’s important we get the points.”
Towards the end of the game, Pochettino even pushed Alli forward to fill Kane’s position as the spearhead of the attack, but Alli does not see this move to the centre-forward role as a longterm proposition. “I am happy to play anywhere,” he said “but I think I am a midfielder.”