A Falling Star- Dele Alli

Gasps filled the media suite, and if reports are to be believed also the Spurs Dressing room, as Jose named his squad for Southampton, omitting Dele for the second time in a week. A player that started Jose’s reign on fire scoring 5 in 8 games, the player branded the real Dele after months of jokes suggesting he had been imitated by Dele’s brother, has now found himself frozen out from the squad. More worryingly for Dele is the apparent lack of explanation from the manager. Popular docuseries All or Nothing recently featured a similar situation in which Danny Rose was seen asking Jose for clarity of why he wasn’t starting games, having been dropped without explanation.

All indications suggested he was key to Mourinho’s plans this term, impressing in preseason and gaining high praise from his manager and teammates alike. Alli looked fully fit and hungry to prove himself. After just 45 minutes of Spurs’ opener against Everton, Dele was replaced following a dreadful team performance, and hasn’t set foot on the pitch since. The consensus being that the struggling starlet may look to depart this month, reports even suggesting he’s been offered to clubs. Questions must be asked as to how a phenomenal young player who has already achieved so much can find himself at a career crossroads, and why Mourinho may be willing to let him depart.

The year is 2017, The season has just ended with a resounding 7-1 victory away at Hull and Tottenham have secured a Premier League high 2^nd position. Spurs have unearthed a generational talent in Dele who picked up his second consecutive PFA young Player of the year award, recording 18 league goals and 7 assists from midfield; in doing so surpassing goal and assist stats at the same age of Gerrard, Scholes and Lampard combined. Another impressive season followed as Spurs made camp at Wembley. With 9 league goals and 10 assists together with an outstanding performance in the dismantling of reigning Champions League Holders Real Madrid, Dele had become a household name and a key man for his country moving in to the 2018 World Cup.

Dele Wins PFA Young Player of the Year in successive seasons

Since the World Cup the Spurs star has struggled to reach his previous heights, coinciding with Tottenham’s gradual fall from contention, and the departures from the first team of midfield mainstays Dembele and Wanyama. Dele always enjoyed a great on field connection with Harry Kane; they have combined for 16 goals in the premier league putting them 8^th on the all time assist-goal combinations up to May 2020.

It is however Harry Kane’s adaptation of his own game, in addition to Son’s emergence as a key player at Tottenham, that I believe has been detrimental to Dele’s role in the Spurs team. Kane has suffered numerous ankle injuries in recent seasons before a substantial hamstring tear caused him to miss much of the last campaign, these injuries have resulted in him losing a yard of pace. This extra yard prevents him from making bursts to the front post to convert crosses and play on the last man. In order to adapt his game and utilise his outstanding passing attribute, Kane often can be seen dropping into a deeper role than that he enjoyed earlier in his career.

3 Spain Defenders have pushed up to halfway unsure if to follow Kane

The Southampton centre back Jack Stephens has been dragged out of position by Kane dropping deep, leaving a hole for Son or Lamela to run in to

In both of the above images, Kane has dropped into the space between the centre backs and the midfield. He then encourages the wide attackers to make runs beyond him for him to play them in. The first image was months after the World Cup for England, against Spain in the Nations League, ,and is in the build up to a Sterling goal. By dropping deep he creates space for the runners to get in behind the back line as the centre backs are sucked up the pitch into a higher line wondering if to follow Kane. The pace of Rashford and Sterling can then be exploited over the top or down the channels.

In the second picture Kane has again dropped deeper to receive the ball, this time in Sunday’s Tottenham victory at Southampton. Kane has dropped into the channel between the defence and midfield and has pulled the centre back high up the pitch. This left a hole behind the centre back which Son drifts into from the left and exploits this space to receive and score one of his four goals assisted by Kane in the game.

Alli has occupied the number 10 role for Spurs in recent years in a 4-2-3-1 system, and this space that Kane is dropping into in the above examples is one you’d expect a number 10 to occupy. That lack of space impacts on Deles ability to be involved in the build-up and leaves him needing to either play deeper than he is comfortable, or further forward almost as a striker making him far easier to mark than if he were making late runs into the box.

At Alli’s peak he used to drift in from the left, rather like Son now does; timing his run to perfection to get in behind as Kane, in a higher starting point, occupied the centre backs. Spurs at this point were playing a wing back system in which Kane played up front with two of Eriksen, Son or Dele playing off of him and the wing backs providing the width.

Dele is aware that Eriksen is about to receive the ball, and looks to time his run into the box to arrive and meet the cross.

5 seconds after the still above, Dele has drifted to the back of the box behind the centre backs as Eriksen released the cross

In the top image you can see that Kane is playing high against the centre backs, making his run between them to occupy both centre backs as Eriksen receives the ball. In the next image, Dele has used Kane’s occupancy of the centre backs to drift in behind the back of them and free himself to eventually score the header.

Kane occupies both Centre Backs, Dele steals a march on right back and receives the ball unchallenged

In the above picture, once again Dele has made his run drifting from the left into the gap as Kane is occupying the two centre backs playing high up the pitch. He receives the long ball on his chest before slotting into the net after escaping the attention of the defender. With Son now playing from the left for Spurs, his ability to do this is again now limited by another player using the space he once occupied. The roles in which Dele occupied in Pochettino’s successful team are no longer as prominent in Mourinho’s system which could lead to Mourinho seeing a him as surplus to requirements.

Mourinho was non-committal on the subject on Sunday stating an imbalanced squad and the inability to fit all his attacking options on the bench as reasoning for his absence; he stated that a team is a puzzle and you cannot name 4 wingers or 3 wingers and a number 10 on the bench. He did mention however that Dele could be included in a balanced squad and that he didn’t “need” to be sacrificed, however having raved about his preseason just weeks ago one suspects we don’t know the whole story.

Spurs delighted their fans bringing home global superstar Gareth Bale just a day before the Southampton game, another world class option to add to a vast attacking pool of talent now at the club. Jose often refers to wanting 2 players for each position for a balanced squad and with the addition of Bale they have 6 players for 3 spots. With the mouth-watering prospect of Bale, Son and Kane lining up as a front 3, Jose must decide whether a number 10 of the Dele ilk suits his system moving forward. This could certainly be a reason Jose is more willing to listen to offers for the former MK Dons man. Tanguy Ndombele and Lo Celso were brought in last summer to provide creativity from the centre of the park and following Hjojberg’s arrival earlier in the window, a 433 formation seems likely to be Jose’s chosen system. This begs the question to what Dele’s best position is in that system, and whether his lack of compatibility and high sell on value make his position in the squad vulnerable.

Played as a wide forward he could use his great movement and ghost into the box with late runs to score as he has proved in the past. You would have to question however whether Dele has the pace or dribbling ability to play in that position; while being a very skilful player Dele has always relied on instinct and timing. When given lots of space and time, he tends to be lethargic and not move the ball quickly enough often turning over possession. He could also play in this system as one of a 3 in midfield. To do so, the young midfielder would need to be more tactically disciplined and comfortable taking the ball deeper, before making late runs into the box.

Dele is at his best when playing off of Harry Kane, he used Kane’s movement as a decoy to find space and make late runs into the penalty box. In addition to this, Dele was far more suited to Pochettino’s high press than the counter attack style currently employed by Mourinho. By Spurs wi,nning the ball high up the pitch there was more space and less players back to drive at in the attack. For a player who acts on instincts such as Alli, having less time to think often benefits his game.

The next two weeks will tell us whether the omission of Dele was one to prove he is not needed, or merely a Mourinho mind game used to challenge the player to rediscover his best form. It is clear that an adaptation will be needed for Alli to fit into Jose’s system and become the player once described as the best player in the world of his age, but great players to not become bad players overnight and I would not put it past the Spurs star to flourish once again.

A Rude Awakening- Spurs 0 Everton 1

Following a season in which everything possible seemed to go wrong for Tottenham, as illustrated by popular Amazon docuseries All or Nothing, Spurs fans welcomed Sunday’s opener with a refreshed sense of hope for a return to form. Much improved results following the lockdown period suggested that Mourinho’s methods were beginning to be absorbed and together with some smart premier league experienced signings, called for renewed optimism and expectation in Jose’s first full season.

These feelings were extinguished by 6:30 on Sunday evening as a dark cloud of realisation began to resonate, with the same issues remaining that had dogged the team last year. Tottenham looked lethargic and short of creativity from the off and still look lightyears from the tenacious, free flowing side which lit up the league under Pochettino’s stewardship.

While one should not take away from an impressive performance from a visiting Everton side boasting 3 new signings in midfield, the result will have been a nasty shock to all associated within the club. Worse was to follow the final whistle with a noticeable lack of interest from top players and defeatist body language aplenty. In addition to this, Mourinho’s press conference was particularly scathing in which he questioned the “lazy press”, commitment and desire of the players in just their first league game, making sure also to cite a lack of preseason as an excuse.

It is particularly worrying that a team facing a possible 8 games in 20 days would look so short of energy and cohesion; the early morale hit certainly will provide further challenge to Mourinho. One positive that so many games in quick succession will bring however, is opportunities for those on the fringes of the first team to stake their claim, and to build their own match fitness which may prove vital when creating competition for places currently lacking.

This brings me to the game itself; most fans and pundits will have guessed the starting XI with the only question marks being whether new signings came straight into the side. Doherty and Hoijberg both started in a side that, pre-game, fans seemed happy to see. Doherty took over from Aurier in a marauding right back come right winger role, aiming to get forward and often occupying the left back. In the opening half, though he found himself caught out defensively too far up the pitch on occasion, he looked more incisive in forward positions than Aurier and perhaps should have opened the scoring following a beautiful lofted Kane pass. Hoijberg brought good energy and made 9 interceptions amongst various ball recoveries, illustrating some traits that attracted the club to the signing. He was however slightly wasteful in possession and found himself often as the more advanced of the central midfield two alongside Winks. This was indicative of Spurs problems first half as in possession they struggled to move to ball forward with any tempo, looking more dangerous on the counter attack as the two midfielders passed sideways and backwards rather than looking for penetrative forward passes.

Though they didn’t dominate possession, Tottenham managed to look dangerous when in transition. Dele while losing the ball on occasion was occupying good pockets of space, offering an option between the lines which in turn created room for Son and Lucas. One particular counter attack led to Son playing Dele in on goal, when perhaps Kane was the better option, with Dele bringing a good save from Pickford. The lack of defensive cover offered by the impressive James Rodriguez from Everton also gave Son an opportunity to often find himself one on one with Everton right back Coleman, whipping in one particular great cross that Kane was mere centre meters away connecting with.

Though Spurs weren’t at their best, the first half was pretty even with Spurs making the better chances. The turning point came at half time, and in particular with the substitution and subsequent system change Mourinho opted for. He made the change to bring Sissoko on for Dele, in turn moving Lucas central with Sissoko taking Lucas place on the right of midfield. Jose stated afterwards that it was in order to add creativity around Everton defensive midfielder Allan, and implied that Lucas was in good condition to play there following a strong preseason. I found this quite baffling for a number of reasons. Firstly Dele, as mentioned by Jose in recent interviews, has been in great form in Pre-Season and has played each match looking fit in doing so. This begs the question as to why Lucas was preferred to move central if fitness was a contributory factor.

Secondly, Dele while far from his best was taking up good positions and finding space in front of the Everton defence, his intelligent runs had Allan being pulled around the pitch creating space for others. He did not deserve to be replaced and I can only see this having a negative impact on his confidence moving forwards. Lucas while workmanlike was having a poor game in comparison, often struggling to keep hold of the ball under pressure.

Finally, the idea to move Lucas to a position off of the striker is not one that suits his skillset. One thing evident yesterday was that Lucas first touch is not his strong point, with many passes bouncing away from him. This can be dealt with while playing wide in a 1v1 duel; when playing as a number 10, a loose first touch will take place in a congested part of the pitch and each time it occurs possession will be lost due to sheer numbers. In addition, Sissoko as a wide player does not have the end product to create for others or any goal threat, so if anything, Spurs found themselves less of a threat following the substitution.

So, it proved as Spurs barely managed a sustained attack throughout the second half. As a result of Lucas being a wide player who mostly runs straight lines with predictable movement, Allan was freed up to help cover other areas of the pitch and always found himself as the free man. This enabled him to take control of the game, winning tackles and spraying the ball around, and subsequently winning man of the match. As is often the case, Spurs conceded from a set piece with Alderweireld allowing Calvert-Lewin to rise higher, to power in a header for the winning goal. On the balance of play in the second half Everton’s win was certainly deserved.

Spurs brought on Bergwyn and later Ndombele to try to change the game in their favour but while they enjoyed much possession, their play was lethargic and predictable. The lack of Lo Celso, or a match fit Ndombele in central midfield was strongly felt as they lacked penetration with their passing and a ball carrier.

Sundays opening day defeat was a rude awakening for Jose Mourinho and his Spurs side as a team they have regularly finished above comfortably, managed to defeat them without having to be at their best. A remedy for a lack of creativity and cohesion will be on the agenda in the three weeks approaching the end of the transfer window and, while it’s far too early to read too much into this result, it is clear that at present they are a long way behind rivalling those that finished above them last season.