“One thing is me understanding the players, another thing is the players situation”. Mourinho discussed how there is more substance to reasons behind Dele Alli’s playing time at Tottenham.<\/p>\n
Alli is a fantastic footballer, first and foremost. Plus, he is still young. Even though it may feel like he has been around for a while, he still has many years of football left to play. Impressively, he has managed to develop into a talismanic figure at Tottenham, despite not coming through the Club\u2019s academy.<\/p>\n
Alli\u2019s previous goals and assists numbers have undoubtedly helped gain him popularity with many Spurs fans. But he has also shown desire and aggression on the pitch, which is what supporters had associated and liked about the 24-year-old. What remains to be clear is to why he has struggled with consistency over the past two seasons. The sad reality is there are many \u2018talents\u2019 who are not becoming the players that many perceive them to be.<\/p>\n
Before we draw on Alli\u2019s performances under Jos\u00e9 Mourinho, let us remind ourselves of his form throughout Mauricio Pochettino\u2019s final year at Spurs. Following Alli\u2019s heavily criticised performance in the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool during the 2019-20 campaign, Pochettino stuck by his player and selected him for the following match versus Everton at Goodison Park.<\/p>\n
Alli showed both his qualities and weaknesses in that game against the Toffees, as he was able to on the scoresheet but the Spurs player\u2019s lack of work off the ball had ultimately led to a late goal and the match finishing 1-1. The latter part may be harsh, as there were many players at fault for the equaliser and the away side were down to ten men.<\/p>\n
Regardless, Alli\u2019s goal was fantastic. A misplaced pass found its way to Heung-min Son, who slid a through ball into the path of his teammate. Alli cut onto his right foot, skipped past the defender and then struck the ball into the bottom corner. Clear evidence of his goal scoring abilities and the celebration was clear evidence of his personality.<\/p>\n
Putting his index finger up to his lips, Alli was shushing his critics from the previous weeks. A textbook goal and celebration from the Englishman. The Spurs fans could feel the relief of their attacking midfielder from the stands. Well, until the home side equalised in the 97th<\/sup> minute.<\/p>\n Mourinho got appointed a few weeks later. Alli\u2019s reaction to a new manager looked positive. Not only did he assist in a goal within Mourinho\u2019s first match against West Ham, but he displayed a piece of skill only a player of his quality could manoeuvre.<\/p>\n Then Harry Kane and Son developed injuries, so Mourinho looked at his other big players, like Alli, to help them secure a finish within a European spot, which they were able to do when they pipped Wolverhampton Wanderers to a sixth place finish on the final day. Since then, Alli has not featured consistently. So, what has changed?<\/p>\n