Graeme Souness has told Virgin Media Sport that he doubts whether Dele Alli can “make the difference” for Tottenham Hotspur.
It is a bizarre time for the leading pundit to make such a suggestion, as Dele has scored six goals and assisted three more in his last 10 games.
This is what Souness said after Wednesday’s defeat to Bayern Munich:
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“Woah woah woah woah. Calm down.
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) December 11, 2019
“Dele Alli, for the best part of 2 years, has stood still.”
– Graeme Souness after Spurs’ defeat in Munich.#BAYTOT #UCL #VMSport pic.twitter.com/e308yQT9fX
Dele may not have made much difference to the result in Germany. That game was lost in central midfield where we were outclassed and out passed.
But to dismiss the idea that he is a key player is absurd. Dele’s dip in form coincided with the team’s struggles. If anything, that proves the opposite.
Along with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, he is one of our big three.
Souness is just another critic that the 23-year-old will have to prove wrong.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Graeme Souness and saw the only Spurs appearance he ever made in our colours (As a sub in our 9-0 win over Keflavic of Iceland, in the UEFA Cup, in 1972). Bill Nich’s worst decision of his entire managerial career was selling him to Middlesborough, when he was the best young player at the club.
Souness, allegedly, went into Nicholson’s office and said he was the best player at the club and demanded to know why he wasn’t playing! Bill’s response was to send him out on loan to Vancouver Whitecaps and then sell him. As for Souness’s subsequent career, the rest is history, but it explains Graeme’s love-hate relationship with Spurs.
Regarding Dele Alli, he’s right. Dele has under-performed for two years, so this recent renaissance, whilst extremely welcome, is so far very brief in time. So let us reserve judgement as to whether Dele has really got his career back on track.
I’m with ‘Nessie. Nearly 2 years of dross followed by a few good matches then one during which he disappeared again does not a key player make. I hope he proves to be key by the end of this season though, but the jury’s still out regarding his ongoing levels of consistency, which is key to his being key.
Swap B Davies and serge for P konchesky and S Carr tomorrow?
If Kane Keane and kanoute all played at spurs would they be known as the KKK? 😁
Souness is spot on .