It’s undoubtedly a malaise of the modern game; whereby some players can still manage to maintain a positive relationship with fans, despite fundamentally failing to earn that warmth and respect. The cult of Dele Alli is something I never understood, even when he was occasionally playing well for Tottenham.
Having been ignored by successive Spurs coaches and the England manager, Alli eventually ended up being foisted upon Everton, with a transfer deal that was backloaded in the event that he came good.
The last hurrah was some parts of the football press dressing this move up as a £40million move. As many of you probably know, that figure could only be achieved if Dele hit certain trigger points.
The truth of the matter is that the now 26-year-old was only a peripheral figure under Frank Lampard. So few appearances have actually been racked up that the Toffees don’t even owe THFC the £10million for playing 20 games.
Video c/o 3Max Live
Here’s the highlight of last night’s game, from the boy. A shot assist.
I noted last night, on social media, that some fans were telling us that Dele had turned the game around. I know there are political spambots, but are there really ones for footballers, too?
Anyone keen to tell me about the ‘amazing running he did off the ball’ needs the sort of help I’m not qualified to provide.