Dele Alli

[Dusic]

Ultimately it suits Spurs the most if he goes somewhere and does really well, because they will be looking to sell him in the summer.

For that reason, surely better for them that he went to Saints or Brighton (Barber link would make them favourites I reckon), in a settled team with little outside attention or pressure rather than Everton where you have no idea whats going on, or Newcastle where they will be bedding in lots of new players and have intense media attention.

If he is on 100k a week I dont see why that would be overly problematic. I'm sure Van der Beek would be on that at Utd and its not seemingly a problem for Palace.

No10 is our weakest area and even if just for the remainder of this season if there is a slight chance to get a player of Alli's ability then its a no brainer. He thrived under Poch's pressing style and I think would suit how we play perfectly.

Edited 27 January, 2022 by Dusic

[Charlie Wayman]

Alli would be a superb acquisition for us the rest of this season especially with Armstrong seemingly nobbled by injury and fitness issues and could be the perfect 10 to work with Broja.

Don't under estimate the ability of our coaching team to get him motivated and firing on all cylinders. Besides it might do him some good being demoted to a small club for a while if he is serious about his career longer term.

[waylander]

2 minutes ago, Charlie Wayman said:

Alli would be a superb acquisition for us the rest of this season especially with Armstrong seemingly nobbled by injury and fitness issues and could be the perfect 10 to work with Broja.

Don't under estimate the ability of our coaching team to get him motivated and firing on all cylinders. Besides it might do him some good being demoted to a small club for a while if he is serious about his career longer term.

Shouldn't take much. Surely part of his motivation is to get back in the England set-up for the World Cup at the end of the year.

[notnowcato]

Let’s be honest, Ali’s trajectory has been downward whilst being with top drawer managers like Poch, Jose and Conte. It’s only sentiment of a couple of decent seasons over 2 years ago that gives this discussion any legs. 
 

I’m not against Ali being with us for 4 months but I think that suits Spurs more than it suits us, therefore if they want to use our shop window they can pay for it by significantly subsidising his wages. 

[OldNick]

I think the only way to get him to join is to roll Kenzei out to do an interview. He seems more interested in pretty girls than actually playing football.

If he didnt upset what seems a decent dressing room I think he would be an exciting signing

[Charlie Wayman]

1 hour ago, notnowcato said:

Let’s be honest, Ali’s trajectory has been downward whilst being with top drawer managers like Poch, Jose and Conte. It’s only sentiment of a couple of decent seasons over 2 years ago that gives this discussion any legs. 
 

I’m not against Ali being with us for 4 months but I think that suits Spurs more than it suits us, therefore if they want to use our shop window they can pay for it by significantly subsidising his wages. 

It's true he had some excellent seasons with Spurs a while back so there is a more than half decent player there waiting to be re-nurtured. 

In the very unlikely event that we did secure his services for a few months and he scored 3 goals and provided 5 assists, most on here would consider that a very fine piece of business.

 

Old Nick's obviously long forgotten when he was a young man in his twenties. Most do not stay at home at nights assembling Airfix kits or jigsaw puzzles.

[tajjuk]

7 hours ago, Dorchester Saint said:

Saints fans turning their noses up at Dele Alli….

 

Vintage Spazweb 🙄

Not seeing the issue exactly, hardly like he's Dele Alli of like 2016 or so, across this season and last he has started only 15 games, with just 1 goal and 1 assist. 

He's been overlooked by 3 managers, two of which are top class and one of which questioned his application and focus. He's not had an England cap for like 3 years. 

The guy is on a massive decline and doesn't look like he particularly cares. 

People are just going off his name and his past achievements, of which were really about 4-5 years ago. 

Edited 27 January, 2022 by tajjuk

[Teddeer]

Get Spurs to pay half his wages and it's a goer. After all, Theo is reported to be on 50k a week.

[Dorchester Saint]

5 hours ago, tajjuk said:

Not seeing the issue exactly, hardly like he's Dele Alli of like 2016 or so, across this season and last he has started only 15 games, with just 1 goal and 1 assist. 

He's been overlooked by 3 managers, two of which are top class and one of which questioned his application and focus. He's not had an England cap for like 3 years. 

The guy is on a massive decline and doesn't look like he particularly cares. 

People are just going off his name and his past achievements, of which were really about 4-5 years ago. 

We’re Southampton not Man City, he’s absolutely good enough for us and would improve our attack. 

[danjosaint]

22 minutes ago, Dorchester Saint said:

We’re Southampton not Man City, he’s absolutely good enough for us and would improve our attack. 

Not if he can't be bothered 

[Mystic Force]

He strikes me as one of those players who gets rave reviews in a good team but fails to live up to the expectations and becomes a bit part player but still getting England call ups. Then they get shuffled off to a lesser team where you might expect them to be the stand out player but never are, in the mold of Cleverly, Wellbeck or Shelvey. He is not like a Romeu type player, good, but not big boy good and came to us as (and I hate to do this) he is "our level" rather than someone who tasted the good times and couldn't hold on to it.

[Sheaf Saint]

41 minutes ago, Dorchester Saint said:

We’re Southampton not Man City, he’s absolutely good enough for us and would improve our attack. 

Would he? Our entire ethos is about the whole team working hard for each other and sharing defensive responsibilities.

I know it's a cheesy old saying but hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

A luxury player like Alli would only disrupt the balance IMO, and would make us worse not better. 

[Saint_clark]

14 hours ago, Dorchester Saint said:

Saints fans turning their noses up at Dele Alli….

 

Vintage Spazweb 🙄

He's lazy, overrated and expensive. He'd be a shit signing.

[adrian lord]

Not for me. I'm out. 

[LiberalCommunist]

25% of wages and he serves tea. I'm in....

[Dellman]

6 hours ago, Teddeer said:

Get Spurs to pay half his wages and it's a goer. After all, Theo is reported to be on 50k a week.

There's a big difference between his attitude and Theo's, a prima donna and a professional

[verlaine1979]

49 minutes ago, Sheaf Saint said:

Would he? Our entire ethos is about the whole team working hard for each other and sharing defensive responsibilities.

I know it's a cheesy old saying but hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

A luxury player like Alli would only disrupt the balance IMO, and would make us worse not better. 

As someone alluded to above, rigid application of this philosophy would mean no room for Le Tissier in our team.

We're fairly blunt and predictable in the attacking third - for me it's still an open question whether we have the right balance between organization and creativity (though I concede that our squad is short on creativity, so the imbalance is pretty much enforced by default until we strengthen).

[Saint_clark]

5 minutes ago, verlaine1979 said:

As someone alluded to above, rigid application of this philosophy would mean no room for Le Tissier in our team.

We're fairly blunt and predictable in the attacking third - for me it's still an open question whether we have the right balance between organization and creativity (though I concede that our squad is short on creativity, so the imbalance is pretty much enforced by default until we strengthen).

It's a myth that you have to sacrifice effort to get extra creativity. Armstrong is one of our most dangerous and creative players and he works his absolute arse off. 

Alli has also shown no evidence for about 4 years that he is premier league standard. 

[verlaine1979]

1 minute ago, Saint_clark said:

It's a myth that you have to sacrifice effort to get extra creativity. Armstrong is one of our most dangerous and creative players and he works his absolute arse off. 

Alli has also shown no evidence for about 4 years that he is premier league standard. 

And my point is that being one of our most creative players is an incredibly low bar at the moment.

[The Cat]

Would be interesting to have him here and see exactly how good he is now and whether Ralph can get him back on form.

As fans you never really know what's going on in the background at other clubs and the reason why a certain player is being overlooked for regular selection.

[kyle04]

Do you think Spurs would take Theo as an exchange?

[nta786]

2 minutes ago, kyle04 said:

Do you think Spurs would take Theo as an exchange?

Yes... why not...

 

[Sheaf Saint]

31 minutes ago, verlaine1979 said:

As someone alluded to above, rigid application of this philosophy would mean no room for Le Tissier in our team. 

Indeed. And rightly so. As much as we all loved him in the 90s, there is no way he would make it as a PL player in the modern era. The game has moved on too much since those days and the idea that a team like us could accommodate a luxury player like that is ridiculous. 

Our whole strategy only works if all 10 outfield players put in the required effort to defend as a team. Regardless of what talent he might have, I don't see a player like Alli fitting into that, do you? 

Personally, I think it's too risky and whatever benefits he might bring would be offset by potential negative influence on the dressing room as a whole. 

[verlaine1979]

1 minute ago, Sheaf Saint said:

Indeed. And rightly so. As much as we all loved him in the 90s, there is no way he would make it as a PL player in the modern era. The game has moved on too much since those days and the idea that a team like us could accommodate a luxury player like that is ridiculous. 

Our whole strategy only works if all 10 outfield players put in the required effort to defend as a team. Regardless of what talent he might have, I don't see a player like Alli fitting into that, do you? 

Personally, I think it's too risky and whatever benefits he might bring would be offset by potential negative influence on the dressing room as a whole. 

(Caveat - none of this is intended to suggest that I think Alli is in Le Tiss's class - he isn't. But the answer above pretty clearly consigns any future MLT to the dustbin too)

Begs an interesting question. Would you sacrifice the pleasure of seeing MLT play and the goals he scored, if in return we'd remained a more solid lower-half team and avoided our relegation and wilderness years?

I don't think I would. Sublimity beats mediocrity every time.

 

[S-Clarke]

24 minutes ago, nta786 said:

Yes... why not...

 

That was the injury that ruined him, he was never the same after that. Shame really, he was probably in the peak of his powers then as he'd come off the back of a 20 goal season before that.

Bloody knee injuries.

[The Left Back]

34 minutes ago, Sheaf Saint said:

Indeed. And rightly so. As much as we all loved him in the 90s, there is no way he would make it as a PL player in the modern era. The game has moved on too much since those days and the idea that a team like us could accommodate a luxury player like that is ridiculous. 

Our whole strategy only works if all 10 outfield players put in the required effort to defend as a team. Regardless of what talent he might have, I don't see a player like Alli fitting into that, do you? 

Personally, I think it's too risky and whatever benefits he might bring would be offset by potential negative influence on the dressing room as a whole. 

Have to disagree. MLT had the ambition to be a prem footballer. He had the class. If he was around now he would have been taught the right work ethic and fitness/dietary regime.

And to compare Dele to him is an insult to the years he almost single handed lay kept us up. 

[Hayling Saint]

5 minutes ago, The Left Back said:

Have to disagree. MLT had the ambition to be a prem footballer. He had the class. If he was around now he would have been taught the right work ethic and fitness/dietary regime.

And to compare Dele to him is an insult to the years he almost single handed lay kept us up. 

Totally agree with what you say

[CB Fry]

1 hour ago, Sheaf Saint said:

Indeed. And rightly so. As much as we all loved him in the 90s, there is no way he would make it as a PL player in the modern era. The game has moved on too much since those days and the idea that a team like us could accommodate a luxury player like that is ridiculous. 

Our whole strategy only works if all 10 outfield players put in the required effort to defend as a team. Regardless of what talent he might have, I don't see a player like Alli fitting into that, do you? 

Personally, I think it's too risky and whatever benefits he might bring would be offset by potential negative influence on the dressing room as a whole. 

Stanley Matthews would be f**king shit today with those clunky old boots on.

[Adman]

27 minutes ago, The Left Back said:

Have to disagree. MLT had the ambition to be a prem footballer. He had the class. If he was around now he would have been taught the right work ethic and fitness/dietary regime.

And to compare Dele to him is an insult to the years he almost single handed lay kept us up. 

Couldn’t agree more. 

If people don’t think le tiss could cut it, they never saw him play, and the comments above are exactly the same BS spouted by  Rodney Marsh, Phil Thompson and George Best on soccer Saturday in the 90s.

He could turn a game in its head with skill and flair unlike the modern day run fast, can’t pass, shoot or cross, but can press forward.

[Toussaint]

11 minutes ago, CB Fry said:

Stanley Matthews would be f**king shit today with those clunky old boots on.

Not being alive would also be a massive disadvantage.

[revolution saint]

36 minutes ago, Toussaint said:

Not being alive would also be a massive disadvantage.

Nah, he could ghost in at the far post, go past players as if he wasn’t there, scare the life out of defenders. Modern game is ideal for the deceased.

[macca155]

44 minutes ago, Adman said:

Couldn’t agree more. 

If people don’t think le tiss could cut it, they never saw him play, and the comments above are exactly the same BS spouted by  Rodney Marsh, Phil Thompson and George Best on soccer Saturday in the 90s.

He could turn a game in its head with skill and flair unlike the modern day run fast, can’t pass, shoot or cross, but can press forward.

All of that plus he had that extra half a second on other players. Never had to hurry a pass.

Either instinct or intellect, it gave him a huge advantage.

He would be awesome in the modern EPL.

Imagine how good Gazza would have been. Talent and fitness, not so blessed upstairs, but he would have been looked after.

[Saint Billy]

Even when out of form MLT had the ability to produce a bit of magic and change the game. 

When Delle Alli's form started to drop it dropped like a stone and he ended up looking like a Sunday league player. 

[rooney]

Note the right type or  fit for us.

[Saint Garrett]

38 minutes ago, rooney said:

Note the right type or  fit for us.

I think if we were spending a load of money on him, then maybe. But it’s a no risk loan deal. It’s a no brainier IMO. 

[david in sweden]

11 hours ago, kyle04 said:

Do you think Spurs would take Theo as an exchange?

Being a former "Gunner" ....... Theo would be about as popular as a former Pompey player who signed for Saints ! 

[ErwinK1961]

Has there been any actual credible link to this possibly happening? All I’ve seen is a throwaway line in a news article?

 

[Wurzel]

9 hours ago, revolution saint said:

Nah, he could ghost in at the far post, go past players as if he wasn’t there, scare the life out of defenders. Modern game is ideal for the deceased.

And unless Yvette Fielding and her team bring in their special equipment to are study the replays he won't even show up on VAR

[Toadhall Saint]

4 minutes ago, ErwinK1961 said:

Has there been any actual credible link to this possibly happening? All I’ve seen is a throwaway line in a news article?

 

Not that I can see 

[John Boy Saint]

5 minutes ago, ErwinK1961 said:

Has there been any actual credible link to this possibly happening? All I’ve seen is a throwaway line in a news article?

 

Nah - but we’ve got a weekend off so we all get to ramble on in a relaxed fashion about any old cobblers that has a Saint related tag in the content to spawn a thread 😁

[Turkish]

14 minutes ago, ErwinK1961 said:

Has there been any actual credible link to this possibly happening? All I’ve seen is a throwaway line in a news article?

 

It January and only 3 days and 13 hours until the WINDOW SLAMS SHUT literally anything can happen. Breaking news this morning is Andy Carroll having a medical at West Brom before a move to the end of the season, who saw that one coming?!

[Toussaint]

8 minutes ago, Wurzel said:

And unless Yvette Fielding and her team bring in their special equipment to are study the replays he won't even show up on VAR

 

10 hours ago, revolution saint said:

Nah, he could ghost in at the far post, go past players as if he wasn’t there, scare the life out of defenders. Modern game is ideal for the deceased.

I guess "Casper" Schmeichel  would be the only one who could see him?

[Toussaint]

12 hours ago, kyle04 said:

Do you think Spurs would take Theo as an exchange?

I know this was said in jest, but the tragedy with Theo is if his reported wage of £75k a week is correct then he is "worth" minus £3.9 million per year, so unless they have something to trade us to the value of minus £3.9 million per year, or thereabouts then probably not. 

[tajjuk]

14 hours ago, Dorchester Saint said:

We’re Southampton not Man City, he’s absolutely good enough for us and would improve our attack. 

He's not good enough for Spurs, and they are hardly that much better than we are and they are nowhere near Man City so this comment makes no sense.

Redmond gets constantly lambasted on here for not being good enough for us, yet has more assists this season then Dele Ali has in TWO YEARS and Redmond isn't supplying world class players like Kane and Son. 

He's bad, he was good 4 years ago and hasn't been anywhere near it since, he would not upgrade us at all and IMO would be a liability.

Also all these people talking about creative players not working, er all the best creative players in the league pretty much work hard, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, David Silva before him, Fernandes, Mount, Salah, Bowen etc. all hard workers. The Man City players have incredible work ethic and De Bruyne is probably one of the best playmakers the league has ever seen. 

[Dusic]

Isn't the point whole point that if Alli was confident and in-form that we would have no chance of signing him?

The fact is he needs a move to try to regain his best form where he scored more PL goals in one season than Armstrong, Tella, Walcott, Elyounoussi and Djenepo have ever scored combined for us.

As for application, he thrived under Pochettino in a team that outrun almost everyone else and was known for being excellent off the ball.

If it were affordable and he was happy to make the move on a temporary basis then its about as much of a no brainer as you will get.

I think he will go elsewhere but Saints would actually be a great fit for him to try and kickstart his career again.

Edited 28 January, 2022 by Dusic

[Charlie Wayman]

13 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

It's a myth that you have to sacrifice effort to get extra creativity. Armstrong is one of our most dangerous and creative players and he works his absolute arse off. 

Alli has also shown no evidence for about 4 years that he is premier league standard. 

You are not being fair or balanced in expressing so much negativity of Alli. One could say just as lazily that Armstrong had a good season last year but has been "absolute sh-te" this year for reasons that are still a bit obscure. What you see is not always the whole story.

Edited 28 January, 2022 by Charlie Wayman

[waylander]

1 hour ago, Wurzel said:

And unless Yvette Fielding and her team bring in their special equipment to are study the replays he won't even show up on VAR

Today's Telegraph report that a deal is imminent for Dele Alli, but they do not say who with.

[Saint_clark]

9 minutes ago, Charlie Wayman said:

You are not being fair or balanced in expressing so much negativity of Alli. One could say just as lazily that Armstrong had a good season last year but has been "absolute sh-te" this year for reasons that are still a bit obscure. What you see is not always the whole story.

But when he's played, Armstrong has still played well. He's just been absent with injuries. 

Alli has been shit even when played, for two seasons now. 35 appearances, 3 goals and 5 assists in all competitions this season and last. 

[Mosin]

20 minutes ago, tajjuk said:

He's not good enough for Spurs, and they are hardly that much better than we are and they are nowhere near Man City so this comment makes no sense.

Redmond gets constantly lambasted on here for not being good enough for us, yet has more assists this season then Dele Ali has in TWO YEARS and Redmond isn't supplying world class players like Kane and Son. 

He's bad, he was good 4 years ago and hasn't been anywhere near it since, he would not upgrade us at all and IMO would be a liability.

Also all these people talking about creative players not working, er all the best creative players in the league pretty much work hard, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, David Silva before him, Fernandes, Mount, Salah, Bowen etc. all hard workers. The Man City players have incredible work ethic and De Bruyne is probably one of the best playmakers the league has ever seen. 

I thought his form dropped after his fallin out with Jose? Maybe he has a problem with more than just the manager and has grown to dislike Spurs, would explain his lack of effort. you dont go from being good to totally crap unless you dont want to play ( Bale is a perfect example although he isnt as good as he was  ) Ali is still young, he might not reach the same level, but even if he got close and was making an effort he would be good and a risk worth taking for a loan / 20 mill spuds want and Ralph might sort him out, if he does, then it is a good thing for us? He never had any probs under Poch and we all know Poch demands 100 % all the time from his players and Alli was really good under him

[Saint Scott]

1 hour ago, Saint_clark said:

But when he's played, Armstrong has still played well. He's just been absent with injuries. 

Alli has been shit even when played, for two seasons now. 35 appearances, 3 goals and 5 assists in all competitions this season and last. 

In his defence; he featured in 28 games last season (15 starts, 13 from the bench) and played less than 52% of minutes in those 28 games. In 10 of those games he played under 20 minutes. 

Cameo appearances aside 3 goals and 5 assists is no worse than we already have in the 10 position, in (realistically) 18 games starting 50% of the time. On that basis if he had played every one of Spurs 54 games based on that conversion rate he could of achieved 9 goals and 14 assists.

Add to that his longest run of games was 5 and that was the final 5 PL games of the season. Featuring in less than half of Spurs games a month any player would struggle to carry any momentum.

 

Edited 28 January, 2022 by Saint Scott