Dele

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It's a shame he didn't take after Harry Kane off the pitch. When you have so much talent you shouldn't waste it chasing the media spotlight. Just work your hardest every day until you can't play anymore. Plenty of time to be a personality when you retire. It's a shame this lesson seems to have been lost on Dele.
 
His stats are decent enough considering he's not been playing well for two years now. But the fact that he's not been playing well for two years now is a fair indication of what he is as a player. Genuinely think his athleticism had taken a sharp nosedive.
Very true it's interesting looking at his stats.

During the 2019/20 season Dele picked up 8 goals with a total of just 4 assists. While way back in the 2016/17 season he scored 18 and assisted 7 times. He hit a peak and it looks like he's been in perpetual decline since then, where now he struggles to make it into the starting 11.

As you said this decline has been going on for at least 2 years now so the danger is the longer he stays around the more his price will depreciate.

It's a real bloody shame.
 
Oh yea- you can't tell me Kane can recover himself from repeated ankle injuries but Dele, at the age of 24, can't get fit enough again to recover his form. Dele just does not work hard enough, and if he's wasting time working on jeans or some dumb non-footballing activity, then he's putting his eggs in the wrong basket.
 
Oh yea- you can't tell me Kane can recover himself from repeated ankle injuries but Dele, at the age of 24, can't get fit enough again to recover his form. Dele just does not work hard enough, and if he's wasting time working on jeans or some dumb non-footballing activity, then he's putting his eggs in the wrong basket.
No offense, but how could you have any notion at all of what work he does or doesn't put into being prepared to play football? All sports are littered with top players who excel on the field and allocate some of their time toward commercial side ventures.

There's every chance that hamstring injuries have limited his athleticism .. maybe his body hasn't responded well to years of intense Pochettino training regimen/game tactics. Maybe he's just a limited player who scored really well for a few years when the team played a certain way and and it benefited him.

Maybe you're right, but it seems a bit shortsighted to assume putting his name to some designer gear and that alone has affected his football career.
 
I would not be surprised if he is suffering from depression.

StripiestPilot StripiestPilot above said it really well. He hasn't been himself, the confident, smiling, fighting bastard for awhile. He is walking around in a fog and I hope he can get out of it for the sake of his sanity.
 
No offense, but how could you have any notion at all of what work he does or doesn't put into being prepared to play football? All sports are littered with top players who excel on the field and allocate some of their time toward commercial side ventures.

There's every chance that hamstring injuries have limited his athleticism .. maybe his body hasn't responded well to years of intense Pochettino training regimen/game tactics. Maybe he's just a limited player who scored really well for a few years when the team played a certain way and and it benefited him.

Maybe you're right, but it seems a bit shortsighted to assume putting his name to some designer gear and that alone has affected his football career.
Maybe he just hit the figurative wall in regards to his football. If he is as Jose claimed in the documentary, lazy in training, it could be as simple as him being a bit burned out on playing for us after so many years. Some players have no problem at all motivating themselves for training and a game. Some make up their own goals or agendas to be motivated (Harry with his records, Michael Jordan "making things personal", Shaq did similar things to Mike etc). But some also have it harder finding that motivation again once you hit a wall.

Not to play arm chair psychologist but it could be that Dele, once his form started declining also started struggling with finding the motivation to turn it all around. Eriksen IMO had similar issues towards the end of his tenure here and still seems to have them at Inter. He's naturally good enough to produce good numbers. But lacks the motivation right now to deliver great numbers.

It could just as well be physical issues as you said with his fitness struggles and road mileage. But it could also be in his head.
 
No offense, but how could you have any notion at all of what work he does or doesn't put into being prepared to play football? All sports are littered with top players who excel on the field and allocate some of their time toward commercial side ventures.

There's every chance that hamstring injuries have limited his athleticism .. maybe his body hasn't responded well to years of intense Pochettino training regimen/game tactics. Maybe he's just a limited player who scored really well for a few years when the team played a certain way and and it benefited him.

Maybe you're right, but it seems a bit shortsighted to assume putting his name to some designer gear and that alone has affected his football career.

It's just my assessment of the situation. You're right though- how could we really know? All I can judge by are his statistical production in the pitch, anecdotal evidence of his play on the pitch, and whatever else we glean from the public realm. I don't think all of that builds a great case for seeing Dele as a pitiable figure. It's irrefutable that he has spent a lot of his time trying to be a fashionista while his game has gotten weaker and weaker. Yes correlation is not causation, but given that there is very limited time in life, you can't say that Dele has been even creating the appearance of being fully dedicated to football. And that's fine, his choice of course, but it's a shame if he doesn't maximize on his talent potential. Also, and perhaps more importantly for us, it signals a player not settled, not in form, and at risk of needing a move away from Spurs' to minimize his loss of value to the club.

I have loved Dele since he arrived but it's sad to see where he is at right now and the signs (imo) point to him not having his priorities straight more than anything else.
 
Dele was always a big time player. Not got facts but seem to remember stats showing he performed better against top teams. Seems unable to get going for lesser matches. Either that or needed the extra space the better teams give us because they attack us and cannot breakdown the park the bus teams. Therefore will continue to underperform against poorer quality Europa teams and Mourinho will not pick him for the big PL matches. Cannot see him starting Thursday but maybe can come in off the bench but that would only happen if we are winning. Maybe replace Bale after 70 mins.
 
Many wonderful moments while you stayed here Dele. Thank you for everything and good luck with your future club.

goodbye-little-girl-waving.gif
 
I'm not sure what he has done to fuck himself so completely but it's quite an achievement.

Twice PFA Young Player of the Year. One of only 4 players to win it in successive seasons.
Twice in the PFA Team of the Year. So his peers thought he was one of the best players in the league. Not once but 2 times.

Now he can't even make the matchday squad. I can't think of a more stunning decline for someone who reached his level.
 
No offense, but how could you have any notion at all of what work he does or doesn't put into being prepared to play football? All sports are littered with top players who excel on the field and allocate some of their time toward commercial side ventures.

There's every chance that hamstring injuries have limited his athleticism .. maybe his body hasn't responded well to years of intense Pochettino training regimen/game tactics. Maybe he's just a limited player who scored really well for a few years when the team played a certain way and and it benefited him.

Maybe you're right, but it seems a bit shortsighted to assume putting his name to some designer gear and that alone has affected his football career.
Good post.

Away from armchair psychology for a moment:

1. Injuries have affected Dele. It's obvious from his movement over the past few seasons.

2. He benefitted hugely from the team set up in a certain way which fully accommodated his strengths. I think Eriksen going off the boil and then leaving was huge for Dele - he made the bullets for him to fire, was always finding him with passes.

If he doesn't train well or is depressed or whatever, I wouldn't know obviously. Mourinho said he was a lazy trainer in the Amazon doc.
 
Whilst this table of Spurs all time Premiership League goal scorers is to Praise Kane it also highlights the contribution of Son & Dele.
150 - Harry Kane in 215 appearances (for Spurs)
97 - Teddy Sheringham in 236
91 - Jermain Defoe in 276
91 - Robbie Keane in 238
61 – Heung-Min Son in 168
51 - Christian Eriksen in 226
50 - Dele in 158
 
Whilst this table of Spurs all time Premiership League goal scorers is to Praise Kane it also highlights the contribution of Son & Dele.
150 - Harry Kane in 215 appearances (for Spurs)
97 - Teddy Sheringham in 236
91 - Jermain Defoe in 276
91 - Robbie Keane in 238
61 – Heung-Min Son in 168
51 - Christian Eriksen in 226
50 - Dele in 158
That’s not possible. I keep reading about how hopeless he is.
 
Whilst this table of Spurs all time Premiership League goal scorers is to Praise Kane it also highlights the contribution of Son & Dele.
150 - Harry Kane in 215 appearances (for Spurs)
97 - Teddy Sheringham in 236
91 - Jermain Defoe in 276
91 - Robbie Keane in 238
61 – Heung-Min Son in 168
51 - Christian Eriksen in 226
50 - Dele in 158
And 33 Assists for Dele as well! That’s an insane return really, doubtful but would love it if he could find his form again in time for the festive period
 
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