Hope he touched up Peps daughter good and proper last night he earned it.
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Ex-Spurs Player Dele
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Hope he touched up Peps daughter good and proper last night he earned it.
Dribbled past 7 times, according to SofaScore. And won 5/17 duels.
He kept to the basics, not much tricks and flicks, nor dramatic dives. Something has clicked with him……. lets hope it stays clicked.
I can cover far more ground in 90 mins at a higher average speed than he did. Means nothing. He played well, end of - covering ground really doesn’t sway a performance.
I’ve been critical of Dele in MF, but more than happy to be proved wrong. It’s really not awkward you weirdo, it’s great to see
covered the most ground tho..
Dribbled past is situational - if he’s a full back it’s a huge problem. An attacking midfielder? Less so, far less so
surely he cant not have the highest average speed after covering the most ground? a higher number divided by 90 is always bigger no?
The fire’s back in Dele’s belly
Nuno Espirito Santo’s first competitive game as Tottenham manager saw him playing a 4-3-3, with Dele Alli and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg on either side of academy graduate Oliver Skipp. Dele’s defensive work rate, in particular, caught the eye.
The most vivid images we have in our minds of Dele involve him as an enigmatic second-striker-cum-attacking midfielder, making well-timed late runs into the box, being able to create and score, and generally being a bit of a bastard.
That was all-change on Sunday. He didn’t have a single touch in the opposition box, didn’t have a shot and didn’t create a chance. In games in which he’s completed 90 minutes, he’s only done that twice before in the Premier League.
What Dele did do, though, was look to get stuck in. A lot. Twelve true tackles — that is, tackles + challenges lost + fouls when attempting a tackle — is the most he’s ever had in a Tottenham shirt. His win rate in those challenges was on the low side, however — he cleanly won the ball just three times.
Very few of Dele’s touches came in the attacking third — 11 in total (his lowest in a 90-minute game is seven in a 4-1 win against Liverpool in 2017).
For Nuno, as is the case for any manager, it’s important to get to know his players, what they have to offer, what their weaknesses are, and then how they can fit into how you want to play.
“Our job as managers is always to find the best solutions for the players, trying to create societies, tasks that the players can do to their full potential,” said the Spurs manager when asked about Dele’s deeper role after the match.
“Dele, besides all the talent he has, is a runner. He has this ability to go from box to box and we as a team should take advantage of it.”
We’re only a game into the season, and one that’s heavily skewed based on the nature of the opposition, but 2021-22 could see Dele’s climb back as a box-to-box runner, perhaps a move that can make him a more complete midfielder than what we’ve seen before.
Let's also not forget at this point no player on the pitch has run further than him too.
The fire’s back in Dele’s belly
Nuno Espirito Santo’s first competitive game as Tottenham manager saw him playing a 4-3-3, with Dele Alli and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg on either side of academy graduate Oliver Skipp. Dele’s defensive work rate, in particular, caught the eye.
The most vivid images we have in our minds of Dele involve him as an enigmatic second-striker-cum-attacking midfielder, making well-timed late runs into the box, being able to create and score, and generally being a bit of a bastard.
That was all-change on Sunday. He didn’t have a single touch in the opposition box, didn’t have a shot and didn’t create a chance. In games in which he’s completed 90 minutes, he’s only done that twice before in the Premier League.
What Dele did do, though, was look to get stuck in. A lot. Twelve true tackles — that is, tackles + challenges lost + fouls when attempting a tackle — is the most he’s ever had in a Tottenham shirt. His win rate in those challenges was on the low side, however — he cleanly won the ball just three times.
Very few of Dele’s touches came in the attacking third — 11 in total (his lowest in a 90-minute game is seven in a 4-1 win against Liverpool in 2017).
For Nuno, as is the case for any manager, it’s important to get to know his players, what they have to offer, what their weaknesses are, and then how they can fit into how you want to play.
“Our job as managers is always to find the best solutions for the players, trying to create societies, tasks that the players can do to their full potential,” said the Spurs manager when asked about Dele’s deeper role after the match.
“Dele, besides all the talent he has, is a runner. He has this ability to go from box to box and we as a team should take advantage of it.”
We’re only a game into the season, and one that’s heavily skewed based on the nature of the opposition, but 2021-22 could see Dele’s climb back as a box-to-box runner, perhaps a move that can make him a more complete midfielder than what we’ve seen before.
Really interesting. I remember when we initially bought him, the main player comparison for him was Steven Gerrard. And like Gerrard, the expectation was that while he was young he would play further up the field before falling back into a more normal CM position because of his height and athleticism.
Obviously he became a much more adept goalscorer than expected in his first few years and that led to him stay in that sort of nebulous second striker role.
Personally, I think in the last few years he’s shown himself to not be quick enough on the ball to play that far up the pitch where there’s less space. Maybe now he can reorient his game to become a proper midfielder and take advantage of his size while also utilizing his significant skill. Credit to Nuno for giving him a go there and Dele for coming into the preseason in great shape.
I like Nuno. He really knows the job.
One of the most influential performances (all round, not just goals) I can recall was playing B-2-B for England against France.... Highly combative in the middle; 1 goal + 1 assist.
People forget he played in a CM2 as a 15 year old for MK Dons. Might be going back to that this time in a 3. The reincarnation of Dele.
Hmmmnnn. I suppose I qualify as a Dele hater. I think he has been shocking for the last few years and nowhere near PL quality. Not even close.
But that stat hardly crushes me. Messi averages just under 8 km per CL game.
I'm glad he played better than he has done. It wasn't a second coming though. It shows how bad he has been when a performance like that is being lauded. Lets hope he can build on that. It was very encouraging to see no arm waving and accusing glares at team mates as if he is a superstar being let down by his team. That seems to have become his signature move over the years.
Like all spurs fans I would be delighted if Nuno can get a tune out of Dele but I'm not getting the fireworks out after one ok performance. Lets talk again in May.
Last season he would have been booked for intent and an exciting move would have been halted.
Nice to see some of his movement & to score a goal
