2021/22 Dele Alli

[aglee]

Thats not true! LOL Played for Strasbourg and Nancy in the first division.

I’ve never heard that he played for Nancy, just that he signed for Strasbourg but played in the reserves and spent most of his time coaching the youth team

 

[kenada_blue]

Agreed, but in a qualified manner.

The standard of CM needed to play a 2-man midfield is beyond every single midfielder we currently have, without exception. Our two best CMs are currently Doucoure and Iwobi, and neither one of them is good enough to play as one of a pair. Therefore to play a formation that features just two CMs, we'd need to buy three CMs who are ALL better than our current best CMs. Why three? To provide for injury, suspension and rotation.

Conversely, if we stick to a three-man midfield we can utilise SOME of our existing squad. Iwobi can play well as an 8 in a three-man midfield. Doucoure can do a job and in the brave new world of 5 subs, I'd actually say he'd be valuable as the first man off the bench in most games. Carlo got a tune out of Davies in a 433. We could even risk giving Gbamin a few starts.

Look at who's out there available in our price bracket:

Gana (if we can get PSG to agree to a loan)
Grillitsch (if we can agree a salary)
Knight (if we can scrape together £5m)

None of them are good enough to carry one of our existing CMs in a two-man midfield. But any two of them could provide the solidity that would be needed to allow Iwobi to play well, and to allow us to play any 2 CBs from Mina, Tarkowski and Holgate in a flat back 4.

To anyone who wants a two man midfield: Who's even available to fit that profile?

Iwobi is never ever a CM. Doucoure isn't either. Main reason is neither can pass or control a midfield. That's not bossing a game, that's being able to linke defence and midfield, also keep possession.

Winks for example, fits part of that bill. Doucoure next to him? Possibly.

If you look at the teams with 2 men midfields outside the top 6....Neves and Moutinho. Rice and Soucek. Bissouma and Mwpeu. Tilemans and Ndidi....

It's not out of the realms of possibility to bring in players on a similar level which is all relative to style of play. Wolves for example soak and counter with 3 at the back...Neves and Moutinho aren't mobile but are excellent passers who are intelligent. Rice and Soucek are pure athletes....

I was probably over keen to throw Alli in with Gordon and Gray either side (one would have to go) but overall, Alli needs to play further forward to really get a tune.

 

[Connor]

Idrissa Gana returning for a year on loan makes a LOT of sense for us. No idea if PSG would go for it, but I certainly would.

EDIT: just realised we're in the Dele Alli thread. All this talk of midfielders is waaaay off-topic - apologies.

Nope, we need to move on

Not to mention his recent homophobia about wearing a kit

 

[Mark barnett]

His main attribute is arriving in the right place at right time in the box with clever movement

bit like cahill this lad without the heading ability or overhead kick acrobatic skills

 

[BainesontoastNEW]

Iwobi is never ever a CM. Doucoure isn't either. Main reason is neither can pass or control a midfield. That's not bossing a game, that's being able to linke defence and midfield, also keep possession.

Winks for example, fits part of that bill. Doucoure next to him? Possibly.

If you look at the teams with 2 men midfields outside the top 6....Neves and Moutinho. Rice and Soucek. Bissouma and Mwpeu. Tilemans and Ndidi....

It's not out of the realms of possibility to bring in players on a similar level which is all relative to style of play. Wolves for example soak and counter with 3 at the back...Neves and Moutinho aren't mobile but are excellent passers who are intelligent. Rice and Soucek are pure athletes....

I was probably over keen to throw Alli in with Gordon and Gray either side (one would have to go) but overall, Alli needs to play further forward to really get a tune.

He quite simply must be played in an attacking position. If only we had someone like Eriksen to find him in the pockets of space he occupies in the attacking third...

 

[Oddson]

????? just no words!

 

[Yank]

Well I suppose atleast we finally scored a goal today.

I'm honestly at a loss with this team.

I don't see how they aren't having a year identical to last year if they're lucky.

 

[gonetomorrow]

Let's see how we get on against Chelsea and we'll find out just how crap we are - Dele or no Dele.

 

[Shibbywiggles]

Dele back in the number 20 and at the forefront of club communications this summer.
He will be our main man this season I guarantee it - let’s hope he’s still got the magic

 

[Parker]

New number, probs reading into it too much but don't imagine we'd bother if he was not gonna be given a proper go in the first team.

 

[MikeH72]

Him and McNeil don’t fit into the same side btw.

 

[Shibbywiggles]

Let's see how we get on against Chelsea and we'll find out just how crap we are - Dele or no Dele.

I’d give him more than one game against a very good team to be fair
If he hasn’t produced after five games though I’ll be worried. The four games after Chelsea look good to me.

 

[Nymzee]

Him and McNeil don’t fit into the same side btw.

Why not? McNeil spent a lot of last season on the right he said.

 

[MikeH72]

Why not? McNeil spent a lot of last season on the right he said.

It seems we’re hell bent on the 5 at the back, in which case McNeil would need to play wing back or we’d need to play a 3-4-3 which Alli can’t play in.

 

[Nymzee]

It seems we’re hell bent on the 5 at the back, in which case McNeil would need to play wing back or we’d need to play a 3-4-3 which Alli can’t play in.

We played 3-4-3 with Dele in vs Blackpool? Was inside left, Rondon, Gordon inside right.

We just can't play Dele, Gordon & McNeil unless we are dropping Myko to CB.