From Brendan : Dele Alli – (don’t) believe the hype?
Myles,
My 10-year-old son and I have talked about England’s team selection in Euro 2016 so much in the past few months that he’s even commenting on the fact that we’re still talking about it. We agree on quite a lot.
Completely irrespective of the Tottenham – Arsenal rivalry, we both think that there was a ridiculous concentration of Tottenham players in the team.
Why the likes of West Ham’s Cresswell, Antonio and Noble weren’t in the squad, I’ll never know. And why, when it was obvious that an assured all-rounder like Milner was needed as a guide to younger players rather than Rooney, who is in no way a natural leader, Hodgson persisted with something that obviously wasn’t working.
Anyway, my son says, and I tend to agree with him, that on the basis of 5-10 very good Premier league performances, you can’t say that Dele Alli is the future of English football.
Indeed, his poor displays in the Euros were not only down to Hodgson’s mismanagement. It was also down to his reliance on more skilled accompanying players, like the ones he has at Tottenham.
Notwithstanding even that, he’s not proven himself. It’s been one season. And his temperament is very very suspect. If someone can get wound up over virtually nothing, you never know how it could end up.
I thought I’d share that with you. Just like when Jack Wilshere was prematurely being touted as the future of England, Alli is getting the same.
Both my son and I agree that Kane and Dier should have been starters for England – even though Kane had a terrible Euros. But that I suppose was quite a lot more down to how the team was set up and how Kane himself was used in the team, not to mention his exhaustion.
I know you’ll disagree, but that’s probably why I write!
Myles says:
I don’t entirely disagree.
But when I get time I’ll post post an informative page from a fine book I’ve been reading.
ANR has been skimpy in September for various reasons.
October will be more interesting on this blog
The Professor says: Myles is selling the future, which he’s learned from me.
PS. Please don’t compare Dele with that moron.