Dele Alli could have been sent off in Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Fiorentina, as he seemingly aimed a kick at Nenad Tomovic.
While getting needlessly dismissed is never a good thing, Alli’s aggression is a positive that should not be knocked out of him.
Mauricio Pochettino certainly seems to think that way and had this to say about Alli’s indiscretion.
“He’s still very young and needs to learn a lot, he came from League One.
“He’s a little bit naughty. But it’s good. I like it. I was like that. I was naughty like him.
“I was sent off a lot in my career. At Espanyol, in 10 years or 11 years, 13 or 14 red cards. It was a record.”
Pochettino might come across as a mild-manered figure these days but it was indeed a different story when he was a player. This video of Pochettino’s best moments for Espanyol demonstrates just how ‘naughty’ Pochettino could be and why he’d be somewhat hypocritical to come down too hard on Alli.
Competitive aggression linked to upping your game on the field of play is one thing, but rash and illegal actions that jeopardise results for the whole team is another. No one wants to see Alli become a pussy cat but he needs to learn the difference between stupidity and competitiveness. As I recall, Gary Lineker was a very useful player for Spurs scoring many goals and winning vital games for the club, he never received so much as a yellow card in his entire playing career. Intimidate the opposition with your skill Dele, not misguided aggression.
Not a bad player in his day and has a pair of shooting boots too.
As for Sol saying we had no winners in our team ….
Nice little song at the end “Gracias Mauricio Pochettino”. Could be good to chant that at the Lane or a version of it.
Also the chant at the end. “Uno De Los Nuestros” translates to “One of ours”. Uno De los nuestros, de los nuestros ….
regarding deli ali…..can everyone get a grip please the lad is …..19 years old. for petes sake ?……..with potchettino helping his development he will mature with his combination of character and skill…..but no cantona is deli ali……..whats really going on is people reaction …crap internet journalism and social correctness all…aimed at spurs bashing …..remember this season when stoke played spurs and dembele was booted up in the air?……like a rag doll….
One thing the video showed me was Pottechino played with passion and he’s brought that to Spurs. Football isn’t played like on FIFA 16 – it’s a hard, physical, aggressive game. Getting the better of the other team often by winding them up is part and parcel of the game and it’s great to see players at Spurs doing that. This passion combined with the great football we play has got us where we are.
I don’t get it too. why are a lot of people condemning alli, one bad foul doesn’t mean he’s a bad player… I play football too, it’s called heat of the moment..
just get it over with already