Shearer blasts Tottenham midfielder as overhyped, but he is as guilty as any pundit of building him up.
The backlash against Dele Alli has well and truly kicked in, with the Tottenham midfielder being criticised from all angles.
Alli is under fire due to his poor discipline which saw him nearly red carded against Manchester City, and the poor form which has blighted his inconsistent 2017/18 season.
Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer was one of many who tore into Alli, branding him overhyped.
Shearer told The Sun: “It is very easy when you are a young player to get carried away with all the adulation. What I see is another young English player falling short of the hype.”
But Shearer was just as guilty of any pundit of building up the young talent over the past couple of years.
He told The Sun in 2016: “Alli has real imagination, skill and the ability to unlock doors.
“He is one of the best players we (England) have produced in a long time. Alli is the sort of player we can build the team around.”
Alli earned that praise, and the point Shearer is attempting to make now is that the Spurs midfielder is not handling it well.
His rise to prominence was stratospheric, but much of Alli’s success came due to the goals he scored.
These have dried up more this season, putting more focus on the rest of his game.
Calling Alli overhyped is harsh as the ‘hype’ is beyond his control. He will be well aware of his own downturn in form, and the Spurs midfielder should be allowed to play through it without the constant criticism and overreactions.
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