Former Tottenham Hotspur England player Darren Anderton says that Dele Alli must learn to curb his temper.
Former Tottenham Hotspur and England player Darren Anderton has warned Dele Alli to curb his temperament.
Alli was handed a one-match ban by FIFA for making an offensive gesture against Slovakia last month.
The Spurs midfielder is available for England’s final qualifier against Lithuania on Sunday after missing out on the Slovenia clash through suspension.
The 21-year-old has established himself as a key player for Mauricio Pochettino, and last season he scored 22 goals in all competitions for Spurs.
This season he has scored three goals in nine appearances for Spurs, and hasn’t performed to the best of his abilities.
However, Anderton believes that being in the spotlight for the wrong reasons is putting undue pressure on him.
The former Spurs player also adds that Alli has a bit of “devilment” in him, and at some point he may need to curb his anger and temper.
Anderton argues that when Wayne Rooney curbed his temper he wasn’t quite the same player anymore. He suggests Alli to channel it in the right areas, and rightly points out that his club and country need his services on the pitch.
“I think people should give him a bit of a break,” said Anderton to Sky Sports. He’s only young. It’s ridiculous what he’s done already at his age and part of why he’s done that is because he has that bit of devilment in him.
“At some point maybe you need to curb that but my argument would be when Wayne Rooney curbed his anger and temper he probably wasn’t quite the same player.
“He just needs to channel it in the right areas and be told, ‘we can’t have you missing games and being sent off. We need you on the football pitch’.”
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