‘I’m going to be harsh’: Glenn Hoddle says Tottenham 25-year-old ‘needs a rattle’

Follow us on Google Discover

Glenn Hoddle has claimed that Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli ‘needs a rattle’, as he told Premier League Productions.

The Spurs legend stated that Alli needs to go back to basics by being a ‘box threat’ for his club once again.

On Sunday, albeit it was just one game, Alli, 25, showcased why there was so much fuss about him when he was a teenager.

Against one of the best teams in Europe, he produced a Man of the Match display and backed Antonio Conte’s call to start him against Liverpool.

It’s now a case of him delivering the goods on a regular basis once more because fans haven’t seen it in years from the attack-minded midfielder.

Hoddle shared his ‘harsh’ words that when Alli was performing well for the club, he was still losing possession on a number of occasions, but the key thing is that he was scoring ‘big goals’ back then.

“I want to see him urgent,” said Hoddle. “I want to see him wanting the ball. I want to see every time a Spurs man is in possession, he is making angles. 

“I want him to then press with his teammates – I think he needs a rattle.

“You get to a stage now where you say, ‘if you don’t do that, then I will take you off. But you are capable of doing it. You have shown us what you can do’. He’s a box threat. Get him in the box. He’s a goalscoring midfielder.

“I am going to be a bit harsh on him. When he was scoring all them goals, it wasn’t that much different, playing-wise. He still gave the ball away a hell of a lot. But he got into the box and scored big goals for Poch.”

Well, Alli will be kicking himself that he didn’t score on Sunday because he had one of the best chances to do so.

After being put through on goal, his first-time effort from inside the penalty area was saved by the fingertips of Alisson Becker.

Whilst that would have been disappointing for the player, he needs to take the positives from the game and how aggressive he was without the ball.

Then he was eager to make the ball talk when he got it. It was just a case of not putting the ball into the back of the net that was the only stumbling block.