Dele Alli didn’t look too pleased when he was substituted during Tottenham Hotspur’s defeat to RB Leipzig in the Champions League last night.
Sam Allardyce has shared that he has been told that Dele Alli is a player who can ‘show his emotions’ following his angry reaction to being substituted during Tottenham’s 1-0 defeat to RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Speaking to The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast Show on TalkSport (20/02/2020 at 6:35 am), Allardyce thinks that Alli was ‘showing himself up’ yesterday, as he advised him to keep his emotions in check and take his frustrations out on the manager away from the ‘public eye’.
Jose Mourinho was asked about Alli’s reaction after the Champions League first-leg clash and he made it clear it was more because Alli was ‘angry’ with his own performance rather than being hooked off, as quoted by Sky Sports.
Allardyce, who shared that he spoke with Alli’s former manager, Karl Robinson from MK Dons about the player, stated that he is someone who can react the way he did because he is that type of character.
“Nobody is more important than the team or what the manager sees on the field and what he might need to do,” Allardyce told TalkSport. “Unfortunately, the strop gets the headlines because you are disappointed but whatever you do as a professional footballer, you wait until you get back in the dressing room if you are having a strop and do it then.
“Don’t do it in the public eye. It’s just not the right thing to do. It’s not professional. I understand your frustration but you are showing yourself up in many, many ways for me. Yes, we can all be disappointed if we get substituted but the manager has made the decision. Take it with the manager the next day.
“I think he [Alli] is a little like that. I spoke to Karl Robinson, who had him at MK Dons and brought him up and said he can show his emotions. And that’s him showing his emotions and disappointed. You just have to keep hold of it, as frustrating as it is, and not display it in public.”
Alli’s reaction to being substituted shouldn’t really be seen as an issue and something that should be applauded because he is showing that he cares.
Whether the attacking midfielder is annoyed at himself for his performance, the manager, or a mixture of both, it’s a clear sign that he wants better.
From the perspective of the Spurs fans, they would perhaps prefer Alli to react the way he did because it’s better than going off with an ‘I don’t care-like’ attitude.
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