Dele Alli exclusive: I’m my own biggest critic, but I’m feeling good now at Tottenham
Dele Alli insists he is his own biggest critic, but says he is feeling good now at Tottenham under Jose Mourinho.
Alli has six goals and two assists since Mourinho arrived in November following the sacking of Mauricio Pochettino, and has seen an improvement in his all-round game.
The 23-year-old burst onto the scene as a teenager at Tottenham in 2015, and though his performances have fluctuated in recent years, Alli insists he’s learning more about life and football, and is in a good place at present.
Speaking exclusively to Patrick Davison, Alli said: „I have been working a lot in the gym, to try and get back to a higher level, not just my previous level. I’m feeling good now.
„It’s been steady growth again. I am always trying to get better, and if I had a bad game, you can ask my friends, I’m the first person to know. And if I’m not playing well, I know. I’m not somebody to try and hide from it.
„I know myself when I’m not playing well. I expect a lot from myself, so I don’t think anybody would expect more for me than what I do.
„The more mature I’m getting, the more I’m playing, and learning not just about football but about life.
„It’s nice to be praised, but the same people can be waiting to shoot you down. So you keep working hard, and listen to the right people. Whoever you choose to listen to is the main thing; the manager, players, team-mates and people around the club, their opinion is important.
„I think I can always do better. I’ve played well in some games, and in others I know I haven’t played good enough.“
Mourinho said in November that Alli was not a midfielder, encouraging him to play closer to the striker in the final third. Though Alli admits he hadn’t seen the comment, his conversations with the manager tend to focus around tactics.
„I haven’t seen that comment, but when we speak we do talk about many things, tactical things.
„It is different. I think every manager will have it, I don’t think I’ve worked under two managers who are exactly the same. So it’s just trying to get used to the different philosophy and how they like to play.“
Christian Eriksen’s departure to Inter Milan on Wednesday coincided with the permanent signing of Giovani Lo Celso, with the long-running transfer saga involving the Dane finally over.
Alli admits Eriksen will be missed at Spurs, and revealed he sent him a sad face emoji, describing him as a great friend and great person.
„He’s a worldie. I sent him a sad face on message, but I’m sure I’ll speak to him. He’s an unbelievable player, yeah he’ll be missed here, but this is a different step in his career.
„Since the start of the season there’s been a lot of speculation, and now it’s gone through I wish him all the best, because he’s a great friend and a great person.“
Alli opens up on failed move to Newcastle
Alli also revealed that he initially felt angry that his proposed move to Newcastle in January 2015 had failed, before Tottenham eventually swooped in.
„There were a few different reasons. Obviously from the family point of view, there were clubs interested from up north. Liverpool were [interested] at the time, but I don’t know how serious they were, but I remember Newcastle was quite a big one at the time.
„But from a family point of view I was going up there by myself, and they were a bit worried about me being up there by myself so far away, it’s not local to them, in the end the decision was mine, but I don’t know what happened, the deal didn’t go through any way, and I don’t think they wanted me in the end!
„That was a bit before Tottenham. When you’re still young, it’s hard to see the bigger picture, and when it happened at first I was sort of really angry, it felt like people were stopping me from leaving! But I know that wasn’t the case.“
Soccer Accumulator Bonus
Our fantastic Euro Soccer accumulator offer gives you the chance to earn a bonus of up to 100% on accumulators on the top domestic leagues in Europe along with the group and knockout stages of the Champions League.
This offer applies to returns on pre-match accumulators of 3 or more selections on Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga 1 or UEFA Champions League.
The maximum bonus that you can receive is ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. The bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based .on the remaining active stake. If a qualifying bet is edited .using our Edit Bet feature. The bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply. Double Chance bets or combination bets with bonuses. Such as Lucky 15’s or Lucky .31’s do not apply for this offer.
If your bet is successful, we will add the following bonuses to your returns:
Bet Type Bonus
14-folds and upwards 100% bonus
Terms and Conditions
Applies to straight pre-match accumulator bets on the Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga .1 or Australian A-League matches. Maximum bonus ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. Soccer Accumulator Bonus does not apply to Double Chance bets or combination. bets with bonuses such as Lucky 15’s, Lucky 31’s etc.
If any selections are postponed/void then the bonus will still apply, but the percentage bonus added will reflect the actual number of winning selections. For example, an 8-fold accumulator with 7. winners and 1 postponed match will receive a 30% .bonus to returns.
The bonus part of your returns will be added to your account within 24 hours of your final selection having played.
This bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based on the remaining active stake.
If a qualifying bet is edited using our Edit Bet feature, the bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply.
Where any term of the offer or promotion is breached or there is any evidence of a series of bets placed by a customer or group of customers, which due to a deposit bonus, enhanced payments, free bets, risk free bets or any other promotional offer results in guaranteed customer profits irrespective of the outcome, whether individually or as part of a group, bet365 reserves the right to reclaim the bonus element of such offers and in their absolute discretion either settle bets at the correct odds, void the free and risk free. bets or void any bet funded by the deposit bonus.
In addition bet365 .reserve the right to levy an administration charge on the customer up to the value of the deposit bonus, free bet, risk free bet or additional payment to cover administrative costs. We further reserve the right to ask any customer to provide sufficient documentation for us to be satisfied in our absolute discretion as to the customer’s identity prior to us crediting any bonus, free bet, risk free bet or offer to their account.
All bet365 offers are intended for recreational players and bet365 may in its sole discretion limit the eligibility of customers to participate in all or part of any promotion.
bet365 reserves the right to amend, cancel, reclaim or refuse any promotion at its own discretion.
