The Curious Case of Dele Alli | Emotional Overlap interview (p 19)

[RACHACE]

Whatever lies ahead for him football wise is still in his own hands and I hope he resurrects his career.

What's more important however is that he as a man can live with the trauma he's suffered and prevent any relapse in his mental health as he gets older.

That's going to be extremely difficult considering the severity of the trauma he has suffered. Many have no, or little contact with their parents, and the question 'why' is likely to be a constant. But to have been molested, abandoned, pushed from pillar to post (time in Africa) and then getting adopted is the stuff of nightmares that no child should ever have to experience.

Football will be a very useful distraction, as will many other things but going through trauma, especially as severe as what Deli has suffered will never leave him. The night will always win.

So, regardless of how his Football career goes from here I just hope that he can be at one with himself and prevent his past influencing his future in a negative way.

It's so easy to write people off. Especially footballers. He's made his millions and now doesn't give a toss would likely be the general presumption having watched Deli over the last few seasons. How wrong can we be.

I wish the bloke all the luck in the world and him opening up about his past has shown that he's probably got the mental strength to deal with the situation and live a good, happy life.

 

[LangleyBlue1970]

Interview with Dele

Its honest and frank and might answer a few questions.......

As ever,you never know whats happening in a persons head or behind closed doors.

Fair play to Neville for his handling of it too.

Came on to say the same. You never know what anyone is going through.

That is a rough, tough childhood. There is little wonder he’s never found a club he can call home. How can you settle in any walk of life after enduring all that?

For his sake I hope he can use this to help mental health, somehow banish some demons and make a career out of what time he has left. It would be fantastic to see that happen to him.

 

[Crooked_rain]

As it has probably been mentioned in the thread he is another Ross Barkley. Not a totally shit player but not great either. Another overhyped former young English "star"

I disagree

Barkley showed flashes of ability, nothing more, nothing less.

Dele Alli was genuinely excellent for about 3 seasons or so, one of the best players at Spurs when they looked a much better outfit than they do now, in the Champions league reaching a final and whatnot. He really was a consistent very good player in that period and showed more than Barkley ever has.

That's why it's clearly ability that's been the problem for Dele Alli, you don't fluke 3 very good seasons on the bounce at that level.

Thats why I don't ever feel his ability has ever been the issue.

 

[Nellies left peg]

Before I do this I suggest you go and educate yourself on wider issues such as addiction, childhood trauma and mental health; there are plenty of charities out there who you could offer your time to.

Everton have done a fantastic job supporting this young man through personal problems, and have a very talented asset on their hands. I really hope you're not in a position of power or an employer of young people with the archaic views that you clearly hold.

Everton done a fantastic job ? Yeah found he wasn’t cutting the mustard so loaned him out to a team in Turkey where he would get zero support. Brilliant

 

[RayCTID]

I disagree

Barkley showed flashes of ability, nothing more, nothing less.

Dele Alli was genuinely excellent for about 3 seasons or so, one of the best players at Spurs when they looked a much better outfit than they do now, in the Champions league reaching a final and whatnot. He really was a consistent very good player in that period and showed more than Barkley ever has.

That's why it's clearly ability that's been the problem for Dele Alli, you don't fluke 3 very good seasons on the bounce at that level.

Thats why I don't ever feel his ability has ever been the issue.

I just didn't see enough talent in Ali either except for a nasty streak with an effective long shot and a decent finisher but not outstanding one.

 

[Man_City_Loyal]

Neville did that interview well, and glad to see Ali is getting the help.

 

[Nellies left peg]

Neville did that interview well, and glad to see Ali is getting the help.

Does that mean we can excuse Alli for trying to cripple our players every time we played Spurs?

 

[CarlosTevez'sEnglishTutor]

Why bother mentioning it then.

I suggest you read through threads like this, https://forums.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk/...ns-conference-in-manchester-p87.360394/unread to see just how much UEFA put humans ahead of business decisions for the biggest game in club football and that is one of thousands of examples you could find.

Everton were so charitable, they realised he wasn't up to speed and rapidly approaching his 20 game transfer clause so made the decision to cut him from the team and throw him out to the wilderness in Turkey. Away from his entire support network in a foreign country. That caused the lad to go AWOL for several weeks.

Don't mix up the decisions that the club makes in supporting their local community and the decision they will make when money is on the line and we are talking about million pound assets.

Agree re the shit cunts that are UEFA.

I will agreed to disagree on this. None of us know the ins and outs. It's up to the lad to perform, hopefully Everton can facilitate that and we get to see him back at his best, as he is an incredible footballer.

 

[CarlosTevez'sEnglishTutor]

Does that mean we can excuse Alli for trying to cripple our players every time we played Spurs?

Kane did it too and we tried to sign him.

 

[Crooked_rain]

I just didn't see enough talent in Ali either except for a nasty streak with an effective long shot and a decent finisher but not outstanding one.

More goals and assists at that age when he was at spurs than Scholes, Lampard, Gerrard etc.

Over 60 goals and 60 assists in 260 or so games. He was probably assisting and scoring at a better rate than the likes of Foden and Grealish do now, if you want to compare English players.

So there was a hell of a lot more to him than that. I think people quickly forget what he was doing and what he should have gone on to do. I mean the reason he is still a talking ng point even before this interview is because he was very good.

He did have a nasty streak but I guess having the upbringing he did, some footballer on a pitch isn't going to intimidate you very much. But you're right, he definitely did have a nasty streak too in the sense he could be borderline dangerous and there's no excuse for that.

 

[Koniec]

Interview with Dele

Its honest and frank and might answer a few questions.......

As ever,you never know whats happening in a persons head or behind closed doors.

Fair play to Neville for his handling of it too.

That leg touch is fucking creepy. Hope they guy gets better, all that shit to have lived through and the added crap of social media attacking him, must be awful.

 

[blue moony]

That leg touch is fucking creepy. Hope they guy gets better, all that shit to have lived through and the added crap of social media attacking him, must be awful.

Explains a lot

Never been a fan but can empathise on some if what he's said , having attempted to end my life twice , once tour in that place its a hard crawl back out

Amount of shit they must deal with day in day out , no one knows what's going on in someone's head

Reminds me of a time when I had lost my sister, I was only 23 , a week after she had died I had to go into town, as I walked up the high street a big issue seller shouted " smile you miserable sod "

Literally every once of me wanted to batter him....

 

[Man_City_Loyal]

Does that mean we can excuse Alli for trying to cripple our players every time we played Spurs?

where did i say that?

 

[SebastianBlue]

Credit to him for openly talking about his struggles, even if it was apparently forced by the gutter press. That wouldn’t have been easy.

I will say, though, based on things I have read, seen, and heard about his behaviour over the last few years, I think a few may be giving him a bit too much leniency. That is not to say empathy is in order for the hardships he has endured or that they don’t in some way explain some of his behaviour. As others have said—and I have I stated many times—you never know what is going on in another person’s head. Mental illness can cause all manner of oddities when observing from the outside. And he should be given support in his attempts to gain control and better his life.

But that doesn’t excuse a person of all responsibility for their decisions and actions.

He and I had a somewhat similar childhood, unfortunately, but had obviously different paths in adulthood that lead to different issues. We both have mental health disorders (and attempted suicide), though, I have been able to avoid addiction, apart from some behaviours with OCD. Who knows if that would have been the case had I been suddenly thrust in to the world of global celebrity. And I now have a progressive, degenerative disease that means I struggle to move and may see me pass before my son reaches an age where he’ll remember me at all. I will admit I have suicidal ideations often now, for fairly obvious reasons.

And I know many other people that have had childhoods similar to mine and his—and who also struggle with mental health issues and severe disease in adulthood—that have lead relatively upstanding lives. And a few that have done some very questionable things (my father being one of them, to put it mildly). Most didn’t have to endure the perils of fame, mind, so that is something to consider.

But, ultimately, we shouldn’t use a person’s mental health and tough upbringing to absolve them of agency and responsibility. That is similar to the crazies in the US that blame gun violence solely on mental health. It devalues the efforts of those that have struggled with similar challenges and haven’t acted in negative or dangerous ways.

I genuinely hope he is now on a path of healing, is able to find more peace in his life and profession, and manages to right the ship. He is deserving of support for those efforts and he definitely has mine. But he is still responsible for everything he has done and will do, as all adults are, regardless of the possible explanations.

So I will reserve judgment on whether he becomes someone I will admire.

I hope he does. Though, I may not be around to see it.

 

[RayCTID]

More goals and assists at that age when he was at spurs than Scholes, Lampard, Gerrard etc.

Over 60 goals and 60 assists in 260 or so games. He was probably assisting and scoring at a better rate than the likes of Foden and Grealish do now, if you want to compare English players.

So there was a hell of a lot more to him than that. I think people quickly forget what he was doing and what he should have gone on to do. I mean the reason he is still a talking ng point even before this interview is because he was very good.

He did have a nasty streak but I guess having the upbringing he did, some footballer on a pitch isn't going to intimidate you very much. But you're right, he definitely did have a nasty streak too in the sense he could be borderline dangerous and there's no excuse for that.

But again it just stats with not much more to it. He cannot dictate the game compared to the likes of Yaya Toure, Kevin De Brune, Lampard, Gerrard and Scholes. His nasty streak went un-punished for nearly of his Spurs career. Good luck for getting his life back on track but maybe it is for the best to get away from Professional Football and concentrate on getting that help.

 

[paska]

I think he's in good hands with Sean Dyche. Not a fan of his tactics, but his players all seem to think he's a really solid person and if he really wants his career back on track, he'll end up fit and working incredbly hard and his talent should shine through.

I wonder what Pep makes of it all, IIRC his daughter was dating Dele Alli for a while.

José was far out of his depth to deal with any of it.

 

[halfcenturyup]

Credit to him for openly talking about his struggles, even if it was apparently forced by the gutter press. That wouldn’t have been easy.

I will say, though, based on things I have read, seen, and heard about his behaviour over the last few years, I think a few may be giving him a bit too much leniency. That is not to say empathy is in order for the hardships he has endured or that they don’t in some way explain some of his behaviour. As others have said—and I have I stated many times—you never know what is going on in another person’s head. Mental illness can cause all manner of oddities when observing from the outside. And he should be given support in his attempts to gain control and better his life.

But that doesn’t excuse a person of all responsibility for their decisions and actions.

He and I had a somewhat similar childhood, unfortunately, but had obviously different paths in adulthood that lead to different issues. We both have mental health disorders (and attempted suicide), though, I have been able to avoid addiction, apart from some behaviours with OCD. Who knows if that would have been the case had I been suddenly thrust in to the world of global celebrity. And I now have a progressive, degenerative disease that means I struggle to move and may see me pass before my son reaches an age where he’ll remember me at all. I will admit I have suicidal ideations often now, for fairly obvious reasons.

And I know many other people that have had childhoods similar to mine and his—and who also struggle with mental health issues and severe disease in adulthood—that have lead relatively upstanding lives. And a few that have done some very questionable things (my father being one of them, to put it mildly). Most didn’t have to endure the perils of fame, mind, so that is something to consider.

But, ultimately, we shouldn’t use a person’s mental health and tough upbringing to absolve them of agency and responsibility. That is similar to the crazies in the US that blame gun violence solely on mental health. It devalues the efforts of those that have struggled with similar challenges and haven’t acted in negative or dangerous ways.

I genuinely hope he is now on a path of healing, is able to find more peace in his life and profession, and manages to right the ship. He is deserving of support for those efforts and he definitely has mine. But he is still responsible for everything he has done and will do, as all adults are, regardless of the possible explanations.

So I will reserve judgment on whether he becomes someone I will admire.

I hope he does. Though, I may not be around to see it.

Jesus Christ, man. Best of luck with everything you are going through.

 

[aguero93:20]

Feel sorry for him for what he's done through, still think he's a snide little **** though tbh.

 

[BlueLou82]

As an Everton fan I agree with the posters saying they are unsure if we will take the risk in playing him, most Everton fans agree with this.

£10m doesnt sound like much but we are already in hot water and just escaped relegation. Our budget is very limited again due to the PL finance rules and part of the reason Coady wasnt bought at £4m was due to cost. Every £1m we have needs to be spent wisely.

I'd love us to support him and by all accounts we have, he said the club has been amazing in his interview and he will always be grateful. However im unsure if we can take a £10m risk.

I would hope we can negotiate something with Spurs as if we dont play him due to the fee and he leaves for nothing at the end of the season, everybody has lost out. Him sitting on the bench helps nobody and is the worst potential outcome

 

[Crooked_rain]

But again it just stats with not much more to it. He cannot dictate the game compared to the likes of Yaya Toure, Kevin De Brune, Lampard, Gerrard and Scholes. His nasty streak went un-punished for nearly of his Spurs career. Good luck for getting his life back on track but maybe it for the best to get away from Professional Football and concentrate on getting that help.

To be fair, his decline started at about 22-23 years old, we never really saw if he could go on to dictate the game like they did as they got more experienced. Kevin de bruyne couldn't even get a game at Chelsea at that age, so you need time and experience to learn and show that you can run games.

Yeah stats don't tell a full picture, but they were more impressive than most of theirs at that stage, and he was getting a lot of assists which shows he had plenty to his game. So had he gained more general game experience, he may have become what you claimed he wasn't.

In my opinion, he had the ability to be a top player and for a few years he showed it on the pitch.