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Yorkie

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Gonna hazard a guess at:

 

England & Czech Republic

Portugal & Serbia

Germany & Netherlands

Denmark & Ireland

Croatia & Wales

Spain & Sweden

Poland & Austria

France & Turkey

Belgium & Scotland

Italy & Finland

Switzerland will top our group. If we’re to finish second it’ll be Denmark to lose out. They’ve actually only beaten us once in the 4 times we’ve played them recently

 

I willingly ignore Switzerland's chances because I hate them now.

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Maybe i'm under-rating Dele but he seems to give the ball away a ton. He's a direct passer so maybe that's part of it... not a safe passer but he loses the ball way more than Eriksen for example.

 

I agree with Carragher. To me he's more of a second striker. Gives it away too much to be a top level central midfielder in his current carnation.

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Put Alli in that second striker position for England and he'll try to dribble to goal every time he gets the ball. Don't think it's too much to ask for him to 'do a job' for England.

You deleted your last sentence there but to make it clear again, he is literally not a centre midfielder and certainly not the best centre midfielder of his age in Europe

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He's pretty much box to box. His energy is off the charts. Watch him in the game against Chelsea and he's everywhere. Set up Son's goal from deep and was the highest player pressing for the majority of the game. And I can't think of a better 22 year old CM in the world right now.

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He's pretty much box to box. His energy is off the charts. Watch him in the game against Chelsea and he's everywhere. Set up Son's goal from deep and was the highest player pressing for the majority of the game. And I can't think of a better 22 year old CM in the world right now.

He isn't box to box. He's a second striker. He played in midfield for England in the summer and was their clear weak link throughout. Given he's literally not a CM I'd have at least Lucas Torreira, Bentancur, Arthur and Kessie ahead of him who are all either the same age or younger

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Guest Howaythetoon

Alli is undoubtedly a very good player and it works for him and Spurs right now, but I don’t think we will ever see him impose his game consistently in a way he can be dominant. He’s just one of those players that either needs a team built around him or who can become more consistent if not exactly as prolific in terms of general play in a defined role, a role he would probably need converted to.

 

I remember when Rafa moved Gerrard to the right of midfield and many Liverpool fans and so-called experts questioned the logic behind moving him from the centre, but he become more than a goalscoring box to box player who could only impose his game with a long range strike at goal or a crunching tackle with the odd Hollywood ball which required certain conditions to allow him to impose himself.

 

Gerrard had more to his game though than Alli has. If I were Spurs I’d look to upgrade on him as a player in the firs-team because for all his goals and assists, he does go missing a lot and doesn’t seem able to impose his game in other ways that would benefit the team just as much as goals and assists. Not when you have that and more in an Eriksen or a Son.

 

I wouldn’t have him starting for England, not the way they are set up and play, there are better options or rather more better suited players who have more to their game than goals and assist or a relationship with Harry Kane.

 

I’d love him for us of course :lol:

 

 

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He's pretty much box to box. His energy is off the charts. Watch him in the game against Chelsea and he's everywhere. Set up Son's goal from deep and was the highest player pressing for the majority of the game. And I can't think of a better 22 year old CM in the world right now.

He isn't box to box. He's a second striker. He played in midfield for England in the summer and was their clear weak link throughout. Given he's literally not a CM I'd have at least Lucas Torreira, Bentancur, Arthur and Kessie ahead of him who are all either the same age or younger

 

Agree he's more of a second striker than classic CM, but don't agree those other players are better than him. Think he offers more even if that is goals and assists.

 

 

 

Gerrard had more to his game though than Alli has. If I were Spurs I’d look to upgrade on him as a player in the firs-team because for all his goals and assists, he does go missing a lot and doesn’t seem able to impose his game in other ways that would benefit the team just as much as goals and assists. Not when you have that and more in an Eriksen or a Son.

 

 

 

Think you're underrating him a bit here as I don't know what would be an upgrade on Dele Alli. Not sure he's the imposing type. Think he relies more on superior positioning rather than digging around the pitch like the players Triggs mentioned.

 

Would have him starting for England and if we play a back four, I'd have him as the player to collect the ball from the centre halves and launch attacks.

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When he came to everyone’s attention (MK Dons v Man Utd) didn’t he play as a box to box midfielder?

 

I think so. In League 1 or whatever his passing is fine. It's mostly going over his head anyway. Coming deeper would allow for his runs to not get picked up more. But as he's stepped up, his movement is still brilliant but some of the other aspects of CM play has been exposed imo. But he's young.

 

FWIW I don't think Gerrard was a brilliant CM (in a 2) either. Sure he could influence the game more from deep but he was at his best under Rafa. In a 4, or in what was close to a free role. When he was deep later he wasn't as good as what was made out imo

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Asking anyone to 'do a job' is the kind of backwards logic that ended up with Paul Scholes playing on the left wing. Pick players in roles they are suited to in a system that's design to get the best out of the collective group. Not bloody shoehorning. Thankfully Southgate seems to adopt the former approach.

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Asking anyone to 'do a job' is the kind of backwards logic that ended up with Paul Scholes playing on the left wing. Pick players in roles they are suited to in a system that's design to get the best out of the collective group. Not bloody shoehorning. Thankfully Southgate seems to adopt the former approach.

 

I agree with that. Southgate is doing a much better job than I thought he would do.

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Asking anyone to 'do a job' is the kind of backwards logic that ended up with Paul Scholes playing on the left wing. Pick players in roles they are suited to in a system that's design to get the best out of the collective group. Not bloody shoehorning. Thankfully Southgate seems to adopt the former approach.

 

Yep.

 

No idea why some English fans are obsessed with cramming our all 'best' players together without any rhyme or thought put into it. I'm glad Southgate doesn't see it that way, if Alli can't improve to the point ( likelihood says no) where he can play deeper to a quality standard there's no point forcing him in.

 

What we have right now is fine, we just need to develop better midfield talents who can actually play there. Easier said than done of course but we don't need to be forcing players who are better elsewhere just because he's supposedly more talented.

 

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