Dele Alli Exemplifies Late-Season Selection Headaches for Tottenham Hotspur
This time last year we were in the middle of contemplating just what Dele Alli's first season at Tottenham Hotspur could look like.
Loaned back to Milton Keynes Dons after his January signing, his work helping secure their promotion from League One raised his stock further. Yet, even with hopes high for the talented teenager's chances of succeeding in the Premier League, most envisioned a gradual integration to the Tottenham first team as his most likely route forward.
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Alli has surpassed those expectations and then some. The success of his first top-flight campaign is such that his current fitness concerns are exemplifying the related selection headaches set to inform Tottenham's run-in.
Indeed, the 19-year-old has been as significant an example as any of how Spurs head coach Mauricio Pochettino has already had to compromise.
"He is an incredible athlete, yes, but he is not a machine," Pochettino said of Alli following Saturday's 2-2 draw with Arsenal, per Sky Sports' Mark Crellin.
"He has a problem in his ankle and knee. He was good before the game, but the players are not machines."
Alli started that game having been used as a substitute for the preceding 1-0 loss at West Ham United. Earlier in the season—or at least closer to full fitness—he would have been a nailed-on starter for both.
Instead, Pochettino had to make a tough call prioritising which derby Alli's all-round aggression should be utilised in.
He was not at his team-invigorating best against Arsenal but kept trying and was able to participate in the game's match-turning spell. His determination to keep the ball in play set up Harry Kane's lead-taking goal.
Was that enough to make up for Alli being missed against West Ham?
With Mousa Dembele unavailable for that fixture and his younger team-mate on the bench, Spurs' midfield lacked forward-minded physicality and skill in transition.
The Hammers were always going to impose themselves via the likes of Michail Antonio and Dimitri Payet. But the presence of at least Alli might have given them more to think about (Spurs' improvement when he was introduced in the second-half suggests there was some scope for starting him).
At that stage of last week there would have been some confidence Dembele would be available for Arsenal. With that in mind, it could be argued Alli should have started against West Ham instead. A chance to go top and earn the bragging rights of winning the last Hammers-Spurs meeting at Upton Park is just as valuable in the grand scheme of things as three points in the north London derby.
With nine games to go of the 2015-16 Premier League season and at least two more for Spurs in the Europa League (their round of 16 meeting with Borussia Dortmund commences on Thursday), such decisions are going to continue to arise for Pochettino. The task of preparing for specific opponents was made more difficult by the need to balance resources and avoid multiple players suffering burnout at the same time.
Whether the West Ham loss and the weary nature of their performance against Arsenal (albeit it was a more satisfying one in several other respects) shows they are already flagging is up for debate.
Speaking after the former game last week, Pochettino did not believe that to be the case—publicly anyway. He put the below-par display down as a product of the natural wear and tear of a long campaign.
"The whole season, we play a lot of games, and sometimes it’s difficult to keep the same level to be clinical or create the chances we create against Swansea [City]," Pochettino said, alluding to their 2-1 victory over the Welsh club four days earlier.
"I think you know we need to look after the players and be aware of the fitness levels. Sometimes during the whole season you have players that are ill or not with all the energy or are more tired than another."
The use of Alli and the effect his presence/absence has on the team's midfield has been the most notable example of all this of late.
In the coming weeks, it could revolve around their ability to keep Kane fresh while also using him as much as possible, or how the defence might cope were Toby Alderweireld or Kevin Wimmer to get injured.
Altogether, it is not a bad situation to be in.
Tottenham are competing for a title and at the very least have a good shot at securing Champions League football for the first time since 2011. In the meantime, they are preparing for two possibly massive nights in the Europa League.
All these challenges would not mean as much if they were easy.
Nevertheless, Pochettino will hope a little good fortune is on his team's side as he attempts to see them through to a strong finish.
Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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