The issue with Alli is very different, with a creative midfield behind him he will create chances. Problem is that the midfield behind him isn't creative at all, and he does extremely little in open play, almost like playing with 10 men. Barkley is good under pressure, can drop deep and is not afraid to take the ball forward. Much more of a midfielder and a playmaker than Alli. We don't have many players in the national team who can do what he does at 3'50. That's the best way to create chances at international level. Even the simple forward pass at 4'20, it's nothing crazy but nobody in the selected squads could do it, bar RLC maybe but don't think he ever looked comfortable in that right midfield position.
Spot on about Alli and I think that's why he struggled at the World Cup. Barkley did play well in the game above. I still have my doubts about him but he may have done enough over the last few games to earn a call up and a chance.
I've always liked Barkley, I also like Alli. Not sure anyone would succeed in the position Alli was expected to play in the WC. Plus, i'm fairly sure he wasn't fit.
I think Alli is a good player but I just can't see him fitting into the system, either in the present 352 or even 433.
at least with barkley back we have another option in midfield. for me barkley is naturally a better player then rlc. he just needs a manager to help him out.
Same. I think sometimes we talk as if any deficiency that a player might have is the fatal flaw that devalues everything they do well, whereas in reality every good team in the world is making the most of its players' skills AND mitigating their shortfalls. And, you know, we're simply not going to produce 11 "perfect" players, never mind an entire squad of them; there may not even be 11 perfect players in the world. For me, it's fair to say that Barkley lacks a bit of tactical intelligence and in particular his risk assessment can be a bit off, but give him enough cover and he can be an exceptionally inventive and instinctive player. It's fair to acknowledge that Dele Alli is never going to be a metronomic passer who'll allow us to control possession, but to say that he doesn't contribute in open play seems like a massive exaggeration. He creates a lot of chances for others, he wins the ball plenty both on the ground and in the air, and obviously he scores a lot too. We might ultimately find that we have better options than either of them, or that we lack the midfielders to get the best out of them, but I don't think we're in a position where we can afford to write off players as gifted as those two entirely.
If I was England manager, I would've considered Grealish for the World Cup. But the reality is, he's had a spotty few years and only really hit his stride in 2018. That's 6 months in the Championship. Barkley is 24, has basically just had a year off and has already been to two major tournaments.
You watch him regularly?? He's one of the most creative passers you will ever see .. He's got issues though ..
His passing is almost scholes like at times. I can't understand why he isn't playing for a bigger club. If you think of players like ramsey who don't have half of shelvey's talent is playing for Arsenal and shelvey for Newcastle . it should be the other way round.
I’m not sure what Grealish was thinking when he signed a new contract. He’s admitted to disappointment at not joining Spurs, so why price yourself out of joining a Premier League club in January or next summer?
How has he priced himself out of a move? He's just securing his financial future, these are real human beings at the end of the day.
He'll probably has a clause or an agreement that he can leave if a reasonable fee is offered. Countinho signed a new deal with Liverpool shortly before he left.
Rumours of a £45 million buy out clause. I can't see anyone paying that. Why not wait until January/summer and try his luck in the Premier League?
Since when do buy out clauses mean that sides have to pay that amount? If that was the case, there would be no transfers between Spanish sides. If Villa don't go up, they'll likely need to sell anyway and won't be able to hold out for 45m. His new wage is apparently somewhere from 35k-40k. Doubled from the previous. That's an extra 200k if he leaves in the summer. It would be naive to turn down a pay rise, that doesn't impact a hypothetical move that might not come anyway. If he blows his knee out tonight, at least he has the security of his new contract at a higher wage.
Do you mean in the winter? I.e. about 10 weeks? If it's the summer it would be about 700-800k, wouldn't it?
A slip by me, did months instead of weeks. So yeah, that's the best part of 1m he'd be sacrificing by next August.
I’m sure you’ve all heard but Alli has been ruled out for a month. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...r-Dele-Alli-ruled-month-hamstring-injury.html
It will give Maddison a chance to start for England. Much better suited to that role than Alli. We'll have someone that looks after the ball and can play through balls etc.
Agreed. He’s great at linking play with clever passes and moves. Nice composure too. If he’s coming in for Alli, I wonder if Hughes, Barkey or Winks might come in for Lallana and RLC.