It’s best for Tottenham and Dele Alli, if he’s banned for the rest of the season

Dele Alli needs to learn a lesson about his petulant conduct on the pitch. Now’s a perfect time.

I love Dele Alli at least as much as any Tottenham fan out there, but I’m not blind to his faults. He’s repeatedly gotten away with various acts of petulance this season without any real punishment. Today’s punch of Claudio Yacob should see Alli banned for the remainder of Spurs season.

I might feel much differently about this if Tottenham had defeated West Brom and we found ourselves in the thick of the title race. As it currently stands, Spurs will need a minor miracle to catch Leicester City for the top-spot which makes Alli’s involvement in the club’s remaining fixtures less important. As such, it’s time for the infinitely talented youngster to learn a valuable lesson.

In case you somehow missed it, Alli took what could be loosely construed as a swing at West Brom’s Claudio Yacob in the first half of Tottenham’s draw with the Baggies. It wasn’t a particularly violent act, but it was a stupid mistake by a player who needs to know better. If it had been seen on the pitch by the official he would have likely been sent off in the first half of a very important Spurs match. Regular followers of Tottenham know this isn’t the first time Alli has, at best, gotten very close to the line of violent conduct.

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What’s concerning is that Alli hasn’t seemed to learn anything from his near-misses in the past. One would think that manager Mauricio Pochettino would have been able to impress upon him by now the importance of avoiding such risky maneuvers on the pitch. I’m all for Alli being a pest, and even a downright antagonist towards Spurs opponents. What I’m not alright with, is putting the club at risk in hugely important matches.

That’s just what Alli did today against Yacob, and he’s downright lucky it didn’t cost Tottenham a chance at a Premier League title. You have to ask yourself what’s it going to take for Alli to learn the valuable lesson of how to better behave on the pitch. I believe the correct answer is a significant ban from the FA.

If that truly is the case, there might not be a better time for Alli to receive the punishment than now. Spurs are very likely out of the title race, and won’t have a ton to play for over the last three matches of the season. This may be the best time in the world for Alli to miss.

He’ll still feel terrible about missing out on the end of the season with his teammates, which will serve as a sobering reminder for him in the future. We need the punishment to hurt him enough to change his behavior. We’d also prefer it not hurt the club we love so dearly. Sitting him for three matches at this point in the year is the perfect solution.

I’ll miss seeing Dele Alli on the pitch as this season concludes, but I’m much more concerned with his continued development. A huge part of that is improving his mental approach to the game. A three match ban should help speed up his mental development quite a bit.