Tottenham shouldn’t overreact to Dele Alli’s red card
Dele Alli made a mistake and Tottenham paid for it
It’s a very good thing that Mauricio Pochettino is in charge of Tottenham and not the club’s fickle fan base. Judging by the tone of Spurs social media today, many believe Dele Alli should be publicly stoned for his red card against Gent.
Let’s get something straight here. I’m not for a second arguing that Dele didn’t deserve the red card. It was a reckless challenge that clearly endangered his opponent. He made a huge mistake and his teammates paid dearly for it.
Clearly he was angry after being fouled immediately before the challenge. That led him to make an overly aggressive (yes, reckless) challenge that resulted in his sending off. That’s as far as I’m willing to go.
Evidently a lot of Spurs fans on Twitter have the ability to read Dele’s mind. They insist that he was incensed by being fouled and tried to hurt the next Gent player who stepped in his way. Only Dele knows what the intent of his challenge was. No one other than the player is qualified to answer that question.
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That’s why I was happy to see Pochettino come out and defend his player. He understands that Dele is still just a 20-year-old midfielder. He plays with a lot of passion and sometimes he’s going to cross the line. That’s not condoning his challenge, it’s simply acknowledging the mental capacity of most young adults. I certainly know how many rash things I did at Dele’s age. Fortunately, my mistakes weren’t captured on television around the globe.
If you want further proof of how we can expect Dele to mature, simply look at his Kenyan teammate. Victor Wanyama arrived at White Hart Lane with a massive reputation for accumulating red cards. Kindly look up how many he has since joining the club to see my point illustrated to the fullest.
Yesterday’s indiscretion is something Dele Alli will never forget. No one feels worse about Spurs crashing out of the Europa League than he does. That much was obvious from the very moment he received his red card. The pain was written all over his face as he walked off the pitch.
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Dele Alli needs patience and understanding from the Tottenham fan base. He’s a world-class talent who legitimately cares about the club. Berating him for a moment of youthful indiscretion is a good way to sour his feelings about being a member of our beloved club.