Glenn Hoddle offers two reasons why player’s form has dipped this season

Dele Alli’s numbers for Spurs have declined considerably since his first two seasons at the club.

The 23-year-old has come under a fair bit of criticism and has subsequently lost his place in the England squad.

Tottenham legend Glenn Hoddle has pinpointed the reasons behind the midfielder’s loss in form. He insisted that Christian Eriksen’s poor displays are also adversely affecting the England man.

Speaking to BT Sport during the live broadcast of Red Star Belgrade vs Spurs on 6/11/19 from 19:30 (as relayed by Football.London), Hoddle said: “This season you can say he (Alli) has had injuries but I think [Christian] Eriksen’s lack of form in recent months has affected Dele Alli in a big way.

“He’s the playmaker, he picks him out, they’ve always had that bit of eye contact and that movement. That’s gone out of their game at Tottenham and it’s big for Dele Alli.”

The former Spurs manager also asserted that the midfielder is dropping too deep and trying to do things he is not good at.

He urged the former MK Dons man to stay up the pitch close to Harry Kane where he can do maximum damage.

Hoddle added: “For me, he’s a player who needs to be consistently getting the ball in the box. I think he’s going searching for the ball too deep and I don’t think he can cope. I’d have him playing three touches, get rid of it and shift it.

“Make sure you’re getting in and around that penalty area, this is where you want him, like he was against Everton. That’s the areas that you need him to get into. He reminds me of a modern David Platt.”

Since his return from injury, Alli has once again started finding his feet, scoring a couple of goals in the Premier League and bagging an assist in the Champions League against Red Star on Wednesday.

Spurs Web Opinion

I have been impressed with Alli’s performances since his return as he is showing the hunger that was missing in his game a few months ago. Maybe the recent criticism he has received is just the kick up the backside he needed. I have no doubt that he will return to the player we know he can be once he gets a few more games under his belt.

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