Pundit accuses Tottenham star of lacking ‘desire’ against Vitesse Arnhem

Matt Holland has singled out Dele Alli for criticism following Tottenham’s 1-0 loss against Vitesse, accusing the midfielder of not showing enough desire.

With Nuno Espirito Santo making eleven changes to the side that beat Newcastle at the weekend, a new-look midfield of Harry Winks, Giovani Lo Celso and Alli took to the field against Vitesse.

The away side struggled to impose themselves on the game right from kickoff as the Eredivisie club were first to most loose balls.

In the end, Vitesse emerged worthy winners, consigning Nuno’s men to their first loss of the Europa Conference League group stage.

Some pundits have not held back in their criticism of Tottenham’s second eleven following the loss yesterday, insisting that none of the players made their case to the Spurs boss.

A lot has been said of Alli’s performance in particular, with Alan Hutton suggesting that the 25-year-old has lost his way.

Matt Holland has now also piled on the former MK Dons man, accusing him of lacking desire.

The former Ipswich Town midfielder told talkSPORT: “I see it as an opportunity missed to show the manager you should be on the team.

“Dele Alli hasn’t done enough to impact the game. He hasn’t shown enough desire.”

Spurs Web Opinion

I believe words like ‘desire’ and ‘passion’ are overused by pundits as they are often quite easy explanations for results.

I also find it a little puzzling that so much of the post-match analysis is centred around Alli’s display when he was hardly the only player to struggle yesterday.

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