It was a moment to sum up Tottenham Hotspur’s season so far, and could yet help decide how it finishes.
About two thirds of the way into the game at Stoke City, Mauricio Pochettino’s side were happy with how things were going thanks to another Harry Kane strike and had been impressive… but hadn’t yet been wholly convincing. There seemed a slight element of trepidation and a growing threat they could get caught. Yet, just at the point when many might have thought they could given way, Dele Alli burst forward from his false-nine position to score a supreme goal.
It was a glorious combination of physical force and technical delicacy, as the England international ran through to lift the ball over Shay Given. Thereafter, Spurs lifted off, too. They went on to utterly crush Stoke in a manner that was wholly convincing. This has pretty much been the story of their season, right down to the player that suddenly offered the new thrust - the magnificent Alli. It is why he would so deserve Sunday’s PFA Young Player of the Year award.
Spurs started the 2015/16 season well, and generally looked so promising and impressive, but it still wasn’t until around two thirds of the way into the campaign that something really clicked; that they really became convincing; that the story of their season has become genuinely epic.
By the end of January, Spurs transformed from a team looking good but drawing too many games to one that have barely been able to stop winning. Pochettino's side have claimed victory in 10 of the last 13 matches. Even more impressively, the scale of those wins has only grown. Spurs have gone from narrow one-goal victories to a run in which their last three have involved margins of three goals or more. It coincides with Alli’s maturation into his new role as a false nine, a position he first moved into in the January 3-0 win over Norwich City.
This, of course, is not to say that the youngster’s evolution has been the sole reason for this upsurge. Spurs are too much of a high-functioning team, with too many individuals influencing games in different but equally impressive ways. You couldn’t really say any one player personifies Pochettino’s team, either, with the way things have gone this season. They’re all key to it, really, which is some of the beauty of this Spurs team.
At the same time, Alli’s development does reflect many of the most impressive aspects of Pochettino’s management. First of all, he’s a young player being given a chance. Secondly, he’s a player who has so evidently developed through pure coaching, as his positional move indicates. Thirdly, there is the scale of that development. This is not just a player taking that chance, after all. It is a young player taking proper title-race responsibility and, just like Harry Kane, producing moments that really make a difference.
Most of those have come as he has moved further up the pitch, like the opening goal against Manchester United. Alli’s stats since moving to attacking midfield are hugely impressive. He takes more shots per game (3.1) than anyone in that position other than Philippe Coutinho (5.6) of those to make five or more league starts in the role and that probably goes some way to explaining a fine return of six goals in 14 Premier League starts from the position.
Then there are the key passes. Alli tries two per game from there, which would be the joint-10th best in the Premier League as a whole. This has been key to so much of Spurs’ play in the last few weeks. How often have we seen Alli drive forward through the centre, only to suddenly play an angled ball that so rousingly releases Kane cutting in from the right? It's been superb and a key reason why the Alli to Kane assist-to-goalscorer combination has returned seven goals, the best in Europe's top five leagues this season.
The 20-year-old has grown into the role, just as Spurs have grown into a brilliant title-challenging team, with the parallel development emphasising the glorious cohesion of this side. Then there’s that very young age, something that is worth repeating, as well as reflecting upon and properly recognising.
This is one of the most remarkable things about Spurs’ campaign, and is along the same spectrum as Leicester City’s achievement, if obviously not as pronounced as spectacular. At the start of the season, Pochettino seemed somewhat hamstrung by the club’s constrained resources, and most predictions understandably had them doing little more than a respectable tilt for fourth that would ultimately fall short.
Spurs obviously had a promising young squad, but that was almost the issue. It seemed as if it needed more current star quality, to complement signings for the future, like Alli himself. Well, he’s become a star. He’s brought the future forward. He’s helped bring Spurs forward, by moving further up the pitch.
What do you make of Dele Alli's performances for Tottenham in the Premier League this season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
