Harry Redknapp slams Dele Alli for his arrival at Everton
Harry Redknapp joined the talkSPORT crowd this morning (18 March) to hammer Everton midfielder Dele Alli over the manner of his arrival at the club.
The January signing has struggled to make a real impact so far under Frank Lampard, while the team has headed further into the mire before the rousing victory over Newcastle last night.
The 1-0 win at Goodison was the first Premier League game that the midfielder hasn’t featured in at all, and he may have done still were it not for Allan’s red card, but he is a long way off the level he showed in his prime for Tottenham.
Speaking about last night’s win on talkSPORT this morning (09.10am) the former manager asked: “What’s happened to Dele Alli?”
Ally McCoist added: “That’s the biggest mystery of all time.”
Host Alan Brazil then brought up his previous criticism of the player: “I got pelters, I don’t know if you heard. It’s just my opinion but when he turned up in a Rolls Royce…”
And the Toffees boss’ uncle immediately agreed: “Oh absolutely! I can’t have that. Going to turn up and sign for Everton football club, in a working class area, surrounded by lovely little houses of people who work and graft, and suddenly he turns up in a yellow Rolls Royce. I mean where’s the brains?”
“Thank God you said that,” Brazil said.
Redknapp continued: “I’ve been his biggest fan from before Frank took him. I texted Frank, I’ve stuck up for him, I keep saying he’s a fantastic talent. Why do you go and do that?”
Crass
It seems that even when something starts going right at Goodison, the January arrival can’t avoid being dragged.
The former England star is a favourite target of the older ex-pro, which McCoist at least is aware of is likely a generational thing.
The problem is that the former MK Dons man is singled out with this line of criticism, as if he alone is rubbing his riches in the face of the working man.
But when put alongside the average member of the population then everything about Premier League football is crass and overinflated.
The prices that fans are charged to attend games, or buy merchandise and TV subscriptions are expensive.
And they fund multi-billion pound enterprises to pay their players vast sums of money.
But none of this is news, and for all that arguments about making good first impressions may be worth having, they would be a lot more valid if every new signing at every club had the price of the car they arrived in contrasted with the working class credentials of that team’s fanbase.
If anything, it is just as crass to use normal Everton fans and their “lovely little houses” as a stick to beat one of the players with.
In other Everton news, Gary Neville has backed one under-fire Toffee.
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