Harry Redknapp trashes Everton transfer again on talkSPORT
Harry Redknapp has once again hammered Dele Alli for his time at Everton after the midfielder made a loan move to Besiktas during the transfer window.
Frank Lampard’s uncle has previously suggested that he was behind convincing the Toffees boss to take a chance on the former Tottenham man, but has since been heavily critical of the 26-year-old for his form and his behaviour.
And on talkSPORT on Friday morning (2 September) the former manager returned to the his favourite line of criticism about the player arriving at the club in Rolls Royce.
Speaking to talkSPORT he said this time: “He was a disaster, a disaster. I watched him play and he loses the ball, he walks and doesn’t run, I don’t know what’s happened to him.
“He’s gone to Turkey, where is his career going?
“He turned up to sign for Everton in a Rolls Royce into a working class, council area surrounded by old houses painted blue and white where people live for their football.
“He turned up in a Rolls Royce, who does he think he is?”
He went on: “I’ve had more arguments and stuck up for him more than anyone but Frank took a gamble on him and it backfired badly and now he’s shipped off to Turkey.
“He’s lost it. He’s lost that hunger.
“Can he get it back? Why didn’t he get it back at Everton? He’s running out of options I’m afraid.”
Poor fit
For all Redknapp claims he is Dele’s biggest fan and stands up for him more than anyone else, he seems to go on national sports media to complain about him quite a lot.
Of course he is brought onto the radio to have an opinion so that’s what he is going to do, but repeating the same tired lines about the Rolls Royce isn’t particularly insightful.
Clearly, the move to Goodison didn’t work out and it is unlikely that there is no fault on the player’s part for that, but it is equally unlikely that anyone else is going to claim responsibility if they share any blame.
Perhaps the former England international really doesn’t care about being at the top level any more and has been phoning it in for the past couple of years, in which case the fact that he cost Everton nothing and can go and have a nice time in Turkey is a disappointment but not a disaster.
It’s quite valid to criticise Dele Alli for his performances in a Blues shirt, which outside of the Crystal Palace comeback to secure survival last year were largely forgettable, but his car or his clothes, or whatever else it may be, rarely seems to be mentioned for others if they don’t perform.
A brief internet search will show the likes of Jordan Pickford driving a Lamborghini and Seamus Coleman driving a Porsche, neither with reputations for being flash, while Redknapp himself has admitted to driving a Rolls Royce last year and feeling uncomfortable doing so [Top Gear], proving nobody is immune to errors.
The half-season experiment at Goodison goes down as a mistake for the player and the club, but also for Redknapp who obviously got it wrong when he convinced Lampard to get behind it.
The Toffees have a pretty formidable looking midfield now after the additions of Amadou Onana, Idrissa Gueye and James Garner so the manager need only look ahead at that position for the rest of this season.