Dele Alli's struggles for form continue with early substitution

Extraordinary to think less than a year ago we negotiated a deal that could have seen us paying £40 million for him.

I was talking to a retired solicitor who has a client who manages the affairs of Premier League players. He says that they are paid enormous amounts of money, but many are unable to make decisions to help themselves and cause themselves a lot of trouble.

We only hear about the ones who make it to the top of the world first and then mentally bail, like Dele, Cantona, maybe Kluivert, Bjorn Borg, Ashleigh Barty, Naomi Osaka.

But there are thousands more who are 14 or 15 and just pull the plug because they don't love it anymore. We never learn their names.

Dele isn't a tragedy. He's wealthy, intelligent, no word of a drug/alcohol problem or anything like that. Does seem to have some emotional issues. At 26 he's got a lifetime to sort things out.

But you just never know. Did I read someplace that the Argentine keeper who beat England in the World Cup found Jesus during the penalty shootout and retired from football afterwards?

What has caused this is a concern but, as Evertonians, and as human beings, it can impact us all.

“What's Our Name?”

Kenwright continues to negotiate superbly for us.

As for Alli, another one to add the list of many to join the scrap heap.

What happens to Dele — does he come back to us or Spurs?

I've had a lovely peaceful morning, that has just been spoiled by the rest of the house waking up, but not before I read that Liverpool got beat last night!

Seeing that result made me smile and took me back to Villa Pk, in 1977, when Everton beat Aston Villa 2-1. I'm sure we came from behind, I didn't remember that it was Duncan McKenzie is magic, who scored our two goals, but I do remember the Evertonians constantly singing the Ken McNaught song that day.

The memory came from an arl Villa fan asking how Birmingham had got on after the game, and on finding out they'd lost, I just remember his big smiling face, and his reply. It's made my fuckin day that, as I started to understand the mind of a football fan!

I don't think Cantona or Borg mentally bailed, they just retired at the top and are still regarded as the best.

As for the Argentine keeper finding Jesus during a game now that is a mental issue…

I still can't forget that night at The Emirates when we got battered. I was unfortunate enough to be sat directly behind the dugouts courtesy of a friend who has never forgiven me for converting him to Everton.

Pool Jonjoe Kenny getting lambasted by Allardyce for playing a long ball into the channel with no-one to aim for that went harmlessly out for a goal kick.

"What the fuck was that?" Sam shouted.

"What you told me to do!" was the reply.

Because that is exactly what the manager told the young player to do. I heard it. I'm normally a calm observer of the game, but I flipped and given that I was close enough, I let the manager know my opinion. He glanced, but he has thicker skin than me.

Dele has lost his love for the game; that's how we ended up buying him. Spurs aren't soft in the transfer market.

As a club, we are in that type of market. We don't attract top players, we may attract young players that want to use us as a stepping stone or older players looking for a final payday.

Most professional footballers are very resilient and are used to dealing with competition and rejection which in turn motivates them. It looks to me that Dele has turned his back and doesn't want the fight to get back playing.

Has the club really tried to shake him out of the mental state that he is in?

With the advance in sports science and sports psychology, the club should be trying to turn him back into the player he once was.

Everyone's mental wellbeing suffers at times. Dele is no exception. It looks to me that we have a top player on our books and have just farmed him out to be out of the picture instead of trying to get him back.

We have Kean at Juventus who came over here very young. Brands promised his mother that we would look after him and we didn't. Infamously subbing the sub under Ferguson.

We are crying out for goals but have 2 players out on loan that could help us out. Meanwhile, we are back looking in the bargain bin for the next Maupay.

What struggle? He's in a years-long disinterest in trying to find form. Doesn't appear a struggle at all.

"Dele Alli's attempts to resurrect his career"

Non-existent beyond doing the minimum that prevents his club from terminating his contract.

He's lazy.

Never made the adjustment to the league catching up to him early in his career.

He has this and one more season's check-cashing, when he'll be 28. Be interesting come August 2023 seeing his adjustment to the realization that the free 5 million per is coming to an end June 2024.

Just what we need. Another waste of space taking wages for nothing in return. Is there any way we can send him back to Spurs if he turns back up on our doorstep?

I think it's worth another go with him. I saw the fans shout his name when he was warming up at half-time in that game and I saw him come alive.

The issue is, if he plays 7 more games, we have to pay £10M in transfer fees to Spurs. So we can't really afford to risk giving him time to come good – especially when the evidence of the past few seasons suggests there's little chance of that happening.

If he fails in Turkey, we would probably struggle to loan him out to any other club, even if we offer to pay half his wages, and may end up with a player we are paying £100k a week to, who we can't play for fear of him costing us even more than that in transfer fees.