£15 million is a lot of money to pay someone with ‘one per cent’ of the responsibility
Jose Mourinho has said he expects Dele Alli to stay at Tottenham this year, amid rumours of a possible exit after the midfielder was left out of the Spurs squad for their 5-2 win over Southampton at the weekend.
“I always said that Dele will have a chance. He’s coming. He’ll have a chance to perform and it’s important that he does. It’s important that every player does,” he said, ahead of Spurs’ Europa League game against Shkendija.
But the Spurs boss was also keen to shirk any responsibility for Dele’s underwhelming form during his tenure. Initially, Dele was one of the players to benefit from Mourinho’s arrival, picking up a skilful assist in Mourinho’s first game reminiscent of the player we saw under Mauricio Pochettino around 2016/17.
But since the turn of the year, Dele’s form has dipped to the point that not only is he no longer guaranteed a starting spot, he is no longer guaranteed a place in the matchday squad.
Asked about the current situation around Dele, Mourinho said: “There is a tendency now that when a player performs or doesn’t perform to give responsibilities to coach because they gave him the right stick or didn’t.
“I always feel that 99% of the responsibility is the player. I, and the staff who work with the player, have 1%.”
Now, call me a cynic, but I’d estimate the division of responsibility is slightly more even than that in reality. And if it isn’t, what’s the point of having a manager? What’s the point of paying someone £15 million when they have such little impact on how the players perform?
Could it maybe be the case that Mourinho’s managerial powers are on the wane, and he is trying to pass the buck for not getting a tune out of a supremely talented footballer?
