The Dele Alli effect

I read a story of Tottenham interest in a young player from League One which has me wondering about the Dele Alli effect. 

The player concerned is 19-year-old (20 next May) Peterborough United central midfielder Jermaine Anderson. His manager, Graham Westley, told BBC Radio Cambridge that there is no reason why he can't follow in the footsteps of Dele Alli.

Lower league clubs naturally want to keep hold of young talent and are usually quoted as suggesting that remaining at the club will develop the player quicker with regular football. There is an argument for that. but has Dele Alli now made that more difficult, at least for any youngster considering joining Tottenham.

A year ago I was writing that we have to build a young team, we have to have a system, the side has to grow together so they become greater than the component parts. With our limited financial resources in comparison to the richer clubs, it was the only way I felt we could compete with a new stadium to build. I wrote that if we could achieve that and develop player mentality, we could become the go-to club for other youngsters.

A reputation for improving youth and giving youth a chance sets us apart from the five richer clubs than us. Players and agents take note of this and it could help us sign players, it could show youngsters that staying at their current club may not be in their best interests if they are good enough. That allows us to seek out the very best youngsters and have a sales pitch for them.

We have the success of Dele Alli to show players like Anderson. If you are good enough you will get your chance, the rest is up to you.

Christmas is almost upon us and so a gift for the Tottenham supporter you know is a must. Visit the Football-Shop.net and get those presents early. For a football fan you simply can't go wrong. Everyone loves to have a cuppa in their Spurs mug (7 to choose from), especially on a match day, it's part of the ritual. A cover for his phone, a key ring, there are plenty of items you can put together to personalise him without going over the top,

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