thfcsteff
Vivian Woodward
I liked the fact that you couldn't pin Dele down in this way. He was bought up with bigger boys playing football on a concrete basketball court. He learnt his trade differently than all those academy kids. He was called a false number 9 and a 10 as you say. He'd seamlessly interchange with Eriksen in that 4-2-3-1. I never knew which one was central and who was right. I also remember that Dortmund game when he played 6. He run the game. For me, not being able to put him a box made him what he was.
I still think the way Southgate used him at the 2018 World Cup (in order to have an extra attacking instinct player i.e. Lindgard on the pitch) contributed to his eventual dissatisfaction with life and football. He played a deeper role, and played it very well, yet was maligned by many because they could not see that he was being deployed differently...not entirely dissimilar to when Defoe was played differently from his 'predator instinct' role in order to make him a 'better player', not saying he didn't continue to be a fine player, just that the natural instinct and joy was blunted slightly IMO...
To keep this MGW related, I don't quite see the Dele comparisons personally. There again, I think Dele was one of the most unique talents I have ever seen. In many ways he was like a time-traveled Brazillian from that gorgeous 1982 side, with the attacking instincts of Zico and the physical smoothness and stride of Socrates...