https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...a-child-sleeping-pill-addiction-rehab-everton So sad, explains a lot why he hasn't " kicked on" with his career
Horrendous. Just shows that we don't always get the full picture. Hope he gets the help he needs and still gets to rise to the top again. Class is permanent.
Apparently he wasn't ready to tell all but the tabloids had hold of the fact he'd gone to rehab so he was forced into the interview earlier than he wanted.
Goes to show doesn't it. You can look at someone and think they've got it all - but you only have half the story. Horrible read, horrible that he's been 'forced' to speak now before he was ready. Wish him all the best.
It’d have been ‘in the public interest’ to run the story no doubt… The lot of them need closing down. I can’t quite believe people still buy physical papers daily - but especially ones like the sun, star and mirror. What purpose do they serve other than **** stirring and propaganda?
Done a interview with Gary Neville's YouTube channel called Overlap not sure how to post a link. Open and honest interview worth a watch hope it's the beginning of something better for the lad.
I bumped into Dele in London a couple of weeks ago and he was very friendly . I mentioned to my friends afterwards that he seemed very sad and withdrawn - I hope he is left alone by the media now but doubt it
What strikes me in the interview is what a smart and articulate lad he comes across as. I had assumed that part of the reason for his failure to push on in his career was that he was, for want of a better expression, not very bright, and had probably squandered his opportunities through his own bad decisions. This is very clearly not the case. Similarly, I expected Jacob Mellis to come across as an absolute plank in his recent interviews about his troubles, but he didn't at all. Jacob made some inexplicably atrocious decisions throughout his career, and it has cost him very dearly. It raises the question of what went on in his life that we don't know about, as well as the more general point about how these young lads are dealt with, earning silly money at a very early age, often having achieved literally nothing as a footballer. It's my very strong opinion that there should be a strict wage cap on non-first team players under the age of 21.
Not sure about a wage cap, but I wonder is some form of trust is possible where they get an amount to live on (say £1000/week) and the rest is placed in a trust until they are 30 or retire from football? That would give them stability now and something for later.
Now wants to be known as Dele. Dropping Ali to help in his moving forward and getting on with his life. Poor lad has so much baggage to deal with. Good luck Dele.
Once they're 18 they're adults and should have control of their wages. Academies should have financial advisors to talk to them.
I think people forget how good he was. At age 23 he’d scored more goals than Frank Lampard. He was a huge talent.
I hope he returns to his form in his spurs days used to love watching him play scored some fantastic goals.
