Shining diamond or cheap imitation? The man Portsmouth are banking on to stay in Championship
His early Pompey displays saw calls to sign the Luton Town man permanently grow louder, but his recent form has been a major factor in John Mousinho’s side struggling. Will the real Millenic Alli please stand up?
The confirmation of Josh Murphy’s season-ending injury resonated with suitable concern.
Yet, John Mousino’s update after a dominant display against Hull City had somehow returned defeat last month, was tempered by the form of the man filling the reigning player of the season’s role on the left flank.
Alli’s roaring start took edge of Josh Murphy injury blow
Millenic Alli’s roaring start to his Pompey loan stay meant the edge was taken off the outright hysteria such news would have generated at the end of last term.
Two days earlier Mousinho had tackled questions over a permanent move for the Luton Town arrival, which was becoming more an explicit demand from the Fratton Faithful after an outstanding start to life at PO4.
‘He’s been useless! I don’t think there’s going to be any value in him this summer, I think Luton should get rid of him and do it really quickly!’ Mousinho joked, as he confirmed his desire to make Alli’s temporary stay long-term in tongue-in-cheek fashion.
Along with fellow winter window new boy Ebou Adams, the Irishman had quite rightly been heralded as one of the two key components in the four wins and two draws from eight, which appeared to be carrying Pompey to Championship safety.
Alli’s first eight games had dazzled, as the 26-year-old showcased all the maverick traits, high-tempo skill and physical gifts which attracted the Blues to the Dublin-born man.
‘Extreme’ was how Mousinho had branded the player, who moved to Luton Town from Exeter City in a £1.5m deal in January of last year.
It was a reference to the powerful attributes we were seeing, yet also perhaps a nod to Alli's erratic and inconsistent tendencies which have been witnessed amid an alarming tailing off of form since.
In fact, it was the very day Murphy’s season was confirmed as being over, a ‘dip’ in Alli’s form against Hull City was being discussed by Mousinho.
The Pompey boss highlighted then how the attacking force had started eight games on the spin for his side, with the last time he’d completed three games in a week being 13 months previously.
Concerning drop in Luton Town man’s form no longer a blip
Eight starts in a row is now 14, however, with Alli picking up a gruelling 1,164 minutes of Blues playing time.
Unfortunately, any argument the winger’s downturn is a blip is now on very shaky ground, with it clear some increasingly frustrating displays have coincided with his side’s travails.
There’s no doubt Pompey’s over-reliance on the former non-league operator is a contributory factor to his malaise, likewise opponents identifying Alli’s threat and doubling up on him.
But while the quirks of the winger’s game can be ignored amid strong form, the turbulent decision-making over when to cross, shoot or find the free man when he has two defenders for company becomes something else entirely against a downward performance trend.
And it’s that position we now find ourselves in, as Mousinho searches for the answers to keep Pompey in the Championship across the international break.
For Blues supporters, one of the key questions right now is who is the real Millenic Alli?
And it’s the player’s response to that poser which will go a long way to deciding Pompey’s second-tier fate.