Dele Alli - Hardknock

How can you be a wasted potential if you already reached it?

When you’re in the public eye, people don’t care about what you were, they care about what you are. And only when you aren’t - when you’ve disappeared completely, through retirement or other means, that’s then the power of nostalgia reigns its glory and people start to remember the best of you.

Social media’s introduction to the world has allowed us to gain a worldwide scope of any talented young person conducting their craft - and it's allowed us, due to an infatuation for finding the ‘next big thing’ to label them as prodigies.

But with high hopes for the future, comes inevitable disappointment. As we project our hopes and our bets on children of whom we have little knowledge of who they are, besides the fact they are very, very good at what they do - when they don’t meet the fairytale expectations we deemed upon them before they asked us to, we get annoyed.

‘Failed wonderkid,’ ‘What could’ve been,’ ‘Wasted potential’. The rise of ‘the next big thing’ culture has left a trail of unfortunate souls in its wake who couldn’t reach the bar we set for them. People who never asked for the demands, scepticism, micro-analysis and discourse we gave. People who had dreams, accomplished them, but for whatever reason, it just wasn’t enough for us.

In June 2012, in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York, before it was so easy to encounter a prodigy by just getting your phone out and scrolling - one announced themselves to the world - in a manner that very few, if not any had done before him.

When a 16 year old rapper drops a mixtape, nobody gets out of their seat. Especially in the extremely diluted landscape of New York where everyone knows someone who knows someone who claims to be a rapper. However when said 16 year old drops a mixtape and its likely one of the best displays of lyrical prowess you’ve heard as well as some of the most inspiring beat production you’ve come across - you’re now out of your seat and running around trying to find who on earth is responsible for the masterpiece you’ve just listened to.

A photo of 17 year old Joey Badas$$ whilst shooting the music video his hit song ‘Survival Tactics’

In 2012, Joey Badass made and released 1999. And though he was 17 by the time it came out, most of the work done on the album was done when he was a year younger. A project with a sound buried far into 1990s East Coast hip-hop whilst still being something that was unheard of. It was a tribute to the legendary rappers which lay before Joey, but somehow he had modernised it, evolved it - into something new. Something which is now considered one of the best hip-hop albums of all time.

And for a 16 year old, whom most had never heard of at the time, to be able to do this with no major features or hands-out, but only his mates from around the way who shared a passion for music which burnt as bright as his - it was unprecedented.

But when you create something that will be etched into time forever, and you’re barely even fresh out of the styrofoam, as much as people appreciated the work you did, there comes a point in time where the conversation shifts to ‘okay what are you going to do next?’

And what Joey Basa$$ did was fine. In fact, it was more than most rappers could ever dream to accomplish. His sophomore album ‘B4.Da.$$’ sold over 200,000 copies. Songs like ‘Show Me’, ‘Infinity’, ‘Love is Only a Feeling’ and ‘Temptation’ all had their moments in the Billboard top 100 and official charts. 

His sound evolved - it became more varied and experimental. The messages changed as Joey found it necessary to use his influence to talk on the issues that pained him. How do you maintain authenticity whilst being so famous? How do you deal with the perpetual, systematic racism in the US? What was it to be a black man in the country he lived in?How do you deal with the pressure that comes with being in the spotlight?

In this time he also launched his own acting career, won an Oscar in 2021 and revitalised a dying sound in the hip-hop world. He did this all whilst still creating timeless records with awe-inspiring production and a lyrical pen that separates him from most other rappers in the world.

But it wasn’t enough.

In the eyes of most hip-hop fans, in the middle of May 2026, Joey Bada$$ is a hasbeen. A washed rapper who never managed to live up to the hype of his first album. None of the records he made since were anywhere near the impact his first one generated, none of them were anywhere near as good. He was on his way to becoming one of the greatest rappers of all time but just couldn’t live up to his potential.

But what was his potential? What is potential? Because releasing one of the greatest pieces of music everr sounds to me like someone who reached their potential. Are we just ignoring it because it came at the start of their career? 

When you start at the top of the hill and gradually find yourself falling down it, there’s no forgiveness, no empathy. You were once at the top should still be there because that’s how the world works, isn’t it? People don’t care about what you were, they care about what you are.

But there’s many people out there who once were on top of the world in their respective fields, and in completely human fashion, couldn’t keep themselves there. But instead of being heralded for the greatness they once achieved, they’re torn down and their past becomes almost fantasised, like it was never really there - because it’s so far away from the reality of where they are now.

For 3 years, Dele Alli found himself in a place where very few young British foot.. scrap that -  young men, had ever ventured into. Before Bellingham, Dowman, Ngumoha, Sancho and Rashford, there was a boy from Milton Keynes who, as a teenager, was doing things that we weren’t used to seeing. 

But behind every elite player, there’s a story which has moulded them into what they are. Alli, just like his football ability, has a story which very few can compare to. 

We can’t imagine what it was like to lose contact with your biological mother at a young age and endure traumatic sexual abuse throughout your childhood in broken home. We can empathise, but most of us can't even grasp what it was like to go through such atrocities and the mental tolls that they leave.

And these circumstances usually lead to children who are lost and scared, resorting to crime, drugs and other means to reflect or run from the only thing they ever know. According to a 2012 report, 70% of young offenders come from single parent or disrupted households.

But Dele’s path took a different route. At age 12, he was adopted by a loving foster family and quickly found a breath of solace in playing football. And he played football better than most could ever dream of. MK Dons debut at sixteen. A year after, he was a league 1 regular. 6 goals and 3 assists in 33 games. The next season, 16 goals and 8 assists - aged 18.

Dele was a prodigy, in every sense of the word. The finesse he played with, the deft touches,quick feet, confidence and intelligence was not something you’d associate with the unforgiving world of the English football league. And it’s not something you’d expect an 18 year old kid from Milton Keynes to be displaying so regularly.

And inevitably he got his big move. £5 million was what it took Spurs to land one of the most impressive English talents we’d seen in a decade. For many youngsters, you’d expect a bedding-in period. Cameos of the bench, a few starts here and there in the cup/dead-rubber games. But some youngsters don’t need it.

10 goals and 9 assists in 33 Premier League appearances. In his first year at Tottenham Hotspur. A PFA young player of the year and one of the greatest goals we’ve ever seen in the English top flight on his resume at the age of 19. 2016/17 gave way to more of the same. 18 goals (one penalty) and 7 assists, another PFA young player of the year. 

Dele Alli in the 2017/18 celebrating a goal away to Chelsea

He was a revelation. No English midfielder had scored goals at such a high rate since prime Frank Lampard and Lampard was doing it when he was in his mid-twenties. He was scoring huge goals in huge games. Pundits raved, fans gaped and opponents watched in despair as Dele’s trademark late runs into the box and bewildering composure produced two of the best seasons output wise a midfielder has ever mustered. 

Championed by Mauricio Pochetinno and partnering with Harry Kane, Dele was a pivotal cog in the best Spurs team there’s been since the 1980s. And though those years failed to bear much fruit in terms of silverware, this relatively young core had already finished 2nd in the league and were runners up in the Champions League, and it inspired hope. Spurs fans found themselves dreaming about how high they could possibly go.

Hopefully those dreams were vivid, because after Pochettino left and Jose Mourinho replaced him, nothing was ever really the same. One of the highlights of Mourinho’s career at Tottenham was the All or Nothing documentary released by Amazon Prime in which, for the first time, we could see real life footage of how The Special One operates on the day-to-day.

One part of the documentary which is especially memorable featured a one-on-one conversation between Mourinho and a now 23 year old Dele who had been struggling for form for the six months. The Portuguese head coach sat him down in his office and told him clearly: The way you’re conducting yourself right now, I’m worried that you won’t reach your potential

Dele’s attitude during this meeting was also notable. Arms crossed, sat back in a nonchalant manner, smirking and seeming like he was listening but he wasn’t really listening.

5 years on and this meeting has aged like a fine wine. Dele finds himself without a club after brief and uninspiring spells at Everton, Besiktas and Como. Mourinho predicted his fate perfectly and a now thirty year old Dele Alli has walked the path of many before him. A player with all the talent in the world who didn’t have his head in the right place to make the most out of it. A wasted potential.

Dele only managed one competitive appearance for Como in the 24/25 season

But is that the legacy he deserves? Is the Dele Alli story one of disappointment and what ifs?

Or is it a story of inspiration? A story of hope, that despite all the odds in the world against him, a teenage boy from Milton Keynes rose above it all and lit the football world on fire.

Underneath the unassuming, ostensibly unbothered picture that Dele painted, was a man with thoughts and feelings that none of us can imagine. Because no matter how far you go, even if you think you’ve outran it, your past will always be there following you, waiting to catch up and remind you that you’re never really free.

When we saw the headlines - the frequent appearances at London nightclubs; the holidays during recovery periods and the partying during international breaks. It’s an obviously clear picture that’s being painted: A party boy who loves the lifestyle more than he loves the game. But that’s not quite it.

Thrusted into the public eye by the age of 16 because he was simply too good to ignore. National attention before he was legally allowed to drink. Fame, fortune and on top of the world before the age of twenty-one. But behind all of that, behind the enigmatic footballer that was Dele Alli, was a young man who found himself dazed and confused, completely unequipped for the spotlight. A young man who was never given the support system and help he needed to ever find a way out of it.

So inevitably you slip. You fall down a bit and hope you can climb back up. But the world of football is an unforgiving one. Many people fail to realise you’re a person and not a product because its a results based game. Understanding is thrown out for distaste and entitlement. Why have you fallen off? Why isn’t your head screwed on straight? If we take a step back and realise that these guys are humans with their own downfalls and hardships, potentially there’s a not too distant future where we can accept that not every bright young player will go on to have a perfect and successful career for 15 years.

The Dele Alli story isn’t one of tragedy. It’s not a player who wasted away their potential. It’s of a player who, despite the unfavourable odds, reached his potential at a young age and for a number of years gave hope and happiness to millions of people around the world. It’s a young man who was able to shake off the shackles of his history and for three great years be one of the best footballers on the planet. 

How many footballers played for 15 years and never peaked as high as a young Dele Alli did? How many rappers and musicians worldwide never created an album as good as 1999 by Joey Bada$$? Everyone has a peak where they’re at the top of their game. For most, it’s in the middle of a career and for some it’s later on. Just because you peak early, it doesn’t mean you deserved to be punished for it.

We should appreciate brilliance more, it doesn’t matter when it comes. Just be happy we were fortunate enough to be there when it did.