muttley
Alert Team
I think the difference here is that Dele's issues seem to be off the pitch problems (looking from the outside). He was was in the starting eleven for Everton and in the pre-season friendlies. His footballing capabilities didn't deteriorate overnight.
Something seems to have happened after his substitution against Everton. Did he overreact to the substitution? Did he cross the line in his reaction, possibly in front of the other players? Jose's bullying reputation precedes him but there's a way of doing things if you're unhappy as a player. Maybe Dele's response in training hasn't been good enough?
From the outside it's very difficult to draw firm conclusions either way. But on footballing ability alone he would be closer to the first eleven than he currently is.
That is the mystery we're all wondering. Dele had a decent pre-season but got the hook after 45 mins against Everton. We could all see with our own eyes he wasn't the worst player in that half. Jose said it was for tactical reasons based on Ancelotti's setup, but then went on to admit his tactical switches didn't work on this occasion. That's OK.
I think you're right in that something went wrong in the relationship either post match or sometime after. That was 13th Sep. It is now 29 Oct. That's 10 matches later and 2 international breaks. I also have a feeling it's tactical. I remember Dele playing holding midfield against Dortmund and all those other times when he dug in with the 2 midfielders. I think he needs to get more into that mode versus wanting to be the number 10.