Shame to hear he's having such a rough time of things. Hope he has a quick recovery and gets a move to a decent club.
I'm with notso on this one. Are we really going to miss Defoe? He's reverted back to his form of last season, when he couldn't buy a goal. The sooner we get shot of him, the happier I will be.
I still find it hard to believe that we didn't bring in a third striker in either of the last two windows. Really poor planning, as it couldn't have been too hard to pick up a player that's better than literally nobody. We seem really short in this area throughout the various levels of the club and it needs to be looked at in the next window. It's a position that desperately needs depth and it can be so important in winning points and games.
Agreed. I find it almost unfathomable that we didn't bring in somebody - even on loan. If Ade gets injured, there's nobody else. Not that we can exactly rely on him to score many!..Piss poor decision, whoever took it.
PNP, it shows how passionately the fans feel about it though. Months and months later and we're all still talking about it in such detail. It's just unbelievable, isnt it? Even if the club address it and hold their hands up, we could be looking at what... 3 new strikers? Minimum is 1 world class young talented forward. Agreed? Moving on from that, we've got Adebayor who's done very little and Defoe who's had half a season of goals again. So it could be suggested that we might move those two on? - Is AVB keen on them to take us forward? I can't imagine he can be overly keen. Therefore, we could be looking at up to 3 new strikers coming in, in 1 window. It takes a long time to produce a "team" and signing players in the way Levy's history suggests (many on deadline day), This will not be good. We need a striker or 2 in early this summer to have a proper preseason with AVB. I understand some players being left till deadline day, but we're desperate to integrate a new striker into the club. Also it shows the ambition to players like Bale and others we might be interested in.
Sad to say that Defoe being out for the next couple of matches is no great loss. Play Bale as the second striker with Sigurdsson on the left.
I agree Tots, even if that one we bring in now isn't the "top striker" we need. A young Benteke type would be great to have sealed now, knowing that there is another "Damiao" type coming in. (Just using his name for example, as he's been suggested as the "world class" young striker we're after)
I'd be really interested to see this season's stats of every recognised premier league striker. I wouldn't mind betting that Adebayor has scored the least and his goals per game is one of, if not the poorest. Even Vertonghen has scored twice as many prem league goals as him! How can a club with top 4 ambitions have this situation? I can't help but laugh about it now! Defoe might have plenty of faults and not be of the quality we need to take us forward, but once again he's got 11 goals. Again, its not good enough but it's a respectable amount that a mid table side would take happily. 11 isn't embarrassing, despite them not being important ones. Seriously, how are we 3rd? Even our "1 man team" Bale has only got 17 and hardly any other ****er has scored! We spoke of Chelsea's luck in the CL campaign last season, but we're extremely lucky to be in this position. The more i think about it, the more I have to praise AVB, despite his "tactical imperfections". How has he got us where we are?! Fair play to him.
to be fair to Defoe,if he had not got off to a flyer,we would'nt be in such a good position now,the injury's haven't helped,coming at the time they have.
very true tots. he helped carry us at the start. We've got what we should have expected out of Defoe. - A respectable amount of goals, but not enough for the level we're trying to achieve. It wasn't really a dig at Defoe.
I like Defoe,but agree with you,we need 3 good striker's and could use Defoe as a back up,but i don't think he would stay,as he want's to play.
Defoe is, and always has been, a confidence player. If he is played regularly, and remains uninjured - as was the start of the season - he will score you goals. Yes, he has his faults, but he's not that bad.
Defoe isn't actually the sort of player I'd want to leave the club. I like him. But we're gradually progressing and he's getting left behind. he's also getting older.. If 3 strikers is what the club feels we need going forward, I'd like to see him remain at the club, but 3rd in the pecking order, behind a quality youngster and the world class player we need as number 1 priority. But like you say Tots, he wants to play. so it's unlikely that'd happen.
Hang on! Didn't we get off to an indifferent start under AVB? Defoe's best form (for a very long time) coincided with it not really counting. In that regard, he isn't any better than Darren Bent, who almost everyone slates as being a useless striker. I've got to say, in all honesty, that I really haven't seen much difference between the two, over the last three seasons.
Got to disagree with that! If nothing else, Defoe will run for you all day. Bent was/is just a lazy ****!..
Defoe plays at his best when he's alongside a hold-up striker with an aerial presence and in front of a creative midfielder looking to put balls through into space for him to run into. Good width also benefits his game. I don't think that we have any of those things this season, especially at this point. He hit good form when Dempsey got back to something approaching full fitness and they started to understand each other better, but then they both got injured and fell out of favour. Not sure how much of a future either of them has at the club, to be honest, especially as the American's understandable international ambitions seem to take him halfway around the world every couple of months. He comes back knackered, misses a game or two and then can't get back into the team. Might be time for him to rejoin the MLS.
