One of the stats from the Newcastle game on the OS was that Dembele has played in every game for us this season. Poorly researched story, by the sound of it.
Is defoe the "NEW WORLD CLASS STRIKER" we've all dreamed off....no Is he pretty good back-up, sub, cup-runner outer....yes. He is a better option then the likes of Borini, Bentdner, Cisse, Kone and many other support strikers. This team will take a few years to fully transform into the kind of slick, solid machine that we want it tot. Look at Arsenal, they stopped playing 4-4-2 ages ago, and even with Wenger and CL, and general consistancy it has taken them about 3-4 years to be as fluent, effective and most importantly consistant as they are. In fact alot of their problem was confidence, and i've already seen signs that when our tails are up they play better football. But to bring my point full circle, Defoe is what we have now. He is coming to the end of his football life cycle and I think we will be able to find a use for him untill he gets to around 33, which is when he should be looking to hang up his boots. My issue is more to do with wtf Ade is up to. Being payed crazy wages, not sold, or loaned, or used or even on the subs bench even when both our other strikers are struggling. The reason he got so few goals last year is because he kept running the channels, if he just did what Soldado does and stand on the CB, he could get a few goals imo, especially with Lennon, Lamela or Townsend whipping in crosses.
This is the same Bendtner who says he can play for Barca or Factitious? Does he use the same chemist as Adel Taarabt? If so, I can tell them that isn't Neurofen they're taking...
There are about 5 world class strikers. Defoe isn't one of those and none of them are likely to sign for Spurs currently. There are about 20 at the next level down, Defoe isn't one of those but Soldado and Adebayor (at his best) might be on the fringe of that. But Defoe is quite likely in the next 75 and there really isn't a gnats cock between their capabilities. To buy someone definitely better costs £25m so it would be crazy to sell him now.
But that's the point, though, isn't it? Defoe is making noises about wanting to play, when he simply isn't good enough to start for us. My beef is, if we start with Defoe, then we are as good as saying that we won't finish top 4 this season (or in any season where we are going to start with Defoe). And if we are not going to be starting with Defoe, he seems to be implying that he'll look elsewhere for his first-name-on-the-team-sheet football. I think he'll make the decision for the club, because we clearly should not be starting with him in the side, if we have ambitions of CL footy.
I think I'm one of Dembele's bigger fans, but I'd still say he's a real enigma of a good player. What he does for the most part, IMO, is make opp. midfielders feel weak and inadequate at dribbling by comparison. It doesn't lead to goals for us (as opposed to Paulinho, who's scored one and assisted on a couple of our meager nine goals), and he doesn't protect the back four quite as well as Sandro. But the degree to which he helps us win the midfield battle was a big factor in our success vs. the top teams last year. The thing is, while he was our key man last year, that hasn't been the case this year. Paulinho and Sandro make sense as a pair in a way Paulinho and Dembele do not. The truth is Dembele and Sandro may be even better than Paulinho and Sandro (they were excellent last year), but no one's seriously considering sitting Paulinho. It will be very interesting to see whether Dembele gets a start against the Mancs. I tend to think he should (based on how he played against them last year) and won't.
Chris Waddle is saying,if we want to challenge this year we should play Defoe and Soldado in a 4 4 2 formation at WHL,i agree with him,i don't understand why the home team only play with one striker
Suicide imo tots, not the idea, the personnel, you can't play those 2 as neither are prepared or any good to drop into mf when needed ie. without the ball. Any team that see's us play 4 in mf will over-run us with 5. For example United have Rooney and Welbeck, WR will help out effectively in mf. Suarez with Sturridge, he can drop deep and does so. JD has picked the ball up in mf and produced on occasion but he's not anywhere near as comfortable as the other two, its not in his game really.
Agreed, the game vs Chelsea at the tail-end of last season where we were lucky to get a 2-2 showed how important the midfield is nowadays.
I don't think there are many better 2nd choice strikers around than Defoe. Would be sorry to see him go. If his name were Jermaninho Defoedas and was playing in Spain/ Brazil or any other foreign league for the matter, with the sort of strike rate he has, many of us would be happy to be linked with him and would want him here at the Lane. He's averaged a 1 in 3 strike rate with us and for a striker that has rarely been considered to be our number 1 striker throughout his Spurs career, it's pretty impressive in my opinion.
The problem with Waddle's analysis is who do we leave out? If one of Sandro or Paulinho we will have much less of the ball and fewer chances. If Eriksen then no creativity and fewer chances and if one of the wide players, no balance and so fewer chances. Our problem isn't the striker its the fact that we are a bit slow in developing when we have the ball. I'm still putting that down to getting used to the new players and the new system so wouldn't change anything yet.
442 is making a comeback in domestic leagues, A Madrid are probably the best team to be using such formation and when Redknapp had that superb run of games he played 4411 which was basically a classic 442 aside from Vdv behind Ade instead of a front two. We have the players to play 4411 but Avb has about 100 central midfielders, wingers who have have spending their weekdays in the sports science department getting programmed to cut inside and we have no Modric replacement, we loaned the only creative deep laying midfielder with quick vision to QPR. 442 " 4411", 4141 " What's it matter? " it's all dull and predictable with Avb in the dugout.
We need a Robbie Keane, or a Teddy Sheringham, we don't have that player who can form a partnership with virtually anyone, Robbie Keane to his credit even managed to get him and Darren Bent playing as a partnership, ok it lasted 5 minutes but that's 5 minutes more then any other striker has managed!
Makes me wishfull for the Sheringham& Klinsman days,best pairing since Greaves & Gilly imo,yes better than Crooks & Archibald
Harry is one of JD's biggest advocates, great finisher etc., yet he left him on the bench for a season in favour of Ade, I think that sums up Jermaine! It would be one helluva move to go back to W.Ham, but is the more logical, he'll play every week in the PL on the run up to Rio. Not sure banging them in in the Championship will be viewed as anything other than expected.
Hoops would be his better bet because buying back is often a mistake. He'd be facing the same defences at West Ham and as he's not good at scoring against them for us then it would be the same at West Ham. Thank you JD but move down a league and come up with Harry next season for a season and then go.
