This is a sensitive subject. He's a man that a lot of people regard highly, very highly, chant about, even deify, a 'legend'. Even for those who do not regard him so much, most still have an utmost respect for the man. However, the time has come to face facts: Jermain Defoe faces the prospect of leaving in January.
Defoe has become a problem. His frequent outbursts to the media whenever the spotlight turns to him has become commonplace. Defoe's demands to be placed above Roberto Soldado in the striker pecking order at Spurs seems to come out every week, most recently after England's game to Chile. The debate over his place in the squad rages in the pubs and on the social networks. We all have an opinion on it.
What is Defoe as a player? Constantly throughout his career, he has been branded as a 'natural finisher' by the British media, even in 2013. Spurs fans know this branding is false. We know that in his years at Spurs, he has gone through spells of either intense form or complete disappearances from the side. Under Jol and Ramos, the combination of Berbatov and Keane was preferred. Under Redknapp, the likes of Crouch and Adebayor were preferred to him upfront. Last season under Villas-Boas, Defoe failed to overcome competition from Adebayor, despite the ex-Arsenal striker's massive lack of goals.
Amongst Defoe's on-field problems include his lack of wider contribution to the team; he refuses to bring other players into the attacking third, instead choosing an individual pursuit. True, his best games make him appear tenacious, a true finisher. His average game, however, is nothing of this sort. Defoe becomes a ghost, frequently found offside, failing that, squandering clear-cut chances. I highlight Defoe's only league appearance this year as proof of that. Just after half time, Defoe managed to get one-on-one with Jaaskeleinen, only to tamely squander the chance. Moments later, we went a goal down.
Knowing these facts, Daniel Levy invested money on another striker, a reputed striker, one of Europe's most prolific strikers: this was in the form of Roberto Soldado. The Spaniard has failed to hit the ground running, but his overall contribution to the team, awareness and movements surpasses Defoe. We did not spend £26million, beg for it to happen in the summer (#SignSoldado), condemn our current strikers, just to have Soldado undermined due to reactionary critics.
Don't get me wrong, I do have massive respect for Defoe. His goal in our 3-1 win to City last April was one of the highlights of the season. He is our highest scorer in European competitions. He is our 5th highest goalscorer of all time. Outside White Hart Lane, he has overcome personal tragedies, losing his father, brother and cousin unexpectedly. To overcome tragedy to that degree takes a lot of courage, and I applaud Defoe for that.
But his demands to play for the sake of his last chance to shine in an England shirt in Brazil massively undermines our manager. It undermines his ability to make decisions, something that destroyed his tenure at Chelsea, giving risk to alienating the fans, the media and even the other players against him. If AVB's tenure in undermined at Spurs, we will see a massive disruption in the club in this crucial season, where we have a chance to break the league mould, just as we did in 09/10.
With interest from West Ham growing due to the long term absence of Andy Carroll, there will definitely be bids for Defoe in January, with or without a transfer request. Therefore, the club would be wise to accept the right offer, stick with the strikers we have, and reinvest it on a young striker in the summer. This is for the good of the club.
AVB cannot bow to pressure. He saw Defoe's incapabilities this season and last, as have every Spurs fans. No matter how many pundits big Defoe up, how many goals he scores against teams like Tromso and Sheriff Tiraspol, or how many more of his personal claims of ability appear in the papers, his inabilities will remain and only more problems will be caused.
For the good of the squad, the tenure of the manager, even our league ambitions, it is time we face the prospect of parting company with Jermain Defoe. As the song goes, time to say goodbye...
24 November 2013
10 November 2013
Inverted wingers IS the answer
After intense note-taking and debating on twitter, I have found the right team. It’s a long time coming, and my goodness, AVB needs to find the right team before our lack of goals becomes harmful to our league position. However, I believe this team for today’s match against Newcastle will work.
The main debate regarding the formation has been over inverted wingers. Many people believe inverted wingers makes the midfield congested and harms free-flowing creativity. However, that does not explain how teams such as Bayern Munich have reached dizzy heights operating a similar system.
I have kept Sigurdsson and Lamela as the inverted wingers. Lamela has shown in midweek what he possesses, taking the full back with distinct forward attacking play, either posing as a goal threat or a creative threat. Sigurdsson has scored 4 goals in this spot and, although not the most involved player, his qualities will pose useful in sorting out our goal problem. They will still cut in and take shots, but with an added twist.
The No.10 spot has been much debated, and frequently talked about as the reason for our goal drought. Central in creating chances, the No.10 is vital in winning games. However, for Chelsea, Arsenal and Man City (No.10′s being Oscar, Ozil and Silva respectively), their most creative threat is not fixed in the middle. He interchanges with the wingers, providing crosses as well as through balls, offering different angles for the striker(s).
Eriksen gets the pick for today’s match, much becuase he better suits the system as a two footed player. Holtby shows glimpses of creativity, alongside work-rate and aggressive play, but it is not his main focus, unlike Eriksen. At home, often in front of a back 9, the focus of the No.10 must solely be breaking down the opposition. Eriksen, therefore, has the most ability to complete this should Sigurdsson or Lamela be central.
The demands for width have been loud and clear, and natural wingers seems the most obvious answer to this. However, looking at our summer activity (Lamela and Chadli, Townsend in the squad), inverted wingers appears to be the system AVB will keep with as a primary option. Therefore, the width, I believe, intends to be provided by the full backs (wing backs in this purpose).
Walker is naturally a wing back and revels in hugging the touchline. Under AVB, he has refined his play to become more defensively sound, and has been one of our best players this season. Before injured, AVB stuck Rose at left back, and did a fantastic job after playing regular first-team football for Sunderland last season. His wing play suits the formation, but owing to his absence, Vertonghen has to fill-in. Although less effective, the professional class the Belgian possesses will more than make up for Rose’s play.
There is no question who starts upfront. It is the £26million striker. It is the man with one of the best goal scoring records in all Europe last season. It’s the No.9 that we begged for in the summer. Roberto Soldado. If we create chances for him, the kind of chances he thrived on last season, he will flourish.
Ultimately, we have to play football against Newcastle. Attack them. Pepper the goal from all angles. Create chances for the front man. We have commanded possession, but not commanded the final third. We have solidified the castle walls, but our artillery is inaccurate and wasteful. Over time, these problems will reduce, the ‘gelling process’ will give a greater abundance of goals.
Till that moment, I ask for patience, as has AVB. There’s a reason why glory football and tactics of our has never actually brought much glory since the Premier League’s inception. There’s a reason AVB’s football has.
The main debate regarding the formation has been over inverted wingers. Many people believe inverted wingers makes the midfield congested and harms free-flowing creativity. However, that does not explain how teams such as Bayern Munich have reached dizzy heights operating a similar system.
I have kept Sigurdsson and Lamela as the inverted wingers. Lamela has shown in midweek what he possesses, taking the full back with distinct forward attacking play, either posing as a goal threat or a creative threat. Sigurdsson has scored 4 goals in this spot and, although not the most involved player, his qualities will pose useful in sorting out our goal problem. They will still cut in and take shots, but with an added twist.
The No.10 spot has been much debated, and frequently talked about as the reason for our goal drought. Central in creating chances, the No.10 is vital in winning games. However, for Chelsea, Arsenal and Man City (No.10′s being Oscar, Ozil and Silva respectively), their most creative threat is not fixed in the middle. He interchanges with the wingers, providing crosses as well as through balls, offering different angles for the striker(s).
Eriksen gets the pick for today’s match, much becuase he better suits the system as a two footed player. Holtby shows glimpses of creativity, alongside work-rate and aggressive play, but it is not his main focus, unlike Eriksen. At home, often in front of a back 9, the focus of the No.10 must solely be breaking down the opposition. Eriksen, therefore, has the most ability to complete this should Sigurdsson or Lamela be central.
The demands for width have been loud and clear, and natural wingers seems the most obvious answer to this. However, looking at our summer activity (Lamela and Chadli, Townsend in the squad), inverted wingers appears to be the system AVB will keep with as a primary option. Therefore, the width, I believe, intends to be provided by the full backs (wing backs in this purpose).
Walker is naturally a wing back and revels in hugging the touchline. Under AVB, he has refined his play to become more defensively sound, and has been one of our best players this season. Before injured, AVB stuck Rose at left back, and did a fantastic job after playing regular first-team football for Sunderland last season. His wing play suits the formation, but owing to his absence, Vertonghen has to fill-in. Although less effective, the professional class the Belgian possesses will more than make up for Rose’s play.
There is no question who starts upfront. It is the £26million striker. It is the man with one of the best goal scoring records in all Europe last season. It’s the No.9 that we begged for in the summer. Roberto Soldado. If we create chances for him, the kind of chances he thrived on last season, he will flourish.
Ultimately, we have to play football against Newcastle. Attack them. Pepper the goal from all angles. Create chances for the front man. We have commanded possession, but not commanded the final third. We have solidified the castle walls, but our artillery is inaccurate and wasteful. Over time, these problems will reduce, the ‘gelling process’ will give a greater abundance of goals.
Till that moment, I ask for patience, as has AVB. There’s a reason why glory football and tactics of our has never actually brought much glory since the Premier League’s inception. There’s a reason AVB’s football has.
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