Jermain Defoe

[parklane1]

Makes you wonder how he would have done for a United or an Arsenal at the time if we hadn't have signed him? They were miles ahead of us when we signed him, can you imagine how many goals he would have scored if they had have used him to his ability?

I have never understood why there are fans who ( imo) have underestimated how good he was. Our 5th highest ever goal scorer ( and i think we would all agree we have had some great strikers over the years) and our highest scorer in Europe of all time.

 

[PochettinoPochettinoPochettino]

I have never understood why there are fans who ( imo) have underestimated how good he was. Our 5th highest ever goal scorer ( and i think we would all agree we have had some great strikers over the years) and our highest scorer in Europe of all time.

The thing is, he had to play second fiddle to Keane an awful lot, and I said years ago, if we had have played him 38 times a season he would have been 20 goals minimum but a lot didn't agree. He has had a good career but he should have had a great careers winning things. We didn't use him as much as we should have ,hence why he left the first time. Then we brought him back and he banged in goals but then he had a brain fart and wanted to try the MLS.

It's a shame at the time that the best team he played for was us as he should have been at a top 4 club but ironically now we are a top 4 club we actually could do with him.

 

[parklane1]

The thing is, he had to play second fiddle to Keane an awful lot, and I said years ago, if we had have played him 38 times a season he would have been 20 goals minimum but a lot didn't agree. He has had a good career but he should have had a great careers winning things. We didn't use him as much as we should have ,hence why he left the first time. Then we brought him back and he banged in goals but then he had a brain fart and wanted to try the MLS.

It's a shame at the time that the best team he played for was us as he should have been at a top 4 club but ironically now we are a top 4 club we actually could do with him.

I used to love Keane and i will always remember the day we signed him ( i was at a bikers rally) and how overjoyed i was. They were both top players, for me Keane had a better all round game but Defoe for me was the better striker.

 

[billyiddo]

I agree, he has scored 36 goals in 80 games for a brick Sunderland side it makes you wonder how many he would have got playing for a better side.

doesn't always work like that, look at Benteke and his record at Villa vs how he did at Liverpool for example.

i think Defoe thrives on the tactical freedom to play how he wishes, try to make him fit in to a style of play (like what would be expected of him at a top side) and he'd probably lose what makes him special - he's an instinct player. Would potentially be a good super sub though, even now

 

[parklane1]

doesn't always work like that, look at Benteke and his record at Villa vs how he did at Liverpool for example.

i think Defoe thrives on the tactical freedom to play how he wishes, try to make him fit in to a style of play (like what would be expected of him at a top side) and he'd probably lose what makes him special - he's an instinct player. Would potentially be a good super sub though, even now

Fair enough you are right about it does not always work that way, i still think he would be ideal for us now while Janssen settles in. Just wishful thinking on my part though.

 

[Raziel]

I have never understood why there are fans who ( imo) have underestimated how good he was. Our 5th highest ever goal scorer ( and i think we would all agree we have had some great strikers over the years) and our highest scorer in Europe of all time.

I actually think JD is one of those rare strikers who has actually gotten "smarter" later in his career.

He always was a decent finisher with a turn of acceleration and strength on the ball. Watching him at Sunderland, I think his positioning is better, his runs smarter, his partnership with Anichibe and Januzai is better than he was able to achieve with us through Keane/Berbs/others.

He still can be out of game for periods of time, but that's really hard to judge based on how brick the side he plays for is, without possession, all strikers tend to get isolated out.

 

[parklane1]

I actually think JD is one of those rare strikers who has actually gotten "smarter" later in his career.

He always was a decent finisher with a turn of acceleration and strength on the ball. Watching him at Sunderland, I think his positioning is better, his runs smarter, his partnership with Anichibe and Januzai is better than he was able to achieve with us through Keane/Berbs/others.

He still can be out of game for periods of time, but that's really hard to judge based on how brick the side he plays for is, without possession, all strikers tend to get isolated out.

I'm not sure he has got smarter but as others have said the team is built around and for him which helps any striker. To be honest i thought his partnership with Berby was first class but as others have said there was always a debate about who should be played with Berby and Keane was chosen more often.

Your right he could/can be out of a game at times but then so can most strikers, it goes with the job. But for the few who may have doubted his ability as a top striker well the number of goals he scored for us would suggest otherwise.

 

[Raziel]

I'm not sure he has got smarter but as others have said the team is built around and for him which helps any striker. To be honest i thought his partnership with Berby was first class but as others have said there was always a debate about who should be played with Berby and Keane was chosen more often.

Your right he could/can be out of a game at times but then so can most strikers, it goes with the job. But for the few who may have doubted his ability as a top striker well the number of goals he scored for us would suggest otherwise.

that should be gone .. in my opinion it never was there.

The question with JD for us unfortunately usually was -> was he better for team than the other option at time (mostly Keane/Berbs), and the answer usually was no.

Different era, he might have fared better (then probably so would have Keane/Berbs) with the stronger team and depth of possession we have now.

 

[parklane1]

that should be gone .. in my opinion it never was there.

The question with JD for us unfortunately usually was -> was he better for team than the other option at time (mostly Keane/Berbs), and the answer usually was no.

Different era, he might have fared better (then probably so would have Keane/Berbs) with the stronger team and depth of possession we have now.

Not sure i understand what you mean, are you saying that he has always been credited with being one of our best strikers or that he is not.

 

[Raziel]

Not sure i understand what you mean, are you saying that he has always been credited with being one of our best strikers or that he is not.

No, not saying he always was, I absolutely remember the Keane vs. JD camps .. one was great somehow had to equal the other was brick.

My point was at this stage, seeing his goal output at his age in a struggling side with low possession, +where he has reached in total PL/career goals, he can't be questioned anymore in terms of him being a quality PL level striker.

 

[parklane1]

No, not saying he always was, I absolutely remember the Keane vs. JD camps .. one was great somehow had to equal the other was brick.

My point was at this stage, seeing his goal output at his age in a struggling side with low possession, +where he has reached in total PL/career goals, he can't be questioned anymore in terms of him being a quality PL level striker.

Now i understand

 

[DubaiSpur]

Same. Really wish he didn't leave to play for Toronto. That was such a schoolboy error from JD at the time, one I think he may have regretted as he missed out on a World Cup squad place.

Hey - I got to see JD play in the flesh. So personally, I can't truthfully say I would agree with that, albeit for purely selfish reasons.

 

[PochettinoPochettinoPochettino]

Hey - I got to see JD play in the flesh. So personally, I can't truthfully say I would agree with that, albeit for purely selfish reasons.

Go fcuk yourself. It's people like you that make this club weaker!!!

 

[Rorschach]

I think we'd all have preferred him on the bench this season than not.

Now we would . With the way Janssen has underperformed this season I think it is easy to make this claim, but if Janssen had been banging in a few more goals then Defoe would not get a mention.

The season before this was really the season to have Defoe around as cover, and that was a deal that could have been engineered. We effectively went through that season with just one striker in Kane and by blind luck he didn't get injured.

For the record I love the guy and would still have him back, but I guess at this stage that is for emotional reasons rather than practical ones.

 

[DubaiSpur]

Go fcuk yourself. It's people like you that make this club weaker!!!

Ha! I'll also add that it was JD's transfer that allowed TFC to host Spurs for that friendly back in 2014 - the most recent time I saw us live, anywhere. The friendly that forced Poch to travel thousands of km across the Atlantic in his first pre-season with us, draining the players. The friendly that presumably led to him not being able to give Siggy the once-over before he left for Swansea, due to the absence of time. The friendly that exposed to all the world how short Daniel Levy really was when he went out on the field pre-game and I saw (for the first time in my life) that I'd *tower* over him despite only being 5 '11 myself.

It was a friendly game that basically caused all the ills of modern Tottenham Hotspur, is what I'm saying. And I ridiculously enjoyed every minute of it. What sort of fan am I?

 

[PochettinoPochettinoPochettino]

Ha! I'll also add that it was JD's transfer that allowed TFC to host Spurs for that friendly back in 2014 - the most recent time I saw us live, anywhere. The friendly that forced Poch to travel thousands of km across the Atlantic in his first pre-season with us, draining the players. The friendly that presumably led to him not being able to give Siggy the once-over before he left for Swansea, due to the absence of time. The friendly that exposed to all the world how short Daniel Levy really was when he went out on the field pre-game and I saw (for the first time in my life) that I'd *tower* over him despite only being 5 '11 myself.

It was a friendly game that basically caused all the ills of modern Tottenham Hotspur, is what I'm saying. And I ridiculously enjoyed every minute of it. What sort of fan am I?

The best?

 

[DubaiSpur]

The best?

 

[Grays_1890]

Defoe is a class operator and has grown to be a decent bloke, I know this from personal experience.

His goal record stacks up against alot of players often touted in the "class bracket", people will pick bones in him about this that and the other but for me he is goals per season guaranteed and has provider a longer career in goals than Rooney for example.

 

[parklane1]

Defoe is a class operator and has grown to be a decent bloke, I know this from personal experience.

His goal record stacks up against alot of players often touted in the "class bracket", people will pick bones in him about this that and the other but for me he is goals per season guaranteed and has provider a longer career in goals than Rooney for example.

I agree he is a top striker, i have been lucky enough to have seen some really good ones over the years ( Greaves was head and shoulders over all of them), but Defoe is up there with the others we have been lucky enough to have here.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Defoe is a class operator and has grown to be a decent bloke, I know this from personal experience.

His goal record stacks up against alot of players often touted in the "class bracket", people will pick bones in him about this that and the other but for me he is goals per season guaranteed and has provider a longer career in goals than Rooney for example.

Defoe is a top bloke

When i used to have the box for work he always used to send people round the other boxes looking for anyone who had kids who may want to meet him

I took several customers and their kids down to his box and he posed for photos and autographs no questions asked

He couldn't have been nicer if he tried and made a lot of fans happy

He was also a great goal scorer (still is)