I don't think any of us are claiming that Jol's job is to play Irish players, but Kelly had played his way into the side fair and square and was one of their better players. Then suddenly he gets dropped for the new signing. That's unfair, the new signing should have to play his way into the side. You'd say one thing if Kelly was playing bad, but he was in excellent form. Ask any non-Irish Spurs fan and they'll say that they were equally puzzeled.
Bad management, if you ask me.
Not really, Agathe has been fit for a while now and is the best attacking right back in the league. Strachan just seems more content to go with the slower but steady Telfer at the moment.Originally Posted by geysir
What's up with Jermain Defoe?
After scoring 44 times during the last two seasons, Jermain Defoe has gone horribly off the boil. Georgina Turner investigates
Friday November 18, 2005
Jermain Defoe
Jermain Defoe: just three goals this season
When Jermain Defoe arrived in January 2004, the excitement at Tottenham was palpable. The up-and-coming England striker had fired in 15 goals for West Ham before a New Year drunk had hit the pavement: one of football's hottest properties had chosen White Hart Lane. He scored his first seven goals for Spurs in the remainder of that campaign, before adding another 22 last season.
But that enthusiasm has dulled to a questioning hush as Defoe has managed just three goals more than a quarter of the way into the season - even the creaking limbs of Teddy Sheringham have mustered four, and he's had two-and-a-half games less to do it in.
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Of course, goals have been a commodity in short supply for Tottenham this season: they've failed to score in five of their 13 games and managed only one in another four. But Defoe has felt the drought more than most - he averages a goal every 345 minutes, which compares unfavourably to Robbie Keane, whose ratio is one every 201 minutes.
Last season, Defoe could also be relied upon to gallop to Spurs' rescue - more than half of his goals directly affected the outcome of the game. Now the cavalry appears cartwheeling clumsily on the horizon with 15 minutes left on the clock in the form of Keane, who has saved Tottenham twice this season.
It has failed to get the Irishman anywhere near the starting line-up, and with an England manager picking strikers from memory, Defoe's World Cup chances are yet to be hit either. But each game he goes without scoring (five and counting), the question is getting louder: what's up with Defoe?
Martin Jol has questioned the service his strikers are receiving, but he's hiding behind excuses. Four central (and largely defensive-minded) midfielders strung from one touchline to the other might not make for a haven of creativity in the middle, but their latest West Ham import Michael Carrick is one of the finest passers of the ball in the Premiership. Edgar Davids is quick to scamper forward and cause trouble in the final third, and though Spurs lack width while Aaron Lennon and Wayne Routledge are injured, full-backs Young-Pyo Lee and Paul Stalteri regularly push forward.
A better explanation is that Defoe lacks positional sense: when he is not offside (as he has been 19 times already this season - more than anyone else in the Premiership - granted, he was unlucky against Bolton), he is too deep, or too wide. When Spurs' counter-attacking has been ponderous, when their midfield left narrow by injury, this is almost understandable, but he is at his best staying forward and working the central channels. That's when his dinks and spins are most lethal, turning centre-backs inside out to leave only a quaking keeper between him and the goal. When he drops deep he invariably leaves only Mido to aim at in a sea of defenders, and when he pulls wide he leaves himself far too much to do - he is not Thierry Henry. And he doesn't need to be: goals from Mido, Ledley King and Jermaine Jenas all came from crosses. Had he been wriggling and writhing in the box, who knows how many more he might have chalked up?
Doubt has also hung like a fog around Defoe's relationship with Mido, and not without cause. They linked up on occasion during pre- and early season to good effect, but they lack the telepathic understanding Defoe seemed to enjoy with Fredi Kanoute, sold to Sevilla for £4.5m as the transfer window closed. Some quarters have pinned the blame on Mido. According to Jol's 'big man-small man' philosophy, the big man is there to allow long, high balls to bounce off his skull and onto the tip of the small man's toe - and if that's the case he's got the wrong man.
Mido is a decent provider but he's not shy of taking his own chances, and he is as guilty of floating wide as Defoe. Whether it is a lack of trust or just a breakdown in communication, there have been times when both players have moved out to the flanks, leaving an empty penalty box. That said, Mido formed a productive partnership with Keane during Spurs' summer Peace Cup success, so while he might not get his head to hoofed clearances as often as he's contractually obliged to, the blame may lie a little closer to home for Defoe.
It wouldn't be right to suggest a player as young as the 23-year-old Defoe could have passed his sell-by date, but there is something to suggest that the fizz has gone out of the toast of Tottenham this season. Not only has he failed to score more than journeymen like Geoff Horsfield, but he's probably created fewer chances, too.
He worried - really worried - Edwin van der Sar and Jens Lehmann only once each during Spurs' games against Manchester United and Arsenal, and both shots came from outside the area. In that dreadful defeat to Grimsby, a game in which Defoe might previously have been relied upon to emerge a hero, one of the best chances of the game came from the out-of-favour Andy Reid. Defoe put his head to a fantastic Stalteri cross just yards out - and put it wide. While he's so often being caught one step ahead of the defence, his usually buzzing football brain seems a step behind.
For all this, there is no doubting Defoe's credentials; but if this blip is to avoid becoming a permanent blight, something has got to give. His awareness is going to have to improve for a start. If he could turn even half of those offside runs into breaks, the chances are he'd have a handful more goals to his name and an increasingly weighty monkey off his back.
But losing his unquestioned place in the starting line-up will surely be the best medicine. Tottenham fans aren't calling for Keane to be given his chance just to keep him from fleeing for Everton when the January arrives: they know how well swapping him and Defoe so regularly last season worked. They know Keane demonstrates the fight that Defoe, at times, lacks.
And they suspect that were Defoe to taste some uncertainty on a Saturday morning, or to have to watch Keane making the most of his 60 minutes every other week, those devastating darts into dithering defences might return. Especially if he's been benched against the east London team he'll want so desperately to impress on Saturday.
In Trap we trust
Well there is something up with the RB position, rumours, Agathe is not happy, Agent is not happy, Strachan ignores Agathe etc
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...ic/4347184.stm
And Celtic interest in Mc Naughton
http://www.breakingnews.ie/story.asp...&n=59336967&x=
That McNaughton story is bull. Made the papers here that Strachan phoned Calderwood to say he'd no interest at all in him and it turned out it was the lads agent creating stories to try and get him a new contract. He's out of contract at the end of the season but no Celtic fan took that seriously at all.
I should have said IMO with regards to Agathe, he is a better player than Telfer in 99% of Celtic fans eyes so they would say there is no need for a RB. Strachan might think differently....
Therefore the speculation about the rb position at Celtic and the longshot rumors about Stephen Kelly.
Spurs are trying too hard to accomadate Davids, Jenas and Carrick in a Midfeild that should only contain 2 of these with Jenas and Davids staggering their appearences. The Spurs midfield looks off balance at the minture for me and I think that Andy Reids style of wide play would compliment Spurs other flank players that like to get beyong the player. But I'm obviosly biassed
I like Andy Reid and he's too good to sit on the bench at any club. Hopefully he'll get a move to another middle teir premiership club (personally I'd like to see him at Man City). My heart dropped when I seen him linked with Leeds during the week.
I sa the highlights of the Spurs game this evening on MOTD 2. Despite having Jenas and Lennon in the team, they still seemed to struggle to create chances. Keane seemed to be playing the withdrawn striker role too, his link play was noted in the commentary. Here's hoping both him and Reid get a move for first team football.
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