Geez
02-12-2006, 09:32 AM
SPURS NEWS
By: Alan "Smudger" Smith - Telegraph.co.uk
When interviewing Jermain Defoe, it is difficult not to start with the obvious topic – his future with Tottenham, his ongoing battle to start more games for the club. It's a subject that has rumbled on for more than a year now, ever since Martin Jol started leaving his striker on the bench.
And even though the little Londoner started against Wigan last Sunday to score a typically sharp, twisty goal in a resounding win, the conjecture goes on, with more back-page headlines stirring the pot in the lead up to today's north London derby with Arsenal.
So had he seen the headlines linking him with a January move? If so, what did he think? Any truth in the rumours? I just had to ask.
"I don't normally read the papers a lot, to be honest," he says with a shrug. "The only reason I looked at one of them this week was because there was a picture of my mate, Shaun [Wright-Phillips], on there. But I've had this kind of stuff for a long time now – since I was about 16 – so I suppose you get used to it."
What he can't get used to, though, is his manager's habit of rotating the forwards. With four players to choose from in Defoe, Robbie Keane, Dimitar Berbatov and Mido, Jol hasn't settled this season on one particular partnership, preferring to swap in an effort to keep everyone fresh.
Actually, Jol stated recently that he doesn't like calling it rotation. If you do that, the Dutchman said, players can work out when they're going to play. That's counterproductive, he argues, in trying to keep them on their toes. Defoe politely disagrees with his manager's interpretation.
"To me it is rotation because you'll play for two games and then start on the bench for the next two games. At the end of the day that's down to the manager – it's his decision and I'll never argue with that – but it has been really hard, not only for me but for a lot of the players. When you're young and enthusiastic you just want to play every game. Being a forward makes it worse – you want to score goals and contribute.
"It's about finding some rhythm. When you've got that, when you feel sharp and fit, that's when you'll be at your best. If you aren't given the opportunity to find some rhythm, then it's difficult. It's just stop, start, stop, start.
"I just try to stay strong, get myself sharp in training and hopefully show the gaffer that I should be in the team. When you do get your chance you've got to grab it with both hands."
No thoughts of jacking it all in, then? Doing what a lot of players do these days – get their agent to sound out interested parties before slapping in a transfer request and turning disinterested?
"Nah, that's just weak, innit? I think that's weak. I like the challenge. If I'm not in the team, I just think to myself, 'Right, I'm going to show the manager, even if it's just in training, that I should be in there'. If he doesn't play me I'll try to show him again.
"If you start sulking and spitting the dummy out then all of a sudden you're down and you want to fight people. If you're then asked to play the next game you have to switch back into being professional. It's difficult to do that. I try to stay on one level, try and stay professional, so that when you do get a chance you can perform. When you're upset, your head goes sometimes, you snatch at things, run round trying to hurt people – that's just not me."
In fairness to a player who made plenty of enemies by handing in a transfer request less than 24 hours after West Ham's relegation, this is more like it; highly commendable stuff from someone who had to endure rejection last summer on a humiliating scale when Sven-Goran Eriksson sent him home from England's World Cup camp once Wayne Rooney's injury was deemed on the mend.
Much to his credit, Defoe didn't resort to slagging off Eriksson. That would have been easy, particularly in the wake of the Swede's departure.
"You can imagine how I felt, being with the boys then having to leave," he says. "The lads were fantastic to me. A lot of them told me I should be there, that I should be in the squad. But I spoke to the manager at the time. He told me what he thought and I told him what I thought. That was enough really."
Not surprisingly, there have been one or two conversations with his club manager, too, over the situation prevailing at White Hart Lane.
Jol, in fact, was quick to step in this week to counter the latest speculation. "Jermain is going nowhere," he reiterated, before going on to explain exactly why. "We're stronger than last season because we have four strikers. If they couldn't put up with it they could easily say they wanted to join another club, but if they go to Liverpool, Chelsea or Manchester United they'll be in the same situation."
Maybe that's why Defoe seems content to stay put, claiming that it has never occurred to him that his future might lie elsewhere.
"No, it hasn't because when I run out on to that pitch, the fans are great to me. I love playing for this club. All my friends are here. The lads are great and we've got a young squad."
He is still conscious, however, that negative stories in the press can influence supporters.
"There was a bit in the paper about me before the game against Wigan and I said to Robbo [Paul Robinson], 'That can't do much for the fans. If I was a fan reading that I wouldn't be happy'. But the fans know that whenever I put that shirt on I always give 120 per cent. As I said before, they've been fantastic to me. I just love playing for this club. I want to play, score goals and achieve something special."
Travelling in hope to Emirates Stadium this lunchtime, Spurs fans aren't going to get a more resounding vow of commitment than that.
More promising still, their in-and-out striker feels back to his best. "My record's not bad against Arsenal. I'd love to get a goal. I'd love to." That's if he's selected, of course.
By: Alan "Smudger" Smith - Telegraph.co.uk
When interviewing Jermain Defoe, it is difficult not to start with the obvious topic – his future with Tottenham, his ongoing battle to start more games for the club. It's a subject that has rumbled on for more than a year now, ever since Martin Jol started leaving his striker on the bench.
And even though the little Londoner started against Wigan last Sunday to score a typically sharp, twisty goal in a resounding win, the conjecture goes on, with more back-page headlines stirring the pot in the lead up to today's north London derby with Arsenal.
So had he seen the headlines linking him with a January move? If so, what did he think? Any truth in the rumours? I just had to ask.
"I don't normally read the papers a lot, to be honest," he says with a shrug. "The only reason I looked at one of them this week was because there was a picture of my mate, Shaun [Wright-Phillips], on there. But I've had this kind of stuff for a long time now – since I was about 16 – so I suppose you get used to it."
What he can't get used to, though, is his manager's habit of rotating the forwards. With four players to choose from in Defoe, Robbie Keane, Dimitar Berbatov and Mido, Jol hasn't settled this season on one particular partnership, preferring to swap in an effort to keep everyone fresh.
Actually, Jol stated recently that he doesn't like calling it rotation. If you do that, the Dutchman said, players can work out when they're going to play. That's counterproductive, he argues, in trying to keep them on their toes. Defoe politely disagrees with his manager's interpretation.
"To me it is rotation because you'll play for two games and then start on the bench for the next two games. At the end of the day that's down to the manager – it's his decision and I'll never argue with that – but it has been really hard, not only for me but for a lot of the players. When you're young and enthusiastic you just want to play every game. Being a forward makes it worse – you want to score goals and contribute.
"It's about finding some rhythm. When you've got that, when you feel sharp and fit, that's when you'll be at your best. If you aren't given the opportunity to find some rhythm, then it's difficult. It's just stop, start, stop, start.
"I just try to stay strong, get myself sharp in training and hopefully show the gaffer that I should be in the team. When you do get your chance you've got to grab it with both hands."
No thoughts of jacking it all in, then? Doing what a lot of players do these days – get their agent to sound out interested parties before slapping in a transfer request and turning disinterested?
"Nah, that's just weak, innit? I think that's weak. I like the challenge. If I'm not in the team, I just think to myself, 'Right, I'm going to show the manager, even if it's just in training, that I should be in there'. If he doesn't play me I'll try to show him again.
"If you start sulking and spitting the dummy out then all of a sudden you're down and you want to fight people. If you're then asked to play the next game you have to switch back into being professional. It's difficult to do that. I try to stay on one level, try and stay professional, so that when you do get a chance you can perform. When you're upset, your head goes sometimes, you snatch at things, run round trying to hurt people – that's just not me."
In fairness to a player who made plenty of enemies by handing in a transfer request less than 24 hours after West Ham's relegation, this is more like it; highly commendable stuff from someone who had to endure rejection last summer on a humiliating scale when Sven-Goran Eriksson sent him home from England's World Cup camp once Wayne Rooney's injury was deemed on the mend.
Much to his credit, Defoe didn't resort to slagging off Eriksson. That would have been easy, particularly in the wake of the Swede's departure.
"You can imagine how I felt, being with the boys then having to leave," he says. "The lads were fantastic to me. A lot of them told me I should be there, that I should be in the squad. But I spoke to the manager at the time. He told me what he thought and I told him what I thought. That was enough really."
Not surprisingly, there have been one or two conversations with his club manager, too, over the situation prevailing at White Hart Lane.
Jol, in fact, was quick to step in this week to counter the latest speculation. "Jermain is going nowhere," he reiterated, before going on to explain exactly why. "We're stronger than last season because we have four strikers. If they couldn't put up with it they could easily say they wanted to join another club, but if they go to Liverpool, Chelsea or Manchester United they'll be in the same situation."
Maybe that's why Defoe seems content to stay put, claiming that it has never occurred to him that his future might lie elsewhere.
"No, it hasn't because when I run out on to that pitch, the fans are great to me. I love playing for this club. All my friends are here. The lads are great and we've got a young squad."
He is still conscious, however, that negative stories in the press can influence supporters.
"There was a bit in the paper about me before the game against Wigan and I said to Robbo [Paul Robinson], 'That can't do much for the fans. If I was a fan reading that I wouldn't be happy'. But the fans know that whenever I put that shirt on I always give 120 per cent. As I said before, they've been fantastic to me. I just love playing for this club. I want to play, score goals and achieve something special."
Travelling in hope to Emirates Stadium this lunchtime, Spurs fans aren't going to get a more resounding vow of commitment than that.
More promising still, their in-and-out striker feels back to his best. "My record's not bad against Arsenal. I'd love to get a goal. I'd love to." That's if he's selected, of course.