How Good is Defoe really?

[barry]

I know he's Tottenham's favourite son but I think the guy is a one dimensional hit and hope merchant. If we really want to push on we need a more rounded striker, or at least a striker who does what he's meant to do. Defoe is the master at giving the perception of being lethal, just because he's such a clean striker of a football. In actuality his composure in front of goal is not something to behold. That's why so many manages look him over for England.

His goal scoring record is good, but against poor teams who need to get back in games he's like a glutton, but against good teams who can defend somewhat he's next to useless.

After football The Jermain brohters should teach undercover operatives the meaning of the word inconspicuous (that's not really fair on Jenas, who is no where near as bad as Defoe)

Defoe has ability and is very athletic, which admittedly does give him an edge over some strikers, but atm I would rather have an intelligent striker with finesse than a brainless one solely reliant on his athleticism and shooting power. We create chances we just need someone who can finish consistently. There's no justification for this, but I'd even give Pav a chance whose run's and movement against an admittedly poor Leeds side looked good.

I've vented..........now I feel good

 

[van_Pommel]

I know he's Tottenham's favourite son but I think the guy is a one dimensional hit and hope merchant. If we really want to push on we need a more rounded striker, or at least a striker who does what he's meant to do. Defoe is the master at giving the perception of being lethal, just because he's such a clean striker of a football. In actuality his composure in front of goal is not something to behold. That's why so many manages look him over for England.

His goal scoring record is good, but against poor teams who need to get back in games he's like a glutton, but against good teams who can defend somewhat he's next to useless.

After football The Jermain brohters should teach undercover operatives the meaning of the word inconspicuous (that's not really fair on Jenas, who is no where near as bad as Defoe)

Defoe has ability and is very athletic, which admittedly does give him an edge over some strikers, but atm I would rather have an intelligent striker with finesse than a brainless one solely reliant on his athleticism and shooting power. We create chances we just need someone who can finish consistently. There's no justification for this, but I'd even give Pav a chance whose run's and movement against an admittedly poor Leeds side looked good.

I've vented..........now I feel good

I think you're being a tad unfair. Defoe is a very good player. Harry has been around for years and has always tried to take Defoe with him, that speaks for itself really.

He can be one dimensional at times which is why he gets marked out of the game sometimes. He rarely scores important goals against the bigger teams. They are the two main criticisms I have of Defoe.

I also think that if we want to be a consistent top 4 team we need to be more versatile with our formation and Defoe does not offer us that. If we had a more rounded striker then the rest of the players we have would fit very nicely into a 433. We could put Modric in an advanced central role, with Lennon and Kranjcar either side of the striker. This type of formation wont work with Defoe IMO.

 

[mattstev2000]

Generally agree although I think 'hit and hope merchant' is a bit harsh, especially in this spell with us.

Having said that I definitely don't understand the god like status he is afforded by some/most of our supporters. I don't think he performs against good defences, I think he becomes a passenger when he isn't playing well leaving us with 10 men and I don't think he's got the intelligence or skill to do something a bit different when it's needed.

He does however hit a good shot, consistently scores against weak opposition and links up kind of well with Crouch.

He's also Harry's favourite so he ain't going anywhere, first name on the team sheet I imagine...

 

[dontcallme]

I don't see him as an international quality striker or someone the top four or Man City would ever look to buy from us.

Bit harsh to call him a hit and hope merchant though, he is 2nd top scorer in the Prem after all.

 

[bubble07]

If people are criticizing Defoe they may as well criticize every other player in our squad

 

[onthetwo]

he's better than Keane and Rasiak, not as good as Rooney, Torres, or Drogba.
Next question?

 

[mattstev2000]

If people are criticizing Defoe they may as well criticize every other player in our squad

Lennon, Modric, Kranjcar, Dawson, Gomes, Palacios have all performed better than Defoe (there are probably others as well).

The problem is that Defoe doesn't offer much to the team when he's not scoring and if you take 9 goals in 2 games out of the equation then his league tally isn't hugely prolific.

He is the best striker we have and should be first choice (at the moment) but he certainly isn't the best player in the squad...

 

[Bromavinci]

I also think that if we want to be a consistent top 4 team we need to be more versatile with our formation and Defoe does not offer us that. If we had a more rounded striker then the rest of the players we have would fit very nicely into a 433. We could put Modric in an advanced central role, with Lennon and Kranjcar either side of the striker. This type of formation wont work with Defoe IMO.

-----------PAV-----------
-----------MOD-----------
KRANKY------------LENNON

--------HUDD--WILSON---------

Something like that??? :shrug:

 

[Sanj]

Firstly let me say that i think Jermain has improved vastly as a more rounded footballer during his time away from us.
However, his finishing and movement have not improved at all. JD only seems to score on instinct or by blasting the ball with power - he does not seem to have the sidefoot, toepoke or dink in his armoury and his decision making is sometimes poor.
He will score goals because he gets himself in positions on a regular basis, and due to the number of attempts he has - but he is not a great finisher nor a great footballer. good yes - great no.

 

[Archibald&Crooks]

If people are criticizing Defoe they may as well criticize every other player in our squad

Where have you been bubble? :lol:

It's SC's rotation system. It's just his turn that's all..........:wink:

 

[gooch]

you have to wonder in all the years he's been banging goals in why S.A.F. never tried to buy him for united or why no other big club has come in for him

good goalscorer, misses lennon badly

 

[mattdefoe]

good enough for capellos squad.

 

[mil1lion]

He's an out and out striker. Which means he isn't constantly involved in games. He can go 89 mins without a goal, then out of the blue he can score. You can afford to have a player like that in the team. He does work hard though, and he does close defenders down aswell as the keeper. His strength at holding onto the ball has improved too. Sure he isn't the most complete striker, but he does the most important thing right and that is score plenty of goals. I see no problems with Defoe. It's up to the rest of the team to keep giving him chances, and he will score goals.

As for England, i think its more a case of Capello favouring a big man rather than any real problem with Defoe. He prefers to pair Rooney up with a Heskey, Crouch or Cole.

 

[sunnydelight786]

Defoe is a good striker but falls short of being a top class striker for me. He misses TOO many chances but really and truly he should put away seeing that he's meant to be England international class.

Let me put it this way to you, it's the last game of the season and we need to beat Burnley to qualify for Europe. It's the last few mins of the game and we are only drawing. Suddenly Defoe is put clean through on goal. How confident would you be of Defoe putting that chance away...? Me personally, not very.

 

[stevenqoz]

Over the years there have been lots of out and out goalscorers like Defoe. Saunders, Cottee, Woodcock, Phillips, McDougal, Boyer, McCoist......with them you never got a lot of combination but they could be relied upon to put the ball away. They have all earned a place as recognised finishers....Defoe will be the same .....you get what it says on the tin.....where would we be without his shift and shoot goals this season? It takes all kinds.

 

[InOffMeLeftShin]

People claim that Defoe is a natural finisher and that maybe plays against him as it isn't really true. In reality he is a striker who will always choose to put his laces through a shot rather than maybe taking a better option, however he is still a great option to have in the squad.

There are parts of his game that aren't going to improve, although since he has been back he has certainly improved his upper body strength and is more able to mix it with defences. However to get the best out of Defoe we have to play a certain way and get the ball to him to a particular location. He basically has two major strings to his bow, one is his ability to get a shot off very early before the keeper has set himself and even if he doesn't score he tests the keeper. The second is when the play is actually ahead of him. It is no surprise to me at all that he has looked so much more effective when Lennon has played, because he loves that ball coming back across the 6 yard box. Bentley managed it once against Leeds and Defoe duely dispatched it.

I think he is a good striker and I am happy we have him. Sure he has limitations but what player doesn't?

 

[Bulletspur]

He's an out and out striker. Which means he isn't constantly involved in games. He can go 89 mins without a goal, then out of the blue he can score. You can afford to have a player like that in the team. He does work hard though, and he does close defenders down aswell as the keeper. His strength at holding onto the ball has improved too. Sure he isn't the most complete striker, but he does the most important thing right and that is score plenty of goals. I see no problems with Defoe. It's up to the rest of the team to keep giving him chances, and he will score goals.

As for England, i think its more a case of Capello favouring a big man rather than any real problem with Defoe. He prefers to pair Rooney up with a Heskey, Crouch or Cole.

I agree with you and I hate threads like these.

These are the same criticisms Andy Cole use to get. But he just put his head down and continued to score while missing a ton of chance like Defoe. My view is that these players are astitute enough to get into these scoring positions in the first place, where by the law of averages they will score as well as miss chances.

If he loses form he should be dropped like anyone else, but he Defoe is the best we have and I for one know that he along with others like Palacious are the reasons why we are currently 5th and still in the cup. He and the rest of the team are who we have, so we should support them. Torres, Rooney and others do not play for us so sod them!

I dont think he is undroppable but until he loses form he should be picked IMO.

 

[EastLondonYid]

Sorry mate ,did you see his hatrick last week?
if you did you would have seen a smart flick for his 2nd.
his 3rd was quality rounding their keeper.
his goal at goodison was a quality flick.
oh not to mention his two v holland.:shrug:
Oh i get it ....we got ourselves a striker ,who when see's the sight of goal,
doesnt fanny around ,but just hits the ball ,with power ,with instinct...
and is our top scorer with 20 odd goals already.

AND THATS WRONG:bang:

Lets bring back iverson,postiga,rasiak or maybe rebrov..the list is endless of crap strikers we have had to endure for too long.

Firstly let me say that i think Jermain has improved vastly as a more rounded footballer during his time away from us.
However, his finishing and movement have not improved at all. JD only seems to score on instinct or by blasting the ball with power - he does not seem to have the sidefoot, toepoke or dink in his armoury and his decision making is sometimes poor.
He will score goals because he gets himself in positions on a regular basis, and due to the number of attempts he has - but he is not a great finisher nor a great footballer. good yes - great no.

 

[Booney]

I found Lineker pretty one-dimensional. Jimmy Greaves looked the same. Freakin waste of space the lot of them. It's like we're cursed or something.

 

[fozzi44]

**SPURS COMMUNITY SHOCKER** Defoe doesnt score in the PL for a few games and now the doubters throw their hat into the ring.

We all know what Defoe is about - he is a fox in the box and thats it. Fine by me if his partner chips in with a few and is a bit creative. Unfortunately Crouch is not the man for me.

Next up we will be talking about Keane (most likely after he scores a rake for celtic), how we shouldnt have let him go bla bla bla.