How will history view Defoe?

[parklane1]

it depends how you define legend, he is no Hoddle, Greaves, Mackay, however he is 8th in our list of all time goalscorers, 2nd in the list of goals in European football ( Chivers is top), so yes he is a legend.

 

[stormfly]

When my two boys grow up and follow the great Spurs, they will look back at the history books and see him as one of our all time top goal scorers. They will then watch grainy 2D pictures of his goals on an old 50 inch screen and think he was awesome. I'll say to them "he really wasn't that good, he was offside all the time!" my kids will say "whatever old man!" I will then start rambling on about how crap football is nowadays and it was better when it was a contact sport.

 

[Teddy Klinsmann]

Fox in the box...

 

[vegassd]

When my two boys grow up and follow the great Spurs, they will look back at the history books and see him as one of our all time top goal scorers. They will then watch grainy 2D pictures of his goals on an old 50 inch screen and think he was awesome. I'll say to them "he really wasn't that good, he was offside all the time!" my kids will say "whatever old man!" I will then start rambling on about how crap football is nowadays and it was better when it was a contact sport.

Reminiscing about a time with no goal-line technology, no bionic limbs and when referees had to be human. Those were the good old days...

I think that Defoe isn't quite a legend yet, but if he stays with us until retirement and is a big part of a team that achieves something (even CL qualification in consecutive years maybe) then he will probably gain that status.

 

[OmarsComing]

No.

 

[hellava_tough]

A good EPL player who never quite broke into the 'very good player' category

Ironically, he'd probably be considered a legend if he came on from the subs bench and consistently put in a performance; we'd call him a 'super-sub' like Ole Gunnar Solskaer

Unfortunately, Defoe is a confidence player who needs a run of games to build up some form - he can't switch it on and off like a Norwegian robot


Anyway, like I said, good player but will need to be in a team that wins things to be considered great

 

[SpainSpur85]

I think the history book will define him as a legend, on our highest ever goal scorers list, 2 stints at our club and a great video package. Unfortunately that isn't all that defines a legend, but it'll be enough to put him up there I think. I'm not sure he should be mentioned in the same way as the other legends, but when they were playing people probably didnt think they should be classed like the previous legends.

But lets be fair, it's easy to imagine him scoring 2 or 3 more goals in Europe this season, if he becomes our highest european goal scorer ever, it's hard to argue against legend status in the clubs history, no matter which side of the fence you are on.

 

[BorisTM]

How many of you who think Defoe can't produce magic can score a goal like the first one he scored against Maribor - one touch while being in mid-air from a cross that was a bit behind, into the far corner, then 20 mins later a second one after beating the offside trap with your weaker foot again with your first touch and again in the far corner?

Nobody???

I thought so.

If you are that good with both of your feet then you should be playing for a top club rather than wasting your time on some forums somewhere on the internets. In either case you should be able to appreciate the magic... cough ... cough.

Defoe is one of the club's legends already, his 8th season with more than 300 games for the club and 126 goals and his status is going to grow even further as he has at least 2 years left in his legs. Have Bale and Lennon lower their crosses and have someone like Carroll feed him with through balls and he is going to keep banging them goals. Not a legend? Are you kidding me?

 

[matty182]

Reminiscing about a time with no goal-line technology, no bionic limbs and when referees had to be human. Those were the good old days...

I think that Defoe isn't quite a legend yet, but if he stays with us until retirement and is a big part of a team that achieves something (even CL qualification in consecutive years maybe) then he will probably gain that status.

I just cant imagine that

 

[Grey Fox]

I was going to start a thread about Defoe too. The problem I have with him and the reason he just can't be called a legend, is he has the footballing brain the size of a pea. He frustrates the life out of me, although his work rate and his offside ratio has improved considerably this season.
He should be a 30+ a season man and if he was really to be considered a top striker would need to score against the top sides and not just the Wigans and Maribors of this world.
Even last night, his anticipation and movement was not brilliant, young Caroll played some fantastic balls into him, but he hadn't anticipated them and therefore hadn't moved into the right position so the passes looked poor ones. I know there will be people on here who will argue differently, but I would ask them to ask themselves how many goals does he score from set pieces? i can't actually remember one (some one will come up with a few now), but my point is if he was a naturaL goalscorer ala Greaves or Robbie Keane he would get on the end of set pieces all the time by moving and anticipating second balls etc.

The Summer before he left, I met Berbatov in Bulgaria while I was on holiday and I had a long chat with him over a couple of beers and several fags . He was saying that he loved playing with Keane because of his understanding of angles and therefore he was able to anticpate where passes and flick ons were going to go, before they were made and inturn he knew where to pass to Berbs. On the other hand he said Defoe was "Blind, stupid and greedy" No matter what you think of Berbatov (actually he is a very nice genuine guy) you must admit he is a very intelligent player and for him to say things like that tells me Defoe could have been a top player and probably a legend, but on balance for me it has to be a no.

 

[Nocando]

Not a legend for me.

When he starts scoring in the big games against big oppostion then he might be considered one. Quality over quantity to be considered a legend.

IMO, a legend is someone who is consistently very very good...or consistently very very shit. Defoe is neither of these things.

theres a strong argument he is scoring against better players and teams than the likes of greaves, where on average it seemed goals were plentyful in tbhose times.

 

[Nocando]

I was going to start a thread about Defoe too. The problem I have with him and the reason he just can't be called a legend, is he has the footballing brain the size of a pea. He frustrates the life out of me, although his work rate and his offside ratio has improved considerably this season.
He should be a 30+ a season man and if he was really to be considered a top striker would need to score against the top sides and not just the Wigans and Maribors of this world.
Even last night, his anticipation and movement was not brilliant, young Caroll played some fantastic balls into him, but he hadn't anticipated them and therefore hadn't moved into the right position so the passes looked poor ones. I know there will be people on here who will argue differently, but I would ask them to ask themselves how many goals does he score from set pieces? i can't actually remember one (some one will come up with a few now), but my point is if he was a naturaL goalscorer ala Greaves or Robbie Keane he would get on the end of set pieces all the time by moving and anticipating second balls etc.

The Summer before he left, I met Berbatov in Bulgaria while I was on holiday and I had a long chat with him over a couple of beers and several fags . He was saying that he loved playing with Keane because of his understanding of angles and therefore he was able to anticpate where passes and flick ons were going to go, before they were made and inturn he knew where to pass to Berbs. On the other hand he said Defoe was "Blind, stupid and greedy" No matter what you think of Berbatov (actually he is a very nice genuine guy) you must admit he is a very intelligent player and for him to say things like that tells me Defoe could have been a top player and probably a legend, but on balance for me it has to be a no.

Two passes stick out the carroll pass where he passed to early and the lennon pass where he waited too long, neither defoes fault and where defo had great movement. examples right there.

 

[dontcallme]

People from his era will see him as a good goalscorer.

In thirty years time when people see how many goals he scored and watch whatever futuristic version of Youtube there is and see the quality of the goals he scored then they will possibly view him as a legend.

 

[Maske2g]

He would have to have a 35 goal season.

To be a legend when you are not anywhere near World class, requires one season when your unplayable.

EG Clive Allen 86/87. 47 goals, is a legendary achievment, but he was not a world class player.

 

[striebs]

Defoe has done something very few players have ever managed ; befallen the fate of many modern footballers but overcome it .

Two years ago he was appearing at the wrong end of the newspapers and had let the off pitch stuff get out of control . It manifested itself on the pitch and his career was washed up . I don't think I am the only one who thought he was finished .

Then between the 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 seasons he took it upon himself to get fit and more importantly sort his mind out .

He has managed to revive his career in the face of at least two personal tragedies and is playing better than ever .

I've got immense respect for the guy for that .

 

[Maske2g]

Defoe has done something very few players have ever managed ; befallen the fate of many modern footballers but overcome it .

Two years ago he was appearing at the wrong end of the newspapers and had let the off pitch stuff get out of control . It manifested itself on the pitch and his career was washed up . I don't think I am the only one who thought he was finished .

Misguided, I'm afraid. Stop reading bad newspapers and Heat...

So he rumped a few glamour models and fat birds. who cares? Footballers have hamptons that need wetting as well.

He doesn't even drink.

 

[Nocando]

Defoe has done something very few players have ever managed ; befallen the fate of many modern footballers but overcome it .

Two years ago he was appearing at the wrong end of the newspapers and had let the off pitch stuff get out of control . It manifested itself on the pitch and his career was washed up . I don't think I am the only one who thought he was finished .

Then between the 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 seasons he took it upon himself to get fit and more importantly sort his mind out .

He has managed to revive his career in the face of at least two personal tragedies and is playing better than ever .

I've got immense respect for the guy for that .

Great post fella.

 

[cwhite02]

Legend - maybe, maybe not. You can't argue that he knows where the back of the net is. He can just be a tad frustrating sometimes when he should pass or constantly being offside. Saturday was a great example, JD had done nothing all game and got subbed, but everyone boo'd (including me) because we know that if and when we create a chance, there was no one else on the pitch we would have wanted it to fall for apart from him.

So in my mind, not a legend but a great finisher. He's not perfect but I still love the little man.

COYS

 

[SpunkyBackpack]

I think he'll always be underrated as a player, he scores goals but he's never been particularly flashy, if Berbatov had stayed and scored the same amount of goals, he'd be a shoe-in for 'legendary' status. Plus he scores because he is selfish, which means he is equally frustrating as he is lauded, with his offsides and scuffs and whatnot.

 

[Krafty]

The amount of goals he has scored for us deserves respect, but to become a legend I think he needs to score the winner in a cup final.

In the short term people will think of him as a good sign of where the club was in the early 21st centruy - a good player, sometimes very good, but ultimately not a world beater. But give it 10-20 years after he retires/leaves and people will have those rose-tinted glasses on, 'we really need a Defoe type player, a real goalscorer' etc etc. We will cheer him when he comes on at half time or if he's in the stands, and if you got to meet him it would be a pleasure.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and while its very unlikely he will be one of the title/cup winning legends, or the home grown type, he will be a club legend, although personally I think the tag legend should only apply to a very small minority (and there are probably ten of them over the last 125 years)