Premier League, Tottenham
Dropping down a level will allow highly desirable Defoe to achieve his enduring goals
Despite not making the England World Cup squad last year and subsequently falling behind Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov at Tottenham, Jermain Defoe is a highly desirable acquisition. In 29 starts last campaign, the former West Ham striker netted an impressive 18 times and his potency in front of goal has attracted interest from across [...]
Despite not making the England World Cup squad last year and subsequently falling behind Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov at Tottenham, Jermain Defoe is a highly desirable acquisition. In 29 starts last campaign, the former West Ham striker netted an impressive 18 times and his potency in front of goal has attracted interest from across the Premier League.
Just 24, Defoe is adamant that he can make a success of himself at White Hart Lane, “If I was going to leave I would have gone by now.” However, will another season as third-choice forward keep him content? He must swiftly decide whether he wishes to further his England career and personal development, as opportunities to front Spurs’ attack under Martin Jol will be scarce. Defoe’s fantastic return in 2006/7 – his second best in Tottenham colours – was testimony to his predatory instincts, and it is evident that he is equipped to be a regular starter.
The imminent prospect of being Spurs’ fourth-choice striker must surely trigger thoughts of moving away
At Spurs, though, there are two better options. Keane and Berbatov have formed a lethal partnership and scored 45 goals between them, plus 22 assists, as Jol’s side finished fifth again and progressed into the latter stages of the FA and Uefa Cups. A year ago, Defoe was being linked with a move to Manchester United, but their interest cooled considerably following league glory and the introduction of Carlos Tévez has seemingly ended any hope of a transfer in the near future. Now, Portsmouth and Manchester City are the leading contenders for his signature for a reported £12m fee. Both clubs are expected to make the Uefa Cup in 2008 and Defoe could exploit a move to one of them, where he would be a certain starter, to gain promotion to one of the big four teams.
Defoe’s natural talent has yet to be fulfilled but leading the line at a club where there are fewer expectations could prove a turning point in what has been a stop-start career thus far. A move to Tottenham when only 21 may have hindered his progress rather an abetted it and comparisons have been made with newest signing Darren Bent. Whereas Defoe has been on the periphery over the last few years, Bent shone at Ipswich and then Charlton, playing continuously and scoring with regularity. He moves to North London as a more mature player – he is 23 – than Defoe was, and could soon overtake the £7m 2004 signing in the pecking order. Defoe, of course, left Charlton in his teens in a controversial move to the Hammers in order to play in the top flight.
Now, though, he has reached a crossroads. He insists he enjoys the competition at his current employers and is happy to fight for his place, but the imminent prospect of being Spurs’ fourth-choice striker must surely trigger thoughts of moving away. West Ham and Aston Villa have also declared an interest, and all four clubs chasing him have the wherewithal to pay the high transfer fee demanded. Bent’s arrival means Jol is able to dispense with diminutive forward, but ultimately it is down to Defoe: does he have the drive to leave a thriving club and try his fortunes at one of four European pretenders? His England career is in the balance while Tottenham struggle to find room for his capabilities. Therefore, dropping down a level but playing first fiddle looks necessary if Defoe is to head the national side’s front line and achieve his lasting ambition of lifting trophies with one of England’s elite teams in the future.
Should Defoe remain at Tottenham? Share your views by leaving a comment below.
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Crap article. Defoe has made himself very clear. He’s going nowhere. How about Footballing World taking itself a bit more seriously, otherwise, why should anyone else. Have some pride in your work for the love of god!
He needs to go to Pompey! Harry will look after him, and he will score goals goals goals!
Im a spurs fan, of course he’ll stay at Spurs rathar than a second rate team like Portsmouth or Man City - Both who I think will struggle to stay in the premiership rather than push for a European slot!!
He isnt and wont be 4th Choice striker, he’ll get lots of games - spurs will be able to switvh it about lots as all 4 are quality strikers!
Crap article - Defoes gonna stay!
Defoe has stated on several occassions that he is staying at the lane. Why do you and other media outlets continue to spout such nonsense. its becoming quite boring. if he was to leave he would more then likely go to a club that can offer european football
ofcourse he should stay, all this 4th place in the pecking order is nonsense, there are so many games spurs have to play in and im sure he will get his chance, at the end of the day he is saying he loves it at the lane so why continuously publish stupid articles, he has clearly said that he loves playing for spurs and has freinds here, so leave him alone he is very much at home here, even if he finds regular football elsewhere do you realy think that will help his england career? cos i dont, owen was out for months and as soon he is able to run again he gets in the team, personaly i think defoe is more of a threat than owen as a striker, im sure if he proves himself he will get to play and me being a spurs fan its good to know we have a choice of strikers to choose from he has shown true loyalty to spurs so back off
England are in desperate need of a predatory striker, and Defoe can be extremely clinical. However, McClaren cannot use him if he is not playing regularly so a move away from Spurs seems necessary especially with Bent’s arrival. I don’t see why Spurs fans are so keen to keep hold of him - they have 3 greatly talented strikers already at the club. Defoe isn’t progressing at Spurs currently.
Boring, pointless article. Defoe says he wants to stay, Jol says he wants to keep him. End of story. Find something else to write about.
You people who write this crap ,are entiteld to write crap . On the other hand why not respect Defoe’s decision to stay at the lane.Why would a player of his calaber want to join a third rate team , when he knows spurs are on the verge of something great .How would he feel if he left,and we won a cup or two and made champions league ? As for this forth choice crap , Defoe started as many games as Keane last season , did Keane moan when he was fit , no he got on with it . Different horses for different courses .
If you are going to post garbage then at least have some FACTS right - Defoe had more games than Keane last year and had the same amount as Berbatov. Secondly, Spurs do NOT have 3rd or 4th choice players in ANY position. EVERY player in the squad is an equal and the team will be picked on merit/injuries/suspensions/tactics - why do you waste your time in posting such rubbish?
In all competitions, Keane started 31, Defoe 29 (though Defoe made 7 more sub appearances), while Berbatov started 43. That indicates Defoe is firmly behind those two especially bearing in mind he came off the bench no less than 20 times.
Mr Day, Defoe is not 3rd or 4th any more than Bent, Keane or Berbatov. The side is picked on form and tactics as was stated earlier. Statistics are all well and good, but they dont mean a thing in this case. Find something else to try and wind people up.
how is defoe firmly behind when youve just said he played 29 games and robbie 31, what rubbish is that, ofcourse they all cannot play the same amount of games unless they were replacing each other every single game from the bench, you have no argument here, and to be honest defoe was playing very well with berbatov until he got injured, remember the semi final at the lane against the scum, the first 15 mins they tore there diffence apart until berba got injured i realy thought they were going to be a perfect partnership but defoe got injured and robbie took over and his performances were consistent, but i can still recall whenever robbie wasnt cutting it defoe would start and vice versa, this is a good thing because all the players have to be at the top of there game to play and defoe is not a coward he knows hes good enough and he wants to fight for his place. also has anyone heard martin jol saay that robbie and berba will always start? cos i havent mabe berba is a definate but the others aint, its just that robbie finished the season but dosent mean he will start it
Defoe is a fantastic forward who adds depth to a fantastic young squad of players. He will have his fair share of games and will score many goals - all four forwards are on a par and watch out for an awesome set of forwards that can be matched by absolutely no one in the premiership or europe for that matter - stick with us jermaine !!!!
Spurs reserves or leading the line at Pompey ? Both should get European places (Spurs poss/hopefully Champs League) Although he says he wants to stay he has to think about his England career - with Nugent at Pompey he has the opportunity to knock out a major contender to a potential England place, staying at Spurs where Jol obviously thinks that Bent will be the (english) golden boy he might struggle - As a Pompeyy fan I wish him luck at whatever he does but I’ve a sneaking feeling that we’ll see him down at Fratton if not in the summer then maybe in January
what a load of garbage. how people like you are allowed to write and publish such crap is beyond me. defoe has publicly stated he wants to stay because he believes we will be challenging top 4 this year; so why would he want to drop a level to sign for a big 4 club after? idiot. let’s not forget every club starts with level points and GD. 4 quality strikers serves to put the wind up gooner mugs like yourself mate.
the only time your gonna see him at fratton park is when he scores for spurs, whats wrong with having 4 good forwards, why should 1 need to leave, all good and succesfull teams have held on to there players and have acheived things and defoe knows whats write for him, he aint gonna waste his time at portsmouth or man city for that matter and why should that erricson be interested in him now, he didnt take him to the last major competition, he took walcott so why dosent he go for him. he favoured walcott instead of defoe and walcott didnt even feature LOL what a jokeand i beleive that decision cost england cos if defoe was there things would have been different but erricson fell for the trick by wenger cos all wenger wanted was a confidence boost for walcott basically only for arsenals interest, if you take walcott you play him but he wasnt there to be seen so go for him erricson cos wenger reckons hes better than defoe LOL what a joke, leave defoe alone hes happy at spurs and he will score plenty more
As a Spurs fan I want Defoe to stay but I would want him to sign a new contract to show his commitment to the club. What a lot of supporters forget is that he can leave on a free at the end of next season. He has the same agent as Sol Campbell, Sky Andrew and we all know what happened there. The club can not allow the same thing to happen with Defoe,I would put him on the list if he refused to sign a new contract.
If defoe was to leave i dont think he would go to Man City or Pompey. Nothing against either of these teams but he would rather go somewhere like Villa or Newcastle as they have a more realistic chance of getting european football. But the fact that he comes out time and again stating his desire to stay at WHL to me says that M.J has promised him X ammount of games along with the others. Rotation, say it with me Matthew Day “Rotation”. Defoe’s not stupid he knows he will play enough games to get his england chances. Defoe and Bent at the same club gives the next England manager a good look at how they would do for England together. I know you count on hits with these articles but come on, write something origional.
Defoe will stay and he will surly play.
I’m a fan and would hate to see him go.
Although I was surprised at the acquisition of Bent Defoe will still get games and we all know Jol will switch it up. His staying at Spurs fighting for a spot amongst quality strikers we push him and get him closer to a top four club which is clearly where he wants to be
Defoe at 24 could have another 6-8 years of football if he looks after himself so with that in-mind, staying at spurs wouldn’t be such strange choice if you consider some other top clubs like Manchester united, Liverpool and Chelsea have 3-4 strikers at their disposal ..if going to leave it’s going too be his choice but the grass is not greener as SWP and Wayne bridges has found
One other thing I don’t know how he could even thinking about moving to Manchester city considering what new head coach said about him in and during the world CLUB 2006
It’s a DISRACE
Another season to warm up the bench! It is nice to see Spurs fans admitting that their club also ruins career of a promising players.
Course he should leave, but then why ever did he join that shower in the first place. Joining any of the teams mentioned would be better than playing(maybe)for that bunch.
What do you mean,dropping down a level?How would rejoining West Ham be considered dropping down a level?With the money we’ve now got we can compete with the so called big four.We can definitely finish above Spurs,Bolton and Everton,and finish in 5th place.
It pains me to say but manchester city are on the up with s.g.e incharge.
This will move his career on to the next level and into the england set up.
Intelligent well written article. Its obvious to anyonen who knows football that Defoe is Spurs 4th choice striker. Great return by Defoe last season but happens at Spurs sometimes. Defoe is nothing like the player he was at West Ham. When i interviewed him after West Ham were relegated he was definate he wanted to go to Man U or Arsenal. When neither came in for him he reluctantly signed for Spurs. If he has any ambition at all he will leave Spurs as soon as possible.
All the people saying man city will struggle to survive sound all very smug and up themselves. They ought to be more concerned about the fact that martin jol has never had to contend with managing so many players who see themselves as certain starters, not every manager can pull this off and martin jol may just suffer resulting in dressing room unrest..result spurs to come 7th. Suck on that thought you cocky braggado’s, full crap some of people, you take it for granted your going to be in the top four and you just won’t, now get back to your biscuits and belly wipes.
Just laughable how you can suggest a move to Man City would be a move down. Historically any North West team is far bigger than Spurs, and now with money, they (City) would have to be considered a step up, or at the very least on your basis, a sideways step…
OK Jermaine, you can come back to West Ham, all is forgotten, there there, never mind eh…………….
defoe should join pompey and team up with harry again but i dont see it happening
defoe is 2 gd to be a 4th choice striker he must be stupid if he wants to just play only a few games a season no disrespect to spurs there gona do hell of a well this season
He’s crap. Anyway we’ve bigger fish to fry.
Man City
I can see a lot of spurs fans read the article, and a lot of spurs fans think he will play a lot of games for the club, and win a lot trophies with them, at the expense of arsnal, portsmouth, and west ham. The article itself was good, factual, and fluent, so anyone who said otherwhys is ignorant, and should retake there GCSE englsih exam. As for defoe, he has stated many things publicly, last year, he said he wanted to leave, this year he has said he doesnt. What he says and what he does are two very diferent things. Last season, he played a fair amount of games, howver towards the end of the season, he was, whatever you say, third choice, and if he expects any better with the arival of darren bent, he will be very much mistaken. All the people who have posted on this site should ask themselves if they realy would play defoe ahead of keane, and berbatov - and if one of them is injured, or not playing well, would you play him ahead of bent? i would expect the answer to be no. If he wants to further his england chances, a move to portsmouth (who should easily be challenging spurs next season) would be expected, as they have shown long term intrest, lthough he may move to a bigger club like aston villa. Whilst it is unlikely that he moves this summer, come january, he will probably beoff, if not, then his contract will expire, and you will loose your £12million playor on a free.
Man City are not second rate,,, Well not second rate when compared to Spurs.. Ask Petrov!!
Spurs are just wanna be’s just like the rest of the teams outside the top 4.
as 4 people who say if defoe went 2 pompey it would be a step back, and villa n newcastle is a better option 4 him, well pompey finnished above villa n newcastle last season n we r a much betta team then them now, n as 4 spurs fans thinkin there much betta then us u drew wid us dwn at fratton were we was all ova ya, n at the lane we were drawing n a playa dived 2 get a penalty so r pompey that far behing spurs? I think not!!!!!! Top 4 4 spurs ya avin a laugh LOL
i see a defoe as 1 of the best strikers in the premier league,hes 24 now and needs regular football,he will get ne1 goals,im a hammer and know what were like as fans,and as soon as hes bangs in a few goals tensions will be forgotton..jez for the irons!!!
Lee you mug! Second rate Just think if Zakora had’nt of fell over an imaginary foot we’d of been in europe now and not you. Have a nice school summer holiday.
Pompey Loud & proud.
The deluded ravings of Spurs fans on this thread is amusing and has made the article well worthwhile.
To dare is to do! FAF!
City second rate,keep on believing that you deluded fools only chelski and the scum can match us for cash,has Sven targeted him no
i think that defoe should stay but if he doesnt sign the contract extension he might go on a cut price ala SOl. REason why he doesnt want to sign extension is that he doesnt feel he is part of the regular first team line ups, Fail enough. defoe is a top player and in fact if bent went for 16.m defoe should be that price as well as he does score goals, is 24 just hitting his peak, proven, english. So if those big spenders do want him if i were jol or commoli i would sell him in region of 16m plus. thus making a profit of 10m or so of what they bought him for. another issue is mido. he performed really well when he was on loan and when he signed he dropped off. Now spurs should do the same thing to birmingham and loan him this year as that will get him into shape and if he does well his price might be even higher and that is what birmingham fear if they loan him but for them it will be try before u buy. anyways hope spurs do good and clinch that 4th or even better go even higher.
Seems to have caused a bit of a debate, thus proving it is a quality article. What is amazing is the fantasy land Spurs fans live in. Manchester City are a big club fact. Spurs would challenge Pompey West Ham Fulham for top of the medium sized clubs. Considering that Chelsea apart Spurs would have been in the top 2-3 spenders. They have not really achieved anything of note. The next Leeds maybe not they are a well run club. Paying big wages and over the odds for players is no recipe for success.
Only a deluded fool thinks that Spurs are any bigger than City. City finally have some cash to splash and a manager to match Jol at the very least. That’s why Petrov chose City over Spurs. City are on the up. Defoe would not get a regular start at City anyway as they have Bianchi and will now sign a big target man and possibly one other such as Castillo. With Mpenza that would put Defoe well down the pecking order at Eastlands too. Better off going to Pompey.
Defoe said he wouldnt leave west ham “whatever happens”. He did.
what makes you Man city fans think you are a better club than Spurs. How many times in the last ten years have you finished above Spurs….. what have yopu won in that time ?????
And as for you Ballymacash, how would have pompy been in Europe this coming season instead of Spurs if Zokora didnt cheat ( and cheat he did !!! and I hate that he did that !! )when we finished 6 points ahead of you ????
Come to Pompey J … you’ll get games, goals, loving fans, not to mention the South Coast … who wants to sit on the bench for half the season only to just get pipped by Arsenal for Champs League again …
JD for Fratton I hope.
Spurs fans love the fact he has said he is willing to fight for his place.
Obviously the club comes first in their eyes!
JD’s England career will be over if he does that, simple as because the lad just will not play enough!
Go to Citeh?
Its an option with the money they have!
However they always flatter to deceive and this year SGE is throwing a side together, albeit a good one, at the last moment.
Fratton has the best fans for supporting players, no doubt!
He would play and it would be upto him to get England recognition! Does he want it?
If he stays at Spurs good luck to him but I hope he moves on for all concerned. Spurs will survive without him. FACT! You watch the moaning fuckers get on his back and say he was greedy and shit the moment he moves!
Horrible fans - Must come from living in the shadow to long!
At least we are top dog when it comes to our arch rivals! lol
I have said this till I am blue in the face saying it. Defoe is saying he is staying at Spurs to fight for his place only because at the end of next season he can walk on a free. I can not understand Tottenham not putting him on the list now if he wont sign a new contract. It is perfectly obvious that he and his agent Sky Andrew have worked out a plan of action. Say all the right things but do your own thing just like the Judas Campbell. When are Spurs and the fans going to wake up to this fact.
Spurs have spent 60 million over the last year!!! and you simply won’t finish ahead of of arsenal because your not consistent. Thats just fact, nowhere did I say City one club is better than another and ofcourse everyone thinks their own club is best. Spurs fans though do seem to be getting right up themselves and you just not good enough yet. Good luck to you, but your looking down on a lot teams who could give you a spanking and you just sound daft.
Jamie: what have Spurs won in the last ten years? The league cup? What a joke, better off joining the mickey mouse tournament, or Lego Cup next. Face it, City is a big club, lots of fans and hopefully on their way up again. But lets not forget that Spurs also is a club rich on tradition and history, so are city. But why keep on living on that former glory? It only goes to show that it has been an awful f**king long time since any of them won anything of importance! As for Pompey, go screw yourselves, ha ha!
people sayin JD will defo stay, he said that 2 west ham n then pissed off, i hope he makes the right move n come 2 pompey, cant belive spurs think there sooooooo good, there average in my eyes play up pompey
Cityboy all I saying City fans can not say they are a bigger club than Spurs and I know Spurs have won very little over the past 10 years but when and what did city win last ???. anyway goog luck for next season. I think this season is gonna be more exciting than the last few years, with a few shocks in the table come may. Finger crossed
cityboy ya talkin outta ya arse im a pompey fan n spurs r a much beta team den ya, n i also recon pompey r a beta team 2, were u finnish last season, 2 me city looked diabolical, now u got sven u have improved a lil bit but face it ya teams like ben thacher a joke
dave…what language are you typing? do you plan ever to learn English? it really is a very useful language to have should you ever wish to be taken seriously? Portsmouth do deserve plenty of credit, under Harry the twitcher they have performed very well..have a sticker.
Jermain should step his career up a level by playing for a club that will give him regular first team football and a real chance of playing for England again.
And of the clubs interested only Portsmouth have Harry Redknap who knows Jermains style of play so well and would be able in the shortest time help him to achive what he desires.
That is presuming he genuinely wants to improve and play for England.
Tottenham fans delusional? We’ve had stability and consistency for the last 2 seasons. You only have to see the players we are attracting to understand why we’re so optimistic about the future. Defoe can see that we are on the brink of something great and he wants to be part of it. The foundations at Tottenham have been laid and we have a wealth of talent in our academy, which will see us through the next decade. The 1st team squad is as strong as anyones in the premiership and we will be involved in many games this season so all 4 forwards will be used.
Citeh are not a small club and your fans have suffered enough. But we are ahead of you because we have been building ou team for the last 2 years. You finally have the cash and I wish you luck. But I worry that sven will waste it. Be patient and build your squad up like Spurs have, with young british talent.
Defoe is loved at Tottenham. He and Bent will feature in quite a few games together.