Jermain F*cking Defoe

We should really start a count for the number of times that TS mentions Defoe's goals against Poland...

It must be in the hundreds by now.

Tweedle wrote:We should really start a count for the number of times that TS mentions Defoe's goals against Poland...

It must be in the hundreds by now.

As opposed to Bent's international goal against...oh wait.

Bent's played four times for England - three of those he was a sub for a max of 20 minutes.

Tweedle wrote:Bent's played four times for England - three of those he was a sub for a max of 20 minutes.

And the difference between that and Defoe being a pointless sub on 20 occasions is... ?

Bent isn't Intl. class - Defoe is. End of.

Ray Parlour wrote:If he moves to a team aspiring for Europe next season like Newcastle or maybe even Spurs if Berbs leaves he'll make you eat those words.

Probably not a good example as the Eredvisie is probably not the best league to compare with but his scoring record there was phenomenal. Someone just needs to take a gamble on him.

Well a lot of Celtic fans are desperate for him to sign for the club once his loan move finishes. They think Celtic have already agreed a transfer fee with Man City. But the move depends on how well he adapts to the SPL.

He played well against Rangers. JVoH didn't help him at all and he still played well. He also played well against Barca, driving at players and beating them on a couple of occasions. He's only played one really poor game in the SPL, and that was against St Mirren.

ps I like him - a lot. But I liked him before he went on loan to Celtic. Sure, he might not be the most consistent performer, but he get into the channels, can hold up the ball, can dribble, beat players for pace, thread balls through, shoot from distance, win balls in the air in the box, etc. He has the lot...and he uses it when it suits him.

Samaras's main problem is clearly he inconsistency. We've all seen him on his day play games where he's almost unstoppable - like a more skillful version of Drogba. He has many more games though where he's completely and totally inept and for that reason, he's never going to be a top class player. He should really have ironed out some of that inconsistency by now.

A very dangerous player when in form though, and I think at the right club he could be a success.

Celtic is probably the right club Or go back to holland AKA the easy route.

Its weird people here rate Samaras. His signing was used as the stick to beat it into peoples heads that Stuart Pearce was a rubbish manager.

He's had the advantage of playing in Holland, which is a big plus if you want to be rated on this board.

Fey wrote:Hhahah!

Everyone has seen the light about Samaras now...much better then Alves or Berbatov.

Samaras

I agree with you sir

bullard wrote:Its weird people here rate Samaras. His signing was used as the stick to beat it into peoples heads that Stuart Pearce was a rubbish manager.

This isn't the TalkSport phone-in.

So the question here is
is Stuart Pearce a rubbish Manager?

bullard wrote:So the question here is
is Stuart Pearce a rubbish Manager?

I think he'd be a great assistant coach (great personality). Not tactically sound enough for the top job.

Pearce’s failure at Man City can’t be blamed on Samaras. That’s ridiculous, and, if Pearce believes that himself, quite pathetic.

Criticising Pearce on the basis of Samaras’ abilities – or lack of – is harsh and, perhaps, ignorant. Samaras was a good, talented footballer before he entered the EPL. Playing in certain leagues unsuited to a player’s abilities and temperament doesn’t necessarily cause their skills to disperse into the EPL ether – unless you’re Shevchenko, of course.

Some players are skilful and worthwhile but just aren’t suited to certain leagues.

Pearce has the potential to be an excellent manager, but he isn't there yet (by some distance). He's got the personality and footballing experience, but his transfers were dodgy and his tactics, at least offensively, were poor during his time in charge of City.

On the other hand they were hard to beat, didn't concede many goals and he didn't have a lot of cash to play with, so all in all he did reasonably well. A bit more time spent viewing football from other countries to help him appreciate tactical variation and just to extend his knowledge of footballers could see him come back to club management an improved and more capable manager.

We'll see.

Spppppppppppppppppppuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrs

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/7807491.stm

Back to the Samaras debate...

He got 9 goals in his first half season in the EPL, which is pretty damn good.

Citeh paid £6m for him I think, which isn't an extortionate amount.

Funny thing is that since Pearce has taken over the under 21s they've gone from strength to strength too

Where have you got that 9 goal stat from?

God knows.

My anus I think.

He did have a relatively good half season though. It was the 06/07 season that ruined his reputation.

When he arrived he started 10 games..came on as sub in 4 and got 4 goals.

The next season he started 16 and came on as sub in 20..and got 4 goals.

Tweedle wrote:God knows.

My anus I think.

Handy. I'm looking for a stat that proves that Manchester United aren't Premiership and European champions. Could you have a root around in your anus and see if you can find one?

Way ahead of you Roger. Typing with one hand is a right effort though. Especially when you try to do capital letters!

Following on from what Kas just mentioned in the Arsenal thread (I was surprised to see JD in his combined Spurs/Arsenal side) his all-round game is what has come on leaps and bounds despite being top scorer... looks like a middle-class alternative to David Villa at the moment.

Defoe is black man's David Villa.

MadVillain wrote:Following on from what Kas just mentioned in the Arsenal thread (I was surprised to see JD in his combined Spurs/Arsenal side) his all-round game is what has come on leaps and bounds despite being top scorer... looks like a middle-class alternative to David Villa at the moment.

Well I already had Arshavin and Van Persie there...look at the rest of the options: Eduardo, Vela, Walcott, Keane, Crouch, etc. So it was a "best of the rest" case. I could probably take him out and put Nasri or a fit Rosicky in there

I don't think there is such a thing as a fit rosicky

MadVillain wrote:Following on from what Kas just mentioned in the Arsenal thread (I was surprised to see JD in his combined Spurs/Arsenal side) his all-round game is what has come on leaps and bounds despite being top scorer... looks like a middle-class alternative to David Villa at the moment.

A "middle class" David Villa? Jermaine is as common as they come from the interviews I've heard...

I rate Defoe too, his finishing is so spectacular it makes him very watchable. In terms of judging him, I think he defies the old benchmark of judging forwards purely by numbers. This football article on top goalscorers resurrects the debate about goals vs contributions in other areas, but also measures teams' prospects for the season in relation to their strikers, which is interesting with the relegation contenders.

Right now Defoe is hitting the target enough to be rated among the finest in the league, and while people either use that yardstick or workrate, I think entertainment is too often overlooked as a third factor as a fan. Who doesn't want to see their players hit spectacular goals, rockets off the woodwork rather than tap ins? It's all part of enjoying the games. People say it's a results business, but they forget it's about entertainment too.

Middle-Class as in a Poor Man's David Villa (but he's playing slightly better than that)