We Gotta Sign Him

Good morning.

The Daily Seige Heil is reporting an impasse in the negotiations to secure the services of Adebayor. Allegedly we’re prepared to pay the old girl £100,000 a week. I do hope our illustrious medics were close by if and when Levy & Co. said they’d be prepared to sign of that one.

But is there a problem? Ade was on the telly last week, on ESPN in fact saying he knew that a financial sacrifice had to be made and that he was prepared to make it. Part *groans* of the piece is here, but he did continue and trot out some genuinely heart warming stuff about having come from nothing, he now had everything and he wanted to be happy. He was happy at Spurs.

So if the financials are a figment of some facista newspaper, the burning question is, ‘is he worth it?’

As a striker he been out performed the Midget Gem aka the boy Defoe; who has scored 2 more goals than him, despite making 3 fewer appearances. 

So the cold hard facts say if anyone is to be first choice, if any frontman is to be on the top lolly then it’s Jermain. But that doesn’t stack up. If the problem with Adebayor is that he doesn’t score enough – and let’s face it 9 from 19 is hardly prolific –  then it’s one I can live with.

What he offers to the team beyond scoring himself is worth the money. He’s had a few duff games, which I’m sure he’s well aware of, but by and large his contributions every match have been immense.

Everyday pro’s and cons? He’s unselfish no matter where he is on the park. I get the distinct impression when he plays a ball be it on the half way line or across the other lot’s six yard line he tries to make the most useful pass he can. His first touch has been a little ropy on occasion, but by contrast he is rarely flagged offside, he rarely concedes free kicks… he clearly has a rigorous dental hygiene programme…

The bottom line is that he is a gifted, intelligent team player with an excellent  Europe wide footballing pedigree and we should go all out to snap him up. 

Defoe is a different player. And if Arry or whoever is managing us next season can swing it we need JD to remain as a cameo. This is going to sound patronising no matter how I word it, but in a nutshell… 

In 20 minutes from Jermain we get a condensed version of him across 90. He’s the very definition of a super sub. He zips out like a heat seeker. Single minded and frequently close to unstoppable. Over 90 minutes I’m struggling to recall when we last saw such an impact.

Defoe and Ade are both class acts in their way. Both occasionally frustrating. But if you want value, you sometimes gotta pay for it.

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