Good morning.
Of course some of you will have known this, but my guess is that some/many won’t. I only noticed this morning for what that yardstick is worth. The Midget Gem, the Master Swordsman himself has equaled the goalscoring achievements for Spurs of Robbie Keane. Both men have burst the onion sack 122 times from the same number of appearances for the mighty Tottinghams.
By complete chance I was comparing the two in conversation with ODM last night. By comparing I mean I was comparing the similar way I felt and the way fans felt about both.
You tell me what you think.
My view is that while both individually have their ardent supporters, there is a third section of fans who respect both but have never had complete and utter confidence or faith in either. Now this isn’t being churlish, because a 100+ goals are a 100+ goals anyway you slice it. More a case of never quite being able to ignore the weaknesses of both men.
Pointy Shouty Bloke for me invariably under hit his shots. Whenever he hit the ball there always seemed to be enough time to cross yourself and genuflect before you found out if the ball had gone in. Whilst he wasn’t the fastest striker on the planet he had a superb understanding of the game and contributed far more than just goals. It’s no coincidence that Berbatov never played as well or scored so many as when he was teamed up with Robbie.
Defoe for me has rarely offered more than a receive, turn, ping it, wince/cheer (delete as appropriate) merchant. He has never really had a foil a such and it isn’t unfair to say that he has spent the majority of his career in the Lilywhite elating and frustrating fans in equal measure. Forever offside, frequently accused of being selfish he’s also saved our bacon and you have to respect him for that.
The bottom line I guess is there isn’t such a thing as a bad goal – both men deserve their place in the Club’s all time top ten but it’s highly unlikely either will be revered much outside of N17. If I wanted to really maudlin I’d pause to rue the fact that we just can’t seem to land a striker who offers the lot.
Wow, now there’s a stat for you! never would have epected that from two players who aproach the game differently.
Like him or not, you have to admire Defoe’s loyalty. Other international strikers would have bitched like hell about the extended periods on the bench he has had over the years, but he has knuckled down and got on with it.
Any highly rated striker (and he certainly is that) who commits to a club for more than a couple of years deserves respect.
He may not be the best in the world, but he’s one of the best in the country, and you get the feeling he understands what it means to wear the shirt.
For that alone salute him!
j defoe hes a yiddo . nice an informative article thank you hh.COYS
The other interesting stat is how many chances each player needs before they score.
As you say Defoe has been disadvantaged by not being a regular starter. I imagine an injury free Defoe with regular starts would be more clinical than RK particularly as he isnt getting caught offside so much this season.
Ade’s fitness may change this.
Never liked Bob, always knew he would break his neck to leave for a better gig. I have a soft spot for JD with him being an old St Bon’s boy like myself :winke: