As the cameras panned over the Tottenham dugout, the portrait glaring back was one of sheer desperation and confusion. Manager Andre Villas-Boas sat paralysed alongside his backroom staff, head in his hands and powerless to prevent further humiliation on his side.
No person appeared more bemused than the onlooking Jermain Defoe who sat helpless on the bench watching his side sprawled out atop of the Etihad operating theater and surgically picked apart by Manchester City’s knife.
Three goals down at half-time and Spurs staring down the barrel of a blue gun, many would have not blamed Andre Villas-Boas for conceding defeat and opting for an approach of cautiousness where damage limitation seemed the rationale as opposed to a gung-ho resurgence. The Tottenham manager chose the latter, and his side crumbled to a defeat that made City’s apparent fortress seem more a torture chamber.
Whilst some may laud AVB’s decision to bring on a secondary striker at the break as a mark of bravery, others would view the change as an act of pure lunacy. For Defoe however, the sight of Emmanuel Adebayor trudging his way out onto the Etihad turf all but answered his own personal questions about where he stands in this current squad.
Tottenham needed a shake-up from the bench, and the manager chose his man. That figure was not in the shape of their all-time leading European goal scorer, but in the shelved Adebayor, who has shown more signs of imitating Houdini this season than that of a potent attacking threat, such has been the extent of the Togo internationals absence from the Spurs side.
Adebayor’s second-half cameo was his first appearance for Tottenham this season after falling down to third in the striking pecking order due to the 26 million summer arrival of Roberto Soldado. It was written in the pre-season script that the Spaniard’s prowess in front of goal would compensate for the loss of Gareth Bale, who alone netted 21 times for Tottenham last year. Thus far, Soldado’s return of three penalties and a single goal from open play suggests that in the midst over eager anticipation, Chairman Daniel Levy may have skimmed over his newly acquired starlet’s instruction manual a little too hastily.
So what must Defoe do to be given a run of league games amidst a Tottenham team in dying need for goals? He sits an overlooked and undervalued figure, a B grade student who quietly sits in the corner of class completing his work without supervision whilst his teacher hovers over the school layabout, praising their efforts for the mere achievement of penciling the correct date.
A haul of nine goals in 16 appearances so far this season would suggest that he has deserved a chance in leading a Tottenham line that is in desperate need attacking potency. A more inquisitive eye would point out that seven of his strikes have come in the Europa League against opposition who possess no more quality than that of a Championship side.
The problem for Defoe is that he will never be the Hollywood signing or marquee striker that many teams crave. Andre Villas-Boas stubbornness in playing 4-2-3-1 calls for a complete forward, a player that can hold up play, possess an aerial threat and accommodate those around him. Defoe will never be that player, throughout his career he has relied on a combination of explosive pace and a clinical finishing, but with that has always come up short at the final hurdle. He is a nearly man, a player who regularly finds himself in the pantheon of greats, but is forever destined to linger in the lobby.
Now at 31 years-old, it is becoming clear that the Englishman may have his best days behind him. Patience is no longer a virtue for Defoe, having spent nearly his entire career at Tottenham as the number two striker. Players often come to a crossroad in their career where one season will be the difference between a glittering finale, or an exasperated pant to the finish line – this is his.
Defoe has previously voiced his concerns regarding the affect his shortage of minutes will have only his chances of making Roy Hodgson’s final 32-man squad for the World Cup finals in Brazil. Last week The Times reported that Tottenham had put a £6.5Million price tag on the forward, with both former club West Ham, and Championship side QPR taking serious interest in rescuing Defoe from his captivity at White Hart Lane. Whether this is accurate or not, if January arrives and Soldado and now Adebayor remain at the forefront of the pack, then Defoe should be seriously considering his future at the club.
By Greg Wickert
*Images courtesy of Paulblank / James Boyes
