14 Jan 2012

CONFIRMED: Several clubs battling for the 'Poor man's Fernando Torres...'

As we saw against Stoke earlier today, Liverpool are still crying out for a 'fox in the box' goal-poacher; a Robbie Fowler-type player with a knack for scoring goals regularly. With that in mind, Spurs manager Harry Redknapp confirmed today that several clubs are interested in Jermain Defoe, who is 'disappointed' with the way things are going for him at Spurs. Liverpool have been linked with the nippy striker several times over the last couple of years; is it time to put in a bid?

Speaking to the Press ahead of Spurs' draw with Wolves earlier, Redknapp revealed:

"His agent told Daniel Levy [the Spurs chairman] that he is not happy because he wants to play and he has got a few clubs in for him"

Redknapp has preferred Rafael Van Der Vaart to Defoe in recent games, which is not helping the forward's bid to make it into England's Euro 2012 squad, something Redknapp acknowledged:

"Jermain wants to play in the Euros but so does Rafael, who wants to play for Holland"

If Defoe is unhappy, then perhaps Liverpool could test Spurs' resolve with a January offer? It seems like an obvious move: Liverpool need a proven goalscorer, and Defoe is unhappy at Spurs. At Liverpool, he would definitely get the pitch time he craves, so a move could work out well for everyone.

Alas, Redknapp is adamant that he will not allow Defoe to leave:

"We are not selling him. We want to keep him, and I would not consider letting him out on loan. He is a big player for us."

I'm sure many fans would welcome Defoe at Anfield, but there are those out there who feel he's not the answer, such as Liverpool legends Gary Gillespie and Ray Houghton, who dismissed the idea in a recent interview with LFC TV. Gillespie said:

"Jermain Defoe wouldn't be for me. He's a poor-man's Fernando Torres and I don't think he sees anyone else when he gets the ball at his feet".

Houghton was a little bit more complimentary, acknowledging that Defoe 'is a goalscorer' with 'a tremendous shot', but he also agreed that Liverpool should look elsewhere:

"I think he [Defoe] is very individual though; if he doesn't like you, he doesn't pass to you. If we couldn't integrate him into the starting XI, it would be a problem.

"He likes to play on the shoulder of the last defender, he wants little balls played in behind the centre-halves. Whether he's the type of player who could play with Suarez, with the intricate one-twos, I'm not so sure".


What do you think? Should Liverpool make a move for Defoe?



Jaimie Kanwar


53 comments:

  1. not good enough but compared to current options i'd sadly take him-that's how bad things are especially after the stoke draw.

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  2. I'm convinced that had we bought Defoe instead of Keane we'd have won the league in 2008/9.

    Now though? He just isn't prolific enough with only 10 league goals over the last two seasons with Spurs.

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  3. Liverpool should SACK KD for playing 5 defenders against a team that never attacked - disgraceful!

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  4. Why are Premier League goal scorers not good enough for us?

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  5. and replace him with whom ????

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  6. I don't think KD will buy during this window. He seems happy with Andy Carroll who lumbers around like Frankenstein's monster. Interesting to see Raheem Sterling turn up with the rest of the players today. He'll be a great addition to the squad.

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  7. Do you really think Mourinho is going to leave Madrid? He still hasn't won the league or Champions League in Spain yet.

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  8. obviously you are not a Liverpool Supporter

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  9. I have a season ticket at Anfield, you moron.

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  10. I have a season ticket at Liverpool.

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  11. KD will get sacked when he fails to finish 4th. A good thing for us

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  12. The only season ticket you have is infront of your TV.

    Mourinho? the man who has said a million times his nxt job is going to be Man Utd. The man that said he would manage any other club in the PL just never Liverpool when asked why he said id like to keep that to myself.

    Good luck with thinking Mourinho will take the job, theres more chance of Woy of the Rovers coming back even Christian Gross has more chance lol

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  13. No ambition. No hope

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  14. I have a season ticket at anfield.

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  15. Liverpool should SACK KD for playing 5 defenders against a team that never attacked - disgraceful!

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  16. well support them then I have sat next to moaning supporters like you. what happened to getting behind the club and manager. Mourinho never has been and never will be suitable for Liverpool FC i would rather bring Hodgson back. But what we should do is get to May and see where we are then. I am not pretending things are rosie in the camp and 4th is impossible but changing manager now and getting on players backs wont change that.
    There have been people on this site that have been against Carroll and Downing and Henderson from the day they signed. A little support might help especially from such a season ticket like you
    to 3 phds

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  17. Don't blindly support.

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  18. well support them then I have sat next to moaning supporters like you. what happened to getting behind the club and manager. Mourinho never has been and never will be suitable for Liverpool FC i would rather bring Hodgson back. But what we should do is get to May and see where we are then. I am not pretending things are rosie in the camp and 4th is impossible but changing manager now and getting on players backs wont change that.
    There have been people on this site that have been against Carroll and Downing and Henderson from the day they signed. A little support might help especially from such a season ticket like you

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  19. Pretty certain the club had lined Mourinho up before Rafa but we did a big U turn and signed Rafa! Mourinho wanted the Liverpool job over Chelsea but we snubbed him that's one of the reasons he his bitter against Liverpool.

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  20. Liverpool should SACK KD for playing 5 defenders against a team that never attacked - disgraceful!

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  21. so y when abbu dhabi wont to buy liverool fc they didnt sell and then they prefer sell it to another buiseness man of america so now u see man city now how good they r so now stop think about money. bkz i know u will say lots of money fo abu diabi just think if abu diabi was take liverpool how good we r now may we r 10 or 15 point in front the table but sadly its no prefer american poor buiseness man n that while they gave us 100 million to spend and they r do the bussenes of us for the betting and for john henry u can say profit of money thats while liverpool draws win 2 times draws 3 time lose 2 time just see  city they do not come to kidding on the pinch they come to play good football but abu diabi do nt want money just he want to see city challenge for trophy now liverpool suppose in the place of city if they sold it to abhu diabi all is tru i am never lie annybody here so liverpool never will get the top 4 may after 6 or 7 years could b get the title not for top 4 bkz we r playing premier league so y 4 the top 4 y we cant challenge for title poor team challenge for the top for at the moment we r so poor we have to undestand that look united always they stuck like a glu not even 3 possition always 1st or 2and so y liverpool nt bkz we r not the better team at the momment its simple . when we will get the rite players the rite manager n the rite people who can give us big money to spend then we can get the title easy thats all i can say

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  22. You say it makes sense for everyone. But can you see spurs wanting to sell their top scorer to top 4 rivals? It would be idiotic.

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  23. At the moment we are a bit like a Mourinho team we don't look like losing at home we are half way there! Just need to start scoring which is now getting beyond a joke. We played 3 defenders at the back the rest of the team was attacking but didn't get into the box to support Kuyt.

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  24. he would not team up well with suarez, due to suarez being racist. And there is not too much competition from andy carroll!!! what a joke of a player he is. 

    as for a poor mans torres, i can remember the last time defoe scored but last time torres scored we was all in nusery!!

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  25. Abu Dhabi ppl never wanted to buy Liverpool and never came to the table. It was the Dubai group DIC and yes i would have loved to seen them buy it. That was Moores fault for wanting a couple of million more from the 2 stupid Yanks. When the club was up for sale again the Abu Dhabi Sheikhs had plenty of of opportunites to buy the club but they never made a bid nor were they interested. Man City already had a stadium and not much debt, we were in major debt and need to build a new stadium. They want to make history with City, we already have the history and will one day be re-lived in the modern era

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  26. Glen Johnson's black last time i checked why wouldn't Suarez n Defoe get on? I dnt see Defoe coming anyway so no point in this convo, Spurs would never sell to 1 of they're main rivals for the top 4 spot in the middle of a season.

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  27. A team with Defoe, Carroll, Downing, Henderson, Adam, Spearing etc. would never ever finish in the top 4. And even if they somehow did, what would be the point? They would finish bottom of the Champions League group stage. We need to stop signing mediocrity quickly as we're going backwards. Kenny Dalglish reminds me of Juande Ramos or Frank Rijkaard, a brilliant manager but terrible in the transfer market. His "buy british" method is so archaic, it borders on embarrassing. He has also let good players go (Meireles, Aquilani, even Babel is far better than Downing, Carroll, Henderson etc.) too. Ultimately, I don't believe he is the right man to take the club forward. We need Rafa back, big time. BRING BACK RAFA! 

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  28. Logically speaking,the truth is the match against Stoke, at home btw, Liverpool never put players in the box first half. We never had the forward line to play balls to. Instead we tried to rely on Downing, Henderson and Adam going through midfield. You can't attack Stoke trying to play the possession game in the middle of the pitch, you have to go high and attack. Adam and Downing didn't have the ability to pull of those triangles to get in behind the midfield to attack defenders.  Thing I noticed with Benitez's tactics is that he defended behind the ball but he attacked the box faster. One pass into Kuyt trying to play the ball in and the only player to hit the box was Johnson arriving in late. That summed it up for Stoke who got stronger as the game came along. Liverpool don't have that ability to turn on the style without a flair player like Suarez in the team. They have to come out into that game all guns blazing and they disapointed me those three. I'm not moaning, if they don't have the confidence to attack teams then how can you optimistically have support in confidence for that ****.

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  29. Zahid....Mourinho was interviewed for the Liverpool Managers role but was declined in favour of Rafa

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  30. Trader,

    LOL well said Babel is better than Downing ....Ngog was more of a Goal threat than Carroll.
    Mereles is a better player than Henderson....Aquilani is a better player than Adam.
    No if not buts.
    What scares me is that Liverpool think that  by buying British they will recoup some money on the current crop.
    No chance.

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  31. 3 seasons of being skint to the teeth, scraping for pennies, having to sell before buying, struggling with an extremely limited budget yet still almost winning the league, hoping one day we can spend big on players; what happens when that day arrives? 'know it all' Dalglish blows it all on dog s***. Even he admits Suarez was Commoli's signing - says it all.

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  32. When you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

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  33. Poor Mans Torres!!! 11goals this year over howmany? 1? 2? 5times more goals than Torres last yr. Get real. 

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  34. I think that actually, Fernando Torres is the poor mans Fernando Torres

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  35. defoe just isnt good enuff but at the moment i would take him like a shot.... i no alot of people wont agree but i wouldnt mind Bent (before you all have ago he is a proven goal scorer with lesser teams plus imagine how many chances he would get with suarez and gerrard settin them up) and please before u all start with torres or higuain, soldado blah blah blah they wont come till we break into the champions league again and i think his goals would let us do that !

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  36. Stoke got dirtier don't know about stronger! Even         commentator on MOTD was saying we should of had a couple of penalties one were I think Huth had Carroll round the neck and Woodgate who just ran straight into the back of Kuyt,Woodgate turned round looking gulity as sin and could of been sent off in the first half!

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  37. Liverpool are not one of tottenhams rivals. Liverpools rivals are newcastle and villa forthe europa league. King Kenny? laughable, you liverpool fans need to move into the real world and realise you're nothing. You can't survive on the past forever, joke team, joke manager and joke fans.

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  38. What a joke you are, Defoe isn't good enough? for liverpool? whatever, you'd take him like a shot? he would turn you down like a shot. Face the fact that you'd be lucky to have him in your below average team. Who's idea was it to pay 35m for Carroll? that person should be sacked. Who's idea was it to pay 20m for Henderson? that person should be sacked. Buy players that fit your system, not players that look good playing in another.

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  39. like yr comment. Liverpool is moanfully painful to watch. Afraid to attack. afraid to make mistakes. No killers in the box, all trying to pass it thru, like the arsenal of last season. At least Arsenal has RVP now. We need a RVP type palyer in the box and not an ice skater in that tall tall guy

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  40. kev ass, you are not a liverpool fan, get out of here you joker.

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  41. sori to say we pay a lot of peanuts for one big gorilla who falls down more often to pick the nuts.

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  42. i agree to some extent. The current team needs some tweaking. Meireles shd hv stayed, so do Aquilani. And these are good attacking mids which we currently lack.

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  43. not really a good team player for me, would be a good sub, but thats unfair and not wat he would be looking for. good player though.
    how about shola ameobi??? lol

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  44. I agree that KD only has the patience of the fans due to who he is. If Hodgson had spent over £100m on mediocore rubbish he'd have been slated. Suarez,Enrique and Bellamy are KD's only value for good signings for far.

    All that money spent, you still play average football and are 11 points behind 3rd place, let alone 1st.

    This is not to have a go, I'm just wondering why Kenny has not been questioned and\or slated in the media?

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  45. I like your observation! Most of the players in the current LFC squad used to play well and score goals. Now they are unable to have a strike on goal. Makes you wonder!  I don't see a lot of runs in the final third and the positioning of some of the players is awful. Maxi's goals came about not because he has a better engine than Jordan but he has a good positional sense and makes timely runs! I think, until these things are corrected, LFC would continue to languish in mid-table. FSG should start to take charge of the situation and bring experienced players that can finish the job in the final third!

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  46. Pereira is also black and is his team mate at National Level. Don't come on here with your simple minded race comments especially as I am a non white supporter and find your patronising comment immature 

    Gillespie was referring to the Torres that played for Liverpool not Chelsea. Don't you remember Liverpool played through Torres and Gerrard which helped the club score lots of goals.

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  47. defoe would have scored more goals if he had more starts at spurs i am a lfc fan too with suarez work rate a poacher is what we need or go for darren bent if they sold ut we need prem experience and carroll does not cut it anymore

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  48. Fact is, Defoe doesn't play all the time. If he played every week he would score a lot of goals. But we don't need a new striker until we have players who can create chances. Everyone agrees that Suarez has been our best player since he came, but, even with him, we have only scored 24 goals in the league this season. Less than Bolton. Selling Meireles and Aquilani was a real mistake. Carroll is not to blame, the team is not playing to his strengths. Downing was bought to do this and it has not worked yet. But it is 6 months with a new team, they can still improve. The midfield needs a luxury player, though. A Honda or someone like that who can create chances. A poacher for a team that doesn't create much is just another passenger. Who, in our midfield, is meant to be creating the chances?

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  49. how sad but true facts

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  50. Yes but im on about now, because of the snub he doesn't want to manage Liverpool or have anything to do with us, so why do people still think Mourinhoe's going to come is beyond beleif.

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  51. Defoe is a genuinely frightening striker to sign! That we may sign him genuinely frightens me.

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