Who Should Tottenham Play Up Front?
Blessed with one of the finest striking lineups in the division, it is a surprise to see Tottenham Hotspur where they currently are in the table.
The trio of Robbie Keane, Dmitar Berbatov and Jermain Defoe scored more than sixty goals between them last year, and with the arrival of goal poacher Darren Bent from Charlton it seemed as if they could only score more.
Tottenham have struggled however, currently sitting fourth from bottom in the Premiership after recently being beaten by hated London rivals Arsenal; the promise of dozens of goals to come from this strike-force has barely started to be fulfilled.
Tottenham Hotspur has netted nine goals in their six games which on first look seems like a decent statistic. If you examine the games they scored them in however, four of those goals came against a mediocre Derby County side- meaning that Tottenham have averaged a goal a game in the rest. That would be adequate if their defense was on form; however as shown they have shot themselves in the foot too many times this season- conceding three goals against Fulham and Arsenal. Here I take a look at the four members that make up Tottenham’s attacking lineup, and will try and decide who their best two up front would be.
Dmitar Berbatov
The mercurial Bulgarian striker was one of the best players in the Premiership last season, proving that Martin Jol had unearthed a bargain at £10.9 million pounds. Berbatov scored more goals than any other Spurs player, getting 23 goals in all competitions on his way to being named one of the best strikers of the year in the PFA Awards. Berbatov came from Bayer Leverkusen as a largely unknown quantity in England- he soon showed his doubters that he could compete in the league. Possessing elegance, trickery and an astute football brain, Berbatov has been compared to the likes of Dennis Bergkamp by football fans and pundits.
Robbie Keane
Although Robbie Keane’s official position is up front, those watching him for the first time would probably mistake him for a central midfielder. Keane starts most matches as a striker, but covers almost every single blade of grass in the attacking third. The Irish player not just scores goals (he scored 22 goals last season), he creates them as well. Keane’s biggest plus point is his creativity- as he moves all around the pitch he is near impossible for opposition defenders to mark and this has caused confusion, often leading to chances for goals. Robbie Keane is probably second choice in the Spurs hierarchy of strikers, just behind Berbatov.
Jermain Defoe
Jermain Defore is one of the best goal poachers in the league; sadly for him he is very much fourth choice at Tottenham. Despite him showing that he is capable of getting goals as a substitute, manager Jol does not seem to have faith in the English striker- mainly giving him only substitute appearances. While Defoe may give you a few assists a season, it is clear what his role is in the beautiful game- to stick the ball in the back of the net. Defoe was linked with a move to Aston Villa in the summer, but he decided to stay at Tottenham and fight for his place in the side. With Tottenham’s current woes on the pitch, it is likely that he will be given a start sooner rather than later.
Darren Bent
Darren Bent came to Tottenham with a big reputation and lots to prove- his transfer fee was more than that of departing Arsenal striker Thierry Henry. Costing Tottenham £16.5 from relegated Charlton, Bent replaced Mido in the Tottenham squad to complete a formidable striking lineup. Like Defoe, Bent is a goal poacher, and most surmised when he joined that he could only score more in a better team after doing it year in, year out for Charlton. Bent scored his first goal for Tottenham in their resounding victory over Derby County- he will be looking to feature in the Premiership goal-scoring charts if he can get a run of form going.
Tottenham’s Best Two
In my opinion, you play the most skillful duo up front- meaning Dmitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane have to start most games. While this will mean Bent and Defoe may become unhappy -no football player likes to bide his time on the bench- they will know that they have to take their chances when offered if they want to regularly start.
I would have to disagree with Jol, however on his rating of Bent and Defoe- he seems to prefer the former. In my opinion Defoe should be third choice, looking to come on and score goals when Tottenham need him off the bench; Bent should only be preferred if he shows that he deserves it. While it will be difficult to keep four top level strikers happy, there will always be injuries and suspensions.
So, I’ve stated my choices… what’s your pick?
Defoe MUST start against bolton! hes proved that he has the ablility to score great goals. he had 3 shots and two found the top corner…for me he is our most ‘goal scoring’ striker we have…and hes looking sharp!
No doubt though martin jol will start with the berba and keane….shame
My opinion is bent and defoe to start. berba & keane not firing so time for something different and to give the other boys a chance for a change
keane and berbatov, no question with defoe as third choice. keane has scored more goals per game for spurs and creates more goals, tackles and offers much more leadership on the pitch. there is no question who the first choice pairing is.
its clear that spurs’ main problem atm is the lack of supply from midfield.
lennon still not fully fit and none of their CMs (jenas, zokora, huddlestone, taino) are really that creative
my suggestion would be to play berba and bent upfront - with keane playing in the ‘hole’ as the ACM (given the freedom to roam and create) with perhaps zokora, jenas and malbranque in central midfield.
Bale and chimbonda playing as wing backs and really bombing forward:
so something like this, given current injuries:
——–robinson———-
chimbonda dawson kaboul bale
———-zokora———-
—-jenas—–malbranque—-
———-keane———–
——berba —– bent ——
doesnt look that bad
ARE U GUYS forgetting bout lennon?
he’s like the ronaldo of spurs!
The last comment wasn’t far off the mark for me, but still that Jenas gets his name mentioned!!! We looked so much better without him midweek, so im saying drop keane back into the attacking midfield postion with either zokora or huddlestone in support and lennon and malbranque running the wings, these two work rather well when they switch sides keeping the opposition guessing.
Up top there is only one choice, Berbatov and Defoe!!!
Berbatov stays happy as he still gets to keep his partnership with keane, and defoe is happy to be on the pitch no matter who he plays with, he tends to create his own luck!!
i would tend to play three of the four, with keane playing off the front two, with three central midfielders. the only problem is the lack of width, but we are given much of this with bale and chimbonda, if keane is unavailable, i would play lennon in a similar role. all being fit and available my team would be:
Robinson
chimbonda dawson king bale
huddlestone
jenas zokora
keane
Berbatov Defoe
forget the wingback formation, thats how hoddle sets up his teams, if u dont get it right it can be catastrophic, secondly the team will play much better with defoe and berbatov starting, berbs need someone of him not keane whos always in a midfield position, also keane slows our game too much, ive seen in every game where we have a break on or theres a situation where the ball can be threaded through but keane decides most of the times to hold onto the ball, whereas having defoe you know your gonna get shots at goal and i personaly beleive defences our scared of defoe running at them, simple a that,
berbatov is first choice, id pick bent to partner him he scored for fun at charlton and a decent run of matches could get his season running.If he gets a good run he should score 15-20 goals this season
You do not play 2 skillful players and leave the players who are going to score on the bench! In my opinion we should play Keane Defoe or Berbs Bent! berba looks lost athe moment and its making keane look bad.Sort it out son
Robinson
Lee Dawson Kaboul Bale
Lennon Zokora Boateng Keane
Berbatov Defoe
Malbranque, Jenas, Cerny, Rocha, Bent
The formation depends on who we’re playing! But with Jol, he’ll always play a 4-4-2, even though this team lends itself to a 4-3-3. With Chimbonda and Bale, we have plenty of defensive support for the midfield in a 4-3-3. So against Bolton I would play:
Cerney
Chimbonda Dawson Kaboul Bale
Huddlestone
Lennon Malbranque
Keane
Berbatov Defoe
Someone has to play out of position on the left with Bale playing Left Back. Both Lennon and Malbranque have played on the left, so you can swap them around to confuse opposition. Lennon is far from the Ronaldo of Spurs. Lennon is too easily disposessed. I could also live with Jenas on the right.
I would also be ok with Bent and Defoe playing up front, with Keane behind them and Berbatov on the bench to start. As with Torres and Liverpool, there is no reason to think that Berbatov has to play every League match.
spurs should use formation 4-3-1-2 due to the creativity of KEANE.spurs nid a goalscore striker,a finisher like DEFOE but at the same time spurs also nid KEANE create chances,while BERBATOV can hold the ball in front and let the player pressing up front,ZOKORA hv agility to dribbling,LENNON good speedy and HUDDESTONE is still better than jenas and should in starting line-up,while defender would be CHIMBODIA,KING,KABOUL,BALE tat is no doubt about tat….JZ DROP JENAS!!!!!JENAS NO GOOD ENOUGH!
ROBINSON
CHIMBODIA KING KABOUL BALE
LENNON ZOKORA HUDDESTONE
KEANE
DEFOE BERBATOV
SUB:CERNY,BENT,DAWSON,LEE,TIANO
the guy who says lennon is like ronaldo is clearly nuts
lennon is a good player - overrated as most english players are tbh - but good nonetheless but to compare him with ronaldo is ludicrous to say the least
Lennon is completely different to Ronaldo. Less of a diver for starters…
Just kidding Utd fans, don’t get too worked up
but seriously - lennon is an over-hyped player.
he has good pace but thats about it tbh - and he seems to injured forever just like ledley king - talking of which, has king retired or something because its been that long since he’s played that im starting to wonder….
Considerin we have a defence that ships more goals than any spurs side since ossies ill fated 1-5-5 formation i think to put 3 up front would be far too risky. theres no point in including king in your teams as he aint gonna back for another month at least and when he does return he’ll be used sparingly so id start with Robbo, Chimbonda, Dawson , Kaboul, Lee, Lennon , Zokora, Hudd , Bale, Keane and Berba. we need to stop the rot at the back before we go about blasting teams up front, nothing to say we need an attacking midfielder when we hv penty of width with lee/bale, Chimbonda/Lennon and a striker like keano who drops deep then maybe 3-3 draws with Fulham will be a thing of the past. with Bent/defoe on the bench and the option of switching to 4-3-3 if needed in the last 20mins we should be able to turnover the teams that finished behind us last season. plus with Kaboul n Dawson only having played together 3 times this season a little help fom Hudd n Zokora wouldnt go astray
Some interseting comments but as it seems the problem is our defence, especially set pieces I think we need to have a more solid look. Therefore, back to the 5-3-2 (wing backs) days!
Robbo; Chimbonda, Dawson. King, Kaboul, Bale; Thuddlestone, Boateng/zakora, lennon/Tarrabt; Defoe/keane and berbatov.
This makes most of bale and chimbonda, whilst takes pressure off midfield!
Defoe + Berbatov that is for sure. Jol have to start with Robbie Keane because he is the captain. So my starting pick will never be true. Maybe they can put Keane, Defoe and Berbatov. Keane as an attacking midfielder.
It must bring a tear to so many EPL managers eyes to see these four in one team an unable to score. When I think of the talismanic quality any one of these players could have at any club outside the top 8 (though some could, at their best, easily slot into a top 4 side’s starting lineup) it makes me want to strangle Mr. Jol.
Tottenham are not Liverpool - they don’t have enough talent in the midfield, they don’t have enough talent in the technical zone. What Tottenham needs is consistency of results and the only way they’re gonna get that is if Jol picks a winning strategy and sticks with it.
Each of the four forwards you mention have pros and cons, it’s a matter of finding the best players for the system Jol chooses and, vice-versa, the best system for the players he’s got. At the moment it seems too much like Jol’s strategy is just to put talented players on the pitch and hope they get the job done.
It is more like a gamble by Jol at the current moment. Besides that, at the current rate Spurs are going, Jol will not have much time left to experiment on new things. It is either make or break for him.
I would like to know why fans are saying keane filling in the hole, I cannot see what he contributes to the team, it would be better if they gave him a ball and then the other ten players could get on with the game, while he fiddles about. The best player for that position is Lennon, he played there once last season against Charlton, and was brilliant. As long as Jol is still at the Lane he will pick Robbo, JJ, keane + 8 others whatever mood he wakes up to in the morning, he seems a very obstinate man, who worries more about himself than the people who pay his wages, us FANS. It seems to me he wants to wind Levy up, with the team he picked today against Bolton, we needed to win the game not bore the pants off everybody. I hope he goes before our best players leave.