The stars who have enjoyed facing their previous employers
This weekend, a whole host of players faced their former employers, most notably Emmanuel Adebayor at Eastlands and Dimitar Berbatov at White Hart Lane. Face kicking and celebrating aside, the former put in a performance that truly represented his stunning talent (something which was somewhat of a rarity during his final months at Arsenal), while the latter moped around and fluffed numerous chances (prompting the chant “That’s why we sold you!” - a chorus only bettered by the “You’re not signing any more!” that Chelsea received at Stoke).
With these acrimonious encounters in mind, Spoiler correspondent Liam Jarvis has selected his top five players who have enjoyed facing the teams that used to sign their puffed-up pay cheques…
William Gallas
The tantrum-prone Frenchman scored the winning header from a Cesc Fabregas corner to beat Chelsea 1-0 back in 2007. The goal ended a 3-year winless streak against their London rivals.
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer marked his 300th club career goal in perfect fashion, a simple penalty against former side Blackburn in 2002.
“As Chelsea face a long transfer ban for being naughty when buying young players, and other top clubs prepare to endure similar sanctions, let’s look back 10 years to a simpler time.
“We’re told that Jermain Defoe decided to leave Charlton to sign for West Ham aged 16… because West Ham promised to buy his mum a fridge.”
We say that this disgusting cooling appliance-related behaviour calls for an immediate transfer ban. Then again, that’s probably exactly what West Ham’s owners want right now…
Has the little guy earned a place in the starting XI?
With nothing of particular interest arising from England’s friendly victory over Slovenia at the weekend, the papers are awash with the debate surrounding the England frontline.
In-form Jermain Defoe has bagged eight goals in ten appearances under Fabio Capello, which is twice as good as Wayne Rooney’s rate of return in the same period, and better than the tally that Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey has managed in the past ten years.
Under Capello’s maxim of ‘form wins places’, the Tottenham star is a shoe-in for a starting role. However, the obvious counter argument is that Wayne Rooney needs a strike partner with Heskey’s strength, height and ability to hold up the ball in order to operate at his best. And considering how Croatia tried to kick seven shades out of their opponents the last time they visited Wembley, such a physical presence from the outset could prove crucial.
So, should the serial WAG boffer retain his highly successful ’supersub’ status, or should he get to wear number 9 at Wembley on Wednesday? Votes and comments below, please…
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Is this another false dawn or the start of something special?
At this stage of the season, Tottenham fans usually find themselves sobering up from their overly-ambitious pre-season projections of success, keen to hand their manager a hasty P45.
Not so in 2009/10. Spurs are off to their best start since 1960/61, the season when eleven consecutive wins from the outset helped them bag the double. With a trip to Chelsea and a visit from Manchester Utd coming up soon, the Lilywhites aren’t expected to have such a strong start this season, but their form is undoubtedly troubling the upper echelons of the league.
Led by tiny sex aficianado Jermain Defoe - who has scored four times as many goals at Portsmouth thus - Spurs’ rude health suggests they are capable of breaking the Big Four, and they find themselves as fifth favourites for the title with most bookies. But can they go the distance, or will their lack of strength in depth compared to the big boys shine through around winter time? Let us know your thoughts below…
One of the most popular sports in Ireland, Gaelic Football is as complicated as filling in a tax return in Swahili while underwater. Dublin GAA’s Alan Brogan took time out of his busy schedule of remembering the rules to teach Jermain Defoe, Ashley Young and Roman Pavlyuchenko about his nation’s pastime, with mixed results.
Burnley 1/ Manchester Utd 0 (mit Deutsch Kommentar, ja!)
When The Spoiler went to bed last night, Burnley had beaten reigning champions Manchester Utd for the first time in 41 years, Tottenham were top of the league and all three promoted sides had won their midweek games. We woke up this morning and discovered we hadn’t transported to some sort of football parallel universe, but that the Premier League is already shaping up as one of the most exciting in years.
Muchos congrats to Burnley, who thoroughly deserved three points in their first Premier League match. Will this result cause Sir Alex to dip into the transfer market?
Spoiler bonus: Highlights of all the other Premiership games after the jump, including Jermain Defoe’s hat-trick at the KC and Birmingham’s win over doomed Pompey…
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