Only the lazy casual generic sports media are thinking this is TFC circa the Anselmi days.
Only the casual fan will think that Defoe staying while he and TFC wait for the right offer at the right time is a bad thing for TFC on the pitch.
Unfortunatley, those casual fans probably outnumber the non-casual fans.
And the casual lazy generic sports media are pretty loud in this city (unless its the Leafs).
HaHa. Ain't that the truth.Originally Posted by Pookie
That's nice for you.
I will say this.
If Jermain stays, I'm as happy about that as he is.
It's intellectually lazy and generic to cast people you disagree with as "casuals". Cheap, too.
On the point, however, I agree. I'd rather have a homesick Jermaine Defoe and a coach who can implement something offensive (which, good lord, I hope Vanney can) thansell a guy who's scored 11 in 15.
Yup, everyone not totally in tune with the club seems to think this is TFC operating at 2009 crazy levels. Just go read the MLS website articles on all of this if you feel like inducing a migraine.
Fact is, if the club is committed to bringing in another midfield DP next season from south america to replace him and keep the core of this tea for the long term, we'll be more than fine.
ogthedim,
^ explain please … the bad thing on the pitch.
Players involved in deals in all sports are routinely pulled from action in order to prevent the risk of injury in advance of a deal. Often, being pulled from the line up is a sign that a deal is imminent. This happens with healthy players and should certainly be the expectation with players with an extensive injury list like Defoe's.
If TFC did reject an $11M offer, did they do so because they are holding out for $13M?
Or did they do so because the PR would have been negative and would have hurt renewal chances if TFC fell from the playoffs? The move to keep him has no impact at all… zero… zilch…. nadda… on TFC's pre-playoff performance if he really has a groin injury. He's gone through the end of September.
So what purpose does it serve? There are 4 games in October, assuming a return to action. A non-match fit player running out for 30-60 mins a game? Cold weather games to-boot… which aren't great for groins. This fabled "playoff game" that we might or might not see?
For the sake of what, 5-6 games, TFC turns down the sure thing for what benefit? The only thing that I can see is PR and ticket renewal.
I'm talking about the people who show up to games and wonder where Defoe is even though he's been out injured for 3 weeks. Or the guys who sit there and boo Gilberto for missing a shot even though it took really really good skills to get to the ball. Levels of awareness of this team vary.
We see this "not sold at the T/L deadline" thing every August and every January. People move on.
Would we all rather have a happy Defoe? Of course. It ain't going to happen.
A homesick Defoe should also be a very motivated Defoe. If he misses this window, then all he will have to do is score bags of goals in the fall and wait for the next window. If he chooses to sabotage his own career, then no one in the Prem will hire him. Either way we win!
TB to have a conf call At 5pm re DEFOE
Bright Dike? His performances with the Nigerian national team turned heads before his achilles injury.
Couldn't agree more. The media coverage here is beyond lazy. While MLS commentators generally gave a balanced odd-timing-but-probably-needed-replacement take on things, the Toronto media completely ignored everything on the field with TFC and went straight for the Leiweke's vision comes undone tagline.
But I do see an issue in that we've attracted a fair amount of ex-pats who really seem to take a mild interest in the club and a large interest in Defoe. It really is a knife in the back to advertise as heavy as we did coming into this thing then consider shipping him out less than twelve months later. I don't particularly care as long as he is replaced with someone who is quality, but I can understand being foam-at-the-mouth mad for buying tickets and then being subject to this. Not sure how many more fans this club can afford to alienate, but I think we'd all like a sustainable vision around here held by a steady hand as opposed to wild swing for the fences type of moves that ownership does not seem to be on stable footing to support.
Pookie, to answer your question:
I trust utterances from English media and team types as much as I trust TL. Its all spin.
I am pretty darn sure that MLSE & MLS want a certain amount. QPR can probably afford it. I also think MLS is a little wary of a precedent here of an in and out in 9 months.
I would not be surprised if both MLSE and MLS have figured out that Defoe will play, no matter what, where he is being paid and will see out the MLS season if need be. Sure, he wants out. But, if a deal can't be done now, he'll wait until one can be done, all the time working hard to earn a BIG fat salary time in the EPL.
As for his injury, I'm sceptical. We are better with him then without him, even if his injury is real and it is for 5 games.
I tried to read the comments on one article and gave up. The inability to understand nuance on that site is striking.
This a million times.
Going back over my comments, I agree with you. That was not well stated by me.
I apologise.
I can see where some people who know there way around this team would believe that Defoe with the team now is a bad thing.
I disagree.
I still contend that most casual fans will be upset, and for reasons that are not being discussed on this board.
But, I should have differentiated the viewpoints better.
Again, I apologise.
Well either this all backfires and we are out of the playoffs, crashing at a critical time for the club - renewals and expansion....or we power through.
Either way, Nelsen was a nice guy but obviously didn't have the room and couldn't coach the guys effectively. His onboarding of all the assistants seems to have backfired. I don't know that Vanney is the right guy. I do know that Tim B just made the most bold move a TFC GM has ever made.
Road Trips: July 7 2007 Chicago, July 22nd 2007 Columbus, August 11 2007 NY, October 13 2007 LA, March 29 2008 Columbus, May 24th 2008 DC, May 26 2008 Montreal, June 28th 2008 NE, March 7-11-14 2009 Charleston, March 28 2009 Columbus, April 10 2010 New England, May 12 2010 Montreal, April 7 2012 Montreal, March 16 2013 Montreal , June 3 2014 Montreal, March 14 2015 Columbus
Twitter: @RPBPhil
You have this 100% upside down.
How many here really saw this happening? A few idle comments in the Mirror 6 weeks ago hardly counts. This was a total shock.
Any serious fan knows it is rare for a club to hang the for sale sign publicly, out of nowhere, on a key player, the way Bez did.
That means something, what it is none of us know yet.
But it sure as hell ain't business as usual, and it sure as hell isn't casuals who would see it.
Defoe may be fine, especially if he thinks he's playing for a January deal.
Last edited by ensco; 09-01-2014 at 03:48 PM.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
Leiweke saying that spin is going on here is rich.
I don't care what Leiweke says any more. Not interested. It's lazy journalism to quote him. He is unimportant now.
I still doubt TFC got any offer for him that would have gotten them out whole. They would have taken that.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
We'll be talking about this whole shit show for a while. I kinda think that maybe Defoe was unhappy with the state and direction of the club, and tried to see if he could win a spot back in the Prem. But when that didn't materialize, and when we sacked Nelsen, he then decided to stick around. I'd be shocked if Defoe was super happy, didn't want to leave, and then all of this happened without him knowing or saying anything. I think the most likely scenario is that Defoe isn't happy here.
Sorry if this has been posted as I haven't gone through the 700+ posts....although no definitive info it adds to the speculation.
Crystal Palace co-chairman Steve Parish on BBC Radio 5 live: "We've agreed a deal for a striker. They're at the training ground now trying to finish it. He has played in the Premier League but he's not currently at a Premier League side. We're bringing him in on loan. You will know who he is in about an hour's time."
Maybe I've read all the tweets and reports wrong but all the wordings make it sound like Defoe didn't agree to terms, not the teams. It was reported he was looking for a raise. Maybe he didn't like the offers. Probably wage cuts from some of the clubs. I don't think TFC nixed any sale. Seems like JD did.
That's interesting though.
I have to think on this for a bit.
If you take the PR angle though… if they believe they can sell him in January and that he isn't likely to return to play… maybe even to Canada physically… is there any benefit in selling him now? Even if they get a deal that doesn't make them whole, the writing is there on the wall for all to see. He wants out. A player that doesn't expect to be moved doesn't fly to England during the transfer window.
That said, by keeping him in house, they hang on to him through renewals… his groin/hamstring and anything else can repair and they have no pressure to play him. He can simply claim that the injury is keeping him out. Renewals happen and then the deal goes through. The asset is protected.
The only risk is that interest from LCFC or QPR dries up and both Jermain and TFC are stuck.
Considering the two evils… bad PR and being stuck in January… perhaps they chose the latter?
That makes sense to me.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
Larson now saying Defoe didn't want out.
.@NoProperSense @TheTorontoSun Defoe wants to be here now, is what I'm told. He was also briefed about the management change.
When asked this:
@KurtLarSUN What kind of player are we going to have now that we were told by the press Defoe wanted out?
Larson responded
.@CPeter1987 Nobody locally reported that. I'm told the opposite.
Leiweke to @TheTorontoSun: "We got an offer (for Defoe) that would have been the largest fee in the history of MLS."
Leiweke to @TheTorontoSun: "We're not interested in Defoe going anywhere." h
I'm taking that as a chunk of spin from TL.
Neil Davidson's column in Globe says Defoe not leaving as confirmed by TB http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...ticle20292164/
It has to be spin. If they turned down the largest transfer deal in MLS history for an aging, injured player that doesn't want to be here… there is no hope.
And as for Defoe wanting to be here, actions speak louder than words. Do you think Wendel Clark was visiting Quebec City before he was traded? Defoe went to England during the transfer window… it's clear where his interests lay. No fault of anyones. If I were him and wanting another crack at international duty, I'd go back home too.
Oh my god, look at this:
Dirty traitor.
Last edited by ag futbol; 09-01-2014 at 04:07 PM.
Wouldn't be hard to top the largest fee.. off the top of my head that was for Jozy at around $10M... or what we paid for Jermaine. Typical TL spin.
Nice...let's resign PlataOh my god, look at this:
Dirty traitor.
@LukeWileman: QPR boss Harry Redknapp tells @bbc5live they made a "big effort" to sign Jermain Defoe but it wasn't possible
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