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| |  Posted 16/11/2007 14:15:43 | |
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| Jermaine Jenas – Better than Gerrard, Arteta and Elano?
Friday 16 Nov 2007 12:34:47 by Darryl Hockings
THE DARRYL HOCKINGS COLUMN praises our undervalued and hard-working midfielder and urges fans to get behind him.
After a swashbuckling performance against the stricken Wigan it appears that Jermaine Jenas may be beginning to reach his potential for Tottenham.
The influence of Ramos and Poyet seemed immediate with Jenas holding a higher position up the pitch and central midfield partner Didier Zokora parked in front of the back four, a tweak on the flat shape we are used to seeing.
Jenas has been much maligned by the Spurs faithful, I myself must confess to having voiced my opinions on his free-kicks floated over the box and out of play on more than one occasion, but a look at the statistics for the season so far tell a story that perhaps seems unlikely.
After being installed as the third most valuable player of the week in Europe by Opta (in terms of performance, not financial value) Jenas has also crept into the top ten midfielders in the Premiership for all disciplines as compiled by the Telegraph.
Many varied accusations have been levelled at JJ both before and during his time at the Lane. The groans from the crowd that accompany his every mistake are not balanced against singing his name, something which to my recollection has not happened while JJ has worn the Tottenham colours.
Some say Jenas doesn’t pass the ball forward enough, a fact belied by the statistic showing he is 9th in the table of chances created with 24, ahead of Gerrard, level with Arteta and only one shy of the mercurial Elano.
He doesn’t create clear cut chances for the strikers? Well Arteta is level with Jenas on 3 assists so far, 8th in the table for the Premier League, Gerrard doesn’t even make the top 20.
Perhaps his passing is sloppy? 9th for passing accuracy. Too lightweight? Doesn’t get stuck in? 9th for tackles made, which is incidentally the only statistic JJ can be surpassed by a team mate in.
Maybe Jenas doesn’t score enough for an attacking midfielder? Well he is only one goal shy of Lampard and Elano, level with Gerrard with 3 goals so far this season, although the numbers seem to imply he offers much more than this to the side.
While the Spurs midfield has come under fire for a series of weak displays this season it is worth remembering that Jenas fits the Ramos blueprint of an unspectacular central midfielder capable of working hard putting a tackle in and releasing a good pass when the chance appears.
Should Jenas continue his good form and survive the inevitable cull then just maybe the fans will get behind him and perhaps even give him a song or two.There's absolutely nothing in there to say he does anything better than Elano either. Even the things they mention, they say he's worse at them than our Brazilian man. Take that internet.
It's practically Christmas today! |
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| | | Posted 16/11/2007 14:25:10 | |
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| Had to check the calender to see if it was 1st April after reading that
--------------------------------------------------We're on a mission from God |
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| | | Posted 16/11/2007 14:30:47 | |
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| Timpblue (16/11/2007)
Had to check the calender to see if it was 1st April after reading thatJust a Spurs fan giving his (OBJECTIVE) view in the (MOST NON-BIASED) way he sees fit.
It's practically Christmas today! |
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| | | Posted 16/11/2007 14:32:11 | |
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| stephen ireland had the highest tackle success percentage for a midfielder last year i think... therefore.. he's the greatest defensive mid in the world.
Cool Cool Coolio... |
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