JD's the right touch

Defoe's up with Tottenham's greats says Kammy

Last updated: 23rd November 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

JD's the right touch

Defoe: Goal Machine

Defoe's different class; I've said before that I want Michael Owen to find form and go to the World Cup but Defoe's head and shoulders above him at the moment

Chris Kamara
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Every Saturday afternoon, Chris Kamara heads to stadiums up and down the country to deliver his unique match reports for Soccer Saturday.

On Sundays you can see him back in the Sky Sports studios as he brings you all of the Premier League highlights on Goals on Sunday.

And then on Mondays you can find Kammy right here on skysports.com as he brings you his Premier League picks of the weekend. Join us every week as he runs through his highs and lows as well as answering YOUR questions...

GAME - Hull 3-3 West Ham
Two goals down after about 15 minutes and then 3-2 up by half time, Hull are certainly on a roller coaster at the moment. Jimmy Bullard is everything to them, he was the major reason Fulham stayed up not so long ago and he is the talisman at Hull. He affects everybody around him. As for Gianfranco Zola, he'll hate seeing another two-goal lead slip away like the one West Ham lost at Sunderland, but it's difficult for him. Right now they're conceding goals but that's not down to Zola's management; West Ham haven't got the strongest squad and it'll probably be a hard winter but Gianfranco will do alright.

TEAM - Tottenham
When you score nine goals at home, I'd be pretty crazy to overlook Spurs! Obviously it takes for the opposition to have an absolute disaster, but let's take nothing away from Tottenham who were on fire. The amazing thing is, it may have been very different had Robbie Keane not been away with Ireland in midweek. That qualifer had a major impact on all the Irish players, Damien Duff was a substitute for Fulham, Kevin Doyle did not feature for Wolves, and likewise Keane for Spurs. Robbie's a great player though and I certainly don't think one result will see the Crouch/Defoe combination become cemented as the first pick. Sometimes Crouch/Keane or Keane/Defoe will work better, it's a nice situation for Harry Redknapp to be in. He can add to his squad in January too, we know how clever he is in the market, and if he can bolster his centre back options a Champions League spot is a possibility.

PLAYER - Jermain Defoe
The goal machine. He has made a serious claim for the golden boot with those five goals, and you can guarantee that he is going to score plenty more at White Hart Lane as the season progresses. He's different class; I've said before that I want Michael Owen to find form and go to the World Cup but Defoe's head and shoulders above him at the moment. Unfortunately for Jermain, Fabio Capello isn't prepared to pick Defoe as a starter, he likes what Emile Heskey gives him. Jermain's just got to keep doing what he's doing, and the tough thing for him is he is judged purely on goals - not his overall contribution. I do agree with Harry though that Jermain is the most natural finisher around at the moment, he's like Jimmy Greaves, Gary Lineker, all the Tottenham greats.

GAFFER - Neil McDonald
Neil stepped into Big Sam's shoes for a massive game while Sam has an operation, it was an awkward position for him to be in, but he came through it with flying colours in such a big game. Blackburn have struggled on their travels this season so to win at their local rivals was a huge result.

GOAL - Stephen Ireland
Darren Fletcher's was a lovely strike but I'll go with Stephen Ireland for the team goal. Shaun Wright-Phillips was superb in the build-up and he was in fine form at Anfield, really positive. He will have come back from England's trip to Doha with Capello no doubt telling him to prove his worth at club level if he wants to get on the flight to South Africa. Shaun undoubtedly did that on Saturday.

GRIPE - The French FA
I would love to see the French FA and the French government go to FIFA and demand another game because the Republic of Ireland defeat was totally unjust. If it had been Rooney in Thierry Henry's position, and it was England instead of France, I already think Michel Platini would have got involved - such is the way he thinks about English football. His silence is golden at the moment. You've got Arsene Wenger, David Ginola and Eric Cantona all saying they are embarrassed to be going to the World Cup under those circumstances. Henry has also said it now, so the best thing for all involved would be to replay the game.

Kammy answers your questions...

Do you want Chris Kamara to answer YOUR question? Email him at skysportsclub@bskyb.com or use the feedback form at the bottom of the page.

HELL-BENT ON GOALS?
Hi Kammy, Darren Bent has now scored against each of the 'big four' this season, should he be playing at a higher level or is there something missing from his game that prevents him performing at the top level? Ben, Sunderland
KAMMY SAYS: I don't think he has anything missing. The biggest thing with Darren is that he responds to people who respond to him. That has been the case at all the clubs where he has been successful, starting with Joe Royle and George Burley at Ipswich. He needs to be made to feel like the top dog, as he does at Sunderland under Steve Bruce, which is what he didn't get at Spurs. That happens. Who's to say how he would get on at Old Trafford for instance? He may bang them in or, like the comments from Nani, maybe Sir Alex Ferguson wouldn't give him the pat on the back he needs. At the moment, let him stay at his spiritual home in Sunderland, and then the goals will determine if he returns to the highest level.

WOULD YOU HAVE LOST YOUR WIG?
Having seen Wigan embarrass themselves at the weekend, I'd like to know how Kammy would have dealt with those players as their manager? Craig, Stoke-on-Trent.
KAMMY SAYS: The one thing you cannot afford to do is dwell on the result. It is embarrassing and it's something you never want to happen again, so you cannot forget it because Wigan's fans will be getting stick all week on the texts and so on. For Roberto Martinez it's a learning curve, but the longer they dwell on it the worse it'll become. I'd undoubtedly give them plenty of home truths in the dressing room, but you cannot allow one result to affect your season, which it could quite easily do. So I understand Craig's concern, but if Wigan can win their next game, the 9-1 defeat is chip paper.

Comments (33)

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Jake Ball (Nottingham Forest fan) says...

i think that Nottingham Forest have a good chance of going up this year and henry could just be marradonas new brother

Posted 10:18 26th November 2009

Jogo Bonito (Liverpool fan) says...

regarding the ireland france game ireland were deffinetley robbed they where the better team and showed alot more heart than the french, who don't deserve to go to south africa espically henry.there cannot be a replay but it proves the need for video evidence to be used the reasons for not having it are ridiculous all they need is for an offical to be watching the match on a screen and if the ref has to make a important discission he can ask the offical. Teams who can't afford to supply a room where an offical can watch the game that is being recorded obviously don't need it.There also should be technology in the ball for over the line decisions having extra officals behind the goal is pointless as the europa league has proved, just more chances for human error .People say video evidence would stop the game for too long but it wouldn't take any longer than a deffence take to set up a wall for freekicks or the lenght of time lost when players surround the refree complaining about bad decissions and to say it would take the controversey out of the game is wrong the big teams get most of these decissions and whats more controversial than the underdog winning, theres still plenty of controversey in rugby.I believe it would take alot of cheating out of the game.With blatent wrong decissions like in the ireland game, players should take off there shirts hand them to the reff and walk off the field and i'm sure there would be something done about it then but the players would be slated, i personally think they would be brave for standing up for whats right .True fairplay is what we want not henry's , platini's or blatters version of fairplay they disgust me.

Posted 10:03 26th November 2009

Eire replay ? Gar (Everton fan) says...

We dont want a replay it would open a can of worms across world football but the fact Platini and Blatter have ignored the situation is crazy. Video evidence is needed and clear rules before each campaign is also required .The fact the playoffs got seeded with no prior notice suggests fiffa favoured france germany russia bigger teams etc. Henry said it was accidental and then changed his tune ,And the referee advised players he was 100% sure there was no contact with the hand how can he make the claim if he never saw the situation. Like the Maradonna situation all thats required is a diciplinary action and investment in video evidence martialed by the fourth official .Problem Solved. I was in Paris and the French fans where amazing very appologetic and made us very welcome.

Posted 08:50 26th November 2009

Daniel Chester (Sunderland fan) says...

Understrength Arsenal team? Fair point, it was, we were also 'understrength', without Gordon, Turner, Cattermole and Jones. Only the spine of our team though. We don't need ask for plaudits were happy for spurs to stay in the limelight, as a Sunderland fan i was more than happy that we won, we were unlucky to concede in the 94th minute last season when 1-0 up against Arsenal at home with a much weaker team back then. We will take it one step at a time, dont worry, we're not all getting carried away with the start we've had.

Posted 00:51 26th November 2009

Brendan Carmody (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...

I just want to say if it was england in our situation [ireland] ye would want a replay so for the people who think were moaning too much stop talkin nonsense i kow the maradona thing but this is different football has moved on since then its simply a disgrace your spot on kammy plantini is a coward he cost alot of those irish players their dreams to play in the world cup thanks for that!!!!! as for spurs what a team come on you spurs no arguement they were team of theweek you can only play whats out in front of you

Posted 23:47 25th November 2009

Rhys Bowen (West Ham United fan) says...

Ben Jones, Chelsea Fan (read below) is completely right. I cannot believe people actually think the game should be replayed. If you think carefully with your head and not with your heart then you will realise how stupid it would be to have a replay. Hard luck Ireland, but it happens ..... I get well upset when West Ham lose to a bad decision (which has happened a lot this season) but it's never crossed my mind to start bleating on about replaying it, which i was so suprised how people can want this. If it did get replayed, i would fully expect England vs. Argentina WC 86' to get the same treatment. MY GOD.

Posted 20:41 25th November 2009

Michael Tuckwell (Sunderland fan) says...

In reference to Gavin the Spurs fan we are not whinging and I believe spurs do deserve credit for a phenominal result 9-1 is a hell of a scoreline we once had the same score and beat a certain Newcastle United (Whatever happened to them?) Any how Arsenal were missing one or two of thier star players and had theo back from injury Sunderland were missing Jones, Cattermole and Turner considering depth and experience of Arsenal and after 13 games unbeaten with a haul of goals being realistic the result is on par with a 9-1 result at least just think which game may shape the top 4 at the end of the season?

Posted 20:14 25th November 2009

Chris Cork (Liverpool fan) says...

liverpool are out of the champions league i write this myself to inform me of the fact Because i have been told by everybody else who is a non red fan, Should the club now sack rafa no he should be allowed to make the team choices and at the end of the season be judged if we are not champions or in the top four he has failed and will then deserve to be sacked if Torres and Gerrard were both fit after the internationals would things be different we will never know, who would replace him some people say Mourinho, Are inter doing any better in champions league do people forget the end of last season rafa was the best thing since sliced bread now a lot of people want his head on a block

Posted 18:35 25th November 2009

Rory Fitzgerald (Manchester United fan) says...

I have always said for a few years to my mates that united should buy Defoe because is a deadly player. well all i can do is wish and hope fergie will look at him. WHAT a wonderful goal from flecther this week. Come on united. Ps. Defoe in the england team along side Rooney in the world cup. England will be unstoppable.

Posted 16:50 25th November 2009

Ric Hooley (Manchester United fan) says...

Must say I completely agree with the view on the Ireland/France debacle - Platini has proved (if there was any doubt) that he is just as corrupt as Blatter when it comes to favoring the big nations over the smaller ones. Plus, totally right that he would have been the first to shout had it been England that cheated. He would have run to his chum Blatter to demand a replay. Strangely silent when it's his beloved France. I must also add that Henry's public blubbing over how badly he thinks he was treated over the handball is disgusting - you've just got to a world cup by blatantly cheating man! Even your peers are embarrassed! Shameful. To be honest he is a great player, but I've never really liked his attitude. He plays the victim in a 'Moi?' type-way. Also, Fifa and Uefa will always hate the English game. Strange that they moan about the exorbitant spending of English clubs and then remain silent when Real blow ¿200m on players isn't it? Finally I must disagree with the goal choice. Fletcher scored a beauty last weekend, and I remember a certain Zidane scoring a similar goal in a Champions League final a few years back - and it gets beaten by a 'team goal'? Not sure about that one Chrissy boy!

Posted 10:51 25th November 2009

Jonathan Liu (Liverpool fan) says...

Hi Kammy, after seeing some Arsenal player getting injured in the news like nearly everyday, I'm absolutely fed up with the news. I would really love to have your view on this, since my mates never admit that them not winning titles is a lack of quality or whatever. What do you think is to blame for Arsenal's long list of injuries? Does Arsene really love signing and developing players who're made of paper? Or is there something else? Or is this possibly related to a match fixing scandal? :O Cheers. @Fajman: Paul Scharner has said in a press conference today that he was not the ref, but he believes that such injustice warrants a replay, which he believes would be fair to both sides.

Posted 10:49 25th November 2009

Kenny Simpson (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...

Hey Sunderland fans, of course our 9-1 victory was a standout result that was always going to get a lot of the headlines but, just for you guys...SUPER BLACK CATS SINK TOOTHLESS GUNNERS....it was certainly a result i enjoyed at the weekend along with the Spurs rampage!!!!

Posted 09:45 25th November 2009

Lee Mcmahon (Sunderland fan) says...

I think that Darren Bent is the best and most prolific goalscorring record outside the top 4

Posted 09:38 25th November 2009

Tony Eltigre (Havant and Waterlooville fan) says...

Enough with the irish whining. I know its part of the national makeup but give it a rest, there will be no replay. Period. To do so would open a whole can of worms and would make the mistake the irish suffered more important than those others did. Im still waiting for the irish FA to offer a replay to Georgia but that aint gonna happen. The Thierry hand was karma's payback and in a way shows that all these things even out in the end. You get a undeserved call sometimes, and sometimes you dont. Move on. For pete's sake, even the italians didnt whine as much when they got robbed by an offside two WC ago.

Posted 02:52 25th November 2009

Ben Jones (Chelsea fan) says...

Concerning the France vs. Ireland match: The whole problem I see with a replay is that once you start with it then every time a referee makes a wrong call somebody will call for a replay. Not just for international games but in the leagues as well. A penalty that wasn´t one - replay. A goal resulting from a free-kick that wasn´t one - replay. A goal being called off for offside when it wasn´t - replay. Soon almost every game where a referee made a mistake will have to be replayed. Because if you do it one you will have to it every time the same thing happens. And once every mistake a referee makes could lead to a replay of the match I think it would get very very hard to actually find people who would work as a referee in the first place. The pressure they´re under now is already pretty big. Imagine how it would be if we would start granting replays because of a mistake they made. As sad as I am for Ireland that they missed this great chance...that´s football. Henry used his hand - the referee didn´t see it - it´s happened thousands of times before. Why start with replays now?

Posted 16:06 24th November 2009

Stewart Thorogood (Manchester United fan) says...

As for best team from this weekends game i have to give it to sunderland, with being a utd fan they deserved to beat us and we were lucky to get a draw so to see them not play as well but hold out and battle for a hard earned win against a top four side makes them better than a spurs side that all though did win 9-1 but to be far wigans defence wasnt there all game and when they got the ball they were putting lennon through all the time they couldnt pick a pass out all game. As for the henry incident, france as a nation should be disgraced, such a massive tournament coming up and you got there by cheating, if you were to go on and win it you wont be remembered for great footy you will be remembered for cheating ireland out of a place, and im sure thats not what you want fairs fair henry admitted so now do the right thing replay it.

Posted 16:05 24th November 2009

Barrie Jackson (Manchester United fan) says...

At the moment the majority of true football fans think that it's a disgrace what happened to Eire. The image of the French FA and FIFA is about as low as it can get. If Platini insisted that the game were replayed or the French FA withdrew from the World Cup in favour of Ireland wouldn't we respect them again? Sadly it will never happen just like all of us with long memories will never ever forgive Maradona for being a cheat and a drug addict. FIFA take down those hoardings about fair play and don't be hipocritical.

Posted 14:50 24th November 2009

Shaun Harris (Sunderland fan) says...

Lets remember, even though sunderland beat arsenal 1-0, arsenal were without van persie, gibbs, clichy and bendtner as all the media kept highlighting over the weekend....BUT they were very quiet in stating the fact sunderland were without our "spine" - craig gordon, michael turner, lee cattermole and kenwyne jones. Granted 9-1 spurs was a fantastic result and 3-3 was entertaining due to the championship standard of defending, but come on kammy..credit where credit is due.

Posted 11:53 24th November 2009

Glynn Clarke (Sheffield Wednesday fan) says...

Ho can you say shaun wright phillips had a good game against Liverpool? Every time i watch him, i always ask myself the same question..."what does he actually ever do"? Play for England? The guy is the luckiest person around, earning 50,000 grand a week to do what exactly? I watched the liverpool game and everytime he gets the ball, he looks good, then 5 seconds later he has either lost it, fallen down, or is appealing for a foul. Give him credit though, he has fooled many people into thinking he is good and worth a starting eleven. Fair play.

Posted 11:24 24th November 2009

Kc Liau (Manchester United fan) says...

Platini used to be remembered as one of the great footballer in the world, but it might be changed in the future if he remained silent to let France playing in WC without any action after the hand of god v2. ppl used to feel proud when mentioned Platini, but it could be a very embrassing event next. ppl are forgetful. For me, i'll remembered the latter.

Posted 01:56 24th November 2009
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