Players Under The Microscope / Paul Moon / 12 October 2007 / 1

Pablo Luna - Moonlighting for Betfair. Pablo tells us why Tottenham's goal poacher needs to rethink his attitude

The manager of any football team must always think of the collective good of the side and as it is a result driven business, there is absolutely no room for individual 'strops'. Public tantrums cannot or should not be tolerated! It is not acceptable - ever!

Whether it is training, diet or attitude, footballers in other European countries have accepted more readily the concept and work ethic of the team and you rarely see the public demonstrations of pique illustrated in our Premiership.

Recently we have seen footballers like Jermaine Defoe showing public petulance about being substituted. It encourages some fans to barrack the decision. This in turn deflects from the efforts on the pitch, gives the opposition a lift and any edge the manager is seeking is lost.

The following morning I would throw the book at him. He would be suspended from team selection, fined an appropriate amount of money and sent to train with the reserves so that he could think about his actions. I would not care how big a movie star he thought he was!

Martin Jol has given Defoe every chance and says that he has not come up with the goods and has asked him to be patient and fight his way back into the team like Robbie Keane did last year. Although Keane was disappointed to be left out, he did not throw his toys out of the pram. That is the difference between the two men.

A lot of players are now very wealthy and it is hard to threaten bad behaviour with fines or de-selection because they will simply find another club to accommodate their selfish whims.

We have tolerated and indulged the spoilt, pampered babies like Defoe for far too long. The game is not a vehicle to massage his ego, it is played for the good of the team and fans alike.

At this current time at Tottenham Hotspur we see Martin Jol fighting to save his job and he is being undermined by Defoe. Jol has four strikers at the club and Defoe has not proved he is deserving of being first choice at this moment in time. Defoe has a history of indulgence during his West Ham and Charlton days and he now needs to be shown up for what a spoilt brat he is! It is time for him to get real!

Tottenham Hotspur are chasing a fifth or sixth place in the Premiership and are currently 7.4 with Betfair without the Big 4. More realistically a top six finish sees them trade at 2.68 with Betfair (I have layed them at that price whilst they are in turmoil).

Any time is crucial to a football club but Tottenham in particular are walking a tight rope without a safety net. The team must produce now and get their act together and they need no further distractions at the club. This includes weak outbursts from players or a managerial change.

On a wider point it is important that our players learn discipline as nothing can be achieved without it. With the merry go round of managers today it seems that there is little continuity within a team and players' efforts and loyalty are short lived. This in itself has helped spawn the new selfish, mollycoddled and pampered culture.

Martin Jol would do well to remember Brian Clough and how he dealt with errant players. And more recently, would Sir Alex Ferguson have tolerated this situation? Of course not!

Why do our clubs tolerate these strops, instead of dealing with them?

To read more about Tottenham

https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/

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1. J. STAMP | 13 October 2007

   FAIR SHOUT.

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