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Spurs Odyssey:Season Review 2007-2008(5) - The Strikers

Paul Smith, the webmaster of Spurs Odyssey has once again been selected to provide player profiles for the Professional Footballers' Association Annual "Who's Who" Directory. Published in time for the start of each new season, the directory gives an account regarding all players for the 92 league clubs who have made at least one full or substitute appearance in any official competitive game during the preceding season.

Paul has written the profiles for all 30 Spurs players who fulfil the necessary criteria, and has been given permission to reproduce them here.

This item deals with the 4 strikers who have played for Spurs this season:-

Dimitar Berbatov. The Bulgarian International striker has had another great season at Spurs. Dimitar was level top-scorer for his club with Robbie Keane, with 15 Premier League goals and 23 in total. Berbatov continues to win the acclaim of pundits and fans, and inevitably is a constant subject of transfer speculation. Once again, despite his goal-scoring ability, one of Dimitar’s best performances came in a game where he did not score. Spurs had a player sent off (at Manchester City in the Carling Cup), and sacrificed his fellow striker. That meant that Dimitar had to play alone up front, and he had everything to do with Spurs’ 2-0 win which put them through to the semi-final of the competition they won. In the Final, Dimitar was ultra-cool when he scored from the penalty spot to put Spurs level. Dimitar scored 4 goals in the 6-4 league win over Reading, and continues to demonstrate class in ball-winning, holding and passing skills. Dimitar has played 7 times for his country this season, scoring three times in the process.

Robbie Keane. In the absence of club captain Ledley King for much of the season, Robbie has been an able deputy as Captain of Spurs. Robbie also continues as Captain for the Republic of Ireland. Robbie was voted as Spurs’ Player of the Season by a massive majority, and finished as level top scorer for his club both in the Premier League and in all competitions (15 & 23). Keane has played in 54 of Spurs’ 57 games. Robbie lifted the Carling Cup trophy alongside Ledley King, and reached another special landmark when he scored his 100th club goal against Sunderland in January. As well as his goal-scoring prowess, Robbie is likely to be found all over the pitch (even making a goal-line clearance), using his all round footballing skills. Robbie has often switched to a midfield role to accommodate an additional striker such as Darren Bent. Robbie’s best goal of the season was surely a 25 yard curler from the edge of the penalty box, to level the scores at home against Chelsea in a dramatic 4-4 game. Robbie became just the fifteenth player in Spurs’ history to reach that 100 goal landmark, and having added 7 more in the remainder of the season, now stands 12th in the all-time scoring ratings. Having committed himself till 2012, Robbie clearly has the 100 league goal target within his sights to join an elite membership of just 8 previous players for Spurs.

Jermain Defoe. Jermain was a great favourite with the Spurs fans, but continued to struggle to break into the first team ahead of Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane, and also had to watch £16 ½ million signing Darren Bent play ahead of him on occasions. Defoe scored 8 goals for Spurs in just 8 starts and 23 as substitute. These included 2 goals in the 6-1 thrashing of Anorthosis Famagusta in the UEFA Cup, and the vital first goal in the Carling Cup game at Manchester city. It came as no surprise to Spurs fans, when Jermain decided to leave for first team football at Portsmouth, where his goal-scoring prowess has been demonstrated with 8 goals in his first 7 games, which included an inevitable goal on his club debut. Jermain thus sacrificed the chance of a Carling Cup winner’s medal, and he was also cup-tied for Portsmouth’s FA Cup run.

Darren Bent. Spurs paid a massive fee (£16 ½ million) for the transfer of Darren Bent from Charlton last summer, and the tag was always likely to prove a heavy burden through no fault of the player. Darren has had to fight for the right to play against three top class strikers in Berbatov, Keane and Defoe. Darren was in fact the first Spurs striker to score this season, in their third game against Derby County, and has managed a total of 8 in 15 starts and 20 games as substitute. Darren was an unused substitute for the Carling Cup Final. His most vital goal was probably at home against Alborg, when he scored the winner after Spurs came back from 2-0 down. Darren likes the ball to be delivered over the top of the defence, against whom he can use his pace to advantage. Darren did win England recognition this season, coming off the bench in the game against Croatia.

The next instalment of the 2007-08 review will re-live Carling Cup Final Day.

· Season Review (1) - Form Guide

· Season Review (2) - The Goalkeepers

· Season Review (3) - The Defenders

· Season Review (4) - The Midfield

· Season Review (6) - Re-live the Carling Cup Final!

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