Today’s piece comes from Gareth Barker.
WHEN Jermain Defoe signed for Sunderland, I’m happy to admit that I was sceptical.
There were some valid questions; how would he fit in to Poyet’s system, a system that showed little sign of being altered by the Uruguayan? It was a lot of money to spend on one player, and was he the type of player we needed if we were to persist with a long-term plan?
As it’s turned out, Jermain Defoe has been the catalyst for change and progression.
It feels as if things have fast forwarded a bit since the former Spurs striker arrived. We’ve become more aggressive, we’re higher up the pitch, we’re pressing more. The fact is if Sunderland don’t do that with Defoe in the team, then he’ll become isolated and almost irrelevant.
You can read the rest here.
