Arsenal-Mania

Adebayor outperformed his peers

By Joël Che on Saturday, April 26, 2008

The Liverpool v Chelsea game alerted me to fact that maybe I have been comparing Emmanuel Adebayor to the wrong players.

It suddenly dawned on me that I have been totally unfair to Adebayor. Adebayor deserves a lot of praise for his season. Sure there are some crucial moments that are hard to forgive but after watching Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Spurs over the past week, I realise that Adebayor has simply just found himself in an injured team where he was forced to play up front alone for a long time and had the accept the responsibility of being the main goal scorer.

Adebayor was never primed to be Arsenal's main source of goals. He was never meant to be Torres, Drogba, Rooney, Robbie Keane, Andrew Johnson or Anelka. We have been comparing Adebayor to these guys because he found himself spearheading Arsenal's attack due to injuries. Adebayor played a different role last season besides Henry.

We should really have been comparing Adebayor to those who play that role: Tevez, Kuyt, Crouch, Berbatov, John Carew, Yakubu, Kanu, Schevchenko, etc. Tevez and Berbatov could cost £20 million each!

None of these players have done their jobs as well as Adebayor this season and none of them would have done as well as Ade has done for Arsenal in the situation he faced. 21 goals is no joke. If Berbatov has scored that much, Spurs would be second!

So yes Ade can sometimes have the touch of a tractor but he should absolutely not be sold. Ade should be in the squad but we still need a goal scorer striker. Ade has already proven his worth in being difficult to play against and his great ability to work up front alone.

This is tough! There are many times in a season when that is needed and if it comes with a player that can bang a few goals in, then all the better.

So, Ade, I apologise. You have outdone your peers. You should have passed that ball to Bendtner in Birmingham, you should never have headbutted your team mate, you should not think you are a finished article.

But you have done a very good job this season. You are 24, you have awesome power and commitment and improved a lot from season 1 to season 2. I am sure we are going to see a big improvement from season 2 to season 3. Good luck!

User Comments

19

A Trik Star

Posted on 29 Apr, 2008 at 03:43 PM - Reply

I agree with u P, if Rio and Ronaldo have respect for Ade, so should every1 else. People say that he needs to work on his first touch and stuff like that but forget that this is his first complete season and the half he was here last season, he played in Henry's shadow. Can't wait to see him next season. My money is he will top scorer not only in the premier ship but also in Europe.

18

P

Posted on 29 Apr, 2008 at 04:01 AM - Reply

Ronaldo voted Adebayor as his players of the season, Rio Ferdinand described him as his toughest opponent in the EPL – he is physically imposing, works tirelessly every time he is picked and has not shirked his responsibility and has scored goals all season. He may have tired as the season progressed (like the whole team) and
I appreciate he may not be able to move the ball as quickly as the rest of the team but he is as Ferdinand and Ronaldo confirm he is one of the very top players in the premiership this season and will only get better as the supporting cast get better.

17

GPM

Posted on 28 Apr, 2008 at 02:23 PM - Reply

At last a sensible comment supporting the big man specifically the appreciation of having to go it alone in an injury ravaged attack. More to come 08/09.

16

George

Posted on 27 Apr, 2008 at 01:21 PM - Reply

he scored 21 goals this year. He's third highest scorer in the league and people considering of selling him? Are you lot f**king mental?
If it wasnt for those 21 goals we would of been in even more s**t than we are. Amazing how fickle fans can be.

15

Aussie Fan

Posted on 27 Apr, 2008 at 05:05 AM - Reply

I always maintained that Ade played only well with a good strike partner, like the start of the season he had RVP, and just when our season was building nicely and the partnership with Eduardo was starting to bear fruits Eduardo was in what i still think was an intentional dog act was taken away from us!! He was the cool calm collected striker that scored the vital goals, and Ade took that pressure of Eduardo and RVP! He does a sht load of running those defenders ragged and took focus off our 2 main strikers! Ade is not 40 goal striker and as joel put it was not his main job, but when you get paid the money like they are it doesn't matter if the sitters come your expected to put them away 8/10 times not 3/10 times!! Some sITTERS HE MISSED THIS SEASON WERE UNFORGIVABLE!1 I remember the first game against aston villa when the Shots on Goal were 29 to 3 and final score was 2-1 how do you convert 2 of 29 shots?

14

Sly

Posted on 27 Apr, 2008 at 12:57 AM - Reply

Nup, sorry. He's nothing more than a journeyman. He's a big African athlete who makes up for his shockingly poor first touch with his immense athleticism. But first and foremost, football is about skills, not athleticism; that is why he is not good enough to start for a club as massive as us. Next season he will be nothing but a bencher and the season after that he will probably be sold. Good riddance.

13

mike

Posted on 26 Apr, 2008 at 11:23 PM - Reply

Who said anything about adebayor being sold? I would be absolutely disgusted if he left the club at the end of this season, and i cant believe all the criticism im reading here, its laughable. I wonder how many of these people were talking about the next great arsenal striker when ade was on his hot streak?

12

ashu

Posted on 26 Apr, 2008 at 09:16 PM - Reply

very good view on adebayor. u really gave me another insight. thanx. but arsenal need a front striker forsure.

11

delboy

Posted on 26 Apr, 2008 at 09:13 PM - Reply

i'm glad you changed your opinion, ade had had a great season up front on his own and your earlier comments show the fickle nature of football supporters in general.

10

Ole Gunner

Posted on 26 Apr, 2008 at 05:31 PM - Reply

You're still being unfair. Yo say you're comparing Ade to one group and not the other makes no sense. The fact is that he has been a better striker this season than Drogba, Rooney etc. Much better. It's just a fact. Any way you want to dice it, his stats as a striker makes him peer to Fernando Torres.

I see Rooney miss sitter after sitter all season, and never in any season cracking 20 goals. Drogba's highest ever goals tally is 33 last season, in his 3rd season.

Do you know why so many of our players are unsettled? I would be too with fans like these. People who ridicule one of our best 3 performers of the season. Why would you want to come to Arsenal if scoring 27 goals gets you derision?

9

Steve

Posted on 26 Apr, 2008 at 03:59 PM - Reply

Adebayor you had the cheek to say Thierry Henry would not get in the present team. You would never be good enough to lace his boots! Your touch is abismal, you cannot head a ball on target and you miss hatfulls of easy chances. Just get transferred and let us get someone good like Berbatov, or Martins

8

cruzito

Posted on 26 Apr, 2008 at 11:01 AM - Reply

I agree all the way. He did his job well and should not be sold.

7

CruEL

Posted on 26 Apr, 2008 at 10:59 AM - Reply

Early season I hated him. Midway I was slowly impressed when he started scoring goals which were not fluke.

Then.. he started to play like 'henry' on the left where he was totally ineffective due to his poor touch and poor ball control.

I disagree he's a '2nd' striker. It is not unfair to compare him to torres and whoever that plays upfront. He is the main point of target even when Henry was playing.

Ade is strong in the middle and no where else. All he needs now is to stop thinking he is TH14 or something. He just needs to continue working hard in the middle. Work harder in training on his first touch, his passing and his ball control.

Another thing needed is to understand where his teammates will run to instead of just plonking the ball to where no one is. It takes time for that and I wish him the best.

6

Ole Gunner

Posted on 26 Apr, 2008 at 09:47 AM - Reply

You're still being unfair. Yo say you're comparing Ade to one group and not the other makes no sense. The fact is that he has been a better striker this season than Drogba, Rooney etc. Much better. It's just a fact. Any way you want to dice it, his stats as a striker makes him peer to Fernando Torres.

I see Rooney miss sitter after sitter all season, and never in any season cracking 20 goals. Drogba's highest ever goals tally is 33 last season, in his 3rd season.

Do you know why so many of our players are unsettled? I would be too with fans like these. People who ridicule one of our best 3 performers of the season. Why would you want to come to Arsenal if scoring 27 goals gets you derision?

5

fekadu chekol

Posted on 26 Apr, 2008 at 09:44 AM - Reply

ADE.is always best for me.because he is not a three match player like vanpersie and rosisky. he doesn't sleep ovr a year. he has scored more 24 goals per a year.but what about van and ros. they simply take salary and pushed their club towards zero.

4

mesho

Posted on 26 Apr, 2008 at 09:10 AM - Reply

very nice article !

3

nick85

Posted on 26 Apr, 2008 at 08:52 AM - Reply

He has the worst first touch in footballing history, i hope he improves

2

fuzzle

Posted on 26 Apr, 2008 at 08:33 AM - Reply

A goal scoring striker to play alongside Ade? ....Eduardo was doing a pretty good job

1

Cesc

Posted on 26 Apr, 2008 at 08:32 AM - Reply

Ade played the supporting role last season becuase Thierry was around! This season, Wenger clearly wanted him as the hitman, with RVP in the supporting role, so much that even when he got a goal poacher in Eduardo, he played him on the left wing, leaving Ade upfront!