Though he’s been a success down in North London (for the second time in his career) there’s just no way that Emmanuel Adebayor is worthy of a £170k a week salary. Though it’s a rather trite point Manchester City and other cash-rich clubs have made the transfer and salary landscape a rather unbalanced place and it’s impossible for Spurs to compete when they’re dealing with a player who lucked out by signing for City at the right time.
It’s a luxury to be able to pay players whatever it takes to get it them on board and Tottenham just can’t afford to battle it out for such an expensive player.
Setanta have reported that Spurs were ready to offer £100k a week along with a £4m signing on fee, but apparently Emmanuel Adebayor wasn’t interested. Yes that’s a 70k a week paycut, but it’s still a substantial fee and best of all Adebayor would get to stay at a club on the rise who could offer him a significant amount of game time.
Or he could go back to City, sit on the bench and pick up an extortionate wage. If he really did turn down a deal of this nature then it would appear all the claims regarding his mercenary nature are true.
He’s a good player, but I’d argue he has a tendency to go in and out of games. Yes when he’s on song he tends to link up well with everybody and really drive Spurs forward (12 goals and 11 assists in 27 appearances is no mean feat). But there are also games where he struggles to really gain a foothold.
Whilst he was fantastic against Newcastle (when Spurs won 5-0) he followed it up with a couple of average performances. So yes, he’s a good footballer, but he’s not a fantastic footballer like say, Robin Van Persie (who doesn’t get paid anywhere near what Adebayor does) or Sergio Aguero.
I can’t help but feel that Spurs can find a striker of similar quality, but at a much fairer price. Tottenham have been linked to any number of quality players this summer and it’s up to Harry Redknapp and Daniel Levy to find the right man. So whether they go for Brazilian striker Leandro Damiao, Marseille forward Loic Remy or Villareal’s Giuseppe Rossi, I think they’re all better options than paying through the roof for Adebayor.
If he doesn’t want to play for the club at a price that matches his ability level then it’s best for both him and the club that he moves on.
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Totally agree with all your comments. He is a good player but he is not an out an out striker. You normally find him playing out wide and then drifting in. That is not what Spurs need…they need proper striker. Someone who can receive the ball to feet without pushing it too far away, someone who can score with his head and someone who can put the ball in the net. Adebayor is not that type of player. We need someone like Milito but a younger version. A sort of bigger version of Defoe.
“Manchester City and other cash-rich clubs have made the transfer and salary landscape a rather unbalanced place”
Not City who have done this but then again maybe your memory is somewhat selective and defective.
Do you recall United signing Rooney for 28 m. Ferdinand for 30m Veron for 32 m and selling Ronaldo for 80m Spurs also have done their fair share of big spending. So don’t come that nonsense.
You should be grateful that City have done Spurs a favour this season. As it is looks like they will be lucky to end fifth.