After the 2-0 defeat at West Brom last night, Martin Jol said: "I don't think we deserved a lot although in the second half we did okay. It's only a matter of scoring one goal, and we might come away with a draw and it's no problem. But it is not only about our front players. You have to look at the flanks and the support from midfield."
Robbie Keane and Mido both started on the bench and Wayne Routledge featured on the right wing for the opening 55 minutes in what was only the youngster’s second start of the season.
After coming on for Aaron Lennon in the second half against Birmingham on Monday, Jermain Defoe scored his second goal in three consecutive substitute appearances, which combined with the fact he scored at the Hawthorns in both the league and FA Cup last season, would have inspired Jol’s team selection.
He started on the bench for more than a month before last night, after a period of five straight games without scoring, ever since he grabbed himself the winner at home to Fulham, although in the final game of that barren run a good goal of his was wrongly disallowed.
But since then Robbie Keane has scored four times, a converted penalty on Boxing Day took his personal tally for the season to six.