The REAL Jermain Defoe finally stands up
The sight of Defoe celebrating has become a familiar one this season
Jermain Defoe is arguably up there with Didier Drogba as the striker of the season so far, he has hit 15 goals already, 12 at club level and 3 important goals at international level, so it’s crazy to think that Jermain Defoe was once deemed surplus to requirements at White Hart Lane and sold to Portsmouth in January 2008.
Defoe has always been a player of massive promise, when he was sent on loan by Harry Redknapp to Bournemouth for the 00-01 season he scored 18 goals in 29 appearances. He returned to West Ham and became a goal scoring hero, scoring a memorable header at Old Trafford to hand West Ham a 1-0 win over Man Utd in 2001 and when he left West Ham he had scored 45 goals in 105 League and Cup games.
Linked with a move to Man Utd after handing in a transfer request following West Ham’s relegation at the end of the 02-03 season, Defoe began the 2003-04 season at Upton Park but was clearly unhappy with his situatuion and the Hammers finally agreed to let him go during the January transfer window in 2004.
After a 4 year spell at Spurs which yielded 61 goals he was sold to Portsmouth after he fell behind Darren Bent, Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane in the pecking order but he returned to White Hart Lane in good form a year later and this season it appears the added incentive of a place at the World Cup has taken his performances to another level.
Defoe has never been slack in front of goal but he has been in sensational form grabbing goals at any chance with a hat trick against Hull, an acrobatic effort against Man Utd in the first minute and a spectacular 5 goals against Wigan. On the international front his 2 goals from the bench against Holland saved England from an embarrassing defeat and his 63rd minute effort against Slovenia proved to be the match winner.
People have always picked fault with his size but the fact he has a knack of scoring and is currently scoring proves that it may not be as big a problem as previously envisaged as he is comes out on top in battles against some of the best the Premier League has to offer.
His work with Clive Allen and Les Ferdinand is paying dividends as there is a sharpness and focus to his game now that had only been present in spurts previously. A place at the World Cup appears to be his to lose as he sits atop of the Premier League’s top goal scoring chart alongside Didier Drogba.
Defoe is maturing as a person as well as a footballer and is reaping the benefits on field along with Tottenham who sit in 3rd place in the league and although there is a long way to go until May, if Defoe can continue scoring who is to say that they won’t be amongst the top 4 when the season ends?
WAG WATCH - Jermain’s Five beauties that have kept him busy this year – click here
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Defoe’s always been a good goalscorer and he’s crucial to Spurs’ success this season – I think we’re yet to see the best of him, he’s in the form of his life and confident – this could prove a great year for him
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Indeed Defoe has looked good but he needs to keep this up across the ENTIRE season.
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I think with 15 goals to his name this season he definately has a place in England’s World Cup squad but Im just hoping he can keep Spurs in the top 4 as I quite dislike Arsenal and Liverpool
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100% agree with Mark, Defoe will only get better. He fell out of favour with Jol and was never given a good enough run. I could never understand how Keane could be picked ahead of him.
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I got as far as the end of the first paragraph and found I couldn’t continue.
Why? Because JD was never deemed surplus to requirements at WHL – actually, his contract had only a short period to run, and he wasn’t in the team. He wouldn’t sign another until he felt that he was going to get game time. The club ussued a statement making clear that they didn’t want to sell him, but that they also couldn’t afford another Sol Campbell on their hands (and we all know how Spurs fans feel about that). To say he was deemed surplus to requirements is, therefore, factually incorrect.
He wasn’t getting in the team because of the Keane/Berbatov combo, so it was quite understandable at the time; just as it was that the club would not want a(at the time)£10 million striker to go on a freebie; at the same time it is understandable that a player like JD wouldn’t want to spend entire seasons on the bench, whilst fully fit.
No-one should even be purporting to be a journo without being factually correct – or am I just being an idealist there :-O
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Wake up and open your eyes he ain’t that that good, only scores against Hull & Wigan, missed good chances in the last 2 away games and is always offside!!!
Oh and nearly cost us at Pompey when he was needlessly sent off…..
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Oh and in reply to Matt – Jol gave him plenty of chances – 2005/06 he started the first 15 games and he scored only 3 goals and didn’t trouble Grimsby when we lost 1-0 in the league cup…
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And funnily enough unlike the chant suggests he isn’t a yiddo he is a gooner(like Redknapp) and his boyhood hero was that pondlife Ian Wright which says it all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I think if you drop behind 3 strikers in the pecking order and then sold you could very well be deemed surplus to requirements. If they wanted to keep him and he was needed the problem could have been resolved by playing him? Or am I being to idealist by coming to such a conclusion?
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And I would not be incorrect in stating so as with further research I have found that quite a few media outlets have the same feeling!
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