Jermain Defoe: The underrated goal machine

A man who had a frustrating last season with Harry Redknapp as boss is now showing why he did deserve to get more chances under the old gaffer, having made a brilliant start to this season, scoring 4 times in 5 games and scoring his 199th career goal in the process against Q.P.R. Yes indeed, I am talking about that man, Jermain Defoe. A through and through poacher, he is a man who thrives on scoring goals. He is a class goalscorer and in my opinion it would be really silly to say he isn’t. Although many disagree…

Jermain started his career at West Ham Untied in 1999 at the age of 18, scoring 29 times in 93 games for the Hammers, not a bad feat at all for his age. During that time, he was loaned out to Bournemouth as well, scoring 18 times in just 29 games for the then League 1 club. As a 21 year old, Defoe moved to Tottenham, for a pretty high transfer fee of 7 million pounds.

“I can’t think of a British striker at his age who has achieved as much in such a short space of time. His goal record for a 21-year-old is quite exceptional. I hope he will have a fine career at Tottenham.” - Then Tottenham manager David Pleat.

And Defoe made an instant impact, with 7 goals in 15 games for his new club. It was certainly looking as if this young lad was on his way to the top, and it was pretty much expected that the Manchester Uniteds and the Chelseas would come knocking at the door for Jermain Defoe’s signature. That however, never happened inspite of how good he became in his career. After a magnificent season in 2009-2010 for Tottenham, scoring 18 goals in 34 league games, which included 3 hat-tricks and a fantastic 5 goal haul in the 9-1 thrashing of Wigan Athletic, Jermain was instrumental in the North London side’s Champions League qualification. The arrival of Emmanuel Adebayor on loan for Spurs in 2011 proved pretty unfortunate for Jermain’s chances, limiting him to the bench. He still managed to score 17 goals in 38 games, a great return for a “2nd choice”.

Why Jermain Defoe is a class player is because you can always count on him to hit the back of the net whenever a chance pops up. He may not have the height or the imposing presence, but still gets in a lot of power behind the shot, managing to score from outside the area often as well. People criticise him for being inconsistent, but the stats of his whole career show that he is everything but that. Jermain Defoe lives and breathes goals. His movement off the ball and of course, his finishing, both are second to none. Although he may not flourish as much as a lone striker than he would with a partner like he did with Crouch (imagine what he’d do with a player like Rooney), he still has that ability to affect the scoreline, be it as a starter, or as a sub. Yes he does have a downisde, his selfishness and his disability to hold up play, but he makes up for it by taking his chances, and taking them really really well.

Defoe has amassed 51 caps for England, and has scored 17 goals for the Three Lions, with a brilliant goal recently against Italy, a rocket from outside the box. Had he been playing for Manchester United or such a club, he surely would have shone more and could have become a regular 25-goal-a-season player, and also would have been capped more often for England as well. I would like to sign off by this line – “Jermain Defoe, the most natural goalscorer England have had since Michael Owen, yet has less caps than Emile Heskey.”

As a Spurs fan, I am a bit happy though that a big move never materialised for Defoe, as he is a wonderful asset to our team, as he is proving of late. May the goals keep on coming Jermain!