The Foe?

Name: Jermain Colin Defoe

Height: 1.70m

Date of birth: 07-10-1982

Position: Forward

Nationality: England

Tottenham Hotspur

Appearance (Substitute) - Goals

League: 85 (40) - 39

FA Cup: 7 (4) - 5

League Cup: 8 (2) – 9

Other: 2 (3) – 3

Jermain Defoe was a youth product of Charlton where he impressed enough to be purchased by then West Ham boss Harry Redknapp for a fee of £1.15million in 1999; he was only 19 years old then. In his 5 years at Upton Park he netted 51 goals and when The Hammers went down in 2003, it was almost inevitable that someone one of his quality would have no lack of suitors. Thus he followed the West Ham exodus of that season and joined Tottenham Hotspur for a hefty fee of £7million in 2004. This move saw him make his England senior debut as a substitute in March of the same year in a 1-0 defeat to Sweden. He subsequently handed his first start in a World Cup qualifying match against Poland in September 2004, scoring in a 2-1 win. He has clocked up 22 more caps after this and scoring 2 more goals. Blessed with quick feet, lightning reaction and explosive finishing, many people would have tipped him to achieve great things. This is precisely why I decided to devote an entire article to him.

He has made 5 league appearances for Spurs this season, all as a substitute. In his 24 international caps for England, he only started four of those games, with the rest as a cameo substitute. Sven brought an unfit Rooney and an untested 17 year old Walcott rather than a raring-to-go Defoe for the World Cup last year. In short, Defoe’s recent fortune with selection could be described as pitiful. Why is that so? Let’s look at the situation in both Spurs and England to have a better idea.

There are currently 4 forwards in the Tottenham setup – Berbatov, Keane, Bent and Defoe. You could say each has their own strengths and weaknesses but neither are goal scoring machines unless you count Berbatov’s 23 goal haul in all competitions last season as being prolific. He is the only one, I would have to say, that would be the only confirmed name on the team sheet in the forwards department. Keane’s strengths are his intelligence and creativity, leadership qualities, as well as his ability to score amazing goals to rouse his team mates. He would be second on the team sheet. This leaves Jermain Defoe and a £16.5million Bent on the bench.

One note on Bent; he has pace, strength, and aerial ability. But he is only slightly above average in those departments, and that arguably makes him a mediocre player. You could say he scored lots of goals during his time at Charlton but being the lone man up-front for the Addicks would mean he would have the most and best opportunities to become their top goal-scorer. After all that rambling, I will just sum up the player, which cost Spurs £0.5million more than what Barcelona paid for Theirry Henry, in one word – overrated.

With Tottenham involved in the domestic league, FA and League Cup competitions, and the Uefa Cup, there is supposed to be a host of games to keep each forward happy. The problem here lies in the international status of both Darren Bent and Jermain Defoe. Both are on the fringes of the team and need match time in order to impress and keep sharp. Playing bit-parts in competitions inferior to the League or Uefa competitions would definitely frustrate, or could even be detrimental to these players, who are of certain quality and expectation.

The fact that Spurs have got off to a poor start has pressured Martin Jol to keep the existing strikeforce of Berbatov and Keane. The only time this partnership was changed was against Derby when Bent was handed a starting place, ahead of Defoe. It was perhaps the fact that Defoe and Keane were never able to successfully play together that prompted Jol to make such a decision.

What this could mean for Defoe on the club level is increasing disappointment on the bench. This would affect his already dim international future. England usually employs a dual forward system and this would normally mean calling up 4-5 of them. In the upcoming Euro 2008 qualifier against Israel, McClaren called up Alan Smith, Michael Owen, Emile Heskey, Andrew Johnson and Jermain Defoe. Well-known for his liking of pairing a target-man with a speedy player, it would be a good guess to say that Heskey and Owen are the most likely to start.

A few words on McClaren (as you can see, I love to digress). I have always felt he has achieved nothing in club level for him to deserve a job like managing England. Owen is a paler shade of his old self, after losing his speed and agility after coming back from his long term injury. But yet, he is one of McClaren’s favourites. In my opinion, it would be logical to start Emile Heskey and Andy Johnson up front as the latter is in good form compared to Alan Smith (who is deployed as a centre-midfielder in Newcastle) and Jermain Defoe (who has a serious lack of match practice). Owen’s place in the squad should be given up to someone like Ashley Young or Gabriel Agbonlahor (both of whom have been putting in decent displays for Villa), since I feel his abilities and form does not warrant him a place. In essence, he is as daft a manager (tactically) as you can get.

Back to Defoe. It is unlikely he will play any part in this game as I see Andy Johnson coming before him in the pecking order, and putting 4 forwards on the field at the same time would only happen if England were down 1-0 with 15 minutes to go. And with Rooney and Crouch unavailable, Defoe’s England chances look bleak.

What now for this young man? To me at least, his abilities as a forward are undeniable and my heart aches to see such footballing injustice being done. My honest opinion is that he should move on to a club that will guarantee him regular first team action, and that England needs a new (read: more competent) manager for his talents to be recognized and put in better use. He should be least playing a more integral role rather than the plug-filling function that he is right now.

With such talent and promise, one can only lament the state that Defoe is in right now. I wish him all the best.