I fully accept that many people will view this article as jaundiced, coming from the keyboard of a devout Portsmouth fan. All I can suggest in my defence is that people review this transfer after eighteen months, if I’m wrong I’ll take it on the chin.
Poached by West Ham from Charlton at the age of fifteen, Jermain Defoe has always been revered in the game as a player destined for the top. When Harry Redknapp loaned him out to Bournemouth in his formative years, he broke the division’s record by scoring in 9 consecutive league games for the Cherries. A take on the Baha Men’s number one single; ‘Who let Defoe out?’ was the chant from the terraces at the time. I knew many a Bournemouth fan during this period, they were all certain this boy wonder would play for England. Like Rio Ferdinand before him, they knew this was a player they could never entertain dreams of keeping.
With West Ham’s relegation came an ill-timed transfer request, and the inevitable move to a ‘big club’; Tottenham Hotspurs. The jump in profile led to England recognition; but the lack of games has curtailed his progress thereafter. Yet look at his record. Despite playing second fiddle to a once nomadic and now settled Robbie Keane, Defoe has notched 64 goals in 177 games for Spurs. A better than 1 in 3 strike rate puts him in the upper echelons of Premier League strikers. When you consider nearly half those appearances were as a substitute, given to a young man who hasn’t experienced regular football since his Upton Park days; you begin to appreciate the latent potential Portsmouth have just contracted. From the age of 21 to 25, this hugely precocious striker has been used as a bit part player – yet still produced a strike rate to shame most Forwards who play week in and week out. It is the prospect of being the main man that has lured Defoe to the south coast once more, and it is the prospect of what he might achieve in this role that has Portsmouth fans salivating.
There has been much negative press about Defoe over the past two seasons. A common depiction has been that of a young man only too happy to pick up his monstrous wages and live the high life in the capitol. Yet this analysis simply doesn’t withstand closer scrutiny. Defoe knows his talent and his true worth, as all great players do, and it’s clear he was determined to make a success of his move to Spurs. Not once in his four year stint did he chuck his toys out the pram and demand a move – when called upon he did the business and found the back of the net. And while Spurs managers constantly reiterated their desire to keep him, fine judges such as Sir Alex, have been monitering his situation. When interviewed after his winning goal for England in Poland, late 2004, we saw not a man saying ‘I told you so’, begrudging his domestic situation. Instead we saw a man who couldn’t hide his delight or his hunger for more.
Defoe is underestimated not just as a player but as a person; and it may be this is what has allowed him to fall into the clutches of Portsmouth. Were there not doubts about either aspect of him, he’d surely be plying his trade at a more grandiose base than Fratton Park. But Pompey fans should prepare to be excited, for the timing of this move coincides with a seismic shift in Defoe’s life. A prodigous and talented youngster, Jermain has spent life from 21-25 without regular first team football. On 31st January his employers effectively told him he could leave, by accepting Portsmouth’s offer. And on the very same day he was ignored by England’s new manager, who instead opted for the past glories of Owen and the untried potential of Agbonlahor. Defoe should be in England’s team and he knows it. He’s chased his Spurs dream and now half way through his twenties he’s found himself not playing and shunned by the national team for lesser lights.
If you believe anything in this article then believe Defoe’s remarks upon signing are genuine. This is a man who’s excited about playing every week. This is a man who’s desperate to make up for lost time. This is a man who has lost his England place and sees Dave Kitson as the top scoring Englishman in the Premier League. I believe there’s a lot of things Defoe feels he needs to put right. With the familiar and motivational arm round the shoulder from Harry, I truly believe he will succeed and the sky is the limit.
This time next year, we should be talking about England’s top Premier League scorer – and whether Michael Owen will ever get the caps needed to usurp Bobby Charlton’s goal record.
Tags: Football, Harry Redknapp, Jermain Defoe, Portsmouth, Premier League, Soccer, Tottenham
