Jermain Defoe: Top 5 Hit On Tottenham’s All-Time Goalscoring Record

Jermain Defoe has moved into the top 5 on Tottenham’s all-time goalscoring list. His two goals against Aston Villa in the Capital One Cup tie brought his total goals for Spurs to 139 and 5th on their all-time record. The goal against Anzhi was his 140th and 21st in Europe for Spurs. Defoe has added 2 more goals to his total of European goals, scoring in both games against FC Sheriff making him Spurs record scorer in European competitions with 23 goals and taking his total to 142. His goal against Palace was his first Premier League goal of the season but his 143rd for Spurs in all competitions.

Jermain Defoe – No. 5 on Spurs scoring record [Photo: Jav The_DoC_66]Over the past twelve months Jermain Defoe has moved up Spurs’ all-time scoring list, overtaking a former colleague and Tottenham Legends on the way. HotspurHQ’s GoalWatch has recorded his progress over the past year as he moved into the top 5 and his record this season, of 6 goals from 3 starts, was an impressive way to finally break into the top 5 where he sits with with the best of Tottenham goalscorers – Cliff Jones, Martin Chivers, Bobby Smith and goalscorer supreme, Jimmy Greaves.

2004 – 08

Defoe has had two spells with Tottenham. He first signed from West Ham United in January, 2004 and made a goalscoring debut against Portsmouth, putting Spurs ahead after 13 minutes in a 4 – 3 win at White Hart Lane. He scored in the midweek 4 – 2 win at Charlton and in the next game he scored twice at home to Leicester City as Spurs drew 4 – 4. His second goal came with two minutes to go as Spurs snatched a point after they has squandered a 3 – 1 interval lead.

In his first spell with Spurs he scored 64 goals in 177 appearances. In January, 2008 with Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov the preferred selection of Juande Ramos, Defoe went to Portsmouth where he would get regular football.

2009 ==>

One year on, with Harry Redknapp in charge and Tottenham in something of a crisis, Defoe returned as the club prepared for a battle to avoid relegation. This time he didn’t manage to score in his first game but scored in a 1 – 1 draw against his former club at White Hart Lane. He scored in the next game but then was out injured for over two months, unable to return until mid-April.

The following season Spurs won their opening four games and Defoe was on fire, scoring 5 goals in the first five games, including a hat-trick at Hull. Later in the season he did even better scoring 5 against Wigan. All of his goals coming in the second half. As Spurs finally made it into the Champions League, Defoe had played his part with 18 Premier League goals and 24 in total.

Jermain Defoe at the end of last season. [Jav The_DoC_66]Defoe has often been seen as a very useful player to have as a substitute and 21 of his Premier League goals have come in games where he has made a late appearance. Such a statistic, a Premier League record, speaks volumes for Defoe’s attitude and commitment to the team. Last season Andre Villas-Boas gave Defoe the opportunity at the start of the season as the lone striker, a role some thought he was unsuited to play. Defoe played a major part in keeping Spurs near the top of the table during those early months, scoring 14 goals in all competitions up to the end of December. His scoring feats saw him climb up Spurs list of record goalscorers as he moved from 10th, passing Robbie Keane and Teddy Sheringham. He also scored his 200th club goal in the defeat by Chelsea at White Hart Lane. In the second half of the season, however, his progression stalled due to every strikers’ nightmare, injury and loss of form. Having scored on Boxing Day to be within a goal of Alan Gilzean, he only scored one more goal before the end of the season.

Six goals in three games this season has been a spectacular way to jump into the top 5. He left Gilzean behind, moved past Len Duquemin and the 1930s scorer George Hunt and with 142 goals is the undisputed number 5.

In this second spell at Tottenham he has scored his goals at a higher strike rate – 76 goals in 177 appearances. His goals in this season’s Europa League have taken him ahead of Martin Chivers and he now holds the record for most goals scored in European competitions for Tottenham. Chivers scored 22 goals with Defoe’s strikes in the two games against FC Sheriff of Moldova taking him on to 23. he scored his first league goal of the season in a 2 – 0 win over Crystal Palace, bringing his total to 143.

England

Playing for his country means a great deal to Defoe who has scored 19 goals in 54 appearances. In September, 2010 he scored three goals against Bulgaria, the first hat-trick at the new Wembley stadium. He has also scored two on 5 occasions for England.

Last season’s strike partners – Defoe and Adebayor [Photo: Jav The_Doc_66]Goalscoring Feats:

Defoe has been leading scorer for Tottenham on two occasions – in 2004-05 with 22 goals in all competitions and in 2009-10 when he scored 24. He has scored six hat-tricks in his club career plus one for England. His Tottenham hat-tricks include three in the Premier League (against Southampton, Hull City and Wigan Athletic (scored 5)), one in the FA Cup (Leeds United) and one in the Europa League (Maribor).

Memorable Moments

December, 2004: a hat-trick against Southampton.

November, 2009: Five goals in the second half against Wigan Athletic – everything he did in that second half seemed to turn into a goal.

September, 2011: Goal against Shamrock Rovers at White Hart Lane. Spurs had just scored twice in a minute against the Irish part-timers with Defoe heading the second. Defoe showed his desire to get more and went back into his own half and in a strong challenge won a ball  that everyone was going to let go out for a throw. He set off on a determined run past defenders to set up Spurs’ third goal in five minutes.

November, 2012: The opening goal against West Ham last season – a lovely solo goal. He took a pass from Kyle Walker, tight on the right wing. He held off defenders and cut in towards goal, leaving opponents in his wake and curled a shot inside the goalkeeper’s near post.

April, 2013: Defoe hadn’t scored for Spurs since Boxing Day but he came off the bench with twenty minutes to play and had scored Spurs second within 8 minutes as Spurs recovered from a goal down to win 3 – 1. Defoe was played behind the defence on the left and shot powerfully across the goalkeeper with the ball going inside the far post.

Congratulations:

Congratulations to Jermain Defoe on reaching Tottenham’s Top 5 in such exalted company. It’s a position he will retain for many years to come and his next target must be to beat Martin Chivers’ record of European goals for Spurs – we’ll keep an eye out for that record too.

 Related Articles:

A View on Jermain Defoe’s Career – Read more

What to Do with a Striker like Jermain Defoe – Read more