Defoe joins ranks of oldies but goldies
Much has been said about Jermain Defoe scoring for England against Lithuania last Sunday at the grand old age of 34. It was admittedly one of the few things to cheer about in an otherwise soporific game at Wembley.
However, when it comes to oldies on target for England, the Sunderland striker is just a whippersnapper and has to settle for sixth place in the rankings of old codgers who have scored for their nation.
Topping the list is Stanley Matthews who scored for England in the 1-1 draw against Northern Ireland in Oct 1956, at the ripe old age of 41 years and 248 days. In May 1957, against Denmark, Matthews became the oldest player to represent England at 42 years and 103 days.
Matthews, who was not a prolific scorer, carried on in club football and in Feb 1964, aged 49 years and 14 days, he scored for Stoke City against Swansea in the FA Cup fifth round. Matthews’ longevity prompted the following chant from Stoke supporters:
“Last night I had the strangest dream/I’d never had before/Stan Matthews on the wing for Stoke/At the age of 84.”
Tom Finney’s name is often mentioned in the same breath as Matthews and at 36 years and 182 days the Preston star was the second-oldest player to score for England, in 1958 also against Northern Ireland. For the record, Finney scored 30 international goals while Matthews managed 11.
Ranked in third place is Teddy Sheringham who was on target against Greece at the age of 35, while Frank Lampard was almost 35 when he scored against Ireland. Rounding off the oldest goalscorers is Jack Charlton who was 34 and 217 days when he netted against Portugal in 1969.
It would be remiss not to mention “Welsh Wizard”, winger Billy Meredith, who scored for Wales in their 2-1 win over England at the age of 45 years and 73 days back in 1919. Admittedly it was almost a century ago, but it was nonetheless a great feat. Meredith, incidentally scored his last club goal for Manchester City against Brighton in 1924 at the grand age of 49 years and 208 days.
Defoe, who has scored 14 of Sunderland’s 24 goals this season, has always had an eye for goal. One person who recognised this early on was Harry Redknapp who since his time as manager of West Ham has had a close association with the striker throughout his career.
After Defoe had a few games at West Ham, in the 2000-2001 season Redknapp sent the player on loan to Bournemouth to gain experience. The move worked out a treat for all concerned. In 29 appearances for the Cherries, Defoe netted 18 goals, which included a sparkling spell in which he scored in 10 consecutive games. At the time Redknapp commented: “He is a kid with a big future.”
Redknapp later signed Defoe for Portsmouth where he scored 14 goals in 30 games and then Tottenham Hotspur. Defoe had many good moments during his two spells at Spurs in which he scored 91 times. One of his most memorable matches came in Nov 2009 when he scored five as Spurs thrashed Wigan 9-1 at White Hart Lane. His tally included a sevenminute hat-trick, the second fastest in Premier League history.
Despite his success at club level, Defoe has experienced some disappointments on the international stage, in which he has scored a respectable 20 goals in 56 appearances. He was ignored by manager Sven-Goran Eriksson for the 2006 World Cup squad which included 17-year-old Theo Walcott who did not kick a ball in the entire tournament. Defoe had been having a rare poor spell at Spurs, but many felt he was unlucky not to be selected. Eriksson was quite blunt: “Jermain had a bad season. I don’t think he deserved to go to the World Cup.”
More disappointment was to come when he was not selected for Roy Hodgson’s 2014 World Cup squad. To add insult to injury, he was put on “standby”. Defoe was upset as he has ever been. “I don’ think I’ll ever be at peace with it,” he said recently.
Having known Defoe since he was a boy, Redknapp still holds the player in high regard. Before the Lithuania game, Redknapp told the Evening Standard: “If I was a manager in the Premier League I would take Jermain all day long.” He added: “He is a totally dedicated professional and easy to manage. He is not a drinker, he looks after himself and always trains fantastically well. He is built for football.”
Defoe looks after himself physically, very much in the manner of Matthews six decades earlier and he will no doubt be aware that Matthews played some of his best football in his later years.
Some say Matthews’ greatest game came in 1954 when England beat West Germany 3-1 at Wembley. Just two months short of his 40th birthday, the Blackpool winger tormented the German defence and totally destroyed the fullback. The newspapers loved it and the normally staid Times described his performance as “a tour de force by the greatest player in football”.
A few months later, in 1955, now aged 40, Matthews was man of the match as England destroyed Scotland 7-2. According to Nat Lofthouse, who was playing centre forward, Matthews “made” all seven goals and Scottish fullback Harry Haddock was in a state of shock at the final whistle.
While Defoe is no Matthews, hopefully the great winger will be a source of inspiration for the England striker in his bid to play in next year’s World Cup.