Spurs boss Redknapp: Defoe brilliant since he was 14
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp says he knew Jermain Defoe would be a star as early as when he was 14 years of age.
Defoe struck five goals in Spurs' amazing 9-1 triumph over Wigan Athletic yesterday and Redknapp reflected on when he first spotted Defoe as West Ham United manager.
Redknapp said: "Jermain's an amazing finisher. He's sharp around the box. You give him half a chance he makes a yard and bangs it in the back of the net.
"The goals he scored in the 5-1 win at Hull were incredible but he's been doing that since he was 14.
"We took him at West Ham at 15 and he was a goalscoring machine. He'd do that at Chadwell Heath every Saturday morning, scoring for fun. I loaned him to Bournemouth and they said they needed a proper striker, a man not a kid.
"I said take him for training for a few days. He went there and the boss Mel Machin rang me and said 'Can we take him. We had a game this morning and he scored seven goals.' He ended up getting 10 in 10."
Redknapp added: "He's got stronger. He's using his strength a bit more, holding people off.
"He did some fitness work with the coaches here and he uses his upper body strength more.
"He's not lightweight any more. This could be a great season for him.
"Fabio Capello will see these goals and it's good for him to see his strikers in top form. I'd love to see all the Spurs lads go to South Africa."
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Results & Fixtures
Matches
| Home | Away | Score | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue Feb 14th | |||
| Wycombe Wanderers | Yeovil Town | - | 19:45 |
| Oldham Athletic | Walsall | - | 19:45 |
| Scunthorpe United | Rochdale | - | 19:45 |
| Carlisle United | Tranmere Rovers | - | 19:45 |
| Bury | Chesterfield | - | 19:45 |
| Charlton Athletic | Milton Keynes Dons | - | 19:45 |
| AFC Bournemouth | Leyton Orient | - | 19:45 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | Stevenage | - | 19:45 |
| Notts County | Exeter City | - | 19:45 |
| Huddersfield Town | Sheffield United | - | 19:45 |
| Colchester United | Brentford | - | 19:45 |
| Preston North End | Hartlepool United | - | 19:45 |
Tables
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlton Athletic | 28 | 19 | 7 | 2 | 33 | 64 |
| Charlton Athletic | 25 | 17 | 6 | 2 | 31 | 57 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 15 | 57 |
| Sheffield United | 26 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 25 | 53 |
| Sheffield United | 28 | 17 | 5 | 6 | 27 | 56 |
| Huddersfield Town | 26 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 27 | 50 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 25 | 15 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 49 |
| Huddersfield Town | 29 | 14 | 13 | 2 | 28 | 55 |
| Milton Keynes Dons | 24 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 23 | 46 |
| Milton Keynes Dons | 28 | 13 | 10 | 5 | 21 | 49 |
| Stevenage | 27 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 18 | 45 |
| Stevenage | 25 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 41 |
| Carlisle United | 28 | 12 | 9 | 7 | -1 | 45 |
| Carlisle United | 25 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 41 |
| AFC Bournemouth | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 44 |
| Brentford | 26 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 37 |
| AFC Bournemouth | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 37 |
| Brentford | 28 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 40 |
| Hartlepool United | 29 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 38 |
| Preston North End | 25 | 10 | 5 | 10 | -4 | 35 |
| Bury | 25 | 10 | 4 | 11 | -7 | 34 |
| Bury | 28 | 11 | 5 | 12 | -9 | 38 |
| Notts County | 28 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 37 |
| Colchester United | 25 | 8 | 9 | 8 | -4 | 33 |
| Hartlepool United | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | -4 | 33 |
| Colchester United | 27 | 9 | 9 | 9 | -4 | 36 |
| Notts County | 25 | 9 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 32 |
| Preston North End | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | -7 | 36 |
| Leyton Orient | 28 | 9 | 8 | 11 | -9 | 35 |
| Leyton Orient | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | -10 | 32 |
| Oldham Athletic | 25 | 8 | 7 | 10 | -5 | 31 |
| Oldham Athletic | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | -5 | 32 |
| Tranmere Rovers | 29 | 8 | 8 | 13 | -6 | 32 |
| Tranmere Rovers | 25 | 8 | 6 | 11 | -4 | 30 |
| Exeter City | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | -17 | 30 |
| Exeter City | 26 | 6 | 8 | 12 | -15 | 26 |
| Yeovil Town | 29 | 6 | 9 | 14 | -15 | 27 |
| Scunthorpe United | 25 | 4 | 12 | 9 | -7 | 24 |
| Walsall | 26 | 4 | 12 | 10 | -7 | 24 |
| Wycombe Wanderers | 30 | 7 | 5 | 18 | -21 | 26 |
| Yeovil Town | 26 | 5 | 9 | 12 | -14 | 24 |
| Walsall | 28 | 4 | 13 | 11 | -8 | 25 |
| Scunthorpe United | 27 | 4 | 13 | 10 | -9 | 25 |
| Wycombe Wanderers | 26 | 5 | 5 | 16 | -19 | 20 |
| Rochdale | 28 | 5 | 9 | 14 | -22 | 24 |
| Rochdale | 25 | 4 | 8 | 13 | -22 | 20 |
| Chesterfield | 29 | 5 | 8 | 16 | -17 | 23 |
| Chesterfield | 26 | 3 | 8 | 15 | -18 | 17 |
Related Stories
- Feb 10 West Ham boss Allardyce: Tottenham's Redknapp right man for England job
- Feb 10 Tottenham ace Defoe: Redknapp has aura about him
- Feb 10 Tottenham ace Defoe: Sad if Redknapp leaves
- Feb 02 Everton returnee Pienaar: I pushed Tottenham boss until he gave in
- Feb 02 Lennon, Defoe, van der Vaart in doubt as Tottenham prepare for Liverpool
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Comments (4)
the bit of devil that's been mentioned is what makes certain players what they are. Take that away and they are diminished.
if he does that, then he'll just get poached by the bigger clubs
Graeme so so right leave the attitude at home COYS
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