Jermain Defoe, Tottenham’s five-goal hero against Wigan at the weekend, has revealed he put his remarkable goalscoring achievement down to studying footage of legendary Spurs’ striker Clive Allen on YouTube.
The England international said: “I watched some of Clive’s goals the other day on YouTube and it’s important to do that to learn. He got 49 goals in one season and that is unbelievable.”
One person well qualified to compare the predatory instincts of Allen and Defoe is former Tottenham midfielder Paul Allen, who played alongside his cousin Clive at White Hart Lane.
Allen, now a delegate liaison officer with the PFA, became the youngest player ever to appear in an FA Cup final for West Ham in 1980 – and also played in two further finals with Spurs.
Q: How would you compare Jermain to Clive?
A: Well, they are both fantastic, natural goalscorers. They’ve both got that knack of being in the right place at the right time – which is an art. Clive had that ability and Jermain has it too. What Jermain did on Sunday was absolutely tremendous.
Q: Five goals in one Premier League game is some achievement, isn't it?
A: Yes, I think that’s a Premier League record isn’t it? He is a player with great acceleration and when you have that pace to get in behind defences it really scares defenders. Not only has he got speed, he also makes clever runs and that is a lethal combination. He is always a threat.
Q: Do you think he is destined to go to the World Cup?
A: I would have to say yes, definitely. The pleasing thing is that not only has he been scoring goals regularly in the Premiership over the last couple of years, but he has also been taken his opportunities with England.
He has been very consistent when he has had his chances in an England shirt and this could be a very exciting year for him.
Q: What do you make of Totttenham's progress under Harry Redknapp?
A: When you look at the position they were in only less that a year ago it has been a remarkable turnaround. The balance of the side looks much better and now it’s a question of finding that consistency.
They’ve had a great start to the season and are trying to build on that. One thing about Harry’s sides is that he always likes to have a lot of attacking options and in Jermain, Robbie Keane and Peter Crouch he has players who can score goals.
Q: Is a top four finish within their grasp this season?
A: What I admired about Harry at the start of the season was that he actually said a place in the top four was his target rather than playing down his team’s chances.
I like that approach and if they fall short so be it. But it would be great for the fans to have European football again – they’ve had two Carling Cup finals in the last two years but Champions League football would be wonderful.
