Jermain Defoe was the main man for Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League as they ran out 3-1 winners at home against Maribor. Defoe scored all three goals shortly after he was left out of the England squad to play Sweden next week, why should he have been included?
Jermain Defoe sent out a clear message to England manager Roy Hodgson last night with three goals in the Europa League tie against Maribor. He has been the main striker at Spurs throughout the season yet he has been overlooked by the England boss for the friendly with Sweden in favour of Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge.
It is a remarkable decision by the England boss when you consider that Defoe has started all ten games for Spurs in the league netting a goal every other game on average. Add to this the three goals he has now bagged in the Europa League and the goal he has already scored in World Cup qualification. It doesn’t make any sense to have left him out, especially for Welbeck and Sturridge who are not regulars at their own clubs.
What Defoe has done, if he is considered a fringe player by Hodgson, has put himself in pole position to be the next England striker into the squad. The whole affair stinks of when Darren Bent was overlooked by former England manager Fabio Capello despite being the highest scoring English player at the time. Defoe can’t do much more than he is already doing.
Hodgson has to be very careful because he could end up with a lot of messy egg on his face. If England play poorly in Sweden with none of the three strikers involved impressing then the England boss will come under waves of criticism from everyone connected to football for not selecting Defoe and this is just a friendly game. Hodgson better pray for a win because it’s a long way down if his selections push him off the edge of a cliff.
The one argument in favour of Hodgson could be that he is simply giving other players a chance to impress but then it doesn’t make sense for him to have selected Rooney in the squad and not Defoe. Welbeck has enjoyed a little experience at international level, as has Sturridge, and they are players who play for two of the biggest clubs in Europe so if Hodgson uses this as his justification then, again, it doesn’t make any sense.
Defoe has made over 50 appearances for his country so he is a ready made international player. His record this season shows that he can improve on the ratio of goals he has scored for England which currently stands at 17.
This snub may make him all the more determined to get into the England side and prove a point. There is no one better in the country at the moment when it comes to being an out and out striker. England need a poacher, a goal scorer, someone to sniff out a chance and the man ideal for doing that has been left at home.
image: © OliverN5
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