Not sure if this works properly but there is a video of Jermain Defoe being in the Talksport studio talking about his love of the game, his time at Rangers but also, interestingly, about the coaching aspect of the game.
worth a listen
if I’m honest I can see merit in him coming in as a coach for some of the younger players. The boost would be massive for them
I forgave Jermaine Defoe a long time ago, he hadn't played for us and I very much doubt it was all his choice to leave when he did. Mostly though I did an about turn because of what a good bloke he showed himself to be by being little Bradley Lowreys best mate in his last stages of his life.
I bumped into Jermaine Defoe once and behaved like a bit of a massive prick to him, which was wrong on a few levels. One because he was with a girl, two because I'm twice the size of him and three, what gives me the right to do that to anyone?
As for him coming back, he can't be a worse option than anyone to make something happen when we are inevitably chasing a game again but mainly for the knowledge and experience he can pass on. Not all great footballers make greatbcoaches and not all great coaches need to have been players but for players like Davison, Burstow, Kanu even senior players like Chuks and Jayden Stockely would have grown up watching him whack goals in and none of them would be worse off for listening to him or watching him peel off a marker and suddenly be in ten yards of space. Not to mention his ball striking technique
If any one thing could define how I currently feel about supporting this club for 60 years, it's losing a star striker before he's even started and rushing to get him back when he's finished, having made a career habit of scoring against us. Welcome back Jermain, you lovely human being. Kanu, you're up son.
I was always more disgusted with Harry and West Ham and the nonsense they spouted when signing the then teenager. In the end Defoe left West Ham under a bit of a cloud and probably worse than with us. As an adult I think he turned out a decent player and human being. I cant remember him ever letting England down despite not always being in the starting 11 and playing second fiddle to some pretty uninspiring strikers. And he has played at the top level an awfully long time so he must have a fantastic depth of knowledge, although having knowledge and passing it on are not often compatible. I doubt very much at 39 he would have much of an impact on the playing side and coaching our current crop of 1st teamers I would think it would frustrate the hell out of him. They'd struggle to do the things Defoe can or could of done without thinking about it. I do actually think he would have great influence on youth or younger players so maybe there should be an opening for him there. It would be a shame not to a least see if he can offer something back to the club that gave him his chance in life.
I was always more disgusted with Harry and West Ham and the nonsense they spouted when signing the then teenager. In the end Defoe left West Ham under a bit of a cloud and probably worse than with us. As an adult I think he turned out a decent player and human being. I cant remember him ever letting England down despite not always being in the starting 11 and playing second fiddle to some pretty uninspiring strikers. And he has played at the top level an awfully long time so he must have a fantastic depth of knowledge, although having knowledge and passing it on are not often compatible. I doubt very much at 39 he would have much of an impact on the playing side and coaching our current crop of 1st teamers I would think it would frustrate the hell out of him. They'd struggle to do the things Defoe can or could of done without thinking about it. I do actually think he would have great influence on youth or younger players so maybe there should be an opening for him there. It would be a shame not to a least see if he can offer something back to the club that gave him his chance in life.
If I remember rightly Harry Rednob was annoyed that we wanted compensation!
I was always more disgusted with Harry and West Ham and the nonsense they spouted when signing the then teenager. In the end Defoe left West Ham under a bit of a cloud and probably worse than with us. As an adult I think he turned out a decent player and human being. I cant remember him ever letting England down despite not always being in the starting 11 and playing second fiddle to some pretty uninspiring strikers. And he has played at the top level an awfully long time so he must have a fantastic depth of knowledge, although having knowledge and passing it on are not often compatible. I doubt very much at 39 he would have much of an impact on the playing side and coaching our current crop of 1st teamers I would think it would frustrate the hell out of him. They'd struggle to do the things Defoe can or could of done without thinking about it. I do actually think he would have great influence on youth or younger players so maybe there should be an opening for him there. It would be a shame not to a least see if he can offer something back to the club that gave him his chance in life.
If I remember rightly Harry Rednob was annoyed that we wanted compensation!
Apparently, "he's just a kid who wants to play for his team" His dog, Rosie, was certainly the nicer and more articulate part of that setup.
See a lot of talk about what a great mentor he'd be. And whilst his ability as a footballer can't be denied, I have doubts over the sort of career advice he would be offering.
Why would a player who had great success after leaving for a bigger club, tell any decent youngster to stay at Charlton? It's not as if he left and it fucked his career so he wishes he did it differently.
He left us when we were at West Ham's level, even arguably better than them at the time. If a PL team come knocking, is he the best person to rely on to convince them to stay at League One Charlton?
How long is a player's career? By that I mean long enough to earn meaningful money. Ten years? No employer owns the body and soul of any footballer. The club offers them a contract which they either sign or don't sign.
I wonder if those who call a Defoe, Parker or James Beadle for moving clubs a Judas feel the same way when they move jobs themselves. Surely their existing employer, even more so if they served an apprenticeship with them, deserves unconditional loyalty? Equally, if a Premier League Club came knocking for their son and offering double, treble, quadruple or even ten times the money, are they seriously saying that they would advise their child not to move? "Don't worry about a career ending injury, you stay at Charlton son. They'll put food on the table for the next 50 years. You can always live off the fact that you are one of our own".
If anyone can honestly say that they could look straight in the eye of their son, given those circumstances and say you are far better staying with us than make a life changing move then they are a far better person than I am.
Fans support their clubs with a passion. And rightly so. But footballers are doing a job. And they owe no more allegiance to us than we, as a Club, owe to the 18 year old who has been with us since he was eight who is told "there's the door son, hope you find another club. Oh and hope to see you watching from the stands at the next home game".
No club can love you enough to compensate you for missing out on that move. For some, coming to us, especially when we were in the Premier League, was that life changing move. And no club can love you enough to say that, when they think it's your time to go, they will still offer you another contract. Because they won't.
When one strips back all the emotion it really is that simple. It's just a job for a professional sportsman who has a very limited working lifespan at that profession.
I read this argument a lot on here and it does make sense when you look at football like a business and playing for a club like any employer-employee relationship. And on all evidence, it seems a lot of footballers do look at it that way, much to the detriment of the modern game.
It does irk me that as fans, we are happy not just to accept, but to condone that.
If football is just a business then aren't we just customers... And if players are just employees then we may as well tear down the statues and stop singing the names.
I still remember when we first got relegated from the Prem, I was just a kid and lived on Harvey Gardens at the time and I was devastated and kicking a ball against the Valley gates long after everybody had left. I heard a car driving down the road, which was strange at that time, so I turned around to look and noticed it was Mark Kinsella. I didn't really know what to do so I just held out the badge on my Charlton shirt. He slowed down, and shook his fist at me, as if to say 'Come on!' Next year he captained us back to the Premier League again. Legend.
Point is, the link between club, fans and players is so much more than just business-like. And as a fan, I refuse to support these players who treat playing for us like a stop-gap job.
But that is how football has changed over the years. When I and others were young in the 70s we used to really look forward to seeing, season in season out, those same players. There was an affinity between us and them. The likes of Hales, Powell, Flanagan, Peacock, Berry, Curtis, Warman, Robinson etc etc played 300 plus games for us and alongside each other too. They were "our" heroes.
How many players have been fixtures in the first team for the last two or three seasons? I reckon, off the top of my head, just one - Pearce. And calling him a "fixture" is rather pushing it. That is how much football has changed. You mentioned Kinsella. Who, from that era, are our Kinsella, Leaburn, Balmer, Lisbie, Mortimer, Newton, Powell, Robinson, Konchesky or Rufus? All of them must have played over 200 games for us. We do not have a single one who has achieved that.
We're not unique in having a hefty turnover of players either. It is a fact that, whereas clubs as we were in the old 3rd Division would offer longer term contracts, this does not happen so much now. Boards do not want to commit to longer term deals any more than players want to sign them.
Equally, can you honestly say, hand on heart, that if your son left us for a PL side for £1m a year as opposed to the £100,000 we were prepared to offer him, in the knowledge that they do have a very short career which might be even shorter with a career ending injury, you would refuse to talk to him again? Or that you would say to your other son, who has been shown the door, that everything is rosy in the garden and that you wouldn't view the Club as nothing but an insensitive business? Whether we like it or not the Club is a business. And the ones that aren't run as a business get in financial trouble as we have seen.
The system for rewarding clubs that produce youngsters absolutely stinks and that is why the likes of Brentford have opted to do what they do. They buy cheap and sell for a profit rather than nurture players for a decade that might not bring any rewards to the Club even if they are exceptional.
How long is a player's career? By that I mean long enough to earn meaningful money. Ten years? No employer owns the body and soul of any footballer. The club offers them a contract which they either sign or don't sign.
I wonder if those who call a Defoe, Parker or James Beadle for moving clubs a Judas feel the same way when they move jobs themselves. Surely their existing employer, even more so if they served an apprenticeship with them, deserves unconditional loyalty? Equally, if a Premier League Club came knocking for their son and offering double, treble, quadruple or even ten times the money, are they seriously saying that they would advise their child not to move? "Don't worry about a career ending injury, you stay at Charlton son. They'll put food on the table for the next 50 years. You can always live off the fact that you are one of our own".
If anyone can honestly say that they could look straight in the eye of their son, given those circumstances and say you are far better staying with us than make a life changing move then they are a far better person than I am.
Fans support their clubs with a passion. And rightly so. But footballers are doing a job. And they owe no more allegiance to us than we, as a Club, owe to the 18 year old who has been with us since he was eight who is told "there's the door son, hope you find another club. Oh and hope to see you watching from the stands at the next home game".
No club can love you enough to compensate you for missing out on that move. For some, coming to us, especially when we were in the Premier League, was that life changing move. And no club can love you enough to say that, when they think it's your time to go, they will still offer you another contract. Because they won't.
When one strips back all the emotion it really is that simple. It's just a job for a professional sportsman who has a very limited working lifespan at that profession.
I read this argument a lot on here and it does make sense when you look at football like a business and playing for a club like any employer-employee relationship. And on all evidence, it seems a lot of footballers do look at it that way, much to the detriment of the modern game.
It does irk me that as fans, we are happy not just to accept, but to condone that.
If football is just a business then aren't we just customers... And if players are just employees then we may as well tear down the statues and stop singing the names.
I still remember when we first got relegated from the Prem, I was just a kid and lived on Harvey Gardens at the time and I was devastated and kicking a ball against the Valley gates long after everybody had left. I heard a car driving down the road, which was strange at that time, so I turned around to look and noticed it was Mark Kinsella. I didn't really know what to do so I just held out the badge on my Charlton shirt. He slowed down, and shook his fist at me, as if to say 'Come on!' Next year he captained us back to the Premier League again. Legend.
Point is, the link between club, fans and players is so much more than just business-like. And as a fan, I refuse to support these players who treat playing for us like a stop-gap job.
But that is how football has changed over the years. When I and others were young in the 70s we used to really look forward to seeing, season in season out, those same players. There was an affinity between us and them. The likes of Hales, Powell, Flanagan, Peacock, Berry, Curtis, Warman, Robinson etc etc played 300 plus games for us and alongside each other too. They were "our" heroes.
How many players have been fixtures in the first team for the last two or three seasons? I reckon, off the top of my head, just one - Pearce. And calling him a "fixture" is rather pushing it. That is how much football has changed. You mentioned Kinsella. Who, from that era, are our Kinsella, Leaburn, Balmer, Lisbie, Mortimer, Newton, Powell, Robinson, Konchesky or Rufus? All of them must have played over 200 games for us. We do not have a single one who has achieved that.
We're not unique in having a hefty turnover of players either. It is a fact that, whereas clubs as we were in the old 3rd Division would offer longer term contracts, this does not happen so much now. Boards do not want to commit to longer term deals any more than players want to sign them.
Equally, can you honestly say, hand on heart, that if your son left us for a PL side for £1m a year as opposed to the £100,000 we were prepared to offer him, in the knowledge that they do have a very short career which might be even shorter with a career ending injury, you would refuse to talk to him again? Or that you would say to your other son, who has been shown the door, that everything is rosy in the garden and that you wouldn't view the Club as nothing but an insensitive business? Whether we like it or not the Club is a business. And the ones that aren't run as a business get in financial trouble as we have seen.
The system for rewarding clubs that produce youngsters absolutely stinks and that is why the likes of Brentford have opted to do what they do. They buy cheap and sell for a profit rather than nurture players for a decade that might not bring any rewards to the Club even if they are exceptional.
Not for me too old, plus he turned his back on us...
People come and go and he's had a great career. Loyalty and everything is out the door now. Our pride has been minimised a bit recently. We needed the likes of Simon Jordan to stand up for us! As an example.
We are desperate to get out of a mind numbing boring league.
Defoe left us over 20 years ago! He was 16 years old. Can forgive and forget that one easily enough...
Dead right,with what West Ham were reputed to be paying his parents,he had no choice,and did what he was told.
I have not heard that money actually passed hands to his mother…….that might have been a risky thing to do. However, one thing that did happen is that her house was redecorated from top to bottom. Make of that what you will. 🤫
i've mentioned this before but i think Defoe being 'nicked' from us was a result of us having 'nicked' a lot of players from them, or at least, from their patch, in the curbs years and they set out to try and reverse that trend - anyway, i want him to raffle the original car his mum got to all fans (season ticket holders plus 3 friends can enter the draw) and offer a full apology and some of his wages to us and then he can join
I think he'd make a great fourth striker with Stockley, Washington, and Aneke. We play with two up front which he needs so that's helpful. But the comments from Jacko read more like general interest than specific targeting. He'd also command huge wages at this level, and I could see us not wanting to take a punt on him this season knowing that we're not going to get promoted and are pretty unlikely to get relegated. And it's hard to blame a mid-table League One club for not wanting to give a 39 year-old an 18 month deal.
If it happens, great. But I suspect there will be someone higher up the leagues willing to take a punt and either offer him more money over six months or offer him an 18 month deal.
Sunderland are the divisions leading scorers, in fact only Man City, Liverpool and Fulham have scored more in the entire country, so do they need to spend decent wages for a guy to sit on the bench?
What I really like about this signing is that if we don't prosper in the Pizza Cup , Defoe along with Gunter, Watson and Pearce could form the spine of an Charlton OAP walking football squad.
Can we not just sign someone who can play football, is under 30, over 6ft tall and not injured ?
Comments
worth a listen
if I’m honest I can see merit in him coming in as a coach for some of the younger players. The boost would be massive for them
I bumped into Jermaine Defoe once and behaved like a bit of a massive prick to him, which was wrong on a few levels. One because he was with a girl, two because I'm twice the size of him and three, what gives me the right to do that to anyone?
As for him coming back, he can't be a worse option than anyone to make something happen when we are inevitably chasing a game again but mainly for the knowledge and experience he can pass on. Not all great footballers make greatbcoaches and not all great coaches need to have been players but for players like Davison, Burstow, Kanu even senior players like Chuks and Jayden Stockely would have grown up watching him whack goals in and none of them would be worse off for listening to him or watching him peel off a marker and suddenly be in ten yards of space. Not to mention his ball striking technique
Welcome back Jermain, you lovely human being.
Kanu, you're up son.
As an adult I think he turned out a decent player and human being. I cant remember him ever letting England down despite not always being in the starting 11 and playing second fiddle to some pretty uninspiring strikers. And he has played at the top level an awfully long time so he must have a fantastic depth of knowledge, although having knowledge and passing it on are not often compatible.
I doubt very much at 39 he would have much of an impact on the playing side and coaching our current crop of 1st teamers I would think it would frustrate the hell out of him. They'd struggle to do the things Defoe can or could of done without thinking about it.
I do actually think he would have great influence on youth or younger players so maybe there should be an opening for him there. It would be a shame not to a least see if he can offer something back to the club that gave him his chance in life.
His dog, Rosie, was certainly the nicer and more articulate part of that setup.
Why would a player who had great success after leaving for a bigger club, tell any decent youngster to stay at Charlton? It's not as if he left and it fucked his career so he wishes he did it differently.
He left us when we were at West Ham's level, even arguably better than them at the time. If a PL team come knocking, is he the best person to rely on to convince them to stay at League One Charlton?
If it happens, great. But I suspect there will be someone higher up the leagues willing to take a punt and either offer him more money over six months or offer him an 18 month deal.
He said in his press conference that he was excited to live in America.
“ Defoe was spotted playing football by Charlton Athletic who enrolled him at the FA National School of Excellence at Lilleshall Hall in 1997.”
The way our fans cry (I would have been one of them) I thought he’d been with us for 5-6 years in the academy .
1999 we were relegated from the Prem and start of our promotion season West Ham finished 5th in 1999 and ninth the following season .
Sunderland are the divisions leading scorers, in fact only Man City, Liverpool and Fulham have scored more in the entire country, so do they need to spend decent wages for a guy to sit on the bench?
Can we not just sign someone who can play football, is under 30, over 6ft tall and not injured ?
Surely it can't be that difficult.