
Keane & Defoe: 'I score more Jermain', 'Shut up Robbie Rubbish.'
Hmm, tough one this isn’t it? Robbie’s the club skipper and is a three-time winner of the club’s player of the year award. But then, you know, ‘Jermain Defoe, he is a Yiddo, Jermain Defoe, he is a Yiddo’.
The question takes extra significance this season for Spurs fans with the return of both goal grabbers to White Hart Lane, but while ‘Appy ‘Arry appears to favour the Beckton-born midget, the stats say Robbie should play.
Let’s go back to the start of the 2003/4 season. Defoe had just left the relegated Spammers for Spurs, so it makes it a level Premier League playing field. Since thenĀ Defoe has scored double-digit league goals four times (2004/5, 2006/7, 2007/8 and 2008/9) including 15 for Portsmouth during the 2007/8 and 2008/9 seasons. Not bad really. His best return, however, is a not terribly clever – 13 in 2004/5, while his entire Premier League goal haul over this time span stands at 63, or 10.5 per season.
Over the same period Robbie Keane has hit double-digits every single season, with a maximum haul of 16 in 2005/6 and a return greater than that of Defoe’s best season (13) no fewer than three times, 2003/4, 2005/6 and 2007/8.
With his total tally of 77 goals (12.8 a season) – 14 more than Defoe’s (or more than 2 better every season) – Keane looks a far better bet for a goals bonanza than Defoe currently does. Still, ‘Arry has his favourites and Defoe is certainly one of them, so my money’s on Defoe and Crouch lining up against Liverpool.
