Page 46 - 360633 LP236168 A Love Supreme 48pp A5 (April 2022)

BYE BYE JERMAIN
That’s it, then. Gone but not forgotten. Jermain Defoe, that is. A career that’s spanned 23 seasons has come to a bit of an abrupt and somewhat disappointing end. A total of two starts and five substitute appearances was all we got in his second stay, and his stellar career really deserved a better ending.
After his first spell, in which he endeared himself to our fans with a heady mixture of goals and off-field activities, he left with our good wishes. That relationship with young Bradley meant that we’d seen the human side of a footballer that rarely shows itself, and that goal against the Mags, one of the finest seen at the SoL, elevated Defoe to the ranks of Sunderland legends and means that he leaves, once again, with our good wishes. It was always going to be a last drunken dance, a final finale, an emotional encore, but what it wasn’t, unfortunately, was a final flourish.
It’s been claimed by some fans that one of the reasons Lee Johnson was sacked was that he didn’t want Defoe, and that Alex Neil hasn’t used him as much as most
of us hoped because he didn’t want him here. Either, both, or neither may be true. Injury to Broadhead meant that we needed a striking alternative, and Defoe was available after the transfer window closed because he was a free agent, just as well, as we’d done bugger-
the last shot he had for us, that one he dragged wide late on at Lincoln, summed up his second stay, it looked a bit tired, like a fabulous player who had simply gotten old.
all in January to bolster our attacking options. It’s also been claimed that the signing was just a PR stunt,
what, Sunderland pull a PR stunt? Never! To get more folks through the turnstiles, and if that’s true, it certainly worked as he attracted another 8,000 or so to the SoL for his first game. I was glad to see him back, partly because we needed a striker, and partly because... well, I’m a great big sentimental old fan at heart, and I’m not alone in that respect.
Was it worth him coming back? Purely in football terms, on the pitch, not really. Am I glad he came back? Yes, because I love anything that gets the crowd roaring, and his introduction always did that. His return was a feel-good story, there are precious few of them associated with SAFC at the moment, and it lifted the fans, so in that respect it was a good thing. On the other hand, I’d not have been that disappointed had he left his boots in the bag at Rangers. I’d have loved him to see out the season and become our oldest ever goalscorer in the process, but he obviously knows what his body is capable of doing, and, to him, it wasn’t enough to justify staying on. That means he remains on
However, his sporadic appearances over the 53 days of his second coming didn’t really produce much of note on the pitch apart from creating the space that allowed Clarke to ping in his goal. Jermain’s touch was there for all to see, players never lose their touch, but the speed over the first few yards, that bit of lightning movement that creates the space for the shot, simply wasn’t. OK, there wasn’t a huge amount of quality balls played to his feet in the right place, but that’s largely because we’re a League One side playing League One football.
a measly 305 career goals from 763 competitive games and effectively ends his England career at the same time, the last Sunderland player to score for England.
I honestly think that he’d have had a better swansong at West Ham or Spurs, as Premiership refs might well have whistled in his favour when he was subjected to the manhandling that opposing defences employed against him. League One refs certainly didn’t. I also think that
Whatever we think, he’s gone now, he says he’ll support us from afar, and he’s done what he believes is best for all concerned, so goodbye and good luck to him.
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