Club Career
Defoe was spotted playing football by Charlton Athletic who enrolled him at the FA National School of Excellence at Lilleshall Hall in 1997. Two years later, he took the controversial decision, aged 16, to turn professional with West Ham United, following which Charlton were subsequently awarded a compensation package rising to £1.4 million depending on Premiership and international appearances. At West Ham, he was a member of the Under-19 team that won the Premier Academy League title in 1999–00, scoring twice against Arsenal in the play-off final, and went on to make his first-team debut in a League Cup game against Walsall in September 2000, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 win.
The following season, he joined Second Division club Bournemouth on a near season-long loan, where he scored in ten consecutive games, equalling John Aldridge's and Clarrie Jordan's post-war record. He scored 18 goals in 29 league appearances for Bournemouth. West Ham manager Harry Redknapp tipped him for stardom, saying, "He's done great. I sent him out to Bournemouth to get some experience playing league football and he's coped marvellously. To score 10 goals in 10 games is a terrific achievement. He's a bright lad who's full of confidence. Nothing knocks him, he's a typical goal-scorer. If he misses, he'll be there the next time looking for a goal. He's a kid with a big future." Due to his goalscoring heroics, Defoe was one of the first players to appear on AFC Bournemouth's Wall of Fame which opened in September 2011. http://www.afcb.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10324~2460517,00.html
Defoe finished as the West Ham's top scorer in the 2001–02 season despite being used primarily as a substitute by manager Glenn Roeder, scoring 14 goals in 39 league and cup appearances, including the only goal in a 1–0 away win against Manchester United in December 2001, as West Ham finished seventh in the Premiership. He scored a further 11 goals in 42 league and cup appearances in the 2002–03 season but was unable to prevent West Ham from being relegated.
Less than 24 hours after the club had been relegated, Defoe made a written request for a transfer, saying "As much as I love West Ham United I feel that now is the right time for me to move on in my career. This is very much a career decision. I am very ambitious and hungry to achieve at the highest levels of the game for both club and country." The timing of his request however drew criticism from both fans and team-mates and was turned down by the club. He later apologised to supporters, saying "I mishandled that move and I can only apologise. I'm young and I've learned from it. I still played my hardest for West Ham and gave them 100% and want to thank the fans for their support."
Defoe began the 2003–04 season with West Ham but a refusal to sign a new contract and disciplinary problems, including three sending offs, which saw him play only 22 games out of a possible 34, led to West Ham accepting an offer from Tottenham Hotspur for him in the January transfer window. Defoe had scored 41 goals in 105 league and cup appearances for West Ham.
Read more about this topic: Jermain Defoe
Famous quotes containing the words club and/or career:
“Women ... are completely alone, though they were born and bred upon this soil, as if they belonged to another class in creation.”
—“Jennie June” Croly 1829–1901, U.S. founder of the woman’s club movement, journalist, author, editor. F, Demorest’s Illustrated Monthly Mirror of Fashions, pp. 363-4 (December 1870)
“In time your relatives will come to accept the idea that a career is as important to you as your family. Of course, in time the polar ice cap will melt.”
—Barbara Dale (b. 1940)