Bravo Defoe. Five goals against Wigan Athletic to become the Premier League's leading goalscorer with 11, ahead of Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba. This on top of three goals for England earlier in the season.Just one thing Jermain. Now is the time to stand up and do it when it really matters.
Defoe has always had the predator's instincts, first coming to our attention when Harry Redknapp sent him on loan from West Ham to Bournemouth as a teenager and he scored 18 goals in 29 games. The movement is sharp, the eye for an opening keen and, as he showed against Wigan, he gets between defenders cannily to finish neatly.
Shortcomings? He can, of course, become greedy in the way that born strikers do, frustratingly spurning the pass when a shot is on. The overall tally, he would say, is worth the odd curse from a team-mate. Also, he can look languid in open play, his all-round game lacking.
He simply comes alive in the penalty box, though. He embodies what Don Howe once told Gary Lineker: make one run for the defender and one for yourself. In other words, throw your marker off the scent and use the space you have created.
This should be Defoe's time. He was 27 last month and is settled, back playing in an attacking Tottenham Hotspur team who are creating plenty of chances for him under Redknapp, who also mentored him at Portsmouth. There is a World Cup in just over seven months.
In addition, the man he most resembles - in stature and finishing ability - is struggling to recapture his glory days. When Michael Owen does get on the pitch for Manchester United, he is missing too many chances, that excellent winning goal against Manchester City notwithstanding.
And yet. Still the doubts persist. Defoe needs to convince that he can really cut it against the best. Let's look through the keyhole.
Of his six league goals outside of the game against Wigan, three came at Hull City in a 5-1 win. Two came against former clubs, West Ham and Portsmouth, also scraping along the bottom.
The other goal, admittedly, was against Manchester United, but Spurs were beaten 3-1. Games with other big clubs? Against Liverpool and Chelsea, he failed to find the net and missed the defeat at Arsenal due to suspension for a spiteful foul at Portsmouth that rightly earned a red card.
For England, there was an early indication when he grabbed a winner against Poland back in the early days of his international career five years ago that he might have the right game and temperament for the highest level but it was flattery.
Mostly he was Owen's understudy. When he did get a chance, he looked a million dollars against the likes of Andorra (four goals in two games) and Trinidad and Tobago (two, away from home). Against the likes of Germany and Spain? A two-bit player.
This year, though, as Fabio Capello has shown more faith in him and none in Owen, Defoe has shown signs that he can rise to the challenge. There were two goals - in a friendly - against Holland in the Amsterdam ArenA and another goal against Slovenia, who proved themselves a decent side by beating Russia in the World Cup play-offs last week. But highest quality?
Now comes the serious stuff. If Tottenham are to overcome such as Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa for that fourth Champions League place, they need their leading goalscorer to start scoring against teams like that, rather than simply bullying those at the bottom.
The chance will arrive quickly, too, with Spurs going to Villa this Saturday. The following weekend features a trip to Everton, with Manchester City also visiting White Hart Lane before Christmas.
And at the end of next week, the World Cup finals draw will be made in South Africa. We will then know what England have to do to progress to the knock-out stages. The group stage should be manageable, given that England are among the top seeds. It is after that that the real tournament will begin and the really world-class players will emerge.
Quite apart from that hat-trick in the 5-1 victory in Munich, Owen scored against Argentina and Brazil in World Cup finals. Jermain Defoe has around seven months to offer evidence that he can do the same.
