da casino： When your apparent saviour and most viable goal threat is a 21 year-old Harry Kane, as a manager, you know you’ve been dealt a weak hand.
da esoccer bet： Not that I hold anything against the Tottenham Hotspur youngster. English goal-scorers are becoming an ever-rarer breed, and although he lacks in height, speed or power, there’s an interesting mix of spikiness and elegance about Kane.
He’s earnest in the final third and opportune in front of goal which, combined with his local boy loyalty, is probably why so much excitement surrounded the striker at White Hart Lane on Sunday, as he registered his first Premier League start of the season against Stoke City.
After all, Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado haven’t given the fans much to sing about this season. The infamously mercurial Togolese’s performances range from anonymous to average, depending upon what mood he’s in, whilst Spurs’ club-record transfer, Soldado, has only ever bagged two Premier League goals from open play. Between them, they’ve claimed two league goals in 994 minutes this season, both provided by Adebayor.
In comparison, Kane is a god-send; high on confidence from his ten goals in the Europa League, eager to reward the club that’s overseen his development since childhood, desperate to prolong his stay in Mauricio Pochettino’s starting XI. Adebayor and Soldado, on the other hand, seem as if they could take or leave playing for Tottenham – providing another club would pay them paralelled wages.
But it’s time for a swift dose of reality. Is Harry Kane the next Wayne Rooney? The next Gary Lineker? The next Daniel Sturridge? Or even the next Darren Bent? His Premier League career has only consisted of 17 games and players have certainly proved me wrong before, but my immediate hunch is quite simply, a resounding no.
Take Saido Berahino for example, a fellow England U21 striker who made it into Roy Hodgson’s latest squad over Kane. He’s benefitted from 25 Premier League appearances more than the Tottenham starlet, but there’s something more dynamic, dangerous and intoxicating about the West Bromwich Albion poacher, who’s currently the Premier League’s top-scoring Englishman. He’s already scored past Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool in his short Baggies career.
Likewise, Chelsea youngster Patrick Bamford has been ripping up the lower leagues for some time with his continually sublime finishing, with 29 goals in 69 appearances through spells in the Championship and League One. Danny Ings too, although a more experienced striker than the Spurs hotshot comes with a rare cleverness and guile.
Kane, in contrast, is reaching heightened performances through the positivity and passion surrounding him – but that won’t last forever.
One can only speculate what went on at White Hart Lane this summer, considering the chaos of the offseason previous. We do know however, that Pochettino wanted Mateo Musacchio but had to settle for Federico Fazio, two centre-backs completely polarised in terms of physique and style. We do know he wanted to bring Southampton star Morgan Schneiderlin with him to north London, but was eventually handed Benjamin Stambouli on deadline day – the 24 year-old holding midfielder who can’t buy a start over Ryan Mason at the minute. We do know he wanted Danny Welbeck or Jay Rodriguez, but ended up with neither.
And had he seen Spurs in action at any point last season, the Argentine would surely have requested another centre-forward too. Adebayor, although Tottenham’s top scorer last term, appeared to devilishly revel in the Lilywhites’ dependency on him under Tim Sherwood, knowing he could put in any standard of performance without repercussions, whilst Soldado was overawed by the strength, power and intensity of the Premier League, in addition to the demands placed on him as Spurs’ lone striker.
Kane’s clearly a kid with the right attitude – something that can take you a lot further than natural ability in the world of football. Yet, had Spurs been less frugal in their recruitment during the summer – Southampton, Hull City, Everton, Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United all spent more than the Lane outfit’s £32million – Kane probably wouldn’t even be getting regular minutes in the Europa League this season, let alone domestically.
To stress once again, I hold absolutely nothing against the 21 year-old. In fact, as an England fan, I hope he proves my pessimistic assessment wrong. But do not be fooled by the typical hype surrounding the England youngster – his inclusion in Tottenham’s starting Xi on Sunday said far more about the lack of alternatives available to Pochettino than it does his quality or potential.
This issue should have been addressed by Daniel Levy in the summer – it’s now an obligation for him to do so in January.
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