Kane’s on his knees and Bayern crisis looks like he’ll be left potless again
The England captain would have felt he couldn’t fail when he left Tottenham to join Bayern Munich last summer – and he wasn’t the only one.
But Bayern lost the German Super Cup final when they were beaten by RB Leipzig on Kane’s debut.
They were later knocked out of the German Cup by third-tier underdogs Saarbrucken.
And no one could have predicted that Harry’s new club would come up against a Bayer Leverkusen team that is showing why Xabi Alonso is widely regarded as Jurgen Klopp’s natural successor at Liverpool.
Bayern had just claimed their 11th successive Bundesliga title when Kane made his £100million move to Bavaria.
With Daniel Levy refusing to sanction the possibility of his star man playing for another Premier League club, it was a no-brainer for Harry to emigrate to Germany.
Bayern ticked all the boxes for a player who was desperate to decorate his outstanding career with a few trophies.
Serial winners, Champions League regulars, the biggest club in Germany, top-class manager and superstar players who would be on the same wavelength.
But Bayern are in crisis. After being walloped 3-0 in their top-of-the-table clash in Leverkusen last weekend they found themselves five points behind Alonso’s team.
Now their progress into the quarter-finals of the Champions League is in serious jeopardy after they lost 1-0 at Lazio.
It’s no surprise that coach Thomas Tuchel is coming in for some criticism because that is the nature of the beast at a big club like Bayern.
But to hear that Kane is also getting plenty of stick is a bit strange. Harry has scored 28 goals in 29 appearances.
As far as I’m concerned, he is sticking to his side of the bargain.
You win and lose as a team – but if the centreforward is guaranteeing you virtually a goal a game then there is very little else Harry can do, in my opinion.
Kane won’t have any regrets. Not yet, anyway.
He will also know that Bayern have a history of pulling things out of the fire. Last year, they clinched the title on the final day of the season because rivals Borussia Dortmund could only draw at home to Mainz with the championship theirs for the taking. It’s much too early to suggest Bayern are already playing for second – and they will also fancy their chances of overcoming Italy’s Lazio in the Allianz Arena in the return leg. Credit has to go to Leverkusen for a virtually perfect campaign. They are unbeaten in 32 games in all competitions after their 2-1 victory at Heidenheim yesterday put them eight points clear in the Bundesliga and if Alonso (left) can get them over the line, it would be a huge achievement.
I don’t agree with suggestions that Xabi is undergoing an audition for the Liverpool job.
He may be relatively new to management but Kenny Dalglish was made player-manager in 1985 – and the following season he took a league and FA Cup double back to Anfield.
In contrast, Roy Hodgson had been around the block many times when he was made Liverpool boss – and that just didn’t work out for him.