PEP IS RIGHT ABOUT ‘HARRY KANE TEAM’

MUCH grumpiness among Tottenham fans after Pep Guardiola described them as ‘the Harry Kane team’. Those in the room when he said it would argue it was intended more as a compliment to the player than a slur on his team-mates but, even so, why be offended by the truth? Kane is utterly essential to his club, like no other player in the league right now. Tottenham find it considerably harder to win without his input. In 2017, Kane has featured in 24 Premier League matches for Tottenham. In the 13 games in which he has scored, Tottenham’s record is 13 wins. In the 11 in which he hasn’t, Tottenham’s record is Won 4 Drawn 4 Lost 3. The conclusion is simple: if Kane doesn’t score, the result is in the balance. The difference is a winning record of 100 per cent, and of 36.3 per cent. There is no such thing as a one-man team, but some are more reliant on individuals than others — Dimitri Payet and West Ham, for instance. So it isn’t an insult to call Tottenham ‘the Harry Kane team’. This year, it’s been the reality.