Butland lets in five but still dreams of England
THERE must have been mixed feelings for Gareth Southgate when he heard about this Wembley showing. Harry Kane scored again — a brace taking his tally for club and country this calendar year to 50 goals. Not such a good afternoon, however, for Jack Butland, who conceded five as Stoke’s problems mounted. In fairness to Butland, Spurs could have scored seven or eight as his defence left him terribly exposed, but conceding five is not a good look. Indeed, the ordeal couldn’t have come at a worse time for him as he tries to apply pressure on Joe Hart for England’s No 1 jersey, after the latter was axed from the West Ham first team. Given West Ham’s triumph over Chelsea, Butland will have more opportunities to impress Southgate ahead of the World Cup. If Hart remains on the bench, then Southgate has a decision to make. The England boss, who watched Huddersfield outgun Brighton, has so far stuck with Hart despite calls to replace him with Butland. Southgate’s declarations indicate that Hart, barring loss of form, will start England’s first game in Russia, but Southgate has also insisted that he expects his players to be featuring regularly in the lead up to the competition. If Southgate stays true to his word then Hart is in danger and Butland knows what is at stake. ‘No one likes getting dropped but Joe is a strong character and I’m sure he will be back in the team,’ Butland said. ‘Whether he has been fit and available or not, it’s been my ambition to be England No 1, it changes nothing. ‘Just because someone isn’t playing doesn’t mean I have a divine right to get the shirt. It doesn’t work like that. You still have to prove you deserve it, so Joe being dropped has not changed my outlook. ‘It also presents a massive chance to Jordan (Pickford), and to Nick Pope and Fraser Forster. It doesn’t make it mine to lose, it makes it mine and everyone else’s to win.’ But while the identity of England’s goalkeeper has been thrown into doubt, there will be no uncertainty over the side’s striker. Two more goals here took Kane’s total to 22 for the season and brought up his half-century for 2017. ‘To score 50 this year is great,’ said Kane, whose goals added to strikes from Son Heung-min, Christian Eriksen and a Ryan Shawcross own goal. ‘Obviously there are a few more games left so hopefully I can get a few more. It is a good mark to get to. For me it’s about whether I can beat that next year. Let’s see what happens and let’s see if I can go even better.’ The fact that Kane has scored more goals this year than the entire Stoke team (42) underlines Mark Hughes’ problems. A growing section of fans have had enough, cries of ‘Hughes out’ emanating from the Stoke end after Eriksen notched Tottenham’s fifth. The Potters manager has promised to ring the changes for tomorrow’s clash against Burnley. But defeat against the Clarets would plunge his future into further uncertainty.