SPURS RISK KANE HEADING FOR A MOVE IF JOSE STAYS SO CAUTIOUS
WHEN Harry Kane headed the ball into the ground and over the bar at Anfield, maybe he had forgotten what end he was at.
Loves a defensive header, Harry.
He is averaging a clearance and a half a match, which is not bad for a striker.
Kane’s game has evolved this season, to widespread acclaim.
He is dropping deep, linking up play but still maintaining a very decent scoring ratio and providing plenty of assists.
He has nine Premier League goals – two of them penalties – and a hugely impressive 10 assists.
Quite the performer.
Gareth Southgate was particularly effusive about his captain recently, talking of his leadership, his examplesetting.
But Southgate also had an interesting take on the
all- round
Tottenham and Kane quest for trophies.
This is what he said: “I think the top players win trophies.
“Normally, that is how they go to the next echelon of how they are perceived and what their legacy is.
“In the end you can have some great individual accolades but to win with the team takes your game and your standing within the game to another level.”
And there is little doubt Kane is fully aware of that. Jose Mourinho certainly has Spurs competitive. The best team did not lose at Anfield but, in the cold light of reflection, Spurs did have chances to possibly win the game.
And Liverpool are the only Big Six team to have beaten Tottenham this season.
You can bet Kane does not see them as a ‘pony’ in the title race.
Players of the calibre of Kane ( left) and Heung-Min Son do not play for ponies.
But they do play for a coach who is happy to concede possession to elite opposition.
Against Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool, they
Imagine the fun Harry Kane would have scoring goals under Guardiola or Klopp averaged 32.6 per cent possession – winning one, drawing one and losing one.
When Mourinho says he goes out to win every match, he is being entirely truthful.
It is just that his way of going out to win a match sometimes does not involve having the ball overly often.
There has long been a theory that possession is overrated, but it is not one Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp subscribe to.
Imagine the goalscoring fun Kane would have under one of those coaches.
To be fair, he looks like he is having fun under Mourinho but unless Jose’s methods produce trophies, how long will that last?
Kane, who will turn 28 in July, is in his absolute prime. Having missed a couple of months at the start of the year, he was never going to make the shortlist for the FIFA Best awards.
But Robert Lewandowski did not win that particular individual honour just for his phenomenal scoring record. He won it because those goals contributed to a clean sweep of trophies for Bayern Munich.
Plenty of comparisons were made when England drew Poland in World Cup qualifying.
But there is one big difference between Lewandowski and Kane – the former has a bucketload of medals.
Kane is five years younger than Lewandowski and can do some catching up.
Right now, he might just have the manager to provide him with those medals.
After all, Mourinho never tires of telling us how many trophies he has won.
But if Tottenham do not end their honours drought AND Mourinho continues to play so cautiously in the big games, you would not blame Kane for thinking he might be better off elsewhere.