SAYS PAUL STEWART
(who forced his move from Man City to Spurs)
IN the 30 years since Paul Stewart scored a goal to help Tottenham win the FA Cup at Wembley in 1991, the London club have lifted just two trophies.
Stewart, who had joined Spurs from Manchester City, says that’s why it’s a nobrainer now for Harry Kane to demand the right to move in the opposite direction.
But Stewart fears a season of unrest at Tottenham’s £1billion stadium – regardless of whether chairman Daniel Levy cashes in on his star man or not.
Manchester-born Stewart, 56, who won three England caps, revealed Tottenham is the club closest to his heart.
But he said: “Kane wants to go to Manchester City because he’s ambitious and he wants to win things.
“He’s 28 now and he knows time is running out.
“If Spurs had shown the same ambition in building the team as they did when building the stadium then this wouldn’t have happened.
“But it’s like building the best concert hall in the world – and then putting a pub singer at the top of the bill.
“Finishing fourth is the height of Spurs’ ambition.
“It feels like when they got to the Champions League Final in 2019 they reached the limit of their success.
“It should have been just the beginning.
“Top players aren’t interested in finishing fourth. They want to win medals.
“When Kane signed his six-year contract with Spurs, he would have done it in good faith. Tottenham were in the Champions League, they were challenging for the Premier League.
“So he signed that deal – and, in my opinion, signed up to something that simply hasn’t materialised. Harry demanding a transfer to City is the equivalent of someone returning a faulty item to a shop and asking for their money back.”
Stewart moved to White Hart Lane for £1.7million in the summer of 1988 after City had finished ninth in the old second division.
The next day, Spurs boss Terry Venables signed Paul Gascoigne too.
And it was to be Stewart who played a key role in landing Gazza’s only Spurs medal, when he scored the equaliser in a dramatic 2-1 extra-time victory over Nottingham Forest.
Stewart recalls: “When you’re a kid you dream about winning the league and the FA Cup, playing in Europe and representing England.
“With the best will in the world, back then I wasn’t going to do that with Manchester City.
“And with the best will in the world, Harry isn’t going to win the
Premier League or the Champions League with Spurs.
“He has given everything for the club but the lack of ambition there has brought this situation into play.
“If there is a gentleman’s agreement that he can leave then Daniel Levy has to do the right thing.”
Stewart added: “I look at Spurs and there are so many
holes in the squad. They need a complete back four. How much is that – £300m, £400m? “If Kane leaves, that is another massive hole that needs filling.
“So even if they get £120£130m from City, they aren’t going to be in
the position they were when they sold Gareth Bale to Real Madrid and used the money to rebuild the squad.
“Forget the top six – if Spurs don’t invest in new players they are going to be in the bottom six.
“Just look at the saga over appointing a manager.
“It was supposed to be Erik ten Hag, then Antonio Conte, then Paulo Fonseca, then Gennaro Gattuso.
“At one point it seemed Mauricio Pochettino might come back.
There were stories that
Nuno Espirito Santo did not want the job initially. “Why? You can only assume it was because the club wouldn’t offer these managers the money they knew they would need.
“So can Spurs fans really blame Harry Kane for wanting to get away?”