Pochettino: Kane already becoming a Spurs legend
Maybe it is because he does not court controversy. Maybe it is because he does not sulk and blame his team-mates when things go wrong. Or maybe it is because he did not cost Tottenham Hotspur a penny.
Whatever the reason, it is time to acknowledge that Harry Kane is not just ‘one of their own’. He is one of the very best and up there with Chelsea’s Diego Costa and Arsenal star Alexis Sánchez.
Kane was the Premier League’s top scorer last season, was second in the charts the previous campaign and is now leading the way, along with Sánchez and Romelu Lukaku, once again.
With every goal, the evidence that Kane is top class just keeps building. His first against Stoke City was his 100th at club level and his third completed his third hat-trick in nine games.
The second was the pick of the bunch, a superb left-foot volley from Christian Eriksen’s corner that had manager Mauricio Pochettino high-fiving his assistant Jesús Pérez. Spurs fans will tell you they have got Jesus in the dugout and God on the pitch.
Kane is the first Tottenham player since Jimmy Greaves to net 20 goals or more in three successive seasons and Pochettino says he is already taking on legendary status.
“Harry has the profile to be a legend,” said Pochettino. “Maybe he’s starting to be a legend with the goals he’s scoring and the way he behaves. He is so professional. He has the perfect profile to be a legend here.”
Asked if he is a manager’s dream, Pochettino added: “Sometimes he argues with me. Sometimes he’s upset with me. Sometimes happy. He has a strong character. I’ve said many times, he is, for me, one of the best strikers in the world.”
Kane was pleased to bounce back following Tottenham’s midweek Europa League exit and is now targeting another century of goals.
“We wanted to come out and get back to winning ways,” Kane said. “I got told before the game on Thursday that I was on 99 club goals and it was nice to get obviously the first and a couple more. Hopefully another hundred within the next few years.”
Tottenham needed to make a statement after the midweek Europa League elimination at the hands of Gent, in which Kane had scored an own goal and Dele Alli was sent off.
It took only 14 minutes for Kane to give notice of his intentions, as Alli’s pass into Eriksen bounced off Ryan Shawcross and Kane drove the ball into the corner of the net.
Eriksen had a hand in all three of Kane’s goals, as it was from the Dane’s corner that the 23-year-old brilliantly controlled a bouncing ball to give Stoke goalkeeper Lee Grant no chance.
Kane’s 23-minute treble was complete when Eriksen rolled a freekick into his path and the striker’s shot clipped the boot of Peter Crouch and beat Grant.
Quite what manager Mark Hughes was thinking on the touchline was anybody’s guess, as Stoke’s performance was the type that compels clubs to offer their travelling fans refunds.
Jan Vertonghen had hit the crossbar before Kane had secured his hat-trick and Stoke’s only moment of note came in the 23rd minute, when goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was forced to save with his foot from Crouch.
Nobody would have blamed Kane if he had attempted to net his fourth on the stroke of half-time after he had brilliantly got away from Bruno Martins Indi. But, instead of shooting, Kane this time squared for Alli to give his team-mate the simple task of ending a six-game scoring drought.
The goal was a timely boost for Alli, who had received criticism for the horror challenge that earned his red card against Gent, and Pochettino said: “Our conversations are private, but I gave more love than normal. He is one of the best young players in the world and I will always protect him. I want him on the pitch and I want him next to me.”
Tottenham’s fourth goal was their 12th in three games against Stoke, who had returned from a sixday break in Dubai – jokes about beaches and holidays wrote themselves.
“We expected more than that,” said Hughes. “At times, we were a little bit awestruck maybe. We gave too much respect. As a consequence, we were picked off.”
The only causes for concern for Tottenham were the fact that central defenders Toby Alderweireld and Vertonghen went off with injuries in the second half.
“Both asked to leave the pitch for caution,” said Pochettino. “We hope in a few days they can work again with the group. We should have time for them to recover for next Sunday.”
The calendar gets lighter now for Spurs and this victory meant they moved into second place in the table behind Chelsea, a point above Manchester City and three ahead of Arsenal having played a game more.
“The target is to keep going and be there if something happens to Chelsea,” said Pochettino. “The objective is to catch them, but you need to be close to them if there is a possibility. The challenge for us is to win every game.”
While top spot might be out of reach for Tottenham, with leaders Chelsea 10 points clear, first place in the scoring charts is very much on for Kane.
Nobody at White Hart Lane would swap him for Costa or Sánchez.