Harry Kane’s hapless efforts in the Tottenham documentary highlight the need for something more than a lot of shoutingWhat exactly do elite sports people need five minutes before kick-off? Tactical insight? Life-affirming motivation? Or just a bit of swearing? One of the highlights of the All or Nothing Tottenham documentary – aside from Danny Rose’s “any news from Milan?” – is getting to see those vital final words delivered to the troops before walking out for battle.One of the first times we see it Harry Kane takes the lead before a must-win Champions League game against Olympiakos. The huddle goes on for ever – a purple Lycra ring of Saturn. Starting XI, substitutes, coaches, injured players, physios, kit men, perhaps...
Striker’s dedication to Spurs is beyond question but he cannot be blamed for casting envious glances at others’ celebrationsA penny for the thoughts of Harry Kane as he witnessed scenes of jubilation unfold outside Anfield, perhaps pondering the notion that, seven seasons into his career as a senior professional with Tottenham, the team he represents has yet to win even one of domestic football’s far less coveted baubles.The often-ridiculed phrase “This Means More” was coined by Liverpool long before it applied to an inevitable increase in local Covid-19 cases caused by socially irresponsible public celebrations. The unbridled delight of fans who have seen their team win the Champions League, Premier League and Club World Cup in little over a year...
England captain rises to sixth on his country’s all-time scorers’ list on a night to remember the present rather than the pastOver to you then, Harry. From the flames of the Sterling affair, the dark talk of vendettas and humps and all the rest of it; from all this England found a moment of cold, still calm at Wembley.Never mind that they also found opponents so astonishingly poor the Montenegrin defence seemed at times to be putting on a highly crafted, beautifully choreographed piece of physical comedy. Related: England celebrate 1,000th game with seven-goal charge into Euro 2020 finals The two worst things about England football: the urge to sell itself at every turn and a deadly obsession with the...
Spurs striker ready for Anfield rematch four months after Liverpool centre-back dominated in Champions League finalIn Harry Kane’s head the Champions League final will always be an occasion that, as he put it in July, Tottenham allowed to “slide by”. They were flat from the start and it did not help that Liverpool, and the man entrusted to mark him, smelled an instant advantage. Kane was rushed back from injury and Virgil van Dijk knew where the upper hand would lie. “If you’re not 100% fit, it’ll be in your head if you get a bit of a knock or you get a bit of pain when you pass it,” the centre-back said later. “I expected him to play the...
In the 4-0 win against Bulgaria, England’s forwards proved too hot to handle and again underlined their potential as the team breezes through Euro 2020 qualifyingIt wasn’t thrilling. It wasn’t much of a spectacle. There must be broader concerns about the diminution of the Euro qualifiers as a spectacle since the expansions of the finals. Not that football has ever shown much inclination to worry about such matters, but there probably should be qualms as well about how many central and eastern European sides seem simultaneously to have suffered such a decline. But for England the lack of drama in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Bulgaria is itself an indication of how positive the present situation is for them. Related: Harry...