The England striker is favourite to win Sports Personality of the Year but footballers do not have a great record in the eventEver since England reached the semi-finals of the World Cup, Harry Kane has been a smouldering favourite for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award. The Spurs striker has already won the golden boot. No wonder many believe he is a shoo-in to lift the famous silver-plated trophy of a four-turret lens camera engraved with many legends of British sport.Yet history reminds us that footballers and Spoty do not always mix. For while 18 track and field stars have walked away with the award in its 64-year history – with Formula One drivers claiming it seven times...
The Manchester City forward looked almost carefree in Spain and Gareth Southgate’s team need to keep this upEngland delivered an impressive display against Spain on Monday and it was kickstarted by a fine opening goal from Raheem Sterling. I was delighted for him. Few, if any, players have had to put up with as much negative energy from the media in recent years as Sterling and this was his way of showing that despite it all he still has what it takes to score goals for England.A huge part of Sterling’s burden in an England shirt has been dealing with all the critics. That is part of being a professional footballer but the scrutiny on Sterling has gone too far....
Gareth Southgate’s World Cup captain Harry Kane did what he has done in every game in which he has led England: he scored. Plus Nigerian replica shirt mania grips the capitalThis was Harry Kane’s first international appearance since he was named’s England’s captain for the World Cup by Gareth Southgate and he did what he has always done when leading his country – score. It is now six goals in five games with the armband and while his effort here should have been saved by Nigeria’s goalkeeper, Francis Uzoho, it was still hit with a level of decisiveness and snap that suggests the Tottenham forward is heading to Russia in good nick, mentally as well as physically, with his general...
Having been given the largely irrelevant honour of leading England at the World Cup, the Tottenham forward must not lose focus on what got him the jobGareth Southgate may lack tournament experience as manager of a national team though it is already clear he prefers to remove doubt and uncertainty in favour of getting things done. Name the squad early, announce the captain shortly afterwards, and everyone knows where they stand.That makes it sound as if the identity of England’s captain in Russia is something people have been itching to know for weeks, when in reality the honour just bestowed on Harry Kane is simply a formality that needed to be addressed so it could be moved out of the...
Kyle Walker, Nicolás Otamendi, Fernandinho, Kevin De Bruyne, Leroy Sané and Sergio Agüero selected by Brighton defenderThe rattle of cutlery and cups has not been the only noise in the canteens at Premier League clubs over the last few days as players have been debating who to vote for in the PFA player of the year, young player of the year and team of the year awards. Being recognised by your peers is the ultimate accolade, mostly because it’s from those whom you’ve competed against week in, week out and that is why we take it so seriously. In keeping with this, I have decided to share my selections with you (and them!), though I am sure you will have...