Harry Kane

[Timberwolf]

It sounds stupidly simplistic but he just needs goals.

If he scores the chance that hit the post against Brentford and gets the lob/shot on target against Norwich, or pings one of his long shots into the top corner, no-one's complaining about his body language or his movement anymore. The narrative is that "Kane is back". But because he didn't score those, his entire game is suddenly called into question.

It's been the same for about 3/4 years now. Whenever Kane isn't scoring every pundit under the sun says he 'doesn't look right' and he's 'lost a yard of pace'. Rival fans start saying he's done at the top level, etc. And he always comes back and proves them wrong. Then he has a lull and they forget what happened and spout the exact same things. Fact is, he's not explosive anymore and never will be, but he's still an elite finisher and an incredible footballer, and that will never ever change. Put him in a decent team and give him the ball, and he will score a lot of goals.

While there's no denying he looked off the pace at the start of the season, I think he's played fine these past 4 games under Conte and he just needs to get his eye in and start scoring those chances, which he will because he's Harry Kane. Now that we're a functional football team again, I have every faith that the goals will come sooner or later.

 

[JUSTINSIGNAL]

It sounds stupidly simplistic but he just needs goals.

If he scores the chance that hit the post against Brentford and gets the lob/shot on target against Norwich, or pings one of his long shots into the top corner, no-one's complaining about his body language or his movement anymore. The narrative is that "Kane is back". But because he didn't score those, his entire game is suddenly called into question.

It's been the same for about 3/4 years now. Whenever Kane isn't scoring every pundit under the sun says he 'doesn't look right' and he's 'lost a yard of pace'. Rival fans start saying he's done at the top level, etc. And he always comes back and proves them wrong. Then he has a lull and they forget what happened and spout the exact same things. Fact is, he's not explosive anymore and never will be, but he's still an elite finisher and an incredible footballer, and that will never ever change.

While there's no denying he looked off the pace at the start of the season, I think he's played fine these past 4 games under Conte and he just needs to get his eye in and start scoring those chances, which he will because he's Harry Kane. Now that we're a functional football team again, I have every faith that the goals will come sooner or later.

This is spot on.

He's doing everything else pretty well so I don't think it will be long before he starts hitting the net regularly.

 

[adamsky]

It is encouraging that he is at least missing chances now. The one thing we know is he can finish, as long as he getting the opportunities. First few games of season he wasn’t getting a sniff

 

[spursfan77]

In each of the last 3 league games he's had a big chance and failed to convert. At least this shows he's getting back in to the correct positions which he wasn't doing for the first 10 games of the season, he just needs to get his confidence back. I think as soon as he has a game where he nets a couple it'll be a weight off his shoulders and he'll start scoring freely again.

I agree, but it needs to happen ASAP.

 

[topper]

That chance he had where Krul was miles off his line and completely out of position was an absolute sitter for someone of Kanes ability.

Would normally score that blindfolded
Still can’t believe he missed it

True - not sure if you saw any of the goals from the Women’s Cup Final but the Chelsea player, Sam Kerr has a very similar opportunity and she finished the way Kane should have done!

 

[synththfc]

he’s definitely putting in 100% for Conte, which confirms two things for me

1) he was phoning it in under Nuno which is disgraceful from an england captain and a “top professional”

2) he was phoning it in for so long, he’s struggling to get his form back now that he’s putting in a shift

 

[Timberwolf]

he’s definitely putting in 100% for Conte, which confirms two things for me

1) he was phoning it in under Nuno which is disgraceful from an england captain and a “top professional”

2) he was phoning it in for so long, he’s struggling to get his form back now that he’s putting in a shift

I do think there's an element of truth to that and Kane deserves some criticism, but it's also worth noting that under Nuno we had literally the worst supply to our forwards in the entire league, which isn't Kane's fault. Not sure any striker in the league would've done very well in that team.

 

[arthurgrimsdell]

It sounds stupidly simplistic but he just needs goals.

If he scores the chance that hit the post against Brentford and gets the lob/shot on target against Norwich, or pings one of his long shots into the top corner, no-one's complaining about his body language or his movement anymore. The narrative is that "Kane is back". But because he didn't score those, his entire game is suddenly called into question.

It's been the same for about 3/4 years now. Whenever Kane isn't scoring every pundit under the sun says he 'doesn't look right' and he's 'lost a yard of pace'. Rival fans start saying he's done at the top level, etc. And he always comes back and proves them wrong. Then he has a lull and they forget what happened and spout the exact same things. Fact is, he's not explosive anymore and never will be, but he's still an elite finisher and an incredible footballer, and that will never ever change. Put him in a decent team and give him the ball, and he will score a lot of goals.

While there's no denying he looked off the pace at the start of the season, I think he's played fine these past 4 games under Conte and he just needs to get his eye in and start scoring those chances, which he will because he's Harry Kane. Now that we're a functional football team again, I have every faith that the goals will come sooner or later.

That's not my recollection of the last 3/4 years.
Kane in my view has physically deteriorated progressively since 2017.
In my estimation he recognised this very quickly, as an intelligent footballer, and compensated for his consequent reducing success as an out and out centre forward by dropping deeper, working hard, spreading the play well and arriving later in the penalty area than previously. He was still scoring more than regularly at this time, so on the occasions he wasn't, every pundit under the sun said that he was having to drop deeper because the rest of the team wasn't providing him with chances. He didn't come back scoring from his many injuries instantly but this was a matter of weeks rather than months. The fact that he was noticeably progressively slower was ignored by every pundit under the sun because he was still scoring and he was lauded for dropping deeper and becoming a more complete footballer.
When Mourinho arrived he promised that he would make Kane "explode" as a footballer, and essentially built the whole team around what Kane could do, rather than what he no longer could do. This led to the phenomenal start he and Son had to the 2019-20 season. This stopped abruptly after the home match against West Ham when a 3-0 lead was given away in less than a quarter of an hour. Mourinho changed tactics completely and played very defensively all the time, rather than playing to Kane's strengths as he had done before. Kane was still confident enough to score goals but far less regularly than before, and his disaffection with the rest of the team became increasingly apparent.
He decided he would be leaving at the end of the season.
Tottenham's appalling financial situation at the end of that season made him (and Manchester City) believe that he would have to be sold for the Club to survive, and at a far lower fee than he had been touted for previously. Events proved that both of them had been kidding themselves. So Kane went from the arrogant "It's my decision", to acting like a spoilt child throughout the summer and beginning of this season, where he could hardly be bothered to raise a trot and was clearly not training with any enthusiasm. This was a man who was lauded by some as the consummate professional.
Then Conte arrived.
Suddenly Kane was enthusiastic. He wasn't in any way match fit however, and was still having to cope with his reducing speed, so despite working hard he was still unable to score other than against lower standard opposition such as Albania, San Marino and some ECL teams, plus the goal against Newcastle, when after a good run into the box he put the ball away thinking he was offside anyway. This has all clearly affected his confidence. So although his attitude has now improved to what it should have been all along, he has struggled as a goalscorer, though his build up play has been good, but still affected by his chronic lack of pace.
I don't doubt that when he starts scoring again in "real" matches, his confidence will improve and he will look better, but at the moment, as a "point of reference" centre forward, he is not quite up to it, and I can't see his pace improving too much when his fitness and confidence does.
Please God we sign a top central striker in January, not as a backup but as first choice, which would either mean Kane playing in a different position or being on the bench.
This is my view and interpretation of events. I don't doubt others may disagree.

 

[Timberwolf]

That's not my recollection of the last 3/4 years.
Kane in my view has physically deteriorated progressively since 2017.
In my estimation he recognised this very quickly, as an intelligent footballer, and compensated for his consequent reducing success as an out and out centre forward by dropping deeper, working hard, spreading the play well and arriving later in the penalty area than previously. He was still scoring more than regularly at this time, so on the occasions he wasn't, every pundit under the sun said that he was having to drop deeper because the rest of the team wasn't providing him with chances. He didn't come back scoring from his many injuries instantly but this was a matter of weeks rather than months. The fact that he was noticeably progressively slower was ignored by every pundit under the sun because he was still scoring and he was lauded for dropping deeper and becoming a more complete footballer.
When Mourinho arrived he promised that he would make Kane "explode" as a footballer, and essentially built the whole team around what Kane could do, rather than what he no longer could do. This led to the phenomenal start he and Son had to the 2019-20 season. This stopped abruptly after the home match against West Ham when a 3-0 lead was given away in less than a quarter of an hour. Mourinho changed tactics completely and played very defensively all the time, rather than playing to Kane's strengths as he had done before. Kane was still confident enough to score goals but far less regularly than before, and his disaffection with the rest of the team became increasingly apparent.
He decided he would be leaving at the end of the season.
Tottenham's appalling financial situation at the end of that season made him (and Manchester City) believe that he would have to be sold for the Club to survive, and at a far lower fee than he had been touted for previously. Events proved that both of them had been kidding themselves. So Kane went from the arrogant "It's my decision", to acting like a spoilt child throughout the summer and beginning of this season, where he could hardly be bothered to raise a trot and was clearly not training with any enthusiasm. This was a man who was lauded by some as the consummate professional.
Then Conte arrived.
Suddenly Kane was enthusiastic. He wasn't in any way match fit however, and was still having to cope with his reducing speed, so despite working hard he was still unable to score other than against lower standard opposition such as Albania, San Marino and some ECL teams, plus the goal against Newcastle, when after a good run into the box he put the ball away thinking he was offside anyway. This has all clearly affected his confidence. So although his attitude has now improved to what it should have been all along, he has struggled as a goalscorer, though his build up play has been good, but still affected by his chronic lack of pace.
I don't doubt that when he starts scoring again in "real" matches, his confidence will improve and he will look better, but at the moment, as a "point of reference" centre forward, he is not quite up to it, and I can't see his pace improving too much when his fitness and confidence does.
Please God we sign a top central striker in January, not as a backup but as first choice, which would either mean Kane playing in a different position or being on the bench.
This is my view and interpretation of events. I don't doubt others may disagree.

If anything I think we we agree.

In my post I mentioned he's 'not explosive anymore', implying that he'd dropped off physically for the past 3-4 years, which is at the heart of your post. Ever since then he's had multiple short lulls for the various reasons you've described, and changed his play style, but one thing has remained consistent: he's always come back from those lulls and scored a lot of goals, despite his critics saying he was finished. I just didn't do a chronological breakdown like you did, rather a broad strokes summary.

Whether Kane has the physical ability to do everything Conte wants from a number 9...now that's a different matter entirely, and perhaps we do need to sign someone new with the pace, engine and physical presence to do what's required of a Conte striker.

But I completely stand by my main point: Kane is far from finished, and provided he's put in a functioning team he'll always score a shitload of goals. We were not a functioning team under Nuno and now we are, so the goals will come - he just needs time.

 

[Stamford]

he’s definitely putting in 100% for Conte, which confirms two things for me

1) he was phoning it in under Nuno which is disgraceful from an england captain and a “top professional”

2) he was phoning it in for so long, he’s struggling to get his form back now that he’s putting in a shift

The top professional narrative around him died in the summer. He's nothing of the sort.

 

[ikky]

We need to buy another top striker in Jan. Kane has been undropable for so long he can get away with being so poor ( as a goal scoring striker ). It may be the incentive he needs plus we can actually bench him if need be.

 

[spids]

There are lots of reasons Kane has only 1 league goal.....

1. Hangover from Euro 2021 with England. Losing a major international final has hit several senior England players hard and affected their form this season.
2. Missed pre-season as he was (a) at a summer tournament and (b) effectively tried to force a move. He did not return to training until the day before our first league game of the season.
3. Traditionally he is a slow starter. Last season he hit the ground running, but the season before that one only ended in late July and the players hardly had a break - he'd kept his sharpness over the short summer.
4. He has not been fit. (a) He missed pre-season (see 2. above), (b) Mourinho let the first team's fitness fall off a cliff, the last two years, and (c) he was not fully committed under Nuno - that was evident to anyone watching his effort levels in that period.
5. HIs head was out the door. This happened before the end of last season (when he did that Neville interview). Until Conte came in he was probably planning to try and force a move in January or next summer.
6. The tactics under Nuno were dire once Kane was back in the team. We created nothing, reflected by no shots on target for 3.5 games.
7. He is now trying too hard and snatching at chances he'd normally score - see the missed lobbed chance against Norwich.

... but, form is temporary, class is permanent. He is one of the top 5 CFs in world football. And he will come good. I hope we sign Vlahovic, but not as a replacement, to play with Kane and Son in a front three (with Kane in the hole as a 10).

 

[SpursTillIDie1882]

There are lots of reasons Kane has only 1 league goal.....

1. Hangover from Euro 2021 with England. Losing a major international final has hit several senior England players hard and affected their form this season.
2. Missed pre-season as he was (a) at a summer tournament and (b) effectively tried to force a move. He did not return to training until the day before our first league game of the season.
3. Traditionally he is a slow starter. Last season he hit the ground running, but the season before that one only ended in late July and the players hardly had a break - he'd kept his sharpness over the short summer.
4. He has not been fit. (a) He missed pre-season (see 2. above), (b) Mourinho let the first team's fitness fall off a cliff, the last two years, and (c) he was not fully committed under Nuno - that was evident to anyone watching his effort levels in that period.
5. HIs head was out the door. This happened before the end of last season (when he did that Neville interview). Until Conte came in he was probably planning to try and force a move in January or next summer.
6. The tactics under Nuno were dire once Kane was back in the team. We created nothing, reflected by no shots on target for 3.5 games.
7. He is now trying too hard and snatching at chances he'd normally score - see the missed lobbed chance against Norwich.

... but, form is temporary, class is permanent. He is one of the top 5 CFs in world football. And he will come good. I hope we sign Vlahovic, but not as a replacement, to play with Kane and Son in a front three (with Kane in the hole as a 10).

A very compendious account of events and reasoning

 

[wpmcg]

That's not my recollection of the last 3/4 years.
Kane in my view has physically deteriorated progressively since 2017.
In my estimation he recognised this very quickly, as an intelligent footballer, and compensated for his consequent reducing success as an out and out centre forward by dropping deeper, working hard, spreading the play well and arriving later in the penalty area than previously. He was still scoring more than regularly at this time, so on the occasions he wasn't, every pundit under the sun said that he was having to drop deeper because the rest of the team wasn't providing him with chances. He didn't come back scoring from his many injuries instantly but this was a matter of weeks rather than months. The fact that he was noticeably progressively slower was ignored by every pundit under the sun because he was still scoring and he was lauded for dropping deeper and becoming a more complete footballer.
When Mourinho arrived he promised that he would make Kane "explode" as a footballer, and essentially built the whole team around what Kane could do, rather than what he no longer could do. This led to the phenomenal start he and Son had to the 2019-20 season. This stopped abruptly after the home match against West Ham when a 3-0 lead was given away in less than a quarter of an hour. Mourinho changed tactics completely and played very defensively all the time, rather than playing to Kane's strengths as he had done before. Kane was still confident enough to score goals but far less regularly than before, and his disaffection with the rest of the team became increasingly apparent.
He decided he would be leaving at the end of the season.
Tottenham's appalling financial situation at the end of that season made him (and Manchester City) believe that he would have to be sold for the Club to survive, and at a far lower fee than he had been touted for previously. Events proved that both of them had been kidding themselves. So Kane went from the arrogant "It's my decision", to acting like a spoilt child throughout the summer and beginning of this season, where he could hardly be bothered to raise a trot and was clearly not training with any enthusiasm. This was a man who was lauded by some as the consummate professional.
Then Conte arrived.
Suddenly Kane was enthusiastic. He wasn't in any way match fit however, and was still having to cope with his reducing speed, so despite working hard he was still unable to score other than against lower standard opposition such as Albania, San Marino and some ECL teams, plus the goal against Newcastle, when after a good run into the box he put the ball away thinking he was offside anyway. This has all clearly affected his confidence. So although his attitude has now improved to what it should have been all along, he has struggled as a goalscorer, though his build up play has been good, but still affected by his chronic lack of pace.
I don't doubt that when he starts scoring again in "real" matches, his confidence will improve and he will look better, but at the moment, as a "point of reference" centre forward, he is not quite up to it, and I can't see his pace improving too much when his fitness and confidence does.
Please God we sign a top central striker in January, not as a backup but as first choice, which would either mean Kane playing in a different position or being on the bench.
This is my view and interpretation of events. I don't doubt others may disagree.

Good post. The only disagreement is that Kane is good enough to play midfield and any of the attacking positions. He cant be on the bench when he is better than any of our midfielders and strikers, even when struggling.

 

[InOffMeLeftShin]

I'm still pissed from the summer and the way he went about things and at the same time I've never wanted a player to score as much as I want Harry to get one right now. He still looks heavy and leggy, not sure if he has been doing double training sessions but also have to remember we have absolutely no alternative to him and so he has been playing conference league games as well as internationals. Mostly he just looks low on confidence and a little sad and I think getting amongst the goals again will have him right back on form and that would be such a huge addition to the improvements we've already seen from the side.

I've heard some theories that he has lost it and will never be the player he used to be but I just don't believe it to be honest. He was slow last year too and was top scorer in the league and I don't doubt at all that he will start stringing goals together once he has one.

Just to add that I think he'd be in a much better place if we'd actually managed to sign any kind of striker to take some of the load off.

 

[thelak]

Read somewhere Conte wants him to shed some weight off - totally agree. I still feel the 3-4 seasons ago he bulked up was the point onwards where he lost those pace and acceleration.

Same to Dier.

Three kids, nagging missus, few too many dinners at Sheesh....bit of timber around the midriff

happens to the best of us

 

[13VanDerBale13]

Time to step Harry, absolutely no excuses for him on Sunday with the injuries Brighton have at the back

 

[THE SPURSBOY]

With the amount of games he will be playing every 3 days throughout dec I’ll be amazed if his ankle don’t go again

 

[allatsea]

Too many competitions and thus far too many games. He is in danger of burnout or is he already burned out ?

 

[TheTanguy]

Wouldn't surprise me at all if Kane starts scoring for fun again in the next couple of weeks / months. Conte and he will find a way.