Harry Kane

[Shadydan]

Jose Mourinho insists Harry Kane is key to winning silverware as Portuguese is unveiled as Spurs' new head coach

Jose Mourinho has told Daniel Levy, the Tottenham Hotspur chairman, that he does not need to break the bank to deliver silverware on his return to management, but he is adamant Harry Kane must not be allowed to leave this summer.

www.telegraph.co.uk

Reported by multiple broadsheets now so probably not bollocks. The gist is that in leiu of a large transfer budget, Jose wanted a guarantee from Levy that Kane wouldn't leave until at least 2021. It's a strong indicator of how significant Kane's role in Jose's squad is going to be. Jose did indeed want Kane at United - as per rumours at the time - and the latter has clearly been a factor in Jose taking the job.

It's excellent news for fans who were concerned about Kane looking elsewhere in the summer. But on the manager side of things, if you're not a supporter of the Jose appointment, you can flip Kane off on Saturday.

Elsewhere, it's been very widely reported that immediately after being appointed, Jose told Kane that he believes he's one of the world's best strikers, which is very likely his genuine opinion, and that they will win silverware together.

As someone who's desperate to see Kane get the medals to match his plaudits, it's all rather exciting. I love the confidence bordering on arrogance that Jose brings to a club (when he's on the side you want anyway!), and he has the track record to back it up, winning trophies everywhere he goes.

I don't know if Poch was physically capable of instilling the same confidence in a team because however great Poch may be, it's just an objective fact that he hasn't won anything yet, and that has got to be at least somewhere in the back of a player's head. Personally, I think Kane will really respond to having a serial winner in charge: someone that he will feel can match his wildest ambitions while still at Spurs.

This post made me warm inside

 

[wrd]

Kane always chose his words very carefully regarding spurs, he said as long as the club is moving in the right direction he will be here. I can understand why he began to have doubt that we would continue on our trajectory but Levy has forced the issues hiring Jose.

 

[1966]

I've been thinking about the whole conversation surrounding goodbyes and it occurs to me that all of the actually important and personal stuff will be said in private conversations. The purpose of a public post about an event like this is really just to offer something public for the bread and circus brigade of the fans and media.

Most of these players probably have their entire lives, and especially their social media accounts, stage managed by professional PR people, both from their agent and their club. They'll have been made to write something, even if they would prefer to keep their feelings private, and that writing will have been sanitised to remove any vaguely intimate or controversial information. Partly, they want us to feel connected, and partly, they don't want to face the unimaginable fallout of not posting something in response to these seismic events (could you imagine the outrage??).

Meanwhile in reality, they'll have shared their hugs and shed their tears long before writing up messages for the public. What we end up reading is probably some Frankenstein's monster of watered-down sincerity and sterile additional or edited material from the PR types, which may well include disingenuous statements or blatant enforced dishonesty. Supposing the very worst rumours were all true - say, hypothetically, that Poch really was trying to get himself fired so the players intentionally accelerated the process - it's not like any player would ever be allowed to publicly admit, explain and justify their actions. For all of that, I think it would be extremely harsh and very unreliable to judge any player on their social media response to the sacking.

 

[1966]

This post made me warm inside

Apparently my Android 2.1 browser isn't so good at the JavaScript so I can't access the emoji menu but I was going to find the heart. Just pretend I posted it.

Stuff like this - my interactions with the community - is why I'm fond of Spurs despite not being a supporter.

As an England fan, I hang out with a lot of different PL fanbases and the Spurs base is absolutely top 3. Top 3 in my heart and top 3 in the table next season!

 

[nailsy]

Brings a tear to the eye, but the other Harry has a point
“When people talk about the players there all loving him - if the love him that much, maybe they should have started playing a bit better” - Harry Redknapp

Blame the players when it goes wrong. Praise the manager when it goes right.

 

[Gb160]

Jose Mourinho insists Harry Kane is key to winning silverware as Portuguese is unveiled as Spurs' new head coach

Jose Mourinho has told Daniel Levy, the Tottenham Hotspur chairman, that he does not need to break the bank to deliver silverware on his return to management, but he is adamant Harry Kane must not be allowed to leave this summer.

www.telegraph.co.uk

Reported by multiple broadsheets now so probably not bollocks. The gist is that in leiu of a large transfer budget, Jose wanted a guarantee from Levy that Kane wouldn't leave until at least 2021. It's a strong indicator of how significant Kane's role in Jose's squad is going to be. Jose did indeed want Kane at United - as per rumours at the time - and the latter has clearly been a factor in Jose taking the job.

It's excellent news for fans who were concerned about Kane looking elsewhere in the summer. But on the manager side of things, if you're not a supporter of the Jose appointment, you can flip Kane off on Saturday.

Elsewhere, it's been very widely reported that immediately after being appointed, Jose told Kane that he believes he's one of the world's best strikers, which is very likely his genuine opinion, and that they will win silverware together.

As someone who's desperate to see Kane get the medals to match his plaudits, it's all rather exciting. I love the confidence bordering on arrogance that Jose brings to a club (when he's on the side you want anyway!), and he has the track record to back it up, winning trophies everywhere he goes.

I don't know if Poch was physically capable of instilling the same confidence in a team because however great Poch may be, it's just an objective fact that he hasn't won anything yet, and that has got to be at least somewhere in the back of a player's head. Personally, I think Kane will really respond to having a serial winner in charge: someone that he will feel can match his wildest ambitions while still at Spurs.

ETA: Athough it seems like Jose's year out has genuinely changed him for the better - and I'm hoping it'll stay that way - with hindsight, it looks like he actually did exceptionally well to drag that United squad to a second place finish in the league with two trophies. His work at United was definitely underrated at the time and that's only recently become clear.

Im itching to know if H will be made permanent captain.
Obviously I have no idea what Hugo was like with the other players, but his captaincy always seemed like a strange decision by Poch.

 

[beats1]

I expect him to go beast mode now

The Premier League has forgot about him and he doesn't get the respect he's rightfully earned

 

[markiespurs]

Jose Mourinho insists Harry Kane is key to winning silverware as Portuguese is unveiled as Spurs' new head coach

Jose Mourinho has told Daniel Levy, the Tottenham Hotspur chairman, that he does not need to break the bank to deliver silverware on his return to management, but he is adamant Harry Kane must not be allowed to leave this summer.

www.telegraph.co.uk

Reported by multiple broadsheets now so probably not bollocks. The gist is that in leiu of a large transfer budget, Jose wanted a guarantee from Levy that Kane wouldn't leave until at least 2021. It's a strong indicator of how significant Kane's role in Jose's squad is going to be. Jose did indeed want Kane at United - as per rumours at the time - and the latter has clearly been a factor in Jose taking the job.

It's excellent news for fans who were concerned about Kane looking elsewhere in the summer. But on the manager side of things, if you're not a supporter of the Jose appointment, you can flip Kane off on Saturday.

Elsewhere, it's been very widely reported that immediately after being appointed, Jose told Kane that he believes he's one of the world's best strikers, which is very likely his genuine opinion, and that they will win silverware together.

As someone who's desperate to see Kane get the medals to match his plaudits, it's all rather exciting. I love the confidence bordering on arrogance that Jose brings to a club (when he's on the side you want anyway!), and he has the track record to back it up, winning trophies everywhere he goes.

I don't know if Poch was physically capable of instilling the same confidence in a team because however great Poch may be, it's just an objective fact that he hasn't won anything yet, and that has got to be at least somewhere in the back of a player's head. Personally, I think Kane will really respond to having a serial winner in charge: someone that he will feel can match his wildest ambitions while still at Spurs.

ETA: Athough it seems like Jose's year out has genuinely changed him for the better - and I'm hoping it'll stay that way - with hindsight, it looks like he actually did exceptionally well to drag that United squad to a second place finish in the league with two trophies. His work at United was definitely underrated at the time and that's only recently become clear.

Hope this means Mourinho is planning on setting up the team to supply Kane with more chances.

One of my biggest gripes with Poch during our poor form this year was that he had one of the best strikers in the world, yet Kane still received very little service.

 

[dagraham]

Im itching to know if H will be made permanent captain.
Obviously I have no idea what Hugo was like with the other players, but his captaincy always seemed like a strange decision by Poch.

On the subject of Hugo and our keepers in general, one of the things I’m wondering is whether we’ll continue to piss about with the ball in our own penalty box.

I hope we’re a little more selective.

 

[spursfan77]

Kane always chose his words very carefully regarding spurs, he said as long as the club is moving in the right direction he will be here. I can understand why he began to have doubt that we would continue on our trajectory but Levy has forced the issues hiring Jose.

I couldn’t see any other appointment placating him. As long as they get on of course.

 

[nailsy]

Im itching to know if H will be made permanent captain.
Obviously I have no idea what Hugo was like with the other players, but his captaincy always seemed like a strange decision by Poch.

A lot of the captains job is to be a link between the players and the coaching staff and Hugo is meant to be very good at that side of things. Although with the way things have gone in the last year, maybe he isn't

 

[1966]

Seems he will be permanent captain??

Why you say this?

I don't think there's any solid evidence for that yet but Jose adores Kane and Kane has captained England to a WC SF and to Euro 2020 after one of our best qualifying campaigns ever. He clearly commands respect from teammates on both of his teams and has a long history of dealing with referees and arguments, and remaining the calmest in very boisterous situations (Battle of Stamford Bridge comes to mind). Whether he could be more vocal and instructive, I'm not sure - maybe some managers might want him to be - but he certainly can lead from the front and by example.

Lloris is out for a while yet and although I hate criticising Spurs players as an outsider, I don't think it's too contentious to say that Lloris has been in noticeable decline for some time now. I don't know how much longer he's going to be a nailed-on starter, if he is at all by the time he returns. I'm not saying his decline is terminal and that he can't turn it around but I personally wouldn't just give him his spot back from Gazzaniga after the work the latter has done.

On a more personal level - one on which I feel more comfortable critiquing because it's both an issue of everyday morality and one dear to my heart - I believe that Lloris should've been stripped of his captaincy permanently after the drink-driving incident. Some people don't think of drink-driving as a big deal: hell, many of us will have done it personally. When the scandal first emerged, those of us who thought it was a big deal were accused of pearl-clutching and being outraged for the sake of it by other fans. I get their attitude, I truly do, but I think it's a naive and incorrect one. Drink-driving is a victimless crime... until there's a victim.

I lost a friend at 17 to a drunk woman who "didn't see" him cycling along at night in a high-viz jacket and who drove off after hitting him (fleeing turned out retrospectively to be his death sentence). The police mishandled the evidence so she got away with a few points on her licence -- but that's neither here nor there when it comes to taking someone's life because no sentence is restorative.

It's only after they've experienced the effects of drink-driving in some real way that most people understand the gravity of it -- and by then it's sometimes too late. It's one of those crimes that's almost impossible to get people to take seriously until after they've fucked shit up. Most have just never considered the causal chain of drink-driving in any detail and/or dismiss the risks attached as "too small to inconvenience myself over".

My personal experience shouldn't really matter: the fact that these experiences happen at all should be what matters. I really don't want to be overly sententious and preachy here though so I'm going to stop myself from drifting into a full-blown lecture cum therapy session.

In the case of Lloris, he wasn't just an "I really shouldn't have finished that second beer but hopefully I'll be okay if I just do the half-mile journey at 20mph" case. He was wankered and well inside the region of potential endangerment to himself and others.

The only difference between Lloris and well-known murderer Marcos Alonso is luck. A lot of Spurs fans (and I'll include myself in this) like to bring up Alonso as an example of a scumbag for the purpose of mocking Chelsea. When another team's player gets caught drink-driving, he's viewed as not a great character to say the least - certainly not one suitable for any kind of role as a leader of or ambassador for a club - and we shouldn't be hypocritical on that point.

I'd condemn any England player who did the same thing -- especially the captain! That's not the rolemodel I want for anyone, let alone impressionable kids who worship these guys.

Anyway, that got dark quickly. Sorry for delving into an unpleasant topic at length when I really just wanted to make the argument in favour of Kane for captain, even though we have no idea what Jose's long-term plans are. But apparently I'm not the only one thinking that Jose might be thinking what I'm thinking.

 

[DJS]

Personally I feel Kane should be captain.

And Lloris’position will be interesting as he was always tied into Poch so wonder if he’ll be looking for an out now, perhaps PSG?

Will be interesting to see if Mourinho (I actually initially typed Poch out of false of habit there ?) will be looking at goalkeepers in January.

 

[dagraham]

Personally I feel Kane should be captain.

And Lloris’position will be interesting as he was always tied into Poch so wonder if he’ll be looking for an out now, perhaps PSG?

Will be interesting to see if Mourinho (I actually initially typed Poch out of false of habit there ?) will be looking at goalkeepers in January.

I think long term we need a new keeper, but I don’t think it’s a priority so soon.

We need a new RB though quite urgently.

 

[Shadydan]

Personally I feel Kane should be captain.

And Lloris’position will be interesting as he was always tied into Poch so wonder if he’ll be looking for an out now, perhaps PSG?

Will be interesting to see if Mourinho (I actually initially typed Poch out of false of habit there ?) will be looking at goalkeepers in January.

Agreed, I don't know how the team can take any inspiration from a keeper who is making mistakes, Kane is just a natural captain

 

[dace]

I don't think there's any solid evidence for that yet but Jose adores Kane and Kane has captained England to a WC SF and to Euro 2020 after one of our best qualifying campaigns ever. He clearly commands respect from teammates on both of his teams and has a long history of dealing with referees and arguments, and remaining the calmest in very boisterous situations (Battle of Stamford Bridge comes to mind). Whether he could be more vocal and instructive, I'm not sure - maybe some managers might want him to be - but he certainly can lead from the front and by example.

Lloris is out for a while yet and although I hate criticising Spurs players as an outsider, I don't think it's too contentious to say that Lloris has been in noticeable decline for some time now. I don't know how much longer he's going to be a nailed-on starter, if he is at all by the time he returns. I'm not saying his decline is terminal and that he can't turn it around but I personally wouldn't just give him his spot back from Gazzaniga after the work the latter has done.

On a more personal level - one on which I feel more comfortable critiquing because it's both an issue of everyday morality and one dear to my heart - I believe that Lloris should've been stripped of his captaincy permanently after the drink-driving incident. Some people don't think of drink-driving as a big deal: hell, many of us will have done it personally. When the scandal first emerged, those of us who thought it was a big deal were accused of pearl-clutching and being outraged for the sake of it by other fans. I get their attitude, I truly do, but I think it's a naive and incorrect one. Drink-driving is a victimless crime... until there's a victim.

I lost a friend at 17 to a drunk woman who "didn't see" him cycling along at night in a high-viz jacket and who drove off after hitting him (fleeing turned out retrospectively to be his death sentence). The police mishandled the evidence so she got away with a few points on her licence -- but that's neither here nor there when it comes to taking someone's life because no sentence is restorative.

It's only after they've experienced the effects of drink-driving in some real way that most people understand the gravity of it -- and by then it's sometimes too late. It's one of those crimes that's almost impossible to get people to take seriously until after they've fucked shit up. Most have just never considered the causal chain of drink-driving in any detail and/or dismiss the risks attached as "too small to inconvenience myself over".

My personal experience shouldn't really matter: the fact that these experiences happen at all should be what matters. I really don't want to be overly sententious and preachy here though so I'm going to stop myself from drifting into a full-blown lecture cum therapy session.

In the case of Lloris, he wasn't just an "I really shouldn't have finished that second beer but hopefully I'll be okay if I just do the half-mile journey at 20mph" case. He was wankered and well inside the region of potential endangerment to himself and others.

The only difference between Lloris and well-known murderer Marcos Alonso is luck. A lot of Spurs fans (and I'll include myself in this) like to bring up Alonso as an example of a scumbag for the purpose of mocking Chelsea. When another team's player gets caught drink-driving, he's viewed as not a great character to say the least - certainly not one suitable for any kind of role as a leader of or ambassador for a club - and we shouldn't be hypocritical on that point.

I'd condemn any England player who did the same thing -- especially the captain! That's not the rolemodel I want for anyone, let alone impressionable kids who worship these guys.

Anyway, that got dark quickly. Sorry for delving into an unpleasant topic at length when I really just wanted to make the argument in favour of Kane for captain, even though we have no idea what Jose's long-term plans are. But apparently I'm not the only one thinking that Jose might be thinking what I'm thinking.

With you 100%.
Lost both my parents to a drunk driver not so long ago...
Lost respect for Lloris after his DD and wanted him out of the club from that moment...
Still very bitter about things I suppose..

 

[Shadydan]

Pretty sure we would have lost this guy this summer if we hadn't moved quickly.

 

[Spurger King]

With you 100%.
Lost both my parents to a drunk driver not so long ago...
Lost respect for Lloris after his DD and wanted him out of the club from that moment...
Still very bitter about things I suppose..

Not bitter. Reasonable and human.

Very sorry to hear about your parents.

 

[Timberwolf]

Even if we came 17th and had Sherwood in charge I don't think there's a chance in hell Levy would let Kane leave. In the summer he'll still have 4 years left on his contract and I just can't see anyone paying what Levy would want for him (likely in the region of £200 million).

Now with Jose in charge he'll definitely be sticking around until the summer of 2021 at the very earliest and given his character, price tag and connection to the club, I'd expect him to stay another year on top of that.

That said, I was utterly convinced we'd hang on to Bale so what the fuck do I know?

 

[Primativ]

Pretty sure we would have lost this guy this summer if we hadn't moved quickly.

To be fair he doesn't look or sound very convinced, but it's early days. Hopefully Kane can be convinced he can fulfill his ambitions here under Mourinho.