We have lots of mails on Harry Kane but we will attempt to divert you do we start with some Manchester United. You can send your mails on any subject to theeditor@football365.com
Is Solskjaer deal premature?
Short answer: Premature
Medium answer: He’s like a nice guy who helps us get over our psychopath ex (Mourinho). But too early to say if he’s up for the full ride.
Long answer: He’s done a good job, better than I expected. But he hasn’t made us a top top club (yet). Deserves a chance to try in the next year, with a better squad and if he improves us again then yes give him a new deal. If not, let’s look for someone else.
Gaurav MUFC (Bracket answer: You can’t hurry love by Phil Collins)
Semi time?
Zlatan is back. Hernandez is back. Bennacer is back. Rebic is back. Calhanoglu is back. That being said, how many goals are we gonna win by before getting knocked out in the semis?
AF, Red Devil, Dubai
Why does Kane not get credit he deserves?
Interesting topic on the merits of Kane being ‘world class’. I am very much in the ‘yes he absolutely is’ camp. Reasons are:-
There isn’t a team in the world he wouldn’t get into, and I’m including PSG in that (who need to replace Cavani), Barcelona (he’s better than Griezmann), Real Madrid who need a replacement for Benzema (whether Benzema is world class we can leave until later), Man City – Aguero replacement, Liverpool (prefer him to Firmino and Jota), Man Utd as I think he could knit the front line together much better than Martial, Greenwood or Rashford, the list goes on.
Why I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves:-
He’s English – due to 55 years of hurt (good lyrics for a song there…..) I think the English never rate their players as ‘world class’. The golden generation of Rio, JT, Lamps, Stevie et al never did it but were actually world-class players and so we just don’t look at our players that way as they raise up our hopes only to dash them again
He’s English II – if he was called Kaninho he would be lauded and admired for toe poking a 2 footer across the line
He’s English III – we don’t like superstars in this country, be sensible, don’t get too big for your boots, you’re just like the rest of us so be humble, and anyway you’re not that good mate (not me saying this, just what I hear a lot)
Injuries – it seems he insists on playing until he gets injured rather than being more sensible, listening to his body and being careful so he ends up missing the business end of the season where the real action is. Take our friend Fred’s admission that I think we can all agree on that he should never have started that Champions League final. An understandably understated poor performance allowing ‘lucky Liverpool’ (let’s not go there again…) to take the trophy.
He hasn’t won anything – trophies earn respect, Kane has none. Without trophies you can never claim to be one of the best
Big money move – it’s amazing how differently you look at a player when they go for crazy money. If he moved to PSG for 100m he would inevitably go up in our estimations (possibly)
Kane should not have signed a six-year deal with Spurs. He has no leverage and no get out clause and Levy will never sell. He’s going to be 29 by the time he only has a year left on his contract by which time Spurs will have fired another manager.
Kane’s only hope at true redemption is for Spurs to fire Jose and then get Nagelsman or somebody in who knits together what is actually a great squad full of attacking intent.
Hong Kong Ian (how lucky were Spurs against Ajax in the semi final…..) LFC
Or…
Dave Winchester claims that Kane is the best player in the league. F**k me – he isn’t even the best player at Spurs!
Martin Todoroski
Are the commentators the problem?
Steve’s excellent letter suggested that we football fans don’t like Kane because the press love him and he doesn’t play for our team. I agree with part of it, as I am sure the latter reason is true for some but for me it is almost entirely the commentators’ love of him that makes me hope that I don’t happen to switch on during a Spurs game. Sure their often negative play is another reason but that is for another letter.
There was a goal a while back when Dembele (I think) played an amazing pass under pressure to Kane, who under no pressure played a fairly simple pass to Heung-min, who had made a great run, to set up the pass and still had to beat the goalkeeper. All the commentator went on about was Kane’s involvement in the goal. And I mean on and on about it. I get it, the commentators are patriotic Englishmen who love the captain of their national team but the frankly moronic levels of bias that it brings to their commentary is stupefying and off putting to those of us with even half a brain.
And talking half a brain time to go into total rant mode now. Switching between the two Champions League games this morning, I switched to the Real game to hear the commentator explain that if Atlanta scored a goal (making it 2-1 to Real at Real) then they would only need half a goal to win the tie. HALF a goal, really, half a goal, how does one score half a f**king goal? Do you cut the ball in half, get exactly half the ball over the line, get a midget to score it, make own goals count as half? I mean how does a moron like that firstly get and then actually keep a job? I mean would you get in a taxi when the driver says they can get you to the airport by driving you only half way? Rant over. Feeling better, almost.
Murray (and I apologies to midgets for bringing them unsolicited into my mail as any goal they score is, of course, a real full goal and to suggest otherwise is in poor taste but hopefully acceptable for comic effort)
Is it because Kane gets away with it?
Steve(THFC) asks a valid question as to why Harry Kane is seemingly not liked by many. He also makes lots of decent points in why that could be and notes that Kane is no worse than many players past and present when it comes to the slightly dirtier side to the game. If we’re honest we have and have had these sorts of payers at our clubs and they are usually the ones we love if they play for us but dislike if they play for the opposition. For my take a lot of it is tribalism (as it is with most fans), he’s a fantastic player and every fan would love to have him as a striker at their club, but I think the thing for me is actually a thing that is sort of out of Kane’s control……it isn’t that he is ‘dirty’ it is that he gets away with it. That doesn’t appeal to our sense of justice and fair play.
There have been far, far dirtier players in the league than Kane but they were often punished – which in itself marks them out as ‘dirty’ players. There have been far worse divers in the league than Kane but they don’t always win the penalty. So for me it is the idea (rightly or wrongly) that he is regularly protected where so many others are punished.
Rich, AFC
…This back and forth is silly, but I like indulging so I’d add simply that the actions on the pitch Kane makes that people hate are ones that clearly run the greatest risk of causing actual injury to players, without being the studs up bastard, in the knowledge that if he gets caught, under current rules, he’ll get a telling off at worst.
The backing into jumping players should be a post-game reviewable and suspendable piece of behaviour (as should clear off the ball blindside tackles, which Kane definitely did in the NLD) because they could cause significant harm and are clearly not necessary (could be taken out the game with zero impact on the sport).
I’d happily see that happen, and support any suspension, to Kane or any other player. I accept right now they won’t stop unless the punishment exists to disincentivise this as it gives players a competitive edge.
But also separately I think he’s a knob and I can distinguish this sentiment and my critique of his ‘dark side’ from recognising he’s an incredible player because I am an adult.
Tom, Walthamstow
Kane and other NLD thoughts
Okay, I know the NLD was on Sunday and I’m sending this on Tuesday afternoon, but the same things are still humming round your mailbox and on the site itself.
1) It’s a penalty. Of course it’s a penalty. If anything (let’s take these ridiculous rules to their absurd limit) Laca has woefully sliced the shot, so the ball was gone. Meaning it’s a red card because there was no genuine attempt to play the ball. Ha! (maybe that was slightly too defensive, but I don’t care).
2) This feels like the first time VAR has come out in our favour. I’m sure it isn’t, but some high profile incidents have gone against us and have all been mirrored in other games almost immediately with different outcomes (Saka v Villa, Luiz’s red, Fernandes stamping on Xhaka etc).
3) Kane is pound for pound the best striker in the league. Certainly the most complete striker. He would walk into almost any other team in the world. BUT, he will injure someone pretty seriously if he keeps going the way he is at the moment and he is undoubtedly treated more leniently than most other players. He reminds me of Marc Van Bommel in that regard, he speaks politely to referees but sets out to clatter people continually.
4) The rules need to be looked at, undercutting the way Kane does isn’t illegal it seems. That’s mad. It’s illegal in rugby because they recognise the potential damage it can do. Footballers, by comparison, are made of balsa wood and blu tac.
5) If he hits someone in an international tournament, the way he hit Gabriel at the weekend, it WILL get a red card. Hopefully, he knows that and will moderate his behaviour.
I’m aware this has become a bit rantier than planned so I’ll stop.
Tim, AFC, London
Oooh aaah
In a quest for a more positive mailbox MARK T (London) asked: “Which player (past or present) is your guilty pleasure (i.e. you shouldn’t like them but secretly you do)?”
For me it’s Cantona (or half the Utd team of the 90s). Hated them at the time, but you’ve got to respect what they did.
Aidan, Lfc (not always positive, just try not to be a tool in public)
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