Where Will Harry Kane Fit in Tottenham's Lineage of England Strikers?
The news of legendary Tottenham Hotspur and England striker Jimmy Greaves suffering a stroke was one of the just-concluded season's sadder stories. One scant positive to emerge from the 75-year-old's illness, though, was the football world reminding itself of what an outstanding player he was.
Friend and author Norman Giller provided the pick of the many glowing appraisals of Greaves' career, comparing him to Lionel Messi, per the Sports Journalists' Association. With footage of his playing exploits relatively rare, his noteworthy numbers go some way to backing up the praise. Greaves scored 266 goals in 379 appearances for Tottenham and 44 in 57 for England (his goal-per-game ratios at Chelsea and AC Milan were impressive too, especially at the former).
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Spurs' latest English star forward Harry Kane would do well to one day be remembered in the same class as Greaves. He has got off to a good start with his club, but arguably the greater intrigue lays in his prospects with his country. As it relates to the north Londoners, just where he will stand among the club's strikers to represent England when all is said and done is of importance.
There is a greater fascination with chief goalscorers historically because of their more obvious part in glamorous and match-winning moments. See Greaves and his lofty position in England's all-time scorers list (fourth having recently been displaced by Wayne Rooney), not to mention his misfortune at injury leading to him being displaced by Geoff Hurst in England's 1966 World Cup-winning team. In contemporary English football, the position's prominent place in discussions has as much to do with the lack of quality finishers.
Spurs' English strikers down the years have been involved in all sorts of these situations and discussions. As the latest in that line and lineage, and as possibly one of the more exciting of these talents, Kane could become one of the most fruitful too if he is able to negotiate the highs and lows which come his way.
The 21-year-old's youth and early senior recognition wearing the famous Three Lions has already marked him out as one of the club's more successful home-produced forwards on the international stage in the post-war years. Players like Len Duquemin and Mark Falco played their parts in successful eras of the early 1950s and '80s for Tottenham but never earned call-ups. In more recent times Rory Allen and Jon Obika represented England at youth level but never got further than the Under-21s.
Peter Crouch has, to date, 22 goals in 42 games for England. He got his opportunity having proved himself away from White Hart Lane, though he would score five and win nine caps when he returned at the turn of the decade to the club who developed him.
After his debut senior goal against Lithuania and a solid display away at Italy in March, Kane returns to the England Under-21 fold for Thursday's warm-up against Belarus for this summer's European Championships. He scored six goals in eight qualifying games and a significant contribution to a strong summer for Gareth Southgate's side would set him up for an immediate return to Roy Hodgson's top-level group.
Southgate is confident Kane and his fellow attackers Saido Berahino and Danny Ings can help the Under-21s do well in the Czech Republic.
"It’s quite unusual in that the three boys here have all performed extremely well in the Premier League," noted the manager. "So we are very fortunate to have strikers with that ability to score goals but also the work ethic and desire to be the best they can be."
Berahino and Ings might well be involved in that next phase of Kane's international career too, the competition to establish himself as a regular for the senior side.
The Tottenham player need only look at the experiences of his former club-mate Jermain Defoe to understand the challenges of this fight.
The now-Sunderland striker netted a respectable 16 goals in 48 England appearances in two spells with Spurs. But the opportunities to compete that might have helped him do even more for his country—especially over a run of games—were never forthcoming.
Defoe will have understood not being able to displace first-choice men like Rooney and Michael Owen (even though there were occasional arguments against even their own places), especially given he was not always starting at Spurs. However, not being guaranteed one of the back-up slots will still feel harder to swallow given how he generally played well when given the chance. The competition here was not particularly staggering either—Sven Goran-Eriksson's decision to take the green, not even Premier League-tested Theo Walcott to the 2006 World Cup without even intending to use him still baffles to this day.
Fitness and form permitting, Kane's likely prominent place at the head of the Tottenham attack should stand him in better stead than Defoe to stake his England claim. He will do well to win a place given the competition for striker slots is as healthy as it has been since the beginning of the last decade.
In addition to Under-21 colleagues Berahino and Ings, there are major-tournament-experienced players such as Andy Carroll, Rooney, Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck. Newcomers Charlie Austin and Jamie Vardy, as well as wide options like Raheem Sterling and Walcott are also battling for places in the attack.
Maintaining his good performances and goal rate for Spurs will be Kane's best way of ensuring he remains in contention. Once there, he has the ability to convince Hodgson he deserves to be a starter too (assuming he adapts to life in the set-up as well as he has first-team football at Spurs). Aiding him here is a varied style which should see him capable of adapting to whatever responsibilities he is assigned.
Kane's 21 league goals in 2014-15 have seen him already match Teddy Sheringham for one feat at Tottenham—equaling the latter's Premier League-era best goal tally for the club. The new man's awareness, smart finishing and ability to link up with and provide for his team-mates also bares a resemblance to the striker's work in two spells with Spurs between 1992 and 2003.
Kane is his own man in other respects (quicker over short yardages and more comfortable taking players on), but it is in his similarities with Sheringham that he may find his niche for England.
The recently appointed Stevenage manager was as good an example as any of sacrificing the individual's needs for the benefit of the team. For England he used his qualities for creating for others—notably his impeccable passing and intelligent movement—to become an excellent foil for Alan Shearer. At Euro '96 in particular they were excellent at times (the 4-1 win over the Netherlands standing out), though that was no surprise to Spurs supporters who had watched Sheringham partner so well with Jurgen Klinsmann a year or so earlier too.
Rooney's mercurial style and Hodgson's recent experiments with a front three make it less simple for Kane in the present. A straightforward front two is less common and fashionable than it was even five years ago.
Nonetheless, at least in proving himself to the England cause, finding a way to support others may serve Kane best. Down the line, if things continue to go well for Spurs and he becomes an England regular, perhaps then the opportunities will arise for him to fill his boots.
The Tottenham strikers who occupy places on England's all-time top scorers list would certain make nice markers for him to aspire to.
Sheringham's 10 goals for his country, followed by 13 each for Martin Chivers and Bobby Smith are definitely realistic targets to aspire to. Defoe (19) and Crouch (22) reached their tallies (possibly still to grow) in less competitive times in the forward departments, but you would not be surprised if a Kane playing as well as he has in the last 18 months finds himself getting into that proximity.
It is a lot to ask to get beyond there, and Kane has plenty more work to do at Tottenham before he can really think about it. But if he is feeling ambitious, he can look up to Greaves on 44 and Gary Lineker on 48 and wonder if he might not too join those ranks one day.
Lineker's Golden Boot award for six goals at the 1986 World Cup and a further 3 in 1990 (the latter while playing for Spurs) marks him out as the best major tournament scorer for England to have played in N17. With this summer's European Under-21 Championships serving as an audition, Kane could get his own opportunity to replicate such work at Euro 2015.
Whatever is to come for the new Tottenham talisman, it is exciting times for the club to once again have a marksman primed to star for England.
Players' scoring records for England while playing for Tottenham confirmed via Tottenham Hotspur: The Complete Record by Bob Goodwin.
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