Unless you’ve had your head buried in the sand, you’ll have noticed that Harry Kane hasn’t exactly enjoyed the best start to the season. In fact, it has been pretty poor by his short-term standards, but it would be naive for anyone to suggest that he doesn’t have the innate ability to bounce back, score some goals and redeem himself.
Some have continued to speculate that he could very well be a one-season wonder. Pointing to his bolt from the blue as a tenuous link to his current disappointment, there is a genuine opinion out there that has tried to explain away his woes in overly-simplistic terms. Simply because he is no longer a surprise package and defenders are more aware of the threat he carries, it has been suggested that he was always going to struggle through 2015/16.
However, that overlooks the fact that he has more than enough time – and matches – to mirror his first amazing full season in English football’s top tier. In that respect, it’s definitely not all doom and gloom for the man affectionately dubbed “Hurrikane”. Simply put, he didn’t bag his first league goal last season until the beginning of November – a month we’ve not yet even reached.
Recalling his glorious inception to the English top flight, he wasn’t properly involved for the first few games. A serial substitute for the opening few fixtures, he was looked to as their Europa League striker instead and was a real fringe player, and although that platform gave him the opening he needed to send a signal to Mauricio Pochettino, it also allowed him to slowly eek out a chance instead of being shunted into the first team, and all the expectation that comes with it.
Last term, the 22-year-old was the talk of the Premier League as he came from absolutely nowhere to bag 21 league goals – the second highest after only Sergio Aguero. Converting freely, the repertoire of his strikes during the 2014/15 campaign was as varied as possible and one that any world class striker would be proud of. Netting from the penalty spot, free-kicks, close range and long range, he was the veritable king of White Hart Lane.
Alongside Christian Eriksen, he played a pivotal role in helping them secure Europa League football with as many as 31 goals across a variety of competitions, but this time around his luck seems to have evaporated as quickly as it formed. Going through a really barren spell up front, the England international has been without the one thing he really needs to survive as a professional footballer – goals.
An incredibly clinical forward on his day, he has enjoyed some good times in the famous white shirt of Spurs. Now, however, he is going through a patchy spell. Without a goal in eight appearances for the Lilywhites, he has faced more than his fair share of demons already, with the north London derby a clear example of the non-stop obstacles he has faced since August
At one point in their 2-1 defeat, he had the ball in the back of the net and the fans applauding his effort on goal in the second half, but he was adjudged to have drifted offside. It was typical of what happens when a forward is going through a drought – things seem to go against you more than usual.
However, there were other glimpses of his genuine ability, signs that he really isn’t far from rediscovering his prowess inside the 18-yard box. In the 66th minute, he got on the end of a good cross swung in from the right wing, connecting beautifully with an acrobatic volley that zipped towards goal, only to see Kieran Gibbs clear off the line with a good, last-gasp header.
The talk about his lack of confidence looked silly there and then. After all, would a striker lacking in self-belief, and natural brilliance, have the audacity to try such a convoluted shot in a heated derby with the scores locked at 1-1? Most certainly not.
In that sense, it’s easy to see why he’ll soon get off the mark, and when he does reach that inevitable stage, he’ll have plenty of time and opportunities to emulate, or at least get near, the benchmark he set last season.
What better time to score his opening goal of the season than against league leaders Manchester City this weekend? Stranger things have happened.
