There are a lot of things wrong with the English sporting media, but one thing in particular has wound me up this week and it's something that happens every time there’s a young English player in a rich vein of form.
The current hot topic is of course Harry Kane. He’s having a stellar season so far – 29 goals in all competitions for Spurs, and a goal within 80 seconds of his England debut – and this is in no way aimed at him. My issue is that because he’s having a brilliant season, if you listen to the media you’d think he’s Spurs and England’s only player. It’s a culture and way of thinking in England that I believe holds us back and blinds us as to what our true level is.
In the build up to Tottenham’s recent game against Man United all the talk referring to Spurs was about whether Kane could get his first goal versus United. Not about Spurs recent run of good form, how they might approach the game, or any other key battles between players across the pitch. Similarly last week the only talk was about why Kane should start, why he shouldn’t start, whether he’s ready, whether he’s not. It was as if, before he’s even had as much as one international minute, all England needed to do was put Kane in the team and the result would take care of itself.
Only 9 months ago we were in Brazil with a squad containing the new generation of English players. But as soon as there’s a new addition to that group of youngsters, all the others are seemingly forgotten. Kane should be spoken about as part of our future, alongside players like Sterling, Barkely, Clyne and Stones. He’s not our only player, we need to support the whole team and not just focus on the flavour of the month.
Once Kane had been included in the squad, pundits were debating whether he should be in the starting 11. The argument focussed on the fact that he’s the most in form English striker, with more Premier League goals than Rooney, Sturridge and Welbeck combined. I agree that on form he should be in the team, but up until now England have won every game since the World Cup, and Roy has a trusted team with a working system. Why change it if it’s been working well up to now? I can see both sides of this argument but when the form of the team has been good, I can’t understand the amount of people wanting to change it.
And once the team has been picked and the game is under way, we don’t have to hear his name every 30 seconds! They had cameras on him during the anthems, they cut straight to Kane clapping when Rooney scored, showed him warming up and stretching. I understand the clamour for him – or any young Engish talent – to be a superstar, but let’s give the kid a chance. Let’s give him some time to fully establish himself as a first team club player before we decide he’s the answer to our prayers. A lot of people would do well to remember that this is still his first proper season as a Premier League regular. I’m not saying the same thing will happen but there are a lot of players, Kevin Phillips for example, who were prolific at club level but couldn’t quite cut it at international level. Like everyone else, I hope Kane becomes a star for England, I just think we need to be a bit more level headed.
I think we need to stop pinning our hopes on individual players every time a new one comes along. Too often we rely on a Rooney or a Beckham to drag us through tournaments, when we should really be considering how good we are as a team and basing our expectations on that.