Three ways Harry Kane is actually hurting Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham and Kane Tactically

The reality is Harry Kane is not the player he was five years ago, the wear and tear on him has taken a toll, and some of the things he used to do he either no longer does or does not do consistently. Moving forward, there are some tactical issues around Kane’s game that must be addressed for Tottenham to stop stagnating and grow around Harry Kane 2.0.

Harry Kane does not press as he used too

One of the main roles of a striker, particularly in an aggressive, fast-paced, high-backline team is getting pressure from the front of the attack. While Kane is certainly not alone and the Manchester City game was poor pressuring from everyone, as the center striker he is supposed to lead the line.

How often do you really see Kane run at a smart angle toward a defender with the ball trying to at least provide the semblance of pressure? Only the perception of pressure is often enough for Spurs defenders to give away possession and the same is true for other defenders too. Kane has not been on the front foot looking to make a play defensively.

While clearly still one of our best players defensively in the box, this is not totally an ability or effort thing. A lot of the problem is positioning. When Kane is alone on an island trying to pressure becomes a fool’s errand and it becomes easier and easier to stop. The lack of consistency in the front four this season has meant that Kane never knows who is around him and rather than kill himself when others may not be on the same page, he has taken the pressing down a notch.

All that said, maybe the time has taken a toll and he is not capable of pressing for 90 minutes, which is actually okay, assuming Tottenham deal with Kane’s playing time issue.

Harry Kane must play all the minutes

Maybe it is the coach, but now with three coaches, Pochettino, Mourinho, and Mason; all would rather play a less than 100% Harry Kane 90 minutes than risk the ire of bringing him on from the bench – even if it is the right move.

We will not go back to the Champions League Final but this past weekend it was clear Harry Kane was not 100%. If that was the case and the team knew they were going to sit back for the first half, why not let someone else press and pressure the ball and then bring Kane on at the break?

Had Kane not taken that hard first-half tackle from Dias maybe he would have had more in the second. We will never know but part of the reason for ‘having’ to play Kane is that a serviceable backup has never been developed – in seven seasons.

Because Harry Kane gets almost all the minutes, all the time, Tottenham has never actually developed a quality backup striker. Maybe some of the signings were not great but I have no doubt Carlos Vinicius can be a very good striker in the Premier League if he only would get a chance. I get that Kane is the best player and in theory, gives Tottenham the best chance to win but sometimes even the best need a breather, and Kane really only gets them when he is hurt.

And as we have seen the injuries have had a major impact, particularly this season, even with short absences, because Kane does so much. But he does so much because Tottenham has a problem.

Harry Kane has no position

Kane playing a false nine role without a proper 10 on the team has really had a negative impact since about week 12. Ever since Heung-Min Son stopped running over the top, the team has had no one to stretch the field as Kane drops deep to be the playmaker.

If anyone could be a target other than Kane this would work and he could have 25 assists. Instead, everyone stands around hoping Kane makes a play and gets the ball to someone in an attacking position. Then Harry has to hoof it down to get into the box for service that has not come enough this season.

If Kane simply started in the attacking midfield role or started with a second striker some of this problem could be alleviated. Instead, we have Batman running around without a real Robin to help him as the lone striker again and again.

Ultimately, this tactical shift that has truly helped Harry explode as a player is one hurting the team. We can blame Kane or the tactics but either way, the result is the same a team not equal to the sum of its parts. Assuming Harry Kane stays, which we all hope he does, the next manager has several major tasks. Not the least of which is to determine how to get the best out of Kane in a way that helps the team and Harry succeed.