How Tottenham Hotspur can get Harry Kane firing again

Two more ways Tottenham can get Kane going

Kane has struggled to score at times this season because he is a very lonely player. This is not to mean he is ostracized from the team, rather, the approach of the squad often leaves Kane isolated.

This isolation means the defense can relax and then focus on fewer occasions, helping to slow Kane’s progress. The best way to avoid this isolation is to play with two strikers.

Tottenham need to pair Kane with someone

Spurs were at their best last season when Kane was really closely partnered with Heung-Min Son as the two players fed off one another.

This season that running mate really has not emerged for Kane nor has Kane really emerged as that mate for someone else. Besides Son, historically, Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli have both served in similar capacities where their interchange with Kane helped make both players better.

Whether it is Son or Dele or Lucas or Dane Scarlett, Tottenham should work on playing Kane with another striker. It is not the vogue in the League, although both Chelsea and Aston Villa play with two strikers.

Chelsea in particular knows how to leverage the hold-up skills of Romelo Lukaku and play off of him with other attackers. Without that close proximity partner, Kane receives rockets into his feet or head making the hold-up play nearly non-existent. Providing Kane a partner can fix that.

Spurs need to get Kane a spot-kick

Tottenham Hotspur has gotten two penalty kicks this season and one was even in the Premier League. However, that penalty against Wolves was before Kane was fully reintegrated back into the team after the summer of no transfer. The point is, it was Dele Alli who took that penalty, not Harry Kane, as Spurs beat Wolves 0-1.

In basketball, when a scorer is not hitting his or her shot, the good ones attack the rim and try to pick up a foul to get some free throws. In basketball, there is no easier way to score than a free throw. Likewise in soccer, especially for a player like Harry Kane, there is no better way to get a goal than to step up for a spot-kick.

Across all competitions for club and country, Kane has converted 45 of 53 penalties, for an 85% goal rate. Not exactly Steve Nash shooting 95% from the free-throw line but again as close as one can come in football.

In basketball, the player often just needs to see the ball fall through the rim and into the hoop to open the flood gates. The same is likely true with Kane, he just needs one goal and the rest will come flooding.

If Tottenham can improve the service and find Kane a partner, then it is likely he can get moving. Alternatively, if all else fails, a penalty kick likely gets Kane on the scoresheet and then the goals will come, assuming Kane can get some service.