I find the backlash against
@Andrade quite OTT. He's barely saying anything controversial and is also caveating his posts, which seems to be swept under the rug by those replying.
At every level of the sport, the measure of a player is how well they perform on the stages presented to them; how they handle individual moments of great pressure - career defining moments. Nobody should act like this isn't the case, unless you've never entered or seen a discussion about footballing greatness, you already know this to be the case. Even Messi and Ronaldo are scrutinised by this measure, which tells you no player is exempt from it. And it's not at all new, not new at all - players always have to do something special at special moments to be in the running for individual awards, for example. Gerd Muller is seen as the absolute gold standard of strikers because of these measures -
he excelled on every available platform, his record is flawless, which is why he's always top 3 (at a bare minimum, usually he, Ronaldo and Van Basten vying for #1) in any all-time striker discussion.
Kane's never seen as a bad player or average or merely good, but if he's going to be defined as great or, in particular, the greatest of his era or the best in the entire world, he is going to be held to the scrutiny of his performances on the greatest stages presented to him. At the level being talked about, amassing a vast number of goals is a given; it's what gets him to the table to be discussed in this class in the first place, so people shouldn't act like the prerequisites aren't accepted - only a fool would say Kane isn't scoring enough goals to be considered special. What is up for discussion at this level is how he has performed at key junctures in his own career to date: key moments in the biggest games for club and country; his impact, performance and effectiveness therein. You don't need to caveat anything with but it's Spurs/England, Kane has had opportunities to decide key games for both, he absolutely has. In those instances someone like Benzema has shown his mettle and exceeded his performance level in the lesser games of the season. This isn't about the star-spangled squads they do or do not play for, rather than how they as individuals play in
that moment on
that stage with the kind of pressure added to the game that doesn't come around during the regular parts of the season, where strikers of this calibre tally for fun. It doesn't even necessarily revolve around winning the trophy at the end of the tournament - but that's another discussion - as there are countless examples of great forwards being given the plaudits for their performances and exploits even in defeat in these key games, Mbappe in the WC final being an easy example to cite, but players like Cruyff, Puskas, Baggio or Robben over numerous World Cups where their teams did not win the trophy.
Cut away the chaff and assess Kane for those key games; was his performance level the same, lesser or better than usual? That's the crux of discussion and it doesn't really need a politician's answer or skirting to something else for the whys and wherefores. The only one accepted is injury, anyway, as it is for literally any player who is at that level where they're even being grouped as the best of the best. These are the games that define them; the reminder tell you that they have it about them to be part of the discussion in the first place. You don't have to have anything at all against Kane to question his performances in these kind of games, which is where it feels
@Andrade is being attacked for scrutinising the player in the manner he should and will be if he's being elevated to literal best in class.
Kane still has a fair few years to make the impression some are saying he has already left on the club and international game. I don't think anyone is reticent to give him his plaudits once they are due should he crossover from a consistent scorer in lower pressure affairs to the man for the bigger occasions like everyone at the top of these classes is or was.
