Harry Kane MBE | Performances

Random Task said:
Alan Shearer is considered one of England's greatest strikers for his goal scoring feats alone. Given that Harry Kane is not only on course to replicate those feats but possibly even surpass them, why shouldn't he be compared to the greats of the game?

There isn't a more prolific goal scorer in Europe right now.
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I think it’s because “icons” of he game aren’t seen as current players, Shearer nearly always had a strike partner, which is very rarer these days. It’s hard to equate past players to current.
 
andyox said:
I feel like in these topics there's always something else that a player has to do, and when he does that, another arbitrary obstacle is presented. For Aguero, he hasn't done it at international stage, or he didn't do it at a "historic" club. Same for Kane, it's not enough for him to regularly smash 25+ goals a season regularly, apparently. Their goals per game records vis-a-vis any other striker you wish to name clearly put them in the elite bracket.

We can all cherry pick random obstacles for players. You mention Drogba. Yes, he scored important cup final goals, but his goals per game ratio overall is fairly average, for example, and nowhere near either Kane or Aguero. Does that mean he's not a great player? Of course not. We can all have a preference for certain strikers, but it doesn't mean we have to reduce the other strikers' ability, surely?

And obviously Kane still has a sizeable amount of his career left to score some "iconic" goals.
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So much this, this isnt even in relation to Kane ->insert modern striker here<- needs to score goals consistently in the league over an extended period of time, does that. Needs to score goals in pressure situations against the top clubs in the league, does that. Needs to score goals in the champions league, to prove he has what it takes in the biggest club competition, does that. Needs to do it for his ->country of origin<- regularly against other countries, does that. Needs to do it in the world cup, does that.

Then it's just make up more obstacles, needs to score a rabona goal after fooling a defender with a rollambo in a world cup final in the final 20 seconds of the match when down to 10 men to win the world cup for his country. Sorry if he hasnt done that he's pretty much some noob shitter not fit to lace Zlatan's boots.

And this whole infatuation with flair players, and the "he didnt do 4 step overs into a Marseilles turn and rabona goal". Ronaldo became more productive when he cut a lot of that out of his game and became more direct. RVN, RVP, great strikers, dont remember either of them standing around throwing stepovers. Put the ball in the back of the net, get on with business.
 
InLevyITrust said:
I think it’s because “icons” of he game aren’t seen as current players, Shearer nearly always had a strike partner, which is very rarer these days. It’s hard to equate past players to current.
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You're right.

There have been too many changes to the game over the years to make a definitive comparison between past and present players. Statistics (goals, assists etc) are pretty much all we have to go on in order to make a fair comparison and Harry Kane stands up rather well in that department.
 
Not even gonna bother getting into the debate of Kane vs Shearer.

One actually won the PL and then scored 283 league goals. I don’t care about PL goals only, because he was a youngster when he made his debut in 1988 so them 4 years should be included.

Kane is a top striker but no where near Shearer.
 
The holy trinity 68 said:
Not even gonna bother getting into the debate of Kane vs Shearer.

One actually won the PL and then scored 283 league goals. I don’t care about PL goals only, because he was a youngster when he made his debut in 1988 so them 4 years should be included.

Kane is a top striker but no where near Shearer.
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Kane is still only 25 .. he will probably win a PL trophy, and for the millionth time punishing a player for not playing for a good enough team to win the league is beyond silly. Swap Kane for Shearer in this Spurs side and we still would not win the league. If he can't win trophies with us (he clearly has a bit of love for the club and wants to do it here) he will likely move on and win stuff. I don't think trying to be a bit loyal should be held against him.

Also, comparing Shearer's goal tally AFTER HE RETIRED to Kane's when he's 25 is a bit silly, don't you think? You have no idea how many goals Kane will finish on.

Also, the whole 'nowhere near' shit is such an exaggeration. He's currently arguably the best striker in the world and last season scored 41 in all competitions, unless you think Shearer would be hitting Messi/Ronaldo numbers there wasn't a big gap between the two.

They were both top strikers, if Kane keeps hitting similar numbers season after season, he will be remembered on a similar level to Shearer and has a good chance of finishing top scorer in his league and for his country. He'll clearly not be 'nowhere near' if he achieves that, and he's on course to do so. Obviously if he retired tomorrow his legacy would be nowhere near Shearer's, but that isn't exactly a fair way to assess either of them.
 
SquishyMcSquish said:
Kane is still only 25 .. he will probably win a PL trophy, and for the millionth time punishing a player for not playing for a good enough team to win the league is beyond silly. Swap Kane for Shearer in this Spurs side and we still would not win the league. If he can't win trophies with us (he clearly has a bit of love for the club and wants to do it here) he will likely move on and win stuff. I don't think trying to be a bit loyal should be held against him.

Also, comparing Shearer's goal tally AFTER HE RETIRED to Kane's when he's 25 is a bit silly, don't you think? You have no idea how many goals Kane will finish on.

Also, the whole 'nowhere near' shit is such an exaggeration. He's currently arguably the best striker in the world and last season scored 41 in all competitions, unless you think Shearer would be hitting Messi/Ronaldo numbers there wasn't a big gap between the two.

They were both top strikers, if Kane keeps hitting similar numbers season after season, he will be remembered on a similar level to Shearer and has a good chance of finishing top scorer in his league and for his country. He'll clearly not be 'nowhere near' if he achieves that, and he's on course to do so. Obviously if he retired tomorrow his legacy would be nowhere near Shearer's, but that isn't exactly a fair way to assess either of them.
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Kane will be lucky to beat Shearers record, even with Shearer having to change his game after a big injury.

I don’t think Kane will ever win a PL trophy. The only chance of doing that is by leaving Spurs, and no PL team is going to be able to afford Levy’s asking price.
 
The holy trinity 68 said:
Kane will be lucky to beat Shearers record, even with Shearer having to change his game after a big injury.

I don’t think Kane will ever win a PL trophy. The only chance of doing that is by leaving Spurs, and no PL team is going to be able to afford Levy’s asking price.
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Maybe. We don't know yet do we? He won't exactly be 'lucky' to beat his record, he'll have to be incredibly consistent season in season out. Even if he doesn't beat it he will most likely end up close, so it's hardly a case of one being far and away the better player than the other. It's fine thinking Shearer was better, but the idea that he was on a totally different level seems a bit silly. Shearer was obviously a great striker but Kane will be remembered as one from his own era, there isn't a colossal gap between either of them.

Maybe not a PL trophy, but if he does move abroad it'll likely be a La Liga one. Possibly even multiple times, might even win the Champions League, who knows? He's only just starting to hit his prime and seems to be improving elements of his game every single season, we don't really know what will happen with him yet. He could go downhill from here or he could step it up another gear, both are possible. All we know is that it's not Kane's fault he hasn't won a PL trophy, he plays for a team who are not good enough to do it.

Shearer himself is evidence that no matter how good a player is, it's a team game. His trophy cabinet is a joke compared to other strikers who were half the player he was, but that shouldn't be used against him as an individual, because he was clearly a brilliant player. Both Kane and Shearer are great strikers of their generations, its hard to compare either of them directly when tactics, systems etc have all completely changed.
 
The holy trinity 68 said:
Not even gonna bother getting into the debate of Kane vs Shearer.

One actually won the PL and then scored 283 league goals. I don’t care about PL goals only, because he was a youngster when he made his debut in 1988 so them 4 years should be included.

Kane is a top striker but no where near Shearer.
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Of all reasons to rate Shearer above Kane this is an odd one. If we're going by trophies alone there are a ton of PL players who won a lot more than Shearer but who were quite clearly inferior to him. Because (obviously) trophies alone don't determine whether one footballer is better than another.
 
AfroBuffalo said:
Can’t wait for shearers record to get beaten, smug bellend
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I think Kane will just about struggle to beat him in the end: keeping up the consistency he's managed thus far will be incredibly difficult, I reckon...only a select few types like Messi and Ronaldo manage to do it throughout their entire careers. Even if he doesn't necessarily slow down in front of goal, there's always the possibility more regular injuries will hit etc. He's probably in with a better shot than anyone in a long time though.
 
hellohello said:
It's slightly difficult to compare a 25 year old with legends of the past or players at the end of their careers.

When Suarez was 25 he had 81 goals in 110 appearances for Ajax, and 15 goals in 54 appearances for Liverpool. He didn't really step up to the next level before 2012/2013 season when he was 26 years old. Ibrahimovic had 23 goals in 70 appearances for Juventus, and then 57 goals in 88 appearances for Inter. Batistutas Fiorentina stats were 71 goals in 117 appearances. Harry Kane got 125 goals in 175 appearances for Spurs.

Of course there's more to being a good forward than just goals, but Kane is overall fantastic and has no shortcomings in my view, he drops deep, plays with his back to goal, runs the channels and can spray nice passes. There's no reason why Kane can't create a legacy as good as those players you mention.
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Goals per game ratios used to be worse.

Defenders were also far better.

Comparing stats is close to useless if footballing periods are more than a couple of years apart.

Nobody that watches football is ever going to honestly suggest that Kane is even remotely close to the level of Batistuta. It’s just not even a question.
 
SquishyMcSquish said:
I think Kane when he retires will be remembered on the same level as someone like Zlatan, yes.

Is he as talented? No, but he's worked incredibly hard to develop his game and will smash records.

I don't think that's a controversial opinion at all, and certainly not only held by Spurs fans. People don't have to agree but acting like its a laughable or embarrassing opinion is silly.

Shearer was also absolutely one of the greatest strikers in PL history, his record proves that. You might not be a fan of his style of play, but you can't argue with how productive he was.
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I disagree with the Kane noise. He’s no better than Andy Cole was.

Shearer and Kane are incomparable to me, and most I know.

It’s obnoxious to say, but just as I cannot authentically compare van Basten and Shearer, due to my age, you’ve got to be a certain age to compare Shearer and Kane.

Players ‘records’ in terms of goals per game means close to nothing across eras.
 
UnrelatedPsuedo said:
I disagree with the Kane noise. He’s no better than Andy Cole was.

Shearer and Kane are incomparable to me, and most I know.

It’s obnoxious to say, but just as I cannot authentically compare van Basten and Shearer, due to my age, you’ve got to be a certain age to compare Shearer and Kane.

Players ‘records’ in terms of goals per game means close to nothing across eras.
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That's fine. I think he's significantly better than Cole ever was. Opinions, right? Most people would probably agree with me, especially outside a United forum.

Maybe most you know think they're incomparable, but they're being compared pretty commonly now, by top players, journalists, everyone.

I don't disagree with your last sentence, it's very hard to compare players across eras, all we can say is Kane is one of the best out and out strikers (if not the best) of his generation in terms of his goal output, and I think it's far more likely that he's comparable to the top strikers of other eras than the idea that strikers have suddenly got a lot worse.

Not to mention in my view Kane is far from just a goalscorer, and is simply a superb footballer, which has been evident more than ever this season.
 
SquishyMcSquish said:
That's fine. I think he's significantly better than Cole ever was. Opinions, right? Most people would probably agree with me, especially outside a United forum.

Maybe most you know think they're incomparable, but they're being compared pretty commonly now, by top players, journalists, everyone.

I don't disagree with your last sentence, it's very hard to compare players across eras, all we can say is Kane is one of the best out and out strikers (if not the best) of his generation in terms of his goal output, and I think it's far more likely that he's comparable to the top strikers of other eras than the idea that strikers have suddenly got a lot worse.

Not to mention in my view Kane is far from just a goalscorer, and is simply a superb footballer, which has been evident more than ever this season.
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Kane is THE best striker of his generation. Hands down.

It’s just that his completion is... Icardi? Lukaku? It’s a very shallow puddle and certainly not a pool, of talent.

Nobody is comparing Shearer and Kane. The goals total provokes football articles produces revenue.

No football people are comparing their ability in the same conversation.

Andy Cole has got to be the most underrated striker in league history. Kane’s exploits at International level see him in the conversation. Absolutely. But he’s not above him.
 
UnrelatedPsuedo said:
Kane is THE best striker of his generation. Hands down.

It’s just that his completion is... Icardi? Lukaku? It’s a very shallow puddle and certainly not a pool, of talent.

Nobody is comparing Shearer and Kane. The goals total provokes football articles produces revenue.

No football people are comparing their ability in the same conversation.

Andy Cole has got to be the most underrated striker in league history. Kane’s exploits at International level see him in the conversation. Absolutely. But he’s not above him.
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Lewandowski, Aguero, Cavani, Griezmann, Aubameyang, Diego Costa, Firmino ... plenty of other genuinely excellent strikers, not all of those are 'out and out' but plenty will argue Kane should top that list. It's hardly just Icardi and Lukaku is it?

And yeah, I've seen 'football people' compare Shearer & Kane's records and styles, and loads who believe Kane to be Shearer's 'heir'. Plenty of comparisons have been made all across the football world, from ex-England players to ex-Newcastle and Spurs men.

You're entitled to that opinion, but most people will have Kane being a better player, and I doubt they'll even be viewed as in the same category by the time Kane retires.

If we're not allowed to use their goalscoring record to make a comparison, it's simply a case of a clash of opinions. I think Kane would be one of the great strikers in any generation and is far from just a beneficiary of a shallow pool, but you view it differently. For me he's 100% an elite level player and one of the best in the world (not just one of the best strikers) and that's just from watching him every game, not just going off his stats.
 
UnrelatedPsuedo said:
Goals per game ratios used to be worse.

Defenders were also far better.

Comparing stats is close to useless if footballing periods are more than a couple of years apart.

Nobody that watches football is ever going to honestly suggest that Kane is even remotely close to the level of Batistuta. It’s just not even a question.
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UnrelatedPsuedo said:
Kane is THE best striker of his generation. Hands down.

It’s just that his completion is... Icardi? Lukaku? It’s a very shallow puddle and certainly not a pool, of talent.

Nobody is comparing Shearer and Kane. The goals total provokes football articles produces revenue.

No football people are comparing their ability in the same conversation.

Andy Cole has got to be the most underrated striker in league history. Kane’s exploits at International level see him in the conversation. Absolutely. But he’s not above him.
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What are you basing these opinions on? Do you really believe football today is lower quality than in past era? If so, why?

I've seen lots of similar throwaway comments like this on this thread and other topics related to current day players, and I don't really understand the justification to be honest. I've got Manchester City season reviews on DVD and VHS going back to the 1989/90 season that I still watch now and again, and I just don't believe in this theory that the quality of football or footballers on show in the 1990s/2000s was significantly better than current day. It seems like wistful, inaccurate nostalgia to me.
 
andyox said:
What are you basing these opinions on? Do you really believe football today is lower quality than in past era? If so, why?

I've seen lots of similar throwaway comments like this on this thread and other topics related to current day players, and I don't really understand the justification to be honest. I've got Manchester City season reviews on DVD and VHS going back to the 1989/90 season that I still watch now and again, and I just don't believe in this theory that the quality of football or footballers on show in the 1990s/2000s was significantly better than current day. It seems like wistful, inaccurate nostalgia to me.
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It’s really not.

Footballers are far better athletes now. The whole pitch is used far more effectively and whole team tactics are implemented to a higher level.

But player for player, todays Centre forwards & centre halves are simply not as good. That’s not misty eyed sentiment.

Modern midfielders are better.
Wingers are largely a wash, but they do different roles.
Full backs are far better footballers as a whole, but weaker defensively.
Goalkeepers are a tough call.

The top level players in every bracket are comparable across Eras. But certain segments of players are simply not the same. Mainly because they’re playing different roles.

As two quick (awful) examples... Ronnie Johnsen and Robbie Fowler would walk into most starting 11’s and only had patchy careers. Two more... Collymore would be world class wide forward, the likes of Ugo Ehiogu was far better than almost all centre halves in the league. Both had forgettable careers.

My Comments are founded in honesty. I’m not talking about all players in all positions in all leagues, but certain positions have just evolved into different things. It happened in the decades before the 90’s and it will happen again.

People underrated players of the recent past.
 
UnrelatedPsuedo said:
It’s really not.

Footballers are far better athletes now. The whole pitch is used far more effectively and whole team tactics are implemented to a higher level.

But player for player, todays Centre forwards & centre halves are simply not as good. That’s not misty eyed sentiment.

Modern midfielders are better.
Wingers are largely a wash, but they do different roles.
Full backs are far better footballers as a whole, but weaker defensively.
Goalkeepers are a tough call.

The top level players in every bracket are comparable across Eras. But certain segments of players are simply not the same. Mainly because they’re playing different roles.

As two quick (awful) examples... Ronnie Johnsen and Robbie Fowler would walk into most starting 11’s and only had patchy careers. Two more... Collymore would be world class wide forward, the likes of Ugo Ehiogu was far better than almost all centre halves in the league. Both had forgettable careers.

My Comments are founded in honesty. I’m not talking about all players in all positions in all leagues, but certain positions have just evolved into different things. It happened in the decades before the 90’s and it will happen again.

People underrated players of the recent past.
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Yea I agree with most of what you've said to be honest, especially the evolution of positions and tactics. Players are much fitter now obviously, pitches are much better, so everything is geared from that perspective towards a higher overall quality of faster-paced (potentially more attacking) entertaining football.

I wasn't saying I underrate players of the recent past, I was really referring to underrating current players (both those that have recently retired or those who are currently excelling). The threads on Kane and Aguero lately have reminded me of that, and that's where I've seen the throwaway comments about previous eras being superior to this current era. It's so hard to judge across eras obviously though.
 
Random Task said:
Alan Shearer is considered one of England's greatest strikers for his goal scoring feats alone. Given that Harry Kane is not only on course to replicate those feats but possibly even surpass them, why shouldn't he be compared to the greats of the game?

There isn't a more prolific goal scorer in Europe right now.
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In what sense? Messi and Cristiano exist, and then there's guys with more goals per minute this year like Mbappe, Piatek, Lewandowski and Aguero.
 
Random Task said:
Alan Shearer is considered one of England's greatest strikers for his goal scoring feats alone. Given that Harry Kane is not only on course to replicate those feats but possibly even surpass them, why shouldn't he be compared to the greats of the game?

There isn't a more prolific goal scorer in Europe right now.
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You raised a very good argument but answer is right in the argument. If Harry Kane, help Spurs win premier league or champions league with his goals only then he will be remembered. Salah scored record goals last year but if he ends up trophyless at liverpool will he be remembered as better forward than aguero, rooney, ronaldo, fowler, shearer. Golden boot and other individual honours are good but fans of football wont declare you a legend if you havent won anything for the fans of your team.

Or harry kane can make his legacy by moving to big ckub and actually win something with more capable players.
 
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This is an endless argument which ultimately boils down to personal opinion. But for me Kane's performance has really gone down a few notches this season. There have been matches when he was virtually anonymous. Son and Eriksen have been Spurs' best players this season.
 
Che Guevara said:
This is an endless argument which ultimately boils down to personal opinion. But for me Kane's performance has really gone down a few notches this season. There have been matches when he was virtually anonymous. Son and Eriksen have been Spurs' best players this season.
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I personally disagree, I think his overall play has gone up a level.
 
hellohello said:
I personally disagree, I think his overall play has gone up a level.
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Aye, it's straight up a weird opinion. I don't even think it boils down to personal opinion because the general consensus is that his all round game has been better than ever this year (particularly his passing) and most of the discussion around him reflects this. He's been playing deeper for England as a result to provide a creative hub/platform for Sterling & Sancho ahead of him.

I do think he's dropped off a bit as a goalscorer though, seems to be getting less chances a game (though this may be down to his teammates) as a result of his dropping deeper, and also to me seems like he's a tad less clinical than he has been in the past. He's had a few games where his finishing has been really poor.
 
I guess their league form will improve now that he’s out again. That’s top 4 sealed for Spurs then.
 
I have to agree, I think he tried to put in a bit of a tough guy challenge and came out on the wrong side of things. It was a bit wreckless and while I wouldn't wish injury on somebody, rather him than Delph who was just playing the ball. I wasn't too clear on what Poch's issue was at the time, did anyone figure that out?
 
He's like how Rooney was the way he never stops running and fighting for everything.
That style of play will result in injuries now and again.
 
Thats what you get for going in hard for no reason like an idiot.
Big up Delph.
 
Sauldogba said:
Thats what you get for going in hard for no reason like an idiot.
Big up Delph.
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This was his attempted (and failed) revenge for Fernandinho's sneaky elbow on his head when he was on the floor. Ploughing into Delph and getting Kane'd
 
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