Tottenham are making it a habit of beating Stoke City by big margins. For the third successive time, Mauricio Pochettino’s men overcame the Potters by a score line of 4-0 and the latest victory came at the courtesy of a Harry Kane hat-trick. Following their Europa League exit at the hands of KAA Gent in midweek, the North Londoners needed an immediate response and they duly delivered. The win got them back to ten points behind leaders Chelsea, but more importantly, it will have given Tottenham a much-needed boost of confidence as the business end of the season fast approaches.
Realistically speaking, the FA Cup is the only silverware that Spurs can hope to conquer this term, barring a huge dip in form from Chelsea, who at this point, are the champions-elect. But as far as individual honours go, Harry Kane did not do himself any harm on Sunday afternoon in the race to win a second consecutive golden boot award. The Englishman scored a fine hat-trick against Mark Hughes’ side, taking his tally for the season to seventeen goals and as a result, went to the top of the goal-scoring charts in the Premier League alongside the talismanic Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku.
His first strike against the Potters, which in turn was his 100th career club goal, displayed his instincts of scoring from a half-chance, while his second goal showed the technical ability he possesses when he struck a half-volley past Lee Grant. His third goal of the day may have come with a slice of good luck – his free-kick took a deflection off Peter Crouch before finding the net, but all in all, his performance emphasized the fact that Kane can find the back of the net with utmost regularity.
Given his current form and his contribution to Tottenham’s cause over the years, it seems very unfair that so many doubts have accompanied Kane since his first-team debut with the Lilywhites.
It was constantly believed that after an excellent breakthrough campaign, he was going to fade away and that he would struggle to replicate his goal-scoring form for the second season. There have always been detractors who knit-pick his game, saying that no particular aspect of his game stands out; he doesn’t possess express pace, neither is he the strongest or the tallest to act as a target-man nor can he dribble past his opponents.
Many were terming him a “one-season wonder” when he started the 2015-16 campaign slowly. It took seven games for him to score his first goal in that campaign and was also criticized for his off-colour displays leading into the Euros last year and his disappointing showings in France provided the naysayers to take further aim at the 23-year old.
But each time, Kane seems to bounce back and how. Despite questions from all quarters, he continues to defy the doubters and when he is on song, he can be absolutely lethal. The marksman has 13 goals in his last 12 appearances, having scored nine in nine games earlier this term. These streaks came after a seven-week injury layoff, when there were questions over how long he would take to rediscover his touch post the recovery. And he answered them in style, scoring on his return against Arsenal and following them with more strikes against West Ham United and Monaco.
What helps is the fact that manager Mauricio Pochettino has always believed in Kane’s abilities and has trusted the young centre-forward to deliver for the team. Back in November 2015, the manager gave an insight into the player’s attitude and his self-confidence, saying,
“When we arrived he [Kane] was behind Soldado and Adebayor. We gave him the tools and he knew how to use them. He has a tremendous talent and mental strength. It is crucial.”
He plays all the games for Pochettino and given the amount of work that Pochettino demands there is always a concern of Kane burning out, but he continues to defy those premonitions and exudes the belief that he enjoys the workload.
Since the start of the 2014/15 campaign, during which he established himself as Tottenham’s main striker, Kane has scored the most goals in the Premier League than any other player, having netted 63 times from 93 appearances.
| Player | Games Played | Goals |
| Harry Kane | 93 | 63 |
| Sergio Aguero | 82 | 61 |
| Diego Costa | 78 | 48 |
| Alexis Sanchez | 90 | 46 |
| Romelu Lukaku | 98 | 45 |
| Olivier Giroud | 82 | 38 |
| Jamie Vardy | 92 | 34 |
| Jermain Defoe | 76 | 33 |
With a goal every 123 minutes he plays, Kane has scored more frequently than any other player who has scored at least 15 times during that period, except for Sergio Aguero, who was already a world-class, well-established striker when Kane burst onto the scene, and has been playing for a more dominant side as well. These two have the most number of hat-tricks in the Premier League (4) as well during the same period.
Having reached the three-figure mark with Spurs, he has all the makings of becoming a legend at Tottenham. However, the worry remains that if he has peaked too early in his career, much like English legends Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney. But given his strong mental character, these are exactly the challenges that Kane will relish and respond to.
His latest display put on a full showcase of his brilliant abilities: clinical finishing, an ability to score all type of goals and his predatory goal-scoring instincts that enables him to be in the right place at the right time on every occasion. At his current rate of scoring, Kane will break the barrier for 25 league goals in a season for the second successive season, a feat that hasn’t been achieved since Robin van Persie did for Arsenal and Manchester United.
Post his stellar display against Stoke, Pochettino was full of praise for his protege. The Argentine said:
“He is one of the best. I am pleased for him. He deserves [his success], he is very professional, a top man and I’m happy. It is not new for me, I have said many times that for me he is one of the best strikers in the world. He has the perfect profile to be a legend here. He has his character. Sometimes he argues with me, sometimes he’s upset with me, sometimes he’s happy. He has a strong character.”
Despite being dubbed a single-season wonder and being surrounded by doubters and detractors all the way through, Kane continues to defy them and is quickly going about his business in establishing himself as one of the most feared marksman in the whole of Europe.