Four Shots, No Goals: What Has Happened To Harry Kane This Season?
- 3 years ago
With zero Premier League goals to his name and scarcely any touches in the opposition box, the England captain is in a rare rut ahead of the derby
As yet another Tottenham Hotspur campaign begins with Harry Kane in dreadful form it is perhaps unnecessary to think too deeply about his role in the team. He always seems to explode into life around this time of the year and his goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday could be the catalyst.
But Kane’s transfer request and Manchester City’s failed pursuit lingers over the statistics this time around. It may not be a coincidence that this happens to be his worst ever start to a Premier League season. Tensions after the events of the summer may well be felt on both sides.
This is not like the other seasons. Kane has managed a shocking 10 touches in the opposition penalty area across five league games. He has no goals from his first four starts for the first time since 2015-16. He has taken four shots at goal - in total. Against Crystal Palace he failed to take a shot or touch the ball in the box for the first time in his career.
These are worrying times for Kane and Tottenham, but of course we cannot isolate one player’s form from the team as a whole. The tactical shift - and the teething problems - under new manager Nuno Espirito Santo help shed some light on Kane’s woeful start.
“There are so many problems we have to solve," as Nuno said on Tuesday. “Harry is part of the team, like all of us. It's all about the partnerships and the way we do things - everyone has to be involved.”
Spurs were never as good as their early-season, 100 percent record suggested. Nuno has implemented a relatively strong defensive structure thanks to a surprisingly effective centre-back partnership of Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez and their drop in form is partly explained by defensive injuries undermining his early work.
Nuno - who is, roughly speaking, a Jose Mourinho disciple - works on a solid defensive foundation of compression between the lines and a non-confrontational, minimal-pressing approach that sees the players sit tight in a midblock.
Like Mourinho, he expects his players to largely improvise their attacks, using counters to break behind the opposition or working out partnerships over time. Kane was sensational for periods under Mourinho precisely because he was given so much freedom to drop into the No.10 space and work in tandem with Son Heung-min, and presumably he will be given similar licence by Nuno.
#HarryKane #NunoEspiritoSanto #TottenhamHotspur
Source: https://www.goal.com/en/news/four-shots-no-goals-what-has-happened-to-harry-kane-this/etmrdkg81ax71g8h8qsyqvvgb
As yet another Tottenham Hotspur campaign begins with Harry Kane in dreadful form it is perhaps unnecessary to think too deeply about his role in the team. He always seems to explode into life around this time of the year and his goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday could be the catalyst.
But Kane’s transfer request and Manchester City’s failed pursuit lingers over the statistics this time around. It may not be a coincidence that this happens to be his worst ever start to a Premier League season. Tensions after the events of the summer may well be felt on both sides.
This is not like the other seasons. Kane has managed a shocking 10 touches in the opposition penalty area across five league games. He has no goals from his first four starts for the first time since 2015-16. He has taken four shots at goal - in total. Against Crystal Palace he failed to take a shot or touch the ball in the box for the first time in his career.
These are worrying times for Kane and Tottenham, but of course we cannot isolate one player’s form from the team as a whole. The tactical shift - and the teething problems - under new manager Nuno Espirito Santo help shed some light on Kane’s woeful start.
“There are so many problems we have to solve," as Nuno said on Tuesday. “Harry is part of the team, like all of us. It's all about the partnerships and the way we do things - everyone has to be involved.”
Spurs were never as good as their early-season, 100 percent record suggested. Nuno has implemented a relatively strong defensive structure thanks to a surprisingly effective centre-back partnership of Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez and their drop in form is partly explained by defensive injuries undermining his early work.
Nuno - who is, roughly speaking, a Jose Mourinho disciple - works on a solid defensive foundation of compression between the lines and a non-confrontational, minimal-pressing approach that sees the players sit tight in a midblock.
Like Mourinho, he expects his players to largely improvise their attacks, using counters to break behind the opposition or working out partnerships over time. Kane was sensational for periods under Mourinho precisely because he was given so much freedom to drop into the No.10 space and work in tandem with Son Heung-min, and presumably he will be given similar licence by Nuno.
#HarryKane #NunoEspiritoSanto #TottenhamHotspur
Source: https://www.goal.com/en/news/four-shots-no-goals-what-has-happened-to-harry-kane-this/etmrdkg81ax71g8h8qsyqvvgb