There was a moment in Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Monaco on Wednesday night where Harry Kane was presented with the ideal chance to pull his side level. Vincent Janssen had broken away down the right and played in his English teammate. Kane took a decent first touch but fired straight at Danijel Subasic. Either side, and the striker would have hit the back of the net. Rather than rapturous applause, however, the 85,011 fans in attendance at Wembley groaned in collective disappointment before making their way towards the stadium exits.
Spurs’ loss was hardly the be all and end all for the club’s Champions League hopes, particularly with Bayer Leverkusen and CSKA Moscow both sharing the spoils, but the defeat prolonged the club’s Wembley woes. In an evening that called for celebration, the champagne was kept on ice. “We need to be more aggressive when we have the chances to score,” Mauricio Pochettino said after the loss as Monaco exacted revenge for their 4-1 humbling at White Hart Lane in the Europa League last season.
Pochettino’s call for aggressiveness in front of goal was not without foundation. Spurs mustered 15 shots against Monaco, hitting the target with seven. Their French visitors had seven shots, with their two shots on target both finding a way past Hugo Lloris. Of Spurs’ attempts, four were courtesy of Kane, no player had more in the fixture. At this level, if a team doesn’t take their chances, then they will be punished, with the defeat hopefully serving as a learning curve for Pochettino and his side.
What of Kane, though? There is no denying the 23-year-old’s obvious goalscoring talent. He scored more league goals (25) than any other player in the Premier League last season. Meanwhile, Kane’s goal in the 4-0 win over Stoke last weekend was his 50th in England’s top tier on his 90th appearance. Yet, that doesn’t mean the England international is immune from criticism. The goal at the Bet365 Stadium is his only strike in his last 12 competitive outings for club and country, and even that came having missed a chance to net seconds earlier. Kane, though, insinuates that there is little to fear with the poor run of goalscoring form. "I'll never lose my confidence in front of goal," Kane told reporters following the midweek defeat to Monaco.
Indeed, the Spurs striker scored just one goal from his opening 10 Premier League games last season, and even then there was a hint of offside when his skewed effort found its way past Willy Caballero in a 4-1 win over Manchester City. Kane’s been in this position before and he has the self-belief to pull himself out of the funk, yet having mustered just 11 touches in the opposition penalty box in 336 minutes of Premier League action this season, there is cause for concern among the Spurs faithful.
Fatigue could well be a defining factor in Kane’s slow start to the season. He started all 38 of the club’s Premier League games last term after representing England at the U21 European Championship. He also started three of the Three Lions’ four games in their doomed Euro 2016 campaign. In fact, after netting late on to secure Spurs maximum points in a 2-1 win at Aston Villa in November 2014, Kane has since been available for selection in 125 games for club and country and has featured in 117.
For all of Pochettino’s fitness training, ensuring his players press hard and high until the final whistle is blown, there is only so much conditioning the human body can take and Kane looks as though he’s battling through on the dying embers of his energy reserves. It’s beginning to show in his performances for Spurs. While Kane is a striker willing to drop deeper to help the team in the final third, he’s evidently struggling to link up play and bust a gut to get into the box to find goalscoring positions.
It’s seen the number of shots per 90 drop from 4.2 in the Premier League last season to 2.4 this term. It’s all the more concerning when taking into consideration Vincent Janssen is waiting the wings, ready and raring to go. The Dutchman played just 20 minutes against Monaco, but offered up two key passes, a return bettered only by starters Erik Lamela (4) and Christian Eriksen (3) of all players in the Champions League tie. He is also having more shots per 90 (3.1) than Kane, with Janssen winning over the fans in his cameo appearances so far.
The primary reason Janssen was brought in from AZ Alkmaar was to provide competition and backup to Kane, with the Dutchman easing the burden on his striking teammate. While Kane may not feel he needs to be rested, and Pochettino is somewhat reluctant to drop his starting frontman, the fact of the matter is that the Englishman looks fatigued, which comes as no major shock given he’s had very little rest from football in the last two years.
The lack of time out of the side is impacting Kane’s form and a rest would do the player and perhaps team the world of good, especially after an underwhelming display against Monaco on Wednesday night.
Do you think Harry Kane needs a prolonged rest to return to his best form? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
Even if Kane will be rested vs Sunderland, this time will be not enough to be fully on fire. And this is not necessary at all. Kane's movement is okay. Spurs lacks intensity in final 3rd. He is just short of really big chances. Kane's problem is Spurs service problem. And team chemistry and work shall come to big level with games and Kane will start to deliver
Not been overly impressed by Janssen from what I've seen. Don't think he is ready to lead an attack at the moment and that is perhaps why Poch hasn't taken Kane out of the team
Definitely needs something - has looked lethargic since the end of last season. Getting sucked into the England Euros vortex likely didn't help matters