Kane you believe it?

Haters won’t want to, but we’ve seen this coming all season.  Whether the sensational upcoming of our beloved harry may just be a brief moment in the sun; exaggerated by analysts, rumours, and satirical expectations all over social media, there are several reasons as to why this young man has not yet reached his peak and his form will by no means dwindle away and drastically upset current expectations of him.

For starters, he’s an all around footballer. Sure, there’s room to improve in almost every area, but that’s the best part. Hes particularly strong, yet not overly strong, in many aspects of his game, which means he can only add to each imagined area.  His heading is good, “but with experience can easily get better”. His dribbling, passing (short, long, and lay offs) is very convincing, “but..”.  His vision is surprisingly clever and creative at times, “but..”.  His hold up play, strength, and relentless endurance is nothing short of serious promise “but..”.  Lastly his knowledge of the game is already up there with the likes of many top players, “but…”.

However, the most important aspect that excites me and sticks out the most is his drive.  Its no coincidence he went from being a decent on-loan striker in the 2nd division to a prolific premier league finisher in a short, maturing year.  He clearly puts the work in 110%, on and off the pitch, and the best part is he’s got a very very good, humbling head on his shoulders. He’s grateful for every opportunity and achievement he gets, and never let’s it get to his head (so far..).  From the looks of it hes in a happy relationship with a lovely young woman, doesnt seem to be too much of a partier and no matter what the critics or media says about him, continues to prove them wrong. His mental strength and maturity is way beyond his years, as he always keeps a cool head, even after being hacked down weaving in and out of players similar to the current and maybe all time best player in the world ( im a messi fan).  Hes a workhorse, even though he has the skills many players would utilise to their lazy advantage *cough* balotelli *cough*. And whenever people take the chance to point out a possible slump in form, he shows up again, cementing a consistency only found in the best of players.  But all this points to one very convincing fact, that he will continue to get better, ignore speculation and what the media says, focus on himself, and focus on bettering his play and career.  I personally don’t believe hell drop off anytime soon, but at the same time I can’t fathom a ballon d’or in his future ( but what statement is that when he’s shattered several other predictions ).

Unfortunately, when partying in the sun, there are still many shadows.  Even though we all want him to continue this form there’s a piece of me that wants him to slow down his continuing brilliant form that seems to have astronomical heights.  After his england debut shenanigans, its almost a guarantee that levy will cash in on him, at some point, which will see him with our former superstars or even worse, one of our higher profile rivals.

He’s one of our own, and has pledged his allegiance to us, yet everyone knows, no matter how humble the player is, money talks. Especially in Levy’s world.  Many positive possibilities lie in the future, whether it be the unfortunate condolence of millions of pounds, the cementing of a solid forward that may plateau in years to come, or the beginning of a rising star that stays loyal to his boyhood club and elevates them to champions league level, (i prefer the imaganitive latter) we will come away somewhat happy at the least.

As for the future, I think there could be many good things to come.  Pocc has clearly implemented a style of play which is nice to see even if we may not play well on the day.  Its better than the randomness of last years form that somehow landed us in 6th.  I think the next step however, along with keeping faith in our Argentine leader, is to establish a much better foundation in our team.  Clearly we need to find some solution to the inconsistent defense thats keeping us from reaching the top 4.

In my most realistic hopes, we get at least one more solid, EXPERIENCED, center back, ( dier is verrrrry good for his age, brilliant potential, but hes 20 for christs sike!! Not to mention “super” Jan is much more effective when the the leadership role back there isn’t a burden) and an equal player to fill in the right back position, unless we can somehow get Mr walker to mature his play comparative to that of our most improved (besides the obvious) player  on the squad this season, the ball of energy that is Danny Rose.  *side note, I’d like to thank our new manager for that, as he seems to have a knack for developing wide backs.  Not to mention good ol Ben is a great backup on the left side as well. And being from the US, I can’t go without mentioning yedlin.  Although I don’t doubt the marketing scheme that was possibly conspired in his signature, I have true faith in his ability.  After seeing him come on late against Belgium (yes, they had tired legs, and yes, he’s a quick mass of athleticism) he had great moments on the wing dancing around there defenders.  To me, being able to dribble by Belgium players at will at the tender age yedlins at shows true promise. Especially with our star outside back creator Maurico.

However, I believe one of our main problems lies in the mental toughness in our team, on any day. Like any spurs season, there’s been several highs and lows, I believe to be from lack of experience within our side.  And what we need is a consistent run of highs, and the occasional slip-up low.  Its no coincidence were in this predicament, as the most frequent starters and carriers of the team are under 23. Eriksens back was surely hurting a few times this season, and although still being young, he has the most experience along with exceptional skill. As usual, we can look to a bright future with the likes of Kane, Eriksen, Lamela, Townsend (ehh??), Chadli(not bad, but on the older side), Bentaleb, Mason, Rose,Davies, Dier, even Carroll and Pritchard, and the list goes on. But looking to the future won’t help if we can’t hold on to them for more than 2 seasons.  And it seems we keep going for promising young 20 years in Europe, when in reality that won’t solve the problem.  It will only keep us in the same “tottenham” cycle weve been in since the redknapp days.  Mason and bentaleb have been good, but neither have the ability or experience to take the reigns of a game that’s slipping away from us.  I believe if we can get a good center half to solidify that back four, and an experienced, somewhat high profile defensive mid to take charge and bring in consistency, well look more and more like a top 4 side.  Obviously another talented forward, winger, or central attacker would be icing on the cake, but we can only ask for so much.  I know this is all wishful thinking (yet high hopes seem to be in spurs blood) I think we already have quality wingers with serious potential, and a brilliant striker that our team should most definitely be built around ( for tactical and persuasive reasons).  Bentaleb is very young so I personally think he’s a keepsake with the ability hes already shown, but for me, there’s something about mason that doesn’t totally cut it.  Id rather a defensive mid I wished of earlier to pair with bentaleb (to possibly show him the ropes) and have mason as a solid backup.  With a good, well established defensive center mid, it would allow much more room and development for our great Dane and co to work with and create.  The sad part is its tough to lure a defensive maestro in the midfield when we don’t have champions league to offer, and if we continue to sell our best players.  And for the record, I wouldn’t mind letting go of chiriches, kaboul, paulinho (as much as I’d wish, he just doesn’t fit in, and could provide a good price tag), adebayor (too late to prove anything my dear friend), and although I believe in his abilities, for some reason the back of the net is a blind spot for Soldado. Wastes too many good chances that could easily be game changers. Wouldn’t mind Townsend sent on loan, and I think if little Erik Lamela hit the gym like our former Welshman did, he could live up to his price tag and more.