OPINION
Garth Crooks is right to highlight the wholly inadequate performance of Harry Kane in Tottenham’s defeat to Liverpool.
He is also spot on to point out that the England and Spurs talisman was neither up for the battle or prepared to dig in to make life difficult for the opposition defence led by Virgil van Dijk.
Kane was miles off the pace at Wembley and his gutless performance made life far too easier for Van Dijk, Joe Gomez and the rest of the defenders who had the cigars out until a late Tottenham rally.
By that point, the Merseyside giants should have been five or six goals clear, but their profligacy in and around the penalty box made life far harder in the final minutes.
For Kane, the inquest centred on whether he is exhausted after another performance that was light years away from the sky-high level he has consistently maintained over the last three years.
But analysis should also be on why he was not prepared to put himself about.
“Harry Kane never had a kick,” Crooks wrote in his weekly BBC Sport column. “Virgil van Dijk was too big, too strong and too composed on the ball. In times like these when centre-backs look imperious, strikers have to ruffle feathers and the England captain simply wasn’t prepared to have a scrap.
“If ever there was a day for Harry and the boys to get among it and stick their heads in the faces of Liverpool’s defenders then this was it. Instead, Van Dijk walked on to the pitch looking like a film star and walked off with the Oscar for best leading man.”
Stinging words. But correct ones, too.
Kane has been lavished with praise during his rise to the very top of world football, and he must be honest with himself now and recognise his standards have slipped massively.
Mauricio Pochettino has publicly indicated he will keep faith with the centre-forward, starting with tomorrow’s Champions League clash against Inter Milan.
Even if Kane cannot be at his best, at the very least he must right the wrongs of his wretched weekend display and put his body on the line.