Sky Sports pundit Matt Le Tissier has questioned whether the return of Harry Kane from injury at Tottenham has had a negative impact on a number of his teammates in north London.
The England striker was ruled out with an ankle injury picked up against Manchester United but returned to the starting line up earlier than expected, making his first appearance since his setback in the defeat to Burnley.
The Lilywhites followed that up with another loss to London rivals Chelsea, Kane finding himself at the centre of attention due to a controversial clash with Cesar Azpilicueta, and Le Tissier insists that his comeback has caused the other players to take their foot off the gas.
He told Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday (02/03, 12:07): “I think obviously Harry Kane coming back into the team was a big call to make, they won four games in a row. As a manager you’ve sometimes got to make difficult decisions.
“I know we had this discussion where Harry Kane said: ‘Look, I’m fit, you need to play me.’ Has that taken the edge off the other players? They think: ‘Oh Harry’s back, maybe we don’t need to step up to the plate,’ and they rely on him too much.
“Certainly in the Burnley game, you could question a few of the performances from the other players around him.”
Opinion
The pundit makes a very valid point – are the Tottenham players too reliant on Kane when he is among the starting XI? The Lilywhites impressed during his absence, Heung-min Son and Fernando Llorente taking over the duties up top to a good degree of success and while they might not be as clinical as the Englishman, the team performed well together. When Kane is on the pitch, there is a clear aim for the rest of the players on the pitch – get the ball to him in and around the box. When pulled off successfully, it is an effective tactic, there is no doubt about that, but perhaps he is not playing at 100 per cent and that is disrupting the side’s balance. There is no way that Mauricio Pochettino can swing the axe on Kane’s head – he would be crucified by the Spurs faithful – but he has got to find a way to get everyone singing from the same hymn sheet again.