OPINION
For many Tottenham fans, next Saturday’s Champions League final will be the biggest in living memory.
Spurs have defied all the odds to make it to Madrid, and the prospect of being just one game away from the biggest prize in club football must be a dizzying prospect for most.
For many other fans, Harry Kane is the biggest player Tottenham have had in their lifetime.
A world class goalscorer, an England captain, a decent bloke – he is a perfect role model and poster boy for the club he has represented since he was a boy.
It stands to reason, therefore, that he should start next Saturday if he is fit.
The biggest player in the biggest game, it just makes sense, right?
That’s what former Spurs man Graham Roberts thinks anyway.
Speaking to Sky Sports on Thursday, he said: “I had my gala dinner the other night for my charity and Harry Kane came, and the first question that was asked was ‘Are you fit?’. And he said yes.
“So he’s raring to go. Yesterday [Wednesday] he started joining in with boys [in training].
“He’s got that aura about him and everybody looks up to him. He’s such a character that I think, to be honest, the players will be disappointed if he doesn’t play.
“He’s a big character and leads the line well for us and watch out Liverpool.”
You can understand why Roberts is so keen for Kane to start – most fans will be – but honestly, he shouldn’t.
That might seem illogical, but hear me out.
There’s an old adage: “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
Spurs have had to come through the best part of a quarter final against the best team in Europe and a semi against the side who knocked out the reigning champions without their talisman.
What is more, in his absence, others have flourished.
How can you drop Lucas Moura after his heroics in Amsterdam? But how can you fit him into the side if Kane starts?
We saw a similar kind of conundrum when Kane came back from his ankle injury earlier this season. Spurs won four on the bounce without him in the side, then went five without a win when he came back.
That’s not to say Harry was the cause of that dip in form by any means, but certainly, there was sense that Spurs were disjointed as they adapted to having him back in the starting 11.
They cannot afford a similar malaise in Madrid. Liverpool will rip them limb from limb.
As such, as harsh as it might seem, and as much as it would upset Roberts, Kane must not start in the biggest game of his career.