Harry Kane: England are at it again
Marc Fox
The English are at it again.
The outpouring of love for Harry Kane, England's newest goalscoring hero, has reached unprecedented heights after the Tottenham striker marked his senior international debut by finding the net within 79 seconds of his appearance as a second-half substitute.
Kane has enjoyed a spectacular rise to prominence over the past six months, smashing 29 goals in 43 games for Spurs despite starting the season as his club's third choice striker behind Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado.
The 21-year-old has credited new manager Mauricio Pochettino's strenuous pre-season training regime for getting him in peak condition, while Pochettino has clearly instilled a level of confidence in Kane - allied to his natural desire and determination - that has surprised many of those that have worked with him previously at both Tottenham and the number of loan clubs that the forward has featured for.
However, the lengths to which the national press in England as well as football pundits across the country have gone to wax lyrical over Kane have reached excessive proportions.
This week, former England player Rodney Marsh claimed that Kane must be worth £100 million in the transfer market. "Angel Di Maria cost Manchester United £62 million. I think Harry Kane is a much better player than Di Maria in the Premier League," Marsh claimed in an interview with Talksport.
Kane, somewhat predictably, failed to live up to such ambitious claims in his first full national team start against the Italians on Tuesday night, England's latest sensation shackled closely by Italy's rugged back three and given few of the sights of goal that Lithuania in Euro 2016 qualifying had allowed him four days earlier.
The folly of pundits' opinions, it must be remembered, should be considered with a suitably sober perspective.
For instance, five experts from the print and online media, in the wake of England's disastrous exit at the group stage in last year's World Cup in Brazil, made their predictions about the national's team likely starting XI in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and not one forecast that Kane would be involved.
In fairness, Kate's meteoric rise from the fringes to becoming pivotal for his club side has been as unexpected as it has heart-warming.
Kane's story has a feel good factor that differs markedly from those of other young players that have been pitched into the England spotlight far too soon.
He has progressed steadily if not spectacularly through England's development sides while earning his stripes in a series of not always outstanding loan spells with lower league clubs.
Indeed, his development has very much matched the "England DNA" model the English FA launched just before Christmas.
Kane was given his England debut at under-17 level in 2010 and has gone onto represent the under-19s, under-20s and under-21s, for which he is expected to play in this summer's European championships in the Czech Republic after making eight appearances and scoring six goals during the team's successful qualifying campaign.
England manager Roy Hodgson is also buying into England's new philosophy of hardening young players through exposure to competitive tournaments at a younger age, and has stated on record that he believes Kane should play for the under-21s in the Czech Republic rather than be part of the senior set-up for June's matches against Ireland and Slovenia.
"We still feel we can give the players the best possible preparation to go into the seniors and achieve success if they have got the experience of the European under-21 Championship behind them," added under-21 coach Gareth Southgate on the same subject.
"That is still the case with Harry."
The Harry Kane story might just be the early signs that England are finally beginning to recognise the importance of building tournament resilience at under-21 level and below in readiness for a tilt at senior glory.
© Marc Fox & Soccerphile.com
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