The atmosphere at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is in danger of turning toxic unless something is done and done now. When the fans turn against “one of their own” in Harry Kane, you know things are bad. Kane probably fears becoming a scapegoat for Tottenham’s troubles because he asked to leave.
Nothing is going right for him and he is playing like a man who wants to be left out of the side, which may be the kindest course of action. He is not in the right mental state to perform at his best, so taking him out of the spotlight may come as a relief. I know from experience how that feels. He could even follow my example and ask to be left out of the team.
When I was at Celtic, there was a period in about 1991 when I had some issues in my life and was not playing well. Because of that I was getting merciless stick from the crowd. I had played for Millwall and Aston Villa, and went on to represent Chelsea, so I have faced tough crowds, but this was different. It got so bad that I went to my manager, Liam Brady, and asked to be left out of the side. He could hardly believe it, but that’s what I did.
I had to try to get my head right. Players can be in brilliant shape physically, but if they are struggling with their mental attitude, sometimes they are just unable to perform and you cannot afford that at the top level. And Kane is playing like a man who wants to be dropped.
I know I was never in Kane’s class, but that is how I felt. If your mind is not on it, you cannot operate properly. Kane’s head is all over the place. Asking to be left out is not a case of being a coward — we know Kane is far from that — but things are turning toxic for him and it could get worse.
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His own fans jeering him, as they did during Tottenham’s 3-0 defeat by Manchester United, is something that the striker has not experienced in a career that has followed an upward curve. It is not even as if he is hitting the bar with chances or being denied by great saves. He is showing nothing.
One manager used to pull me up if I wasn’t getting my kit dirty in matches. Kane’s kit was almost pristine after the United game.
The only people feeling more heat at Spurs are Nuno Espírito Santo, the head coach, and Daniel Levy. The chairman is at the top of the problems and Levy needs to find a solution — and fast.
Solskjaer must stick with Cavani and a back three
After Manchester United’s dire display against Liverpool, I said that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had to abandon his formation and go to three at the back against Spurs. I’d like to think he read my advice because that is what he did, also bringing in Edinson Cavani. And it could not have worked out better. What’s more, Solskjaer must stick with this for the big games that United have coming up.
Before Saturday, United were being dominated in midfield and Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw at full back were getting ripped to pieces. The defence had leaked 11 goals in their past three games so something had to change.
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Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof are good, experienced defenders who have shown they can adapt to playing in a three and Raphaël Varane is a world-class centre back who looks more than happy in that system. That move took the pressure off the full backs, pushed United higher up the pitch and gave United more options.
People may question whether you can stick with the ageing forward line of Cristiano Ronaldo and Cavani, but I wouldn’t worry. Both are in remarkable condition and Ronaldo is probably the fittest man to have played the game at the highest level for so long.
Of course, it may not be a long-term solution, but seeking stability is not always the right thing to do. Football is full of short-term fixes and in his precarious situation Ole was right to go with experience and with players he could put his trust in. It was what was needed and will be again when they face Atalanta and Manchester City this week — and again when they play against Chelsea next month.
And if that is not what supporters of the younger players such as Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood want to hear, then I’m afraid they are going to be disappointed. For the moment they are going to have to settle for being a very talented bench and take their chances when they can.
Young players, by their nature, are up and down in form and need to learn to be more consistent. Ronaldo and Cavani are setting the standard and Sancho, a £70 million signing from Borussia Dortmund, needs to watch and learn.
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Some big transfers don’t work or take time to settle. That could be the case with Sancho.
