Harry Kane was back where it all began this week, back to his field of dreams at the Peter May Sports Centre in Walthamstow, where he played briefly as a goalkeeper, then as a striker of clear promise and also a decent bowler charging in from the North Circular Road end. It is scarcely three miles but still a world away from the white heat of White Hart Lane today, where Kane contests the most important north London derby in years.
Invited back to open a new pitch, Kane arrives early and immediately checks out his old stamping ground. “It brings back a lot of memories,’’ he says with a smile. “Living so close, five minutes down the road, I spent a lot of time here playing football for Sunday leagues, playing for my school district, even playing cricket. I was a bowler. We had quite a good school team, got to a few finals. I got five for 15 once.”
Football was his love. The schoolboy Kane was briefly a goalkeeper, until his mother gently pointed out to coaches his natural finishing gifts. He chats to a few of the youngsters who break off from their small-sided games to shake his hand. Respect runs deep here for Kane, not simply because he is the leading light for Spurs and England but because he’s still Harry from Chingford Foundation School. His physique is changed — taller, sleeker, far more athletic — but he is still the grounded, popular character nurtured by Ridgeway Rovers. He’s one of their own.
Amid all the debate about youth development, Kane’s experience is instructive, placing emphasis on the importance of facilities and also kids just having fun. “I was just enjoying my football, being with my friends, enjoying the facilities,” he says. Those facilities have changed. “I remember the sandy astro pitch we used to play on. I’d burn my legs when I had to slide. Not like the 3G they have here now.”
Standing nearby is Ian Marshall, Ridgeway’s chairman, who admires the new surface. “They’ve done a good job,’’ purrs Marshall, a floorer by day. The pitch is funded with £368,000 from the Premier League and FA Facilities Fund, £135,000 from the London Playing Fields Foundation (LPFF) and £75,000 from the London Marathon Charitable Trust.
Advertisement
Kane takes all the ceremonial duties in his stride. It is a very English occasion: a room full of home-made cakes (and fruit for Kane), chatter about sport and conscientious individuals attempting to tackle the chronic shortage of facilities in urban areas. Kane talks to Virginia May, whose late husband, Peter, a Cambridge football blue and legendary England batsman, worked so hard for the LPFF. “I know he was a very good cricketer,” Kane says later. “A bit before my time.”
Kane listens to Lord Cadogan, a keen footballer at Eton and the LPFF chairman, enthuse about the vital nature of such places, London’s real lungs, “Like here, where Harry grew up on this field, developed his prodigious talent, and his success since has been an inspiration to those now here”. Cadogan glances approvingly towards Kane, just as he did when turning out for the Coldstream Guards football XI and discovering his central-defensive partner was Sergeant L McMenemy.
“I feel with England it is about having fun and not worrying about the pressure
“We believe that playing fields is where sport starts and for the gifted few, like Harry, they are where careers start,’’ says Kane’s old coach, Alex Welsh, the chief executive of the LPFF. “If you don’t have these places, where are young players going to play and start their football careers?’’ Kane asks, finding a quiet space to talk.
He is one of our home-grown stars. “A lot of people have spoken about it in the past: are we bringing enough young English talent through? I think we are. There are some very good English players coming through, not just at Tottenham, but around the Premier League, young players getting their chances and taking them.
“A lot of people say it’s easier to buy a player from abroad who’s maybe had a few games, whereas there’s a player coming through the academy who’s just as good. I got the chance, a few other players at Spurs got the chance, and we’ve thrived. We’re doing all right.
Advertisement
“At Tottenham we have a lot of young good players, good guys as well, willing to learn and get better and Dele [Alli] is definitely one of those. Dele’s an amazing talent and a great guy as well. Some of the ability he shows is unbelievable. That goal he scored against Crystal Palace [a flick over his head and volley] was one of the best goals I’ve ever seen.”
Kane laughs at the mention of the social media duelling between Alli and Eric Dier, the holding midfielder. “They’ve got a little bromance forming definitely,” he says. “It’s good team spirit. They get on very well — as we all do. There is that banter and a laugh around the changing room now. We are very strong off the pitch too, go paintballing, fun things like that. We’re all mates. There are no split groups in the changing room. It’s the best squad I’ve ever been involved in.
“Eric’s come in this season in a new position — and done fantastically. He said he played a bit there in the past, but this is the first proper season he’s been an out-and-out defensive midfielder and he’s taken to the role brilliantly. He’s a very good centre half as well. It’s exciting times for the club and the country.”
Kane notes the emergence of English prospects elsewhere. “You’ve seen that with Marcus Rashford, who’s come in and done great for Manchester United,” he says. “I was aware of him, but hadn’t seen a lot of him. Josh Onomah, who plays for us, played with him at England level and said he’s a good player. Rashford got his chance, took it and now hopefully he can stay focused and maintain it as a lot of other young English players have. There’s a lot of young English talent out there just needs a bit of experience at the top level.”
Like Tim Sherwood before him, Mauricio Pochettino has shown faith in the kids. “He’s a fantastic manager,’’ Kane says. “He works with you, he puts an arm round when you need it, talks to you to make you better. With all the young lads coming through the academy it’s just perfect because you know if you’re doing well, and training hard, he’ll give you a chance. He demands a lot of hard work but in return you get the rewards.”
Advertisement
Pochettino pushes them hard in training. “He manages it so we get maximum fitness plus we stay fresh and healthy: it’s not, ‘Go and do a ten-mile run’. He knows when we should rest and when to push your body to the max. That’s important. We haven’t had a lot of injuries — touch wood.
“He’s very driven, knows what he wants, confident. He’s a great manager to play under. He gives us that confidence, and prepares us well, so when we go out there it’s just about us expressing ourselves. We’re in a great position. There’s a lot of talk about Leicester City, who’ve done fantastically this season, and other clubs around us, but we are becoming a very dominant club.
“Not many teams around the league want to play us. We hear that before and after games. Players say that it’s unbelievable the way we press, the way we play, that we are so hard to play against. When we hear that from other players we know we’re doing something right. It’s about maintaining that from now until the end of the season and in future seasons to come.”
Spurs lost at Upton Park, six miles away from the Peter May Sports Centre, on Wednesday but have acquired a reputation under Pochettino for bouncing back quickly.
“It’s something we’ve done very well this season. We’ve won pretty much every game after the last loss to Leicester. It’s important. We lost to Newcastle and it gave us the kick up the backside we needed. Then we went on three wins in a row. Hopefully we can do it again, starting on Saturday.
Advertisement
“Of course the fans have been telling us how big this is but we know how big it is. We’re ready for it, we’re focused. I can imagine the atmosphere will be amazing at White Hart Lane. We’re looking forward to it. We feel we can beat them. We feel we can beat anyone. We have to go out, play our style and get the three points.”
Arsenal will be missing Petr Cech and Laurent Koscielny. “Yes, of course, but teams like us, Arsenal and teams around us are going to have good players who can come in and do the job,” he says. “We can’t get too carried away. They are two big players for them but I’m sure the players who step in will have a point to prove to their manager that they should be playing. We’re not really focused on their team. We’re focused on ourselves.
“We haven’t won anything yet. People are starting to see we’re a great team, an all-round team, even things like the goal difference, we’re scoring and not conceding. It’s a very bright future. We have young talent, a great, young manager, a great new training ground and new stadium in the future. It’s just about getting on the roll of winning medals, becoming a winner, learning how to win in the big games.”
He draws inspiration from Spurs’ past, readily taking the No 10 shirt associated with Jimmy Greaves, Glenn Hoddle, Teddy Sheringham, Les Ferdinand and Robbie Keane.
“The No 9 and the 10 were available. For me, the 10 was such an iconic number at Spurs. The players when I was growing up were Sheringham, Keane and Ferdinand. So many players have worn that shirt — it was something I wanted to take on and hopefully become a club legend.”
Advertisement
In his journey from Ridgeway to Wembley Way, Kane quickly credits those around him, family members like his affable brother, Charlie, a qualified referee. “It’s down to people around me, keeping me level-headed,’’ Kane says. “I was brought up to be level-headed, to appreciate what I have, working hard. My family have always been very hard workers, whether putting food on the table or taking me training every day of the week.
“We feel we can beat anyone. We have to go out, play our style and get the three points
“It’s what I needed to get to where I am now. I’m very grateful. For me it’s just about getting better and better. Yes, I had a good season [last year] and a good season this year, but it is about getting better for next season and the years to come. I want to become one of the best players in the world. That’s the aim.
“The players at the top are the ones who work hardest. Ability-wise they’re unbelievable. But when you look at how much work they put in, when you look at the physique of [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Gareth] Bale, they’re there at the top for a reason. That’s what I want to go on and achieve. It’s about lifestyle off the pitch as well, when and what you eat.”
I ask Kane what can England do at the European Championship this summer? “What can’t we do?” he replies immediately. “We’ve got great young players, a mixture of young and experienced, which is important. I feel with England it is about going out and having fun, and try not to worry about the pressure of everything. The more players forget the pressure and just go and express themselves the better we will be as a country. I’ve talked to Hugo [Lloris, of France and Spurs] and he’s definitely looking forward to it, playing in front of his home crowd. We’ve had a bit of banter, not just with him, but with the Belgian lads as well, they’ve got a great side. I’d say we can win it.
“I was an England fan growing up. You want the team to win and we have more than enough ability to do that. I was away in Dubai with my girlfriend at the last World Cup, and watched the first couple of games [Italy and Uruguay], then away in Portugal with my family, for the last game [against Costa Rica].” He admired the likes of Luis Suárez. “As a footballer, I appreciate good talent, when you see players at the top of their game, you have to appreciate it,” he says. “As a fan, I was disappointed we didn’t win.
“Even when I was younger, going down to the local pub with my family to watch the football, penalty shoot-outs against Portugal, I did get upset. I practised a lot of penalties. I’ve always been a practiser of penalties.”
England are sure to get a shoot-out in the summer. “I’m sure we will,” he says. “I’ll take one. I try to practise as much as I can with all my finishing, whether penalties, free kicks, left foot, right foot, headers, I try to do that day in, day out to prepare me. I practise as hard as I can. The day before every game, I definitely practise about 15 penalties. I practise 40-50 penalties a week, even if the keeper is not there I put it in the corner, get the routine.” That routine started here at Walthamstow.
