Harry Kane- once again the perfect citizen although Manchester City at the top.
Holding that yellow and purple football in his hand, Harry Kane looked pretty pleased with life. Kane, Tottenham Hotspur's new Roy of the Rovers and goal scoring sensation, had just chalked up his 56th goal in 2017 and everything in the Seven Sisters Road was hale and hearty, in the rudest health. On New Year's Eve Kane will share his groundbreaking achievement with his family and eagerly anticipate 2018 like a child on Christmas morning. Hold on, Christmas Day is now ancient history so it may be advisable to just focus on the here and now rather than the past tense.
It is common knowledge that all centre forwards or strikers thrive on the habit of scoring goals and if that goal scoring touch deserts them for any length of time they begin to suffer withdrawal symptoms, concerns are expressed and before you know it a full blown crisis is announced and the world seems to have come to an end.
But when Harry Kane scored his umpteenth hat-trick for Spurs against Southampton at Wembley yesterday records were broken and smashed, the goal scorers union rose as one in unison and the neutrals rightly celebrated the astonishing feats of one of its members. Harry Kane had paid his subscription fees and the world of goal scorers was a happy and jubilant one. Kane has established himself as one of Spurs all time greats, a genuine goal scorer who doesn't need any prompting or coaxing because scoring goals is in his bloodstream and that's what he loves doing.
Yesterday Kane responded beautifully to the orchestrations of the equally as incisive Dele Alli but perhaps more importantly the Danish playmaker Christian Eriksen, a natural creator and inventor, a sparking plug and catalyst for all of Spurs most fluid and liquid passing movements. Then there was Heung- Min- Son, a delightful touch player who revels being in the thick of the action. Son darted, dashed and glided across those lush green Wembley acres with a wonderful sense of independence fully aware of Kane's positional play and then slotting the ball perfectly into Kane's path as if the two could just instinctively read each other's minds.
So it was that the local boy who made good shone again and the Tottenham supporters who have proudly and rightly claimed him as one of their own, stood together as one and could hardly believe that they have now in their ranks an internationally renowned and respected goal scoring striker. It's been some time now but after a long, barren period the North London side are once again crowing and flush with success. Kane is a goal scoring phenomenon and for perhaps a vast majority of Spurs fans hardened to many seasons of serial underachievement, the presence of a lethal goal scorer must be too good to be true.
Back in the early 1970s and even further back to those heady days of the 1960s football was almost spoilt for powerful forwards who would think nothing of scoring goals for fun. They were the goal scoring obsessives, players with an incurable addiction to both scoring and providing but mostly being in the right time and the right place. They were hustling, bustling, foraging and hunting strikers who gobbled up the ground, devoured space, rifling shots into the net with unerring accuracy and then heading the ball fiercely into the roof of the net as if it was something that came naturally to them.
During the 1970s one man warmed the cockles of the White Hart Lane faithful. Martin Chivers, signed from Southampton in the late 1960s from Ted Bates Saints, made the kind of devastating impact at Tottenham that very few had seen coming. Chivers was tall, broad shouldered, confident, muscular and rousingly resilient. Chivers would roam, rove and prowl around the pitch like a grizzly bear full of meaty aggression and red blooded strength. But Chivers was a lovely, friendly bear who made no secret of the fact that goals were his trademark. Chivers height meant that when the ball was there to be headed he would never be slow off the starting blocks.
When England came calling Chivers was the obvious choice. Chivers scored moderately for England although not with the frequency that some would have liked. Chivers was bold and fearless, striking the ball with uncompromising brutality and heading the ball into the net with the sweetest of flavours. After leaving Spurs Chivers moved to Switzerland but then returned to England when the cuckoo clocks became too much.
A decade before Spurs carved, shaped and sculpted another of their hot properties, a man who would achieve legendary status and send Spurs fans into a frenzy of wild excitement. Some strikers are just born and some become adopted sons who are idolised by football fans. Throughout most of the 1960s Spurs found their trump card, a man for all seasons, a sparkling gem, a goal scoring virtuoso with gold in his boots.
Jimmy Greaves was signed from Chelsea at the right time and the right place. When Bill Nicholson brought this chirpy, cocky character to White Hart Lane it was felt at the time that Spurs had bought themselves a blue chip bargain. For the best part of several years Greaves was unstoppable, unplayable, electrifying and sharp as a pair of scissors. Greaves surged forward into opposition penalty areas like an overwhelming force of nature, skipping past defenders as if they were lightweight obstacles ready to be knocked down at first sight.
Greaves of course was an England regular and when Sir Alf Ramsey picked him for England's 1966 World Cup squad it was widely assumed that Greaves would win the World Cup single mindedly although Bobby Charlton might have had something to say about that. Sadly Greaves although a full time participant for most of the tournament in England, missed out crucially for the World Cup Final at the expense of Geoff Hurst's superb and now romantic hat-trick against West Germany.
By the time Greaves joined West Ham in the admittedly twilit period of his career, the Spurs goal poacher supreme had, tragically and most regrettably, turned to drink. But Greaves had made a stunning contribution to the world of football and the goals he would score at both Chelsea, Spurs and West Ham remained permanently etched on the minds of those who saw them. Greaves was, and remains, a warm hearted and deeply engaging character full of cheeky wit and admirable humour.
Spurs of course now have their very own modern day successor to Jimmy Greaves who seems to be scoring goals from all angles, directions and trajectories. Harry Kane, only 24, could be the classical winning link in England's latest bid to win the World Cup. Next summer Kane will attempt to reproduce the goal-scoring from of one of his most illustrious predecessors, the goals that have been so terribly lacking in previous tournaments.
It is to be hoped that Kane will retain his loyalty to the club who brought him up and nurtured his talent. When Greaves went to Italy and Milan Spurs had not only lost their most prolific goal scorer they'd almost lost the focal point of their attack. Greaves, rather like Kane, was, quite notably, a hard working player always determined to help out his side when needed both in the middle of the pitch but always involved in all areas of his team's often attractive, free flowing team.
Meanwhile Manchester City are still in pole position at the top of the Premier League breaking their own unique records. City are now unbeaten and head for the New Year as seemingly a lone horse in a gentle gallop. City's football is still so full of pretty pictures and illustrations that they somehow defy any classification. Still, the remarkable Kevin De Bruyne, the allegedly unsettled Sergio Aguero, the immaculate David Silva and the fleet footed Raheem Sterling spin their bewildering webs around the rest of the Premier League.
Still forget about Manchester City, forget about Lionel Messi, forget about Alan Shearer, forget even about Pele, Cristiano Ronaldo and Diego Maradona. There can be only one man on everybody's lips at the moment and he wears that lilywhite shirt at Tottenham. Harry Kane is indeed the perfect citizen and even Orson Wells would take his hat off to that.
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