It took just two games of the 2021-22 season for Manchester City's failed pursuit of Harry Kane to become a big problem for Pep Guardiola.
After losing the Community Shield to Leicester City, they promptly went to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and lost 1-0 again, even with Kane absent and City boasting Premier League record signing Jack Grealish.
The narrative arc was glaring: City would fall short without a recognised number nine, while Spurs were neither dependent on Kane nor foolhardy to snub the chance of a huge transfer fee. Perhaps he could realise his dream of big trophies in north London after all.
Six months on, and the world has come to its senses. Since losing to Spurs, City have won 20 and lost just one of their Premier League matches and look to be marching imperiously towards the title again. Spurs have changed manager, swapping one the fans never really wanted for one who gives a good impression he would rather be anywhere else, and are enduring a three-game losing run that has put their Champions League hopes in jeopardy.
And nobody is really talking about Kane, except to wonder what's going wrong.
It's beginning to look like City dodged a nine-figure bullet by not pursuing their interest. Kane has just five goals and two assists in 21 league games this season, his minutes-per-goal rate of 358.4 more than twice as bad as at any other time in his career, while his expected goals tally of 8.99 is the lowest since he played just 10 times in 2013-14.
Part of that problem can be attributed to Kane's role under Nuno Espirito Santo and now Antonio Conte. His link-up play is still effective: he is creating on average one chance per 90 minutes, slightly down on his career average in the Premier League, but averaging more passes played into the box (3.1) than he ever has.
Similarly, he is top among Spurs players for involvements in open-play sequences ending in a shot (98) – even when you remove the 52 where Kane's only contribution was the shot, he still ranks as high as fifth (46). In other words, he remains key to both getting them on the front foot and testing the opposition's goalkeeper.
Yet ultimately, Kane will be judged on goal involvements, which makes this season a distinct disappointment. Whether he was affected by City's failed pursuit, or a hangover from England's Euro 2020 final defeat – or a combination of both – it's hard to make a case for this Kane to be the missing link for Guardiola's City. And that's especially true when you consider just what Guardiola wants in his forwards: the ability to play in any position across the attack, rather than become pinioned in the number-nine role. It's why he saw fit to spend £100million on Grealish, why Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robert Lewandowski and Sergio Aguero have each faced battles to keep their places in his teams, and why any move for Erling Haaland is no guarantee.
It also makes you wonder why City did not turn their attentions to the man who scored the winner in that game at Spurs last August, and who has six goals in eight matches against them.
Son Heung-min would appear, on the face of it, an ideal Guardiola player. He has proved himself adept out wide, as a number 10 and as a central striker for Spurs, hitting double figures for goals and assists for two league seasons running – don't rule out him repeating the feat again.
With nine goals and three assists, Son leads the way for direct goal involvements for Spurs in this season's difficult Premier League campaign. He has also created the most chances (36), playing 144 passes into the box, which is almost double the number of any team-mate (this includes set-pieces, of course). Son also boasts the best shot conversion rate (18.8) among players with more than one goal, while Kane's is down at just seven per cent.
The South Korea star is second only to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg when it comes to involvements in Spurs' build-up play in the top flight this season, 35 of which have ended in a shot on goal. And when he doesn't have the ball, Son remains adept at winning it back: he has won possession the most among Spurs attackers (89), with 11 of those gains occurring in the opposition's defensive third.
Adaptable, hard-working and clinical are words that could be ascribed to any of City's forwards, and Son fits right in that same group. Should Spurs fail to qualify for the Champions League again, they may be forced to make some concessions in the transfer market, especially if they want to satisfy Conte's demands while keeping costs down. Son has just over three years on his contract and does not appear likely to agitate for a move, but, ahead of his 30th birthday in July, the next window could represent his final opportunity for a major transfer.
If anyone in a Spurs shirt is likely to impress City officials on Saturday, it's Son.
Southampton have changed dynamic of promotion race – Russell Martin
Russell Martin said the Sky Bet Championship automatic promotion race “dynamic” has changed after Southampton’s 3-0 domination of Preston.
Saints had looked destined for a play-off place after three defeats in four games during February, but three home wins in seven days has them just four points off the top two.
A Che Adams brace and Stuart Armstrong’s fourth goal of the season sealed the points on Tuesday and Saints boss Martin said: “I think it was a brilliant performance with some really beautiful stuff.
“It has been a big week for us. It has changed the dynamic. We were written off some point ago but the players have stuck at it and been resilient.
“We have the opportunity to take the points off teams around us but if we have to take care of the next one against Cardiff and if we don’t then the others become a bit pointless.”
Adams opened the scoring in the 19th minute when he tapped in Adam Armstrong’s centre for his 100th career goal.
He doubled his tally by finishing a fine team move with a cool finish before Stuart Armstrong capitalised on a defensive howler to smash in.
The only taint on the evening was an Achilles injury to goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu in the warm-up that looks to have ended his season.
Martin, who promoted Alex McCarthy, said: “He has felt something in his Achilles and will have a scan tomorrow. We don’t expect to see him any time soon and we’ll give him all the support he needs.
“Al has trained so well. He has travelled everywhere and trained like a beast. We’ve seen what Joe (Lumley) can do and has done really well and we wanted to see Al. It was a feeling I had in my gut at the time.”
But Martin added on the performance of Adams, who he subbed off before he could score a hat-trick: “He has just threatened to beat me up out there! We had a hug and a laugh and he understands why I had to take him off.
“He looks like he is going to score all the time at the moment.”
Preston had the third lowest expected goals of the Championship season with 0.07 and manager Ryan Lowe said: “The be all and end all was the first half has cost us. The game plan that we set out to do in the first half was nowhere near.
“The game was probably over at half-time at 3-0. You can’t give a team like Southampton chances like that because they’re a fantastic team.
“The game plan was to try and nullify their strengths and capitalise on their weaknesses and we didn’t really do either.
“They could end up going up automatically, if not they’re going to be a real force in the play-offs.”
Darrell Clarke delighted as Cheltenham clinch much-needed comeback win at Burton
Darrell Clarke was delighted to see his out-of-form Cheltenham side come from behind to take a 2-1 League One win from relegation rivals Burton.
“It’s a good comeback win,” Clarke said. “It’s a must comeback win in a real pressure game where I thought we had to win it and we’ve done that.”
Albion had edged ahead in a poor first half when substitute Steve Seddon fired home after a long throw into the Cheltenham box in first half added time.
But the visitors hit back after half-time through the experience of striker Matty Taylor, with the equaliser and a first goal for the club for 39-year-old Curtis Davies to seal the win with a header from Will Ferry’s corner.
“The response in the second half was very good,” Clarke added. “Matty Taylor does what he does with a great finish and it was about time Curtis got a goal. He is a proper guy and I have got a lot of time for him.
“He has really stood up and been counted over a consistent period this season and I am delighted for him to get the winner.”
Cheltenham now have their fate in their own hands and Clarke issued a “call to arms” to fans to get behind the side with two home games to come.
“Now we take it to the final week of the season in our own hands, so this is a call to arms,” he said.
“We are depleted with a lot of players out and I just want the fans to turn up in their numbers on Saturday and Tuesday and really get behind the boys because I think they deserve it.
“We need to turn the next two games into a fortress and see if we can get over the line.”
Burton boss Martin Paterson was left facing up to an eighth home loss in a row which keeps the Brewers firmly in the relegation dogfight and frustrated at how his side failed to build on a first-half lead.
“We didn’t come out for the second half,” he said. “I thought they started the game brighter than us then after 20 minutes, we started stepping towards the ball and looking dangerous and we got a goal to go in at half-time with everything in our own hands.
“Two set plays and goals in the second half and people not doing their jobs. Simple as that.”
Albion have one last chance on home soil against Reading on Saturday to grab a much-needed home win and the magnitude of the game was not lost on Paterson.
He added: “This was a huge game and Saturday is a huge game. We have just come off the back of a good performance at Stevenage so if the drop off can go one way, I am pretty sure it can go the other way as well.”
Bolton need ‘miracle’ for automatic promotion after Shrewsbury draw – Ian Evatt
Ian Evatt believes Bolton need a “miracle” to gain automatic promotion after being held to a 2-2 Sky Bet League One draw by lowly Shrewsbury.
Wanderers twice came from behind to earn a point thanks to Paris Maghoma’s 71st-minute equaliser.
However, the Trotters are three points behind second-placed Derby with both sides having two games left but with the Rams boasting a superior goal difference.
“It is not over,” sighed Evatt. “But it is five football matches in our eyes now.
“If a miracle happens then so be it. But it is five matches to win and this team is more than capable of that.
“If we can do it at Wembley (in the play-offs), people will enjoy themselves. The time to analyse what has happened and gone wrong isn’t now.
“For now we just focus on winning five more games. It is possible (to gain automatic promotion) but we have to be realistic.
“Derby have a fantastic chance of sealing the deal on Saturday.
“Our general performance was good but we conceded sloppy goals at one end and didn’t take our chances at the other.
“There is frustration and disappointment for a number of reasons. It is a game we should have won.
“But we have said that too many times where we have lost key personnel which makes a difference.”
Shrewsbury are still not safe from relegation but shrugged off their worries to cause Wanderers problems, particularly in the first half.
Dan Udoh fired Town in front after 21 minutes, only for veteran striker Cameron Jerome’s first goal for Bolton to level four minutes from half-time.
Jordan Shipley restored Town’s lead with a stunning low left-footed drive two minutes later.
Ex-Shrewsbury loanee Nat Ogbeta missed a great chance to equalise early in the second half before Maghoma eventually saved face for the home side.
“Although we were ahead twice, it would be a bit greedy to not be pleased with the point,” said Town manager Paul Hurst.
“I am delighted with the players’ commitment to what we asked them to do.
“We knew we would have long spells without the ball. Bolton are an excellent team in possession and cause you lots of problems.
“The way we set up is one thing but the players have to carry that out.
“At the same time, certainly first half, we also carried a threat and caused them problems and caused anxiety within the stadium which is again what we spoke about.
“A point is a great result but we want to try and go to Charlton and see if we can take care of our business then it is over.
“If we don’t get something, we still don’t know our fate.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
