Ange Postecoglou deserves huge praise for how he has progressed Tottenham Hotspur since Harry Kane’s exit.
No matter how great you are, to lose one of your greatest-ever players, and that days before the season starts, should be very hard to deal with.
But it was the complete opposite for Tottenham, who picked up a staggering 26 points from their first ten matches and were sitting at the top of the Premier League table.
The unfortunate thing for Spurs is that, as soon they suffered that first defeat at home to Chelsea, they quickly collapsed, before maintaining a very respectable push for Champions League football.
Compared to their eighth-placed finish last term, to move forward and secure, a minimum, top-five finish is some going given the circumstances.
Micah Richards was always insistent that Tottenham have become a ‘better side’ without Kane and Gary Lineker wanted to bring that up again following recent defeats, including against Liverpool at the weekend.
The former right-back stuck by his words and put it out there that they are ‘performing better’ because they can use more pace in the final third, as he told The Rest is Football Podcast.
But Lineker then suggested that if Kane had decided to stay, then Spurs might have won the Premier League title.
Of course, the player himself has suffered the shock of all shocks because Bayern Munich were comfortably beaten to the Bundesliga title by Xabi Alonso‘s currently unbeaten Bayern Leverkusen.
Despite Lineker’s claims, Richards was having none of it and added ‘what a ridiculous thing to say’.
Life after Harry Kane for Tottenham Hotspur
“On the subject of Spurs, do you still think they are a better side without Harry Kane,” asked Lineker.
Richards responded: “Let me spin the question to you, Gary. Where did Spurs finish last season? (Lineker responded eighth). So, if they finish better than eighth this season that would mean, it’s been great for Harry Kane. Top-scorer in the Bundesliga and it’s been great for Spurs, because they are no worse off.”
Lineker then claimed: “Yeah, but you never know, they might have gone on to win the league if Harry Kane stayed”. That resulted in Richards laughing out loud and he added: “We don’t know that. What did Gino D’Acampo say, ‘If my nan had wheels, she would be a bicycle’. It’s a ridiculous thing to say, Gary. Tottenham have performed better, at times, without Harry Kane because they can play with pace”
Harry Kane finishes trophyless again
When the luck isn’t with you, it just isn’t and football is proving to be a brutal game for Kane.
On Wednesday night, despite being less than ten minutes away from the Champions League final, Bayern conceded two late goals against Real Madrid and were booted out of the competition.
READ MORE: Glenn Hoddle admits one thing has shocked him about Son Heung-min at Tottenham Hotspur
That now means that Kane has, once again, gone another campaign without a trophy and this is Bayern’s first trophyless campaign since 2012.
From an individual perspective, he is still doing what he does best and that’s scoring goals. He has scored 44 goals and supplied 12 assists in all competitions.
So, from that perspective, nothing has changed.