It is the second season in a row where Harry Kane has failed to score in the opening month of the campaign.
A troubled Euro 2016 campaign & hangover
Harry Kane was part of the abysmal showing in France this summer as England crashed out of Euro 2016 in the last 16 to Iceland.
England’s Harry Kane
Kane was the main man upfront however he failed to replicate his Tottenham Hotspur form from the previous season in an England shirt. Despite starting three of the four England matches in France, the striker seemed to vanish in front of goal and didn’t score once in the tournament.
Kane returns with a bang
Tottenham’s Harry Kane scores their first goal from the penalty spot
Despite a disappointing Euros, Kane returned to the Tottenham side in their pre-season friendly win over Inter Milan, with the 23 year-old scoring a brace as Maurcio Pochettino’s men hit the Italian side for six in Oslo.
With the amount of football the forward has endured over the past 18 months, with constant matches since breaking into the Spurs side in November 2014, Pochettino gave Kane an extended break following the Euros, meaning this was the forward’s only pre-season game before the season started.
Under-cooked Kane in season opener
Tottenham’s Harry Kane in action with Everton’s Phil Jagielka
With just over an hour of football behind him in the pre-season win over Inter Milan, Kane played the whole 90 minutes in the Lilywhites’ season opener at Goodison Park.
Tottenham drew 1-1 however it was visible to see that the England forward was certainly lacking match sharpness, indicating that the club’s main man will be playing catch up to get up to speed with the rest of his team-mates.
The defensive back three which Ronald Koeman implemented of Mason Holgate, Phil Jagielka and Ramiro Funes Mori comfortably shut out the league’s golden boot winner of last season and he failed to make an impact throughout the game.
Frustration starts to show
Tottenham’s Harry Kane looks dejected
Tottenham won their first three points of the season with a late strike from new summer signing Victor Wanyama, with Kane’s header assisting the Kenyan.
The Tottenham Number ten played just off Vincent Janssen in a position suited to his squad number. Kane did not see as much of the ball in the final third of the pitch but did reasonably well in front of watching England manager Sam Allardyce.
Kane made his name in a Spurs shirt playing as an out and out centre forward, but the fact he was able to make an impression in a deeper role will give manager Pochettino a selection headache in the future.
The August goal drought roles on
Tottenham’s Harry Kane walks past manager Mauricio Pochettino as he is substituted
Just as he did 12 months ago, Harry Kane has failed to find the net in August. It took the Spurs star seven games to score his first of the season last term, and he will hope for it to come sooner this time round.
The forward only touched the ball twice in the Liverpool penalty area all game and was substituted when his side were searching for a winner.
Tottenham’s top scorer looked lethargic in his movement and that short burst of speed where he is able to get away from defenders has gone missing for now, suggesting Tottenham fans may have to be patient in their hopes to see the Kane of last term.
No England goal v Slovakia
England’s Harry Kane misses a chance to score
Another game where the England forward struggled to make an impression. With the likes of Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge waiting on the bench it was Harry Kane who lead the line for England in Sam Allardyce’s first game in charge.
He was bullied all game by former Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel before one too many fouls meant he was heading for an early bath, even with the departure of the Slovakia captain, Kane still didn’t make the impact required.
The England number nine missed England’s best chance with a shot six yards out before Adam Lallana’s last gasp winner.
Is the Tottenham and England man suffering from burn out? 18 months of constant football may be a little too much, should Pochettino begin to worry about his main man or is last year proof that he can explode into form at any time?
Tottenham’s Harry Kane
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