Harry Kane has never been far away from criticism. It all started back in 2015 when the Tottenham Hotspur striker was written off as a flash in the pan after a 31 goal season.
Kane has proceeded to net over 20 goals in each of the last six years to quickly silence those opinions, but the criticism has changed.
He’s too selfish, they said. Yet Kane is well on course to break the Premier League record for assists this term.
Now the line has been altered. All of a sudden Kane is being singled out by opposition fans for being a danger to their players.
While that is undoubtedly true in terms of his goalscoring, the claims certainly haven’t been meant as a compliment.
On three occasions this season the Tottenham forward has seen an opponent compete for a header to him, only for them to plunge towards the floor rather than winning the ball.
Kane has positioned himself to get between man and ball, and not really competed for the aerial challenge, which has made for an awkward landing for the opposing player.
Quickly, there has been a huge furore around the issue, with social media awash with supporters saying it should equate to a red card offence.
But Kane has become public enemy number one.
Perhaps it is the sheer level of brilliance that Kane consistently produces that makes fans want to bring him down.
But the latest line of questioning must rankle considering the striker really has done very little wrong.
For Kane’s incident against Brighton, Adam Lallana was perhaps unfortunate to give away a penalty, but what was Kane supposed to do? Move out the way to give him a free shot on goal?
For all Kane’s strengths he is also a hulking striker, who can provide a target to hit, and his ability to manoeuvre his body between man and ball is a strength.
If an opposition player wishes to compete with Kane, when the Spurs striker is in a stronger position to shield the ball, then they do so at their own risk.
There has been claims that Kane is going to break someone’s neck by performing a move he apparently tries every game. But Kane has now been involved in 304 Tottenham games throughout his career, and caused precisely zero injuries in this manner.
The focus should instead be on what Kane is doing on the pitch for Tottenham, which is simply remarkable.
The 27-year-old has scored 14 goals and claimed 12 assists so far this term, and he looks set to break all sorts of records if he continues performing at his current level.
Not bad for a one season wonder.
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