Paul Merson labels Tottenham Hotspur a one-man team amidst praise for striker Harry Kane
Writing in his column for Sky Sports, Arsenal legend and football pundit Paul Merson labelled Tottenham Hotspur a one-man team due to the presence of striker Harry Kane in the team, admitting that the side would not finish in the top four this season if not for the striker.
Spurs currently occupy fourth position in the Premier League table, having beaten Newcastle United last weekend in a 5-1 thrashing at home. Kane ran the show for the team, picking up an assist in the game while they put the Magpies to the sword.
Merson, who won a FA Cup with Arsenal, praised Kane for his ability on the pitch but said that Tottenham were a one-man team and if the forward was taken out of the side, then they would not make it to the top four of the league.
“But you take Kane out of the team, top four ain’t happening for Spurs. It’s as simple as that. When he doesn’t turn up at Burnley away, they get beaten. Tottenham are a one-man team and that’s not being disrespectful.”
The 28-year-old ace started the season slowly under Nuno Espirito Santo, but once the Portuguese coach was replaced with Antonio Conte, Kane seems to slowly have found his old form back and has been prolific in the new year.
“He’s the all-round package”
For a majority of 2021, the English skipper looked like a shadow of the player he once was, unable to find the back of the net as his displays on the pitch looked laboured. However, he is now in hot form once again, scoring goals as well as picking up assists for his team.
Merson made a comparison about Kane being the best centre-forward in the world by saying that one could own a Ferrari, but it meant nothing without having an engine – likening the England international to the main reason why Tottenham win games.
“You could have a Ferrari, but without an engine in the car it ain’t working. He’s the all-round package, and that’s why he’s the best centre-forward in the world, and I’ve said it for a long, long time.”
Despite being the only striker in the team this term, Kane has shouldered that responsibility well, turning up for nearly every game and trying his hardest to score goals for his boyhood club. Tottenham are probably over-reliant on the Englishman, but the forward does not seem to mind.
His performance against Newcastle over the weekend showed that he was more than just a number nine, capable of dropping into midfield and linking passes to act as the team’s playmaker – something Spurs have been missing at the moment.
Calling us a one-man team to praise him, however, is perhaps not much of an honest claim as we have shown under Antonio Conte that we do have other players such as Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski who can take the mantle when the Englishman isn’t firing on all cylinders.
Merson called Kane the best centre-forward in the world, and very few could argue against that. He may not have a European stage at the moment to display that, but he shows it week in and out for the Lilywhites in the English top-flight.
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His form until the end of the season will be crucial for our top four hopes. If he continues on this path and delivers on every matchday, we should be able to tighten our grip on fourth position and perhaps even overtake Chelsea in third place, if the Blues slip up in coming weeks as they did against Brentford at home recently.
