IIt seems like a small point in the history of Tottenham’s increasingly volatile season, where successes seem to only buy space to breathe temporarily and setbacks are an immediate waste of any momentum, but it is one that speaks to the apocalyptic fear among fans.
What does Harry Kane think of all this? The answer is that we don’t know and that is because the team’s talisman stopped talking to the media.
This shouldn’t sound like a journalist’s pun. The reason for mentioning it is because it is very strange. In all seasons of his career so far, Kane has routinely given his ideas before or after the match. Essentially, he is a good guy who is happy to bond with his supporters through the press, even in difficult times – which is always an indicator of character.
No longer. The matter was brought up when Kane dodged media duties during the international break in November, which is highly unusual for an England captain. And so it was at Spurs. The pandemic has affected the access that journalists have, but that does not allow Kane to pass. Surely he will have to protect himself during the next international window?
It has been impossible to ignore the suspicion that Kane has remained discreet because he does not want to be put on the spot, to face questions that he may have difficulty answering honestly. Or, more precisely, a particular question. It is what has accompanied him in recent seasons, but now he presses with greater urgency and discomfort. With his 28th birthday coming up in July, does he think he has to leave Spurs to fulfill his ambitions?
The club’s position is that Kane is not for sale. In addition, with a contract until 2024, the president, Daniel Levy, is in control. Everyone knows that an agreement with Levy is practically signed in blood. But at the very least, Kane had a lot to think about when he left the field on Thursday night, after 120 breathtaking minutes in the extension of the Europa League at Dynamo Zagreb. Same, José Mourinho.
There is a reason why the crisis always tends to come faster for Mourinho than other managers. It is because with it the result can often seem like the only thing. Mourinho takes trophies to the clubs immediately and then leaves. There is never the feeling that he is forming a team for the long term, possibly with young players. At Spurs, he borrowed most of them.
The style of play is made to win first and entertain later, although this, frankly, is optional. The way Mourinho analyzes mail is clinical. He is not concerned with ball possession statistics, areas of action or expected goals. For him, these are purely great chances created. If your team can do this once or twice at the right time – and, ideally, score – then nothing else matters.
The result is that when the result is not there, Mourinho has little to lean on and when the attitude is not there, as was the case in Zagreb and in the derby defeat with Arsenal on Sunday, this leads to questions about o the end of the road has been reached.
Kane was silent on Thursday night, but the captain, Hugo Lloris, was not. In an interview with BT Sport, he revealed his frustrations and two things stood out. First, Mourinho’s message of attacking Dynamo and not losing the 2-0 lead in the first leg had been clear. “But the opposite has happened,” said Lloris. And, second, that there are players, mainly outside the team, who are not giving their all, probably because they are disappointed.
This led to a damaging lack of unity, to hiding players – to use the word that Mourinho used after the game with Arsenal – and to responsibilities being left to just a handful of strong people.
“It’s one thing to come up in front of the camera and say, ‘I’m ambitious,'” said Lloris. “Another thing is to show [it] every day in training and to show every time on the field. If you follow the team only when you are in the starting eleven, this causes big problems for the team because you pay. We had a great time in the past because we were able to trust the unity that was in the team. Today, I’m not sure about that.
“In the bank there is an influence to have, to push others. In training sessions the same. Everyone has to be ready to help the team at the right time. It’s not just standing aside and complaining ”.
It is extremely worrying to think that Mourinho’s message is not coming because the players are not listening or, to go to the extreme, they do not want to hear it; they don’t want to play for him. When this happens, it tends to lead to just one thing.
Managing a team instead of just starting eleven is critical and is an uplifting feeling when a reserve can rise. See the joy of Thomas Tuchel and everyone at Chelsea when Emerson Palmieri came on as a reserve in the 89th minute to score in the Champions League victory against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night. Each player has to find the inner motivation, but it is the coach who sets the tone.
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The Spurs go to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday night, but the game Mourinho scored in his diary is the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City on April 25. Win that – as unlikely as it seems at the moment – and he would have done it again. But would that be enough, especially if qualifying for the Champions League again eluded the club?
And so the tension bubbles. Kane wants more than that, as does Son Heung-min, who still needs to sign his new contract, Levy and everyone else as well. It was up to Joe Hart, the reserve goalkeeper, to provide a moment of relief when he was forced to apologize for a post mistakenly sent from his Instagram account. “Work done”, he said, following the 3-0 defeat by Dynamo. If only.