John Barnes believes that some of the Tottenham players would have felt intimidated by Harry Kane, which is why they have now been able to come out of their shells and perform at their best after the striker’s departure.
Given that Kane scored 30 Premier League goals last season for a Spurs side that finished eighth, many pundits only foresaw Tottenham struggling this season after the departure of the England captain, with some suggesting the Lilywhites may not even finish in the top half (Football Insider).
However, Tottenham have improved considerably under Ange Postecoglou, deservedly sitting at the top of the table after nine league games, leaving many scratching their heads as to how it is possible that the side has improved despite losing the England captain.
(Photo by S. Mellar/FC Bayern via Getty Images)
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Barnes believes it is a case of the players now taking more responsibility rather than looking at Kane to dig them out of a hole, drawing parallels with what happened at Liverpool following Philippe Coutinho’s exit.
The pundit BeMyBet (as relayed by Football.London): “Now that Harry Kane is gone, I felt that Tottenham would be a better team because the other players would show what they can do.
“And they are showing what they can do rather than being subservient to Harry. All the fans focus on Harry, you got to give him the ball wherever he plays. Now he’s not there, they are playing as a proper team which I felt would happen. So it doesn’t surprise me.
“That’s not to say Harry Kane wasn’t their best player or Coutinho wasn’t our best player. It’s more to say that when you’re at that big a club, the team has to be the most important thing.
“And now that they aren’t focusing on one superstar player who the fans get disappointed with if you don’t pass him the ball, the players probably felt intimidated by Harry Kane.
“Not that Harry is doing anything wrong, it’s just that the nature of his presence and what fans demand is that whenever he wants the ball, you give it to him.”
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We have seen time and again that not having that one big superstar changes the dressing room dynamic positively and that has evidently happened at Spurs this season, with many of the other players stepping up and taking more responsibility.
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