It has been obvious for quite a while that Harry Kane is going to be Englandâs great hope going into this summerâs World Cup in Russia.In an era that could not be described as a âgolden generationâ for the Three Lions by any stretch of the imagination, the Tottenham man is a dead-eyed goalscorer to rival any of the worldâs elite number nines.England have struggled for decades to coax their playersâ club performances out of them at international but in Kane, Gareth Southgate has a man more than capable of netting the five or so goals required to fire the country into the later stages of the tournament.None of that has changed in recent weeks, but one other element of Kaneâs rise to stardom has altered drastically lately - his popularity.Previously, Kane was almost universally liked up and down the country. The way he married a ruthless eye for goal and a constant desire for improvement with being a likeable and down to earth character endeared him to English football fans in a way some of the national teamâs previous talisman have failed to.Sure, he was prone to go down easily in the box but nobody would mind if he won a crucial penalty by doing that in Russia this summer.Two Twitter storms have hit his reputation hard and the common theme is that Kane has come across as a man who takes himself too seriously.Swearing on his daughterâs life that he got the final touch on Spursâ winning goal at Stoke last month gave rise to seemingly endless âHarry Claimâ memes and his desperation to catch Mo Salah in the race for the Golden Boot was roundly mocked.But at least that belied a single-mindedness and desire to score as many goals as possible, which is, again, another trait England fans would treasure if it reared its head at the World Cup.Kaneâs radio silence after the FAâs official Twitter account mocked him for being snuffed out of the FA Cup semi-final defeat against Manchester United has drawn greater ire and presented him as someone who doesnât know how to laugh at himself.He has allowed Mauricio Pochettino to do his talking for him and when the Argentine declared his star striker âvery sadâ about the fiasco, it did not go down well.Tottenham and Kane interpreted the tweet as the FA mocking one of Englandâs star players ahead of a major tournament but surely both club and player are savvy enough to separate the comedic instincts of a social media manager and the genuine attitude of English footballâs governing body towards the aptitude of a man who could â and should â travel to Russia this summer as England captain.If Kane skipper the Three Lions at a major tournament, it would see him emulate two of English footballâs great strikers â Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney, who must have inspired him at various points of his career.His ruthlessness and desire to improve is reminiscent of Cristiano Ronaldo, but Kane must look a few notches down in terms of quality to find a role model from whom to learn an important lesson ahead of the World Cup; Peter Crouch.The former England and Liverpool man is currently enjoying the twilight of his career, almost how Barack Obama decided to just embrace life after the stresses and strains of being US President were over; Crouch is just enjoying being Crouchy, Premier League footballer, for as long as it lasts.
Most importantly, Crouch isnât taking himself too seriously and if Kane did similar, he would regain a great deal of popularity among England fans.
All he needs to do is take ownership of the âclaimâ joke, by tweeting out that heâll be taking the credit for Mo Salah or Tottenhamâs next goal, or clear the air between himself and the FA, proving himself capable of laughing at himself in the process.
That would take the sting out of the situation that is threatening to transform from a mild internet joke into a saga that could undermine Englandâs World Cup hopes, especially if Kane is as poor in Russia as he was at Euro 2016.
Kane has already proved himself to be on another level to Crouch on the pitch, but would do well to learn from the former Tottenham man off it. When all's said and done, he just needs to lighten up a bit, preferably in time for the World Cup.
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