Given the utter failure of England's 'Golden Generation', the distaste for Harry Kane among English fans rather bizarre. They have a genuinely world class forward in our ranks, and yet they choose to mock and deride him.
And not for good reasons, either. He's slaughtered for saying he scored a goal that he may or may not have scored, winning the Golden Boot at the World Cup, and not passing to Raheem Sterling (worth noting: a still image or slow-motion video doesn't tell the full story). Why can't England fans just get behind their stars?
After all, over the past six seasons, Harry Kane has proven himself to be one of football's deadliest goalscorers.
He has notched an exceptional 177 goals in all competitions at club level, as well as a further 32 for England. This includes an incredible goal-per-game ratio of 0.83 in the Champions League - the competition's all time record.
Furthermore, in that time frame, Kane has surpassed his expected goals by almost 22 in the league, making him one of Europe's most efficient finishers. The only two players in Europe's top five leagues to exceed theirs by further are Barcelona forwards Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann (Via Understat.com).
But it's not just Kane's goalscoring that is impressive. He's strong on the ball, holds it up well, is good in the air, and can pick a pass on both feet. With all this considered, there is no doubt that Kane is one of the best forwards in the world.
Despite this, there are still many people who continue to undermine Kane.
An underwhelming performance in the 1-1 draw with Manchester United brought back all the old shouts of 'he's overrated' and 'he can't do it against the big sides' (a statement that the likes of Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, and Arsenal would not testify to). His goal against West Ham, on the other hand, was easily dismissed as more stat-padding against relegation fodder.
There seems to be this desperation for Kane to fail, especially from English supporters - and it's hard to really see why.
Perhaps English football is just too tribal, and fans would happily sacrifice national team success if it means their rivals suffer. Perhaps people are too in love with the 'typical overrated English player' narrative. Or maybe they just enjoy being contrarian. But, as supporters of the English national team, surely it's in their best interests to see their nation's best player reach his full potential...right?
On Thursday night Kane has an opportunity to silence his critics, even for just a few days, when Tottenham travel to Bramall Lane to face Sheffield United.
While they may be out of form, Chris Wilder's side are still in close proximity to Spurs in the race for European football. With Dean Henderson and John Egan set to return, Kane will be facing a near-full strength Sheffield United backline that boasts the third best defensive record in the league.
There is additional edge to this game for Kane. The 26 year-old has scored against 28 out of 29 opponents he's faced in the Premier League. That one remaining side? Sheffield United.
So, while many viewers will be hoping for Kane to misfire on Thursday, perhaps England fans should be backing him all the way, and hope that Kane can once again show the world why he is one of football's best forwards.
Source : 90min