Kane again; Ludogorets Razgrad 1 Tottenham Hotspur 3 & back on track

Kane again; Ludogorets Razgrad 1 Tottenham Hotspur 3

THU 05 NOV 2020EUROPA LEAGUE - GROUP J

Keseru (50' minutes)

Kane (13' minutes), Lucas Moura (32' minutes), Lo Celso (62' minutes)

Assists

Lucas Moura (13' minutes), Kane (32' minutes), Son Heung-Min (62' minutes)

 

Our Harry Kane scored his 200th Tottenham goal against the Bulgarian side last night (Thursday).

Our modern-day genius has scored everywhere, from Tranmere to Tallaght, from Dortmund to Newport via a load in London - and now a header at the Huvepharma Arena in Razgrad has taken Kane to 200 goals for us. But let us not forget he was a relatively slow starter, not making himself a regular in the Spurs line-up until the age of 21, he's now third in the club's all-time scoring records.

Kane's comments after the match were, "It's a great milestone to reach, and hopefully, there are a few more to come." He then went on and said, “time goes so quick it feels like yesterday I scored my first for Spurs. It's an outstanding achievement but let's keep them coming."

I had the pleasure of seeing Jimmy Greaves play for Tottenham. In fact, I was there when Jimmy joined our club for £99,999.00 (Bill Nicholson didn't want him to be the first £100,000 player, that is why it was only a £1 under that figure). In fact, I've seen many great players and strikers play for our club. My viewing habits – at Tottenham – don't stretch as far back as the 1951 title or even our first FA cup final (and win) in 1901; contrary to popular belief. I was only born in 1955. So that is my excuse. Anyway, Kane is third on Spurs' all-time greats list, 66 behind the legendary Jimmy Greaves, a record he might reach before he turns 30. That is if he stays at our club and fit and able as he is now.

As for playing/ goal records at other English clubs; he has a very long way to go to score the most goals for one English club; Dixie Dean bagged 383 for Everton and Ian Rush hit 346 for Liverpool.

At the present Kane is the top-scoring Premier League player in all competitions this season, netting 12 goals in 13 appearances, with only Robert Lewandowski netting as many for a team in Europe's top five leagues (also 12 for Bayern Munich). Kane is now level with Les Ferdinand; the top 10 on the all-time Premier League list recently and is 111 behind Alan Shearer's record haul of 260.

Premier League goals before turning 28 years old

Wayne Rooney - 159 Harry Kane - 149

Alan Shearer - 139   Thierry Henry - 138

Robbie Fowler - 135  Michael Owen - 127

Andrew Cole - 110    Sergio Aguero – 102

 

Anyway, to the match against our Europa opponents: Ludogorets Razgrad.

Kane should have scored twice when he headed in a Lucas Moura corner to put us ahead. Kane then set up Moura for our second before being replaced at the interval as we completely conquered the Bulgarian champions.

As you good readers know, our man in charge was furious last week with his side's wishy-washy presentation in Antwerp. This time around, he was rewarded with a controlled and ruthless first-half showcase. Nevertheless, our opponents were able to reply early in the 50^th minute in the second half through Claudiu Keseru. But his goal went against the run of play, as Giovani lo Celso's tap-in ended a routine win that puts us back in contention in Group J.

The Ludogorets defence had no answer to Kane's ability but did see an early miss with him shooting over after a pass from Harry Winks. Kane then hit the post from 25 yards but beat Gareth Bale to a corner to head in goal number 200; his first goal was against Shamrock Rovers.

We are blessed with attacking talent this season, this was demonstrated as Son set up the third for Lo Celso just 17 seconds after coming on. No wonder Lewis & Levy are prepared to break the bank to keep him at the club (Spurs want to offer him a new contract).

As for Bale, well he showed promising signs of reaching full sharpness, starting the move for Moura's goal and going close with a free-kick, while Carlos Vinicius was raw but threatening,

Steven Bergwijn also came on, but Dele Alli was left on the bench as we coasted to a needed win in our group.

Mourinho had won the Europa League trophy with Manchester United, so could we end our silverware drought in Gdansk next May? In fact, hopefully, we can win trophies before that final (we are still in contention for the FA & League Cup, and don’t forget the Premier League). Of course, we can, think positive, think silverware. Whether we will be there or not is a mute question. But let us hope, with fingers crossed that we will be at the final because Spurs will also be there.

Kane now has his sights and is focusing on Smith & Greaves record.

Two hundred in 300 games, 101 in his last 135, 100 away from home - Kane's goalscoring record bears comparison with the all-time greats. So, therefore, next in his sights is our 1961 double-winner Smith, who scored 208 times between 1955 and 1964, with overall record holder Greaves at least another season away on 266.

The stats

We picked up only our second away win in our last 10 away Europa League matches (W2 D2 L6).

Ludogorets have lost their last five Europa League matches, their worst ever losing run in the competition.

Harry Kane is the top-scoring Premier League player in all competitions this season, netting 12 goals in 13 appearances, with only Robert Lewandowski scoring as many for a team in Europe's top five leagues (also 12 for Bayern Munich).

Harry Kane has been directly involved in 22 goals in just 13 appearances in all competitions for Spurs this season (12 goals, 10 assists).

Including qualifiers, Jose Mourinho has won 15 of his 21 matches in the Europa League with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur (71% - W15 D3 L3).

Ludogorets striker Claudiu Keseru has been directly involved in 12 goals in 15 Europa League group stage starts (10 goals, 2 assists).

So, there you have it. A well earned win to go with our Premier League win against Brighton last Sunday.

What next?

Now we brush ourselves down with a damp cloth we are now prepared for Sunday's 12 O'Clock encounter with WBA (A). And if we should – and hopefully we will – win that game then we will go temporarily on top of the Premier League.

After our game against WBA

Leicester City v Wolverhampton Wanderers

Manchester City v Liverpool

And Arsenal take on Aston Villa.

Let us hope that Wolves beat Leicester, Man City win or draw against Liverpool; as for Arsenal and Aston Villa, well they can go and… ffffuuu… erm, draw.

There you have it, until Saturday when I preview the WBA game, take care, look after yourselves and be safe.

Best Regards, Glenn