On the site of the old White Hart Lane, under the dazzling glow of the modern home of Tottenham Hotspur, Spurs fans of a certain vintage still marvel with wide-eyed affection at tales of the goalscoring magic of Jimmy Greaves.
It was a record that seemed untouchable, but now this generation has its own hero etched in lilywhite folklore – a one-season wonder turned England captain who scaled the dizzying landmark set by the legendary Greaves.
Harry Kane’s career may not have produced team silverware so far, but it has seen the striker hit the back of the net at a relentless pace since his first breakout for Spurs. under Tim Sherwood at the end of the 2013-14 season.
The 29-year-old’s 266 goals for Tottenham have come in 415 games. Greaves reached that figure in 379 appearances for Spurs, but arrived in north London as one of the game’s most revered strikers after a short but still prolific spell at AC Milan.
Greaves had already scored 124 times in 157 top-flight games for Chelsea before his short-lived Italian experience, and picked up where he left off for Bill Nicholson’s two-time winners Tottenham’s side with a hat-trick to his debut after completing a £99,000 move from San Siro.
If Greaves’ goalscoring legacy is that of a striker with exceptional natural talent, Kane’s will be the reward of perseverance, resilience and graft.
Shunned by Arsenal and Watford as a youngster, Kane ‘wasn’t even on the podium’ when he first joined Spurs, let alone being one of the ‘gold medal-winning’ talents in his career. age group, according to former Tottenham youth team manager Alex Inglethorpe.
“He had great technique – an ability to pass, receive and shoot – but if there was one thing that he loved it was that he was very, very low maintenance,” Inglethorpe added. .
“We just had to keep giving him opportunities to get good at what he needed – to improve up front, to improve on his left side. That obsession to improve is undoubtedly his biggest strength. .”
After making his debut for Spurs in a Europa League qualifier against Hearts in 2011, the lanky young product – still molding into the body of the elite athlete he would become – won a penalty to see him saved.
He stood out in a Tottenham shirt in the same competition against Shamrock Rovers a few months later, but humble but educational loan spells at Millwall, Norwich and Leicester all followed before Kane grabbed his big break under Sherwood.
Former Spurs striker Les Ferdinand, who worked alongside Sherwood with the club’s Under-21s, compared Kane’s move to Teddy Sheringham and said he kicked the ball like Alan Shearer, while Sherwood saw a player surpass the club record at the time by signing Roberto Soldado in training.
“Harry wanted to get to the top, and nothing was going to stop him from achieving that because of the ability, the desire and the mentality that he has,” Sherwood said.
“He needed to work on honing his feet around the box, so we spent a lot of time doing sessions where he needed to move his feet a bit faster, open up space and shoot both ways.
“But he also had the knack of being aware of the players around him and the intelligence to slide people off. He could see a pass and he could execute it.”
When Mauricio Pochettino arrived that summer, however, he felt Kane was not ready for first-team football, instead reverting to Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor.
After not making the bench against West Brom, Kane went to see the Argentine and his coaching staff and was greeted with tons of video analysis showing the 20-year-old where he needed to improve to win the confidence of the new boss.
In November, after a hat-trick against Asteras Tripoli – and a spell in goal – Pochettino trusted Kane and the young striker responded by scoring a free-kick which the manager credits with ‘saving’ his career and giving him time to recover. implement his project at Tottenham.
The 90th-minute substitute’s deflected winner at Aston Villa was the first of 21 Premier League goals for Kane that season, which also included iconic doubles against Chelsea and Arsenal, netting 31 times in all competitions before be voted PFA Young Player of the. Year.
The goals have been chained since. Three Premier League Golden Boots, to complement the one he won at the 2018 World Cup with England, and five times in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year.
“Harry Kane is a special player in the history of the club,” said José Mourinho while coaching Tottenham. “He will break all possible records.”
He scored all kinds of goals for Spurs. Most, 164, came with his right foot, but there were 51 from the striker’s weaker side, 49 with his head and even two classified as ‘others’.
Some 235 were scored inside the box, including 39 penalties and 31 outside, but this effort against Villa during Pochettino’s reign remains the only free-kick.
The shapely local lad – born in Leytonstone just 20 minutes from Greaves – even managed to ride out the storm created by his previous angling for a transfer to Manchester City, with his relentless thirst for goals healing the wounds of fans of the Spurs who always proudly label Kane “one of us”.
“Just a one-season wonder,” chanted the winger at Craven Cottage as Kane moved on alongside Greaves with a reliable clinical winner against Fulham. Always the talisman, it was his 199th Premier League goal in his 300th appearance in the competition for Spurs.
“To score the goal and tie the record was a nice feeling,” Kane told BBC Sport in typically low-key fashion, thinking instead of another chance he saw saved that would have shattered it.
Former Spurs striker Gary Lineker was more expansive with his praise: “What an incredible achievement for Harry Kane to equal the great Jimmy Greaves as Tottenham’s all-time leading goalscorer. doesn’t make him less of a footballer.”
Greaves was a different striker to Kane – he was fast, elegant, could dribble and scored sublime solo efforts. His friend and author, Norman Giller, called him “Messi with bells” – but both attackers have redefined their position in their own right. Greaves as a modern England striker of his time, Kane as a goalscorer who is also his team’s chief creator, winning the Premier League Playmaker of the Season award in 2020-21 for his 14 assists.
“At the end of his career, he will become Tottenham’s greatest player,” ex-Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher hailed on Sky Sports.
After equaling Greaves’ record at Tottenham, Kane is just a shy of joining Shearer and Wayne Rooney in the Premier League’s 200-goal club and will be aiming to topple Shearer’s record in the Premier League competition. 260 goals.
Even if that legendary figure is reached, Greaves’ record as the all-time top scorer in the English top flight is sure to remain elusive – an incredible 357 goals scored in spells with Chelsea, Tottenham and West Ham – but you can bet that Kane will never stop chasing him.
