Harry Kane is going to go down as one of the best centre forwards of his generation and perhaps one of the best there has ever been. It will be strange then if he ends his career with no major trophies although given his trajectory it seems that a flurry of trophies are just round the corner. It is however incredible to see that Kane still has no trophies at the age of 30 and soon to be 31. When you play for Tottenham it is true that silverware is going to be hit and miss, a cup here or there but the club have won nothing major for 17 years. Kane has come close with an unlikely appearance in the 2019 Champions League final when Tottenham were beaten by Premier League rivals Liverpool and then England reached Euro 2020 final when they lost on penalties against Italy.
When Kane joined Bayern Munich it seemed like a trophy hunt was certainly on the cards given Bayern's dominance in the Bundesliga but in his debut season they were knocked out early of the DFB Pokal Cup and have come up against Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen side who have taken a huge 10 point lead over Bayern and have quite frankly been much better than them. What is Kane to do? Well Bayern have at least reached the quarter finals of the Champions League as they knocked out Lazio this week due to another two goals by Kane. Kane has scored 33 goals in 33 games and has 27 goals in 24 league games he has been absolutely phenomenal for Bayern and he has instantly gone down as a cult hero in Germany. In the next few seasons surely we will be replacing cult by legend. Kane has adapted incredibly well to a new league and different culture with such ease it is fair to say that he has to be regarded as one of the best centre forwards in world football, if not the best. In that department he is doing his job. But there will always be the nagging feeling of critics shouting over his shoulder, 'but where are the trophies'? It is true that given Bayern's dominance in Germany it almost seems like a curse that they are most probably not going to win the league this year, just as Kane arrives. But watch out because when the first trophy falls, the rest are going to follow and there should be many of them. This season isn't yet over for Kane. There is the Champions League to look forward to and a certain European Championships with England- 2024 could still end up being one of the very best years in Kane's career. As for him doing his job, we start to run out of words at just how good Kane is at scoring goals, as a side note he also comes off as a very humble and nice human being, in fact Kane is ticking all the boxes.
To win the Champions League: Manchester City 2.75, Real Madrid 5.00, Bayern Munich 6.00, Arsenal 8.00, Inter Milan 11.00
Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has been banned from football for four years for testing positive for testosterone. Media have reported that it is a sad end to his career as Pogba will be 35 when the ban ends. It would have been a sad end given if this was the 1990s but with players being able to extend their careers even until their very early 40s through sports science Pogba will be back. He may never play for one of the biggest clubs in world football ever again, but there will be teams willing to sign him and still pay good money for a former World Cup winner. That sensationalism aside, questions remain; should Pogba be banned? If so, should his ban be four years? After an investigation it has been proven that Pogba has taken the banned substance, so a ban should stay. Pogba has always claimed his innocence but perhaps the panel have been aggressive in banning him for four years as he has not held his hand up and admitted guilt. So Pogba will now appeal and we have seen time and again when you go to the highest courts to appeal you have a good chance of reducing a ban and or fine.
No player should be able to 'cheat' but one has to ask because no one else has- is Pogba's a special case? This is a player who was flying in midfield albeit not consistently for both Manchester United and France but was still able to demand transfer fees of almost £100m and then he was kidnapped by his brother and had a gun pointed at his face, all for money. How does that not affect you mentally? A family torn apart through success? A kidnap? Possible death? Pogba lost a lot of playing time at his then club Juventus. The banned substance which can help with performance and recovery would have been tempting to take to get him back on the road to recovery, he is after all just human and has just been through an unhuman experience. Perhaps the panel that decides such bans have not taken any of this into account. Pogba is no criminal but he has made a terrible mistake. Suggestion, ban him for six months, even a season, any longer? What does that serve to destroy someone's career? It is true that the drug is banned and should not be taken and that Pogba deserves to be punished even if he does have a special case in the background, but perhaps we should remember that every case in every disciplinary hearing cannot be treated with the same methods.
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