Making his 100th appearance on Tuesday night, Harry Kane scored his 67th and 68th goals for England. Those are staggering numbers. He now has a comfortable lead in England’s all-time goalscoring charts and lies joint 27th for all countries combined. Why then, is Kane not lauded in the same way that strikers of the past were? 

There is some revisionism of course. Michael Owen, for example, was often criticised in his later years; so too was Wayne Rooney. Both are now remembered fondly. Kane may yet enjoy a retirement of wall-to-wall praise.

But critics remain. Some argued that his performances in the European championships were lethargic. That may have been somewhat true on this occasion, but the same criticism cannot be applied to his performances in previous tournaments. His goalscoring record at World Cups and European Championships is, like his record everywhere else, very good.

Kane’s style of play undoubtedly rubs fans up the wrong way at times. His ‘ability’ to buy a foul, to back into defenders, to go down easily, riled many an opposition fan during his time in the premier league. That reputation is hard to shake off. Many England fans like their heroes to be old school, hardworking and strong.

Another criticism aimed at Kane is that he has scored most of his goals against lower ranked teams. This, by the way, was also aimed at Rooney at the end of his career. So, is there any truth to it? Well, let’s crunch the numbers. Listed below are England’s top five goalscorers since the FIFA world rankings were introduced in 1992, ordered by the average world ranking of the opponents they scored against:

1. Michael Owen – Average Ranking: 45 (40 goals, 89 games)

Famous goals against Germany, Argentina, and Brazil mean that Owen ranks favourably against his peers. Despite a sparkling record, many think Owen could have gone on to achieve even greater things at international level had he not been hampered by injuries.

2. Alan Shearer – Average Ranking: 48 (30 goals, 63 games)

In only 63 games for England, Shearer made a habit of scoring against opponents that could best be described as solid. He netted braces against the USA, Netherlands, Poland, and Portugal, who were ranked a lowly 39th at the time.

3. Frank Lampard – Average Ranking: 60 (29 goals, 106 games)

England’s leading attacking midfielder scored important goals against highly ranked France, Germany (not that one, of course), Croatia and Spain. Unfortunately, when he bagged the winner against Brazil in 2013, they were ranked only 18th.

4. Harry Kane – Average Ranking: 63 (68 goals, 100 games)

Thirteen goals against teams outside the top 100 lower the average ranking of Kane’s opponents to 63. But having scored against the likes of France, Croatia, and Italy, it is not as if goals against superior teams have been sparse.

5. Wayne Rooney – Average Ranking: 69 (53 goals, 120 games)

Propping up the list is Rooney with five goals against San Marino and two against Andorra. Rooney’s propensity for scoring important goals declined somewhat as his career progressed, perhaps coinciding with a deeper playstyle and, frankly, a weaker team alongside him.

N.B. Alan Shearer’s first two international goals against France and Turkey were prior to the introduction of the rankings and have been excluded from the calculation. 

Other great goalscorers such as Bobby Charlton and Gary Lineker belonged to different eras. Goals against West Germany, Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union are testament to that. Anecdotally, Lineker’s record looks particularly strong. Goals were scored against Argentina, Brazil, West Germany, France, and four against Spain. Though this is offset by four against Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur in 1991. Charlton’s record was flattered somewhat by regular fixtures against the home nations against whom he scored sixteen of his goals. For his world cup performances in 1966 though, public revelry is unconditional. 

There are limitations to this methodology, of course. What if Owen had played six games against San Marino and not scored? That may improve his ranking on this list despite failing to score against the world’s lowest ranked team. He didn’t of course; he never faced them. Similarly, goals per game are not considered, despite that also being a key metric for strikers (and, incidentally, one which reflects well upon Kane).

Nonetheless it does go same way to proving that there is some truth to the Kane critics’ claims.

So how will Kane be remembered? A great goalscorer? Surely, yes. A flat track bully? Based on the above, perhaps. A hero, universally commended by England supporters? Unfortunately, maybe not. And I can understand why.

 

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By Leon Parrott