Harry Kane scored two minutes into his England debut! So, as we all know, this means England will go on to win the Euros, the next World Cup, and maybe even the next series of Hell’s Kitchen.
The Spur’s strikers goal was the eighth scored by a substitute under Roy Hodgson, and this puts Kane in the ‘one-cap wonder’ club alongside ‘prolific talents’ like Francis Jeffers, David Nugent and the irrepressible Danny Wallace.
Fear not, English fans, ‘Alan Shearer 2.0’ is here. Well, that is what the British sports tabloids would have you believe. So far this season, Kane has netted 29 goals for Spurs, and his enthusiasm to display his qualities on the international stage is evident.
But, in the words of Rooney, “he hasn’t even played a full season in the Premier League yet, we have to give him room to breathe rather than smothering him and demanding a lot at an early age. We should give him time. Let him continue to do what he is doing and that will be the best way to get the best out of him,”
A few years ago, according to a well known sports journalist, England had discovered “The New Gazza,” a player destined to dazzle and delight. Ross Barkley was the man being compared to the deeply flawed Paul Gascoigne. The Everton youngster was ready to guide the Three Lion troops out of the realms of mediocrity.
Long before Barkley was christened England’s newest hero, rather foolishly, Joe Cole was labelled the next Trevor Francis, the forever injured Kieron Dyer was called the new Peter Taylor, Lee Hendrie was the new Paul Merson, and Emile Heskey was earmarked as England’s answer to Romario. (Okay, so the last comparison is incorrect) Out of all these predictions, not one of them proved to be correct, not even close, even if Heskey did have a Romario like 45 minutes for Liverpool against Shrewsbury Town F.C. back in the 00’s.
Although Ross Barkley is an undoubted talent, prematurely labelling him “the most naturally gifted English midfielder since Gazza” neither benefits him nor the game of football.
Any English youngster to get promoted to the senior team automatically draws comparisons to retired greats, especially those with an attacking game.
Jack Rodwell experienced it for long periods, as did Aaron Lennon, briefly, but, before Kane’s arrival, the most obvious current comparison is Ross Barkley.
It really underlines the state of English football when Paul Gascoigne is the most ‘recent’ comparison for emerging talent. Let’s remember one thing: Gazza was at his best well over 20 years ago, and Barkley wasn’t even conceived when the controversial midfielder lit up Italia ’90.
Nostalgia and romantic notions seem to have hampered the media’s memory.
Paul Gascoigne was a class act, but let’s put it in perspective: He had one impressive World Cup, scored a few memorable FA Cup goals, and did one piece of magic in the Euros against Scotland. For all his ability, Gazza only ever won pointless Scottish silverware and the FA Cup with Spurs. Mainly thanks to feckless self-abuse, just like George Best, Gazza failed to fulfil his true potential.
With Barkley anonymous in 2015, it’s hard to believe that he was regularly cited as the most gifted attacking talent to emerge in the modern, English game.
Journalists in Germany, France, Spain and Italy are far slower to label an exciting prospect the next Klinsmann, Zidane, Iniesta, or Andrea Pirlo.
Even with Paul Pogba, one of the most supremely gifted midfielders in the game, the French media are cautious to heap lavish praise on such young shoulders.
Two decades on from his heyday, why does Paul Gascoigne’s name keep popping up. Could it be the fact that almost every other dribbling deity has come from abroad? Marc Overmars, Dennis Bergkamp, David Ginola, Jay-Jay Okocha, Thierry Henry, Gianfranco Zola, Robert Pires, Cristiano Ronaldo, the list goes on.
Perhaps Raheem Sterling is the man to get fans off their seats once more. His trickery and assist for Harry Kane’s first senior goal was a joy to behold.
Young players need time, and this is something the English media must acknowledge. Needless comparisons must be ignored.
