I want players that love the shirt

The term ‘mercenary’ is often thrown around in a derogatory manner towards the players of clubs like Manchester City and Chelsea. Their players’ loyalty is somehow more questionable because they have the most money. However, in reality nearly every Premier League player is a mercenary and would jump ship to another club as soon as it was convenient to them.

Is Samir Nasri more of a mercenary than someone like Leonardo Ulloa? Of course not, they’re both just doing their job for their current employer. The truth is that there are just a few players in England today who really seem to love the club they play for.

Every club, though, has its share of players, past and present, who endear themselves to the fans beyond the level their talent would suggest. Not always legends, but cult heroes who have a clear connection with the fans like Steffen Freund or Paul Robinson at Spurs.

[linequote]The truth is that there are just a few players in England today who really seem to love the club they play for[/linequote]

Tottenham, at the end of last season, had four truly likeable players: Lewis Holtby, Michael Dawson, Heurelho Gomes and Sandro. All of them were sold over the summer. The result was a Spurs side filled with new recruits and those players who get less love from the fans, creating a squad with very little personality that was difficult to really enjoy watching.

Step forward Harry Edward Glenn Cyril Osvaldo Kane. I may have made two or three of those middle names up.

After impressing last year in smaller games, Kane became Tottenham’s third striker in January 2014 when Jermain Defoe was sold to Toronto. In the remaining half-season Kane saw some Premier League game time and scored three goals, as well as impressing with his all-round play.

Coming into the new season though, many were hopeful Spurs would upgrade on Harry Kane; concerned that, with an African Cup of Nations in January, he might not be up to the challenge when we have to call on him. Yours truly, on the other hand, predicted that Kane would score more goals this season than £16m walking controversy-magnet Mario Balotelli. If only I’d written that down somewhere.

[fullquote]The moment Kane progressed along the Tottenham folklore ladder was the moment he took Hugo Lloris’ disgraced shirt – captain’s armband and all [/fullquote]

Kane’s gone from strength to strength this season, reaching new career heights with a fine hattrick in the Europa League against Asteras Tripolis. But that wasn’t the moment he became a true cult hero. Cult heroes don’t score hattricks, quality strikers do.

The moment Harry Kane progressed along the Tottenham folklore ladder from ‘punchline’ to ‘kid’ to ‘promising kid’ to having his name chanted when not on the pitch, was the moment he took Hugo Lloris’ disgraced shirt – captain’s armband and all – and took his turn between the sticks.

In a perfect blend of Glenn Hoddle wearing a too-big green keeper’s shirt running to celebrate a win at Old Trafford, and Steffen Freund attempting a 30 yard left-footed volley, Kane eagerly but awfully spilled a tame freekick into his own net, securing his status as your favourite Spurs player.

See, the fact that he’s actually pretty good is totally irrelevant. It doesn’t matter that he has seven goals in his last seven games or that he’s scoring 90th minute winners in the league. What matters is that he’s a lad from Walthamstow, playing for Spurs and looking like he loves every single second of it. The fact that he looks a bit dopey is just a bonus.

It means he’s only truly appreciated by Spurs fans and that’s what defines a player who has a good connection with the supporters. When Emmanuel Adebayor scores a goal you cheer and applaud. When Harry Kane scores a goal he celebrates harder than you do. For Adebayor it’s a job. For Kane it’s a dream.

The other player in the Spurs squad who has the potential to be as loved as Harry Kane is a man who’s so Tottenham his middle name actually is Glen. Ryan Mason is a name you never would’ve been entirely surprised to have heard accompanied by the words “completes a permanent move to Swindon” in the past, but has surprised many, including myself, in nailing down a first team place in a Tottenham side that has spent £32m on Paulinho and Dembele in recent years.

[linequote]Mason has surprised many, including myself, in nailing down a first team place in a Tottenham side that has spent £32m on Paulinho and Dembele[/linequote]

Mason was the best player on the park against Aston Villa, even before managing to get Christian Benteke sent off for patting Mason’s face. He’s a fighter in the middle of the park, he isn’t afraid to bollock £30m players for not tracking back and he scored a 30 yard screamer to win a cup tie before making his league debut away at Arsenal and nearly breaking Mesut Ozil’s leg.

Those are the kind of things that mean a great deal to the thousands of people that travel for miles and pay through the nose to watch Tottenham continually snatch failure from the jaws of glory.

In the desire for Tottenham to become the best team they can be, we should never forget what’s really important to have in your football club. We sacrifice the white space on our beautiful shirts to advertising, we shunt the cockerel to the side to make room for a manufacturer’s logo and we hire mercenaries from all corners of the globe all because we crave success so badly.

We give up a little bit of what makes the club great in the search for glory, but if searching for success at all costs means severing my emotional connection to this great club then count me out. Give me Mason supplying Kane in the Championship any day.