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Kane scored 30 goals last season as Tottenham finished 8th in the league <\/p>\n
Tottenham are top of the Premier League, but that\u2019s not even the point. Spurs have been refreshed and it feels as if making the ultimate change of selling Kane has accelerated how Postecoglou has been able to transform the club within just two months. There has been no hangover or feeling that Tottenham have been left behind. Insead there has been the opposite: Tottenham, as a team that plays with confidence and spirit, are unrecognisable to the confused mess of last season that Kane left.<\/p>\n
But if Spurs\u2019s early-season success has been unexpected, there is little about Kane\u2019s immediate impact at Bayern that comes as a surprise. The 30-year-old already has 12 Bundesliga goals in nine appearances, a further two in the Champions League, and has seven assists as well. Bayern may have some issues under Thomas Tuchel \u2013 they aren\u2019t the perfectly oiled machine of recent years but a club with 10 consecutive Bundesliga titles to their name have been given a lift by the arrival of a genuine superstar. If that seems grandiose, just look at what Kane did at the weekend.<\/p>\n
Bayern and Germany are falling in love with the England captain, in awe of the presence of a world-class striker. Kane\u2019s transition has been eased by the fact he is a star among stars. Yet Kane\u2019s goal from the halfway line and latest standout moment from Germany was delivered at an opportune time, for \u2013 rather strangely \u2013 there have started to be whispers of people thinking and then declaring out loud that Tottenham are better without Kane.<\/p>\n
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Harry Kane scores from behind the halfway line against SV Darmstadt<\/p>\n
Now that is a good joke, though one that would have been easy enough to fall into after Tottenham went five points clear at the top of the Premier League table on Friday night. It is instead the ethos of Postecoglou\u2019s approach helps to understand why Tottenham are not better without Kane, but just different. In an astonishingly quick timeframe, the Australian has implemented a mindset that focuses on the system rather than the individual. Yet by doing that, it has allowed the improvements of individuals within that system to cover for the loss of a club legend like Kane.<\/p>\n
Selhurst Park was an interesting example. While Tottenham would almost certainly have won that match with Kane, the way Spurs were able to break through a stubborn Crystal Palace defence \u2013 by keeping the ball, staying patient in their plan and targeting the wide areas \u2013 was illustrative of the shift in mentality that has occurred since the summer.<\/p>\n
To play like that requires individuals to place the system above themselves, which is not to suggest Kane was ever selfish or put himself above the team, rather the opposite. Whereas in situations such as Friday, when Spurs were shut out and frustrated in the first half at Selhurst Park, Tottenham might have previously deferred to Kane, relied on him to do something extraordinary or take a chance from nowhere.<\/p>\n
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Postecoglou\u2019s Spurs lead the way after 10 games <\/p>\n
There is a greater share of responsibility now, as emphasised by how James Maddison has literally stepped into Kane\u2019s No 10 shirt. Tottenham have shown an ability to figure out tricky situations as a team. If pressing brought both goals against Fulham last week, creating overloads won Postecoglou\u2019s side the match at Crystal Palace. It was by design, but Postecoglou has given his players the belief and confidence that they can find solutions for themselves. That, rather than Kane\u2019s departure, is the difference from previous seasons where players were afraid of making mistakes under Antonio Conte or Jose Mourinho, for fear of being cast aside.<\/p>\n
There are other factors, too. Tottenham are obviously better because of Postecoglou\u2019s impact in the transfer market. Unlike previous managers at Spurs, he has not only signed the right players and used them correctly, but improved others already at the club. Tottenham are perhaps better this season because they are benefitting from missing out on European football altogether and having a lighter schedule. Whatever it is, Spurs fans are beginning to dream.<\/p>\n
As for Kane, he is a striker who rarely gives anyone much of a reason to forget about him for long. The goals will continue to flow, a trophy or two may follow this season. It won\u2019t be at Tottenham but as long as Kane is replaced with something this new and exciting, it\u2019s hardly worth thinking about. <\/p>\n