Opinion: The reason why Harry Kane will never succeed in Gareth Southgate's England team
When it was first announced that former England international defender Gareth Southgate had been given the job as the new England manager, there was a widely mixed reaction from the England fans.
Many felt he would just be another "yes" man, doing as he was told, and selecting the players he was supposed to, while others felt that he could be the perfect man to bring through the next generation of England stars, due to his success as the U21 manager.
Earlier this year we had the World Cup and Gareth Southgate seemed to win over a number of the doubters, with England reaching the semi finals, giving hope to many of the fans who simply hold reaching the semi finals over the actual results and performances.
England should have walked their way to the World Cup final, but following average performances and some lucky results, they finally found out that they were not as good as the fans seemed to think, although they still managed to receive a heroes welcome for some reason.
While it is fair to say that Gareth Southgate is bringing through plenty of youngsters and giving youth a chance, it is now becoming more and more clear that he does not have the tactical awareness to succeed on the international scene.
Gareth seems to set his team out with a plan, and then struggles to come up with new ideas and changes of play when it is clear that his tactics are not working. Then there is his issue with knowing how to use his greatest weapon in the England squad.
Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane has proven time and again that he is one of the greatest goal scorers that the country has ever produced, and he manages to score for fun every season with his club, yet he seems to look a bit lost when he is playing for England, with the fans wrongly getting on his back and claiming he puts his club before his country, which is not fair and not true.
The real problem with Harry Kane struggling to perform to the best of his abilities for England is the lack of tactical knowledge and ability of England manager Gareth Southgate.
Harry Kane is a goal machine and he will bag goals everywhere he goes from now until he retires in the future, and he would do the same for England if he was used right. Gareth Southgate should be making Harry the focal point of the England team and making sure the players create the chances for him, which he would definitely take.
Instead though, it seems that the England manager instead prefers to get the love for bringing through the youngsters and playing round Harry Kane.
Yes it is nice to see Gareth Southgate bringing the youngsters through, but if it is to put the focus on them rather than on Harry Kane, then things are not going to work out well. When is the Gareth Southgate loving going to come to an end?
The England team needs a manager who has actual tactical nous, and will play to the strengths of Harry Kane, rather than simply bringing in youngsters and hoping for the best. Harry Kane has all the makings of an England all-time great, just not under the leadership of Gareth Southgate!