Damn, it’s behind a paywall
There’s nothing like the smell in the morning of an old-school English football columnist invoking the spirit of a newly deceased England legend so he can bash a foreign player for diving. Never mind that Nobby Stiles was frequently a ruthless, dirty bastard on the field of play, and not actually the guardian of football ethics.
- When shifty Mo Salah cons the referee to win a penalty, as he did against West Ham on Saturday, it’s an affront to association football and the spirit of 1966!
- When Sir Harry Kane cons the referee to win a penalty, as he did against Brighton on Sunday, it’s Kane, one of our own, being smart.
Anyway, this is a handy reminder to never pay attention to the dissonant, prejudiced ramblings of Tony Cascarino in The Times. Even if Cascarino had written his column before the Spurs v Brighton game, the gist is clear.
Apropos, Kane is going to seriously injure someone if he persists in his tactic of checking the defender’s position, then backing into him as he jumps to compete for the ball. E.g.:
Kane isn’t unique in doing this of course, but he does seem to do it a lot, because he’s England’s Harry Kane and it works. Jose Mourinho would definitely approve.