Harry Kane has re-emerged from the doldrums of the Euros to reclaim the throne of English football.
The two goals against Finland at Wembley this Tuesday night extended his reign as the all-time leading goal-scorer for the country which invented this infernal game.
Our ‘Arry was duly celebrating his 100th England cap. A nation rejoiced. And who cares that the Laplanders played with about as much enthusiasm as a canary for a trip down a coal-mine?
A goal is a goal is a goal and Citizen Kane has bagged 68 of them while wearing the heraldry of the Three Lions.
Bravo. It couldn’t happen to a more decent young man. Now to the debate in the stands and the pubs across the land. Is he the greatest striker in English history?
Harry Kane scored twice on his 100th cap to take his total for England to 68 goals
That argument extends beyond the bare statistic which elevates Kane into lofty contention for the accolade.
Into rarified competition, actually, with the genius who made the complex craft of scoring goals look ridiculously simple while netting above a hundred more goals in senior club football and only 24 less in roughly half as many international appearances.
Jimmy Greaves, by in-depth assessment of the figures, ranks higher. When judged on artistic merit, this will o’ the wisp who on occasion indulged himself by caressing the ball with such delicate precision that it crossed the goal-line without hitting the back of the net, is the supreme maestro of this art.
These are the key numbers:
England – Kane 100 caps 68 goals; Greaves 57 caps 44 goals.
Senior club leagues – Kane 250 goals (213 for Spurs, 37 for Bayern Munich); Greaves 366 goals (124 for Chelsea, 220 for Spurs, 13 for West Ham, 9 for AC Mlian.
Kane was presented with a golden cap to commemorate his 100th game for the Three Lions
He extended his reign as the nation’s all-time leading goal-scorer with a brace against the Finnish on Tuesday at Wembley – but is he the greatest striker in English history?
These are the men:
Kane is more than just height, strength and power. The headers and shots are supplemented by an ability to slip back from No 9 territory to make the passes for moves which create goals for others as well as himself. He has a dominant presence about him which owes as much to personality as well as physique.
Greaves used his head for discerning space where there appeared to be none, drifting into it unnoticed and accelerating at light speed into deadly range of goal.
There was a magician in him. Which left we who had the privilege of watching him at his finest with a sense of wonder at having witnessed something mystical.
Sir Bobby Charlton embodied much of Kane’s awe and the Greaves aura. But even though he was England’s highest goalscorer for the longest period of all the icons, despite being nominally a midfield virtuoso, the stats do not quite add up to the pair at the pinnacle of this leaderboard.
Jimmy Greaves (pictured), by in-depth assessment of the figures, ranks higher than Kane
World Cup winner Sir Bobby Charlton (pictured) embodied much of Kane’s awe
Wayne Rooney was a young phenomenon and was at one point England’s leading scorer
Wayne Rooney was a young phenomenon, Alan Shearer a powerhouse, Gary Lineker a lethal opportunist, Michael Owen a baby-faced assassin.
There also have to be places in this list of England’s top strikers for golden oldies who bestrode an earlier age and while so doing came closer than any of the icons of today to scoring as many goals as they won caps. Especially when bearing in mind the infrequency of international matches in decades gone by.
Namely Tommy Lawton 22 goals in 23 matches; Stan Mortensen 23 in 25, Nat Lofthouse 30 in 33.
Lest we forget, it is important to declare Sir Tom Finney as the greatest of all English footballers. A status of which Bobby Charlton and Bill Shankly, if they were still alive, would be among many reminding us.
The Preston plumber’s 30 goals in 76 England games do not tell the whole story of the legend who played in every midfield and forward position with such majesty that Bobby Charlton and Bill Shankly were among many who constantly reminded us that if assists had been counted into the equation in Finney’s day he would have had thousands to his record.
Alan Shearer (left) was a powerhouse while Gary Lineker (right) a lethal opportunist
Michael Owen a baby-faced assassin for England and Liverpool during his early years
Such rankings as these are always open to change as time goes by. Kane declares himself hungry to raise his goals mountain as well as to overtake Peter Shilton’s record 125 England caps. The years are still on his side as he goes on to challenge Greaves for striker acclamation.
Not that this Prince Harry or any future England centre-forward will ever chase down Cristiano Ronaldo, who has just notched up his 901st senior career goal, or Lionel Messi currently on 838.
Pele will forever trump them all, with goals in three of Brazil’s World Cup triumphs. No matter where the reality sits between the nit-picking stats-men who strive to demean him with 746 logged career goals and FIFA, recognising that in the time of Edson Arantes Do Nascimento records were not fully kept, officially credit him with ‘more than 1,200.’
Meanwhile, herewith our tribute to the 10 greatest England goalscorers. Ever:
10. Tommy Lawton
9. Michael Owen
8. Stan Mortensen
7. Gary Lineker
6. Nat Lofthouse
5. Alan Shearer
4. Wayne Rooney
3. Sir Bobby Charlton
2. Harry Kane
1. Jimmy Greaves
