NORMAN GILLER’S SPURS ODYSSEY BLOG No 429
Submitted by Norman Giller

A word in the shell-like of Spurs executive Daniel Levy: drop everything you are doing and sit down right now with record goal scorer Harry Kane and handcuff him to Spurs for the rest of his playing career. Copy Chelsea, and sign him to an eight-year contract, paying him the king's ransom that he has earned.

Don't 'do a Greavsie' and let him go when his heart is so obviously with the club. Harry is Tottenham through and through, and there is not a single Spurs fan who would want to see him playing in any other club shirt.

Despite any denials you may read, Harry was convinced he was joining Manchester City last season. But Levy blocked the move simply by refusing to take any telephone calls from anybody connected with the Etihad.

City were not allowed to negotiate and so they switched to Erling Haaland, who was totally overshadowed yesterday by Harry and his record 267th goal for Spurs. Manchester United then took over as favourites to sign him, but Harry is ready to tie himself to Tottenham provided he gets the right terms.

Over to you, Danny boy!

The love – adoration, call it what you will – was palpable for Harry last night, not only from the Spurs fans but his team-mates, who clearly admire and are fond of a modest man whose England caps are the same size now as when the won his first one in 2015.

When he overtakes Alan Shearer's 260-goal Premier League record we will want it to be while wearing a Spurs shirt

My old git generation will always hold Jimmy Greaves up as the greatest goalscorer we ever saw, but Harry has stunned us by beating what we thought was an unmatchable Jimmy record, and there are a load of goals still left in his golden boots.

Mr. Levy must make sure those goals are scored for Tottenham.

Typical of the Jimmy Greaves family, his widow Irene said last night: 'Please let everybody know that Jimmy would have been delighted to see Harry take his record and that comes from not only me but Lynn, Danny, Andy and Mitzi. We are so proud that the record stood for 50 years.'

Danny underlined the sentiment when he addressed the crowd by video during Paul Coyte's excellent interview after yesterday's match, with few people leaving the ground because they wanted to be hugged by the atmosphere set by Harry and his extraordinary goal-scoring feat.

Our guru Paul H. Smith tells the story of how Harry overtook Jimmy's record HERE, and he shares with me the excitement of seeing a Spurs side playing to its full potential. The only bad news, of course, was that City's defeat leaves them trailing that other North London club at the top of the table.

Remember, the season is only just over halfway through and while we have Harry, Sonny and ginger magician Dejan Kulusevski operating as a three-man attack there is not a defence that will face Spurs with any confidence.

What was most encouraging yesterday was the midfield combination of Bentancur and the irrepressible Hojbjerg, whose assist work on Harry's crucial, history-making goal was world class.

But my personal man of the match was Emerson Royal, who worked his legs off to stop the menacing Jack Grealish running wild and found time to prompt the attack with adventurous runs down the right flank. The arrival of the benched Pedro Porro has given the enigmatic Brazilian new motivation to prove he is worth his first-team place.

It must all have pumped up Antonio Conte as he sat at home recovering from his gall bladder surgery. He should be back for the Premier League match at Leicester on Saturday and then the Champions League challenge from AC Milan in Italy on the following Tuesday.

I was delighted that the planned demonstration against Levy, Joe Lewis and ENIC was a damp squib. The moaners and groaners are in a noisy minority and yesterday's pathetic turn out of protesters proved it.

My stance has continually been 'better the devil you know' and we could be in much less capable hands.

Daniel could do himself a great favour by announcing that he has Harry Kane signed for the foreseeable future. That would be a Harry-style kick in the what's-its for the critics, who should find something better to do than constantly carping. One day they will find themselves old and wondering what they did with the summertime of their lives. Giller mantra coming up: Get behind the team, not in its way.

COYS!

Week 23 of our ninth year of Spurs Odyssey Quiz League challenges:

Who made his Tottenham debut as a substitute in a 4-1 win against Southampton last summer, has won 28 international caps and which Spurs shirt number does he wear?

Please email your answer to me at soqleague@gmail.com with Quiz Week 23 as the subject heading. Deadline midnight this Friday. I will respond to all who participate, taking time off from writing my next book: The G-Men, an intimate close-up of Greavsie and Gilzean.

The rules are the same as in previous seasons. I ask a two-pronged question with three points at stake – two for identifying the player and one for the supplementary question. In the closing weeks of the competition I break the logjam of all-knowing Spurs-history experts with a tie-breaking poser that is based on opinion rather than fact. That’s when I lose the few friends that I have. But, hey, it's fun. Please join in.

This year’s prizes for the champion will be announced later in the season, but most important of all, they will include a framed certificate announcing the winner as 2023 SOQL champion.

Last week … Week 22: Who won four England caps, followed his father into professional football, helped Tottenham win the 1999 League Cup and which club did he join in 2001?

Answer: Ian Walker, the fine goalkeeper who played against Leicester City in the 1999 League Cup final and then joined them two years later.

See you back here next Monday. COYS!

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