Harry Kane tightens grip on Golden Boot to give Spurs something to be proud of
By Sean Walsh
From Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - For the final time (hopefully ever), Spurs graced their home turf without a crowd backing them on Sunday.
Their game with Wolves came little over 24 hours after fans protested against ENIC's ownership and Daniel Levy's leadership outside the ground.
The initial announcement of the club's intention to join the European Super League was the last straw for some corners of the fanbase. Since then, Tottenham's late push for a top four finish has collapsed and they've lost another cup final. Understandably, tensions have been running high.
Harry Kane's uncertain future is also casting a pretty big shadow over this part of north London, too. The possibility that he may leave and the goals that he's still continuing to score at a silly rate are the worst and best things in Spurs' short-term future.
It makes sense that the club's second-highest goalscorer of all time, one of their three best players ever (it's him, Glenn Hoddle and Jimmy Greaves in the pantheon in some order) has that much power. At a time where fans are demanding a place on the board - and they've got their wish - it's fitting that one of their own has had so much of a say in this era of Tottenham Hotspur.
If Kane were just another world class player then maybe a potential departure wouldn't seem like the be-all and end-all. But his affinity with the club sets him apart and he's the last thing Spurs fans are tribalistic about (believe me, even I've been there).
Kane's strike in Sunday's 2-0 win over Wolves - where he held off the advances of Conor Coady and rounded Rui Patricio just to give himself a better angle to shoot - took him to 22 Premier League goals for the season, solely leading in the race for the Golden Boot once again.
It's Kane's highest return since the 2017/18 season when he reached the 30-goal mark, when he was widely considered the best striker on this planet. After two seasons battling various knee and muscle injuries, the England captain has hit his second peak. A third Premier League Golden Boot would tie him with Alan Shearer with the second-most in history, and leave him one behind Thierry Henry - that's the company Kane keeps.
While the scoring race isn't wrapped up quite yet (Mohamed Salah remains one goal behind and you wouldn't bet against Bruno Fernandes or Son Heung-min going absolutely ballistic over the next seven days), Kane's consistency over the course of the season has propelled him into Player of the Year debates and he has been a constant shining light in a mixed campaign for Spurs.
Kane also remains on course to become the first player in Premier League history to top both the goal and assist charts in the same season, testament to the extra layer of selflessness he's added to his game. It used to be the odd ping every game, but now he's truly the complete striker.
Leicester's FA Cup win on Saturday brought about questions over Spurs and Kane's success (you know, the 'what have they won' brigade). Come the end of the season when Tottenham's campaign wraps up at the King Power Stadium, the Golden Boot, the Playmaker of the Season award and the various Player of the Year awards may be the only things added to the striker's cabinet, but that's still something for Spurs fans to be proud about.
For more from Sean Walsh, follow him on Twitter!