Tuesday 19 June 2018

WHEN HARRY KANE CAME TO HOME PARK......BUT DIDN'T GET ON THE PITCH!

If you are looking to impress your friends with your knowledge of Harry Kane's career, it might be worth testing them out with these two facts.

Firstly, after netting twice for England against Tunisia in their opening game of Russia 2018 Kane has now scored twice as many World Cup finals goals as Wayne Rooney - a solitary effort against Uruguay in Brazil 2014.

Secondly, he has also scored the same number that Alan Shearer managed to score in his only World Cup finals appearance in France 98 - the first of which ironically came against Tunisia.

However, if you really want to hit them for six you could always test them with this question: 'For which club was Kane a non-playing substitute for on the final day of the 2010-11 against Plymouth Argyle?'

The answer is Leyton Orient and Kane wasn't the only player on loan from White Hart Lane involved in the match, which took place on 7th May, 2011.

Tom Carroll, a future England Under-21 international and most recently of Swansea City, started for Orient and goalkeeper David Button, currently plying his trade for Fulham, came off the bench for the Pilgrims following the dismissal of Argyle keeper Romain Larrieu.

Orient were one of a number of teams that Spurs loaned their young prospects to a bid to give them a taste of first team football. In the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons, Andros Townsend, Steven Caulker and Ryan Mason all enjoyed successful loan spells with Yeovil Town before going on to break into the Spurs' first team and receive international recognition with England. Right-back Adam Smith, now of AFC Bournemouth, was also loaned to Torquay United in the 2009-10 campaign.

On the day itself, Orient piled more misery on the Pilgrims, who were in Administration at the time and resulting ten-point deduction ensured that a 2-0 defeat against Southampton on Easter Monday confirmed their relegation, winning 4-1 with Scott McGleish opening the scoring from the penalty spot before Dean Cox found the target and Alex Revell bagged a late brace. Yala Bolasie, later of Bristol City and Crystal Palace and currently of Everton, replied for Argyle in what proved to be his last game for the club - partly due to the club's financial predicament.

It also proved to be the final Pilgrims' outings for Joe Mason and Kari Arnason, both of whom would grace the higher echelons of the game, amongst others.

Mason opened the scoring for Cardiff City, who he joined after leaving Home Park in the following summer, against Liverpool in the final of the Carling Cup in 2012 and later went on to play for Wolves. He is currently plying his trade stateside for Colorado Rapids in the MLS.

Arnason would later cross swords with Kane again in Euro 2016 in France, when he was part of the Iceland side that famously upset England 2-1 in the last 16 of the tournament.

Making his second start for the Pilgrims that day was future Torquay United Player of the Year Luke Young. Young was still an apprentice at Home Park at the time and would later sign his first professional contract with Argyle in the close season.

He would make another 103 appearances for the Pilgrims before he was released by John Sheridan in the summer of 2014 after which he joined the Gulls.