Harry Kane has finally broken Jimmy Greaves’ record to become Tottenham Hotspurs’ all-time leading goal scorer.
His 267th goal for the North London club inflicted a massive blow to reigning champions Manchester City’s title-defence in a 1-0 win at a raucous Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Neat finish
When the England captain got the landmark with a neat finish from close range, fans leapt from their seats to applaud the 29-year-old.
Kane’s first goal for Spurs came all the way back on 15 December 2011, and the 15th minute winner against City was also his 200th English Premier League strike.
He is only the third player ever to hit a double century since the restructure of the top-flight in 1992. Alan Shearer is the Premier League’s all-time record goal scorer with 260 following spells with Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United while Wayne Rooney is second with 208 goals for Everton and Manchester United.
Born in Walthamstow, Kane joined the Tottenham Academy in July 2009 and rose to establish himself as one of the best strikers in the world. He made his Premier League debut on the opening day of 2012/13 season before loan spells with Norwich City and Leicester City.
He enjoyed a full season in 2021/22, scoring 27 goals in 50 matches in all competitions and ever since then records have tumbled and milestones have been reached.
In January he scored his 250th career goal and then in the following month his goal in the FA Cup against Brighton was his 300th for Club and country but his latest, beating the late Greaves’ record which had stood for 53 years, will be the one he is most proud of to date.
To go past Greaves is an incredible achievement but such is his prowess in front of goal many sensed this moment was coming from some time out.
Emotional scenes
It was an emotional scene at full time against City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as he was serenaded by the Spurs faithful before addressing the crowd as the club’s record goalscorer for the first time.
“It’s hard to put into words and I’m so glad it came in a win. There has been so much talk about it in the last couple of weeks and to do it in such a big game is even more special. It is a great feeling. When I started playing regularly it wasn’t even in my imagination to score 200 Premier League goals and I have a few more years left so hopefully there are more to come. Jimmy Greaves is a complete hero, one of the best strikers to play the game so to be in that conversation is special. And to overtake him is a huge moment for me.”
Born in East Ham on 20 February, 1940, Greaves signed professional forms at Chelsea aged 17 in 1957. He went on to score 132 goals in 169 appearances for the Blues before a transfer to Italy and AC Milan in 1960. His stay in Serie A was brief and after nine goals in 14 games he came to England with Tottenham for a famous £99,999 transfer fee in December 1961. He got a hat-trick on his debut and went on to score 266 goals in 379 appearances.
He also scored 44 goals in 57 games for England. In 1965 - the year before England’s home World Cup which they won - he contracted hepatitis and was out of action for several months. He recovered to make the Three Lions squad and played in the first three games of the tournament, but injury then ruled him out of the quarter-final. Geoff Hurst took his place and would go on to make a name for himself by becoming the first man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final and be on the winning team when England recorded a 4–2 victory over West Germany at Wembley Stadium in 1966.
Greaves retired at the end of the 1970/71 season and spent much of the decade battling alcoholism. He got himself sober and was back in the public spotlight when ITV executives paired him up with former Liverpool footballer Ian St John to create the iconic football show Saint and Greavsie.
Greaves passed away in the early hours of Sunday 19 September, 2021, aged 81.
