Following the England team’s draw with Denmark, BBC commentator Lineker had been scathing of the squad, to which Kane responded.
Harry Kane has responded to the criticism
Gary Lineker has responded to Harry Kane’s comments after the England captain urged former stars to be mindful of their words when criticising the current squad.
Alan Shearer agreed with Lineker’s criticism of England’s performance against Denmark, calling it’s***’ and asking Kane ‘to do a lot better’. Ahead of the Three Lions’ last group match against Slovenia on Tuesday, Kane cautioned ex-players to be wary of their comments as this can only have a bad influence.
“I would never want to be disrespectful to any player, especially a player who has worn the shirt and knows what it is like to play for England,” Kane said. It’s not about singling anyone out; it’s just a fact that they understand how difficult it is to play in these big tournaments and to represent England. “The bottom line is that we haven’t won anything as a country for a very long time, and many of these players were part of that as well.
“I’d never treat an ex-player disrespectfully. I would only advise them to keep in mind what it’s like to wear the garment and that their opinions are taken seriously. I’m not sure how many of the boys, but we do hear it from some of them. We all want to win a big competition, and I’m sure they do too. However, a much better strategy would be for them to support us and provide the boys confidence-boosting opportunities.”
And in his most recent appearance on the Rest is Football podcast, Lineker addressed Kane’s remarks. “I get it [the journalist’s comment to Kane], and it puts Harry in a difficult situation,” he stated. It’s not easy when you’re thrown that kind of thing, though I felt he answered it well enough with one or two things in there.”
Shearer went on, “As England captains, we’ve both been there when you’re there in front of the media and England hasn’t done well at all, or you as an individual. And much like Harry did yesterday, I would have responded to the question in the exact same manner as the England captain. He just stated, “I know they have a job to do, and we do, we have to tell it. They are entitled to their opinion.”
“Imagine if we went on and said, ‘Well, I thought they played really well,'” Lineker added. They didn’t play well, and Harry is aware of that, so to begin with, we would be lying. He also remarked, “They have responsibilities being ex-England players and they should know, they know what it’s like,” which is something I can appreciate. They haven’t really won anything, or anything like that. Okay, and he’s entirely correct.
“I will say this, though: Being pessimistic and judgmental is the last thing we want to be in this world. We want to see the England squad do well on the pitch because when they do, we as pundits get the most enthused and enthusiastic about them and we say things like, “This performance was great, that performance was great.” We wish to avoid being judgmental. But occasionally, we must be. We must admit, but we also did it in a balanced manner.”
Shearer continued, saying, “I don’t disagree with what he said. I also wouldn’t take anything we said back. They were appalling against Denmark, as I believe the great majority of journalists across the nation, including the boys in the squad, can attest. Positives were few and far between. However, we also mentioned that “one spark could easily set them off and begin the tournament.”
“And you and I know, that there’s no way the players have been listening to our comments in full, whether on the television or here on The Rest Is Football,” Lineker said in closing. They’ll never understand the nuances and balance, therefore they’ll constantly justify it by saying that it’s never personal and they could do better.”
Despite being in a position to get to the tournament’s knockout stages as the top seed in Group C, England’s European Championship campaign has been lacklustre thus far. The experts have been critical of their unconvincing performances against Denmark and Serbia.
