The ‘100 Club’ on Harry Kane, six years on...

Harry Kane joined our '100 Club' on 9 September, 2017.

By his own admittance, it was a somewhat fortuitous goal to bring up his Spurs century, a cross from the right against Everton at Goodison that sailed over England team-mate Jordan Pickford and into the far corner.

It had taken just over three seasons of regular first team football for Harry to bring up three figures, his breakthrough season arriving in 2014/15, when he scored 31 goals in all competitions.

Fast-forward to 5 February, 2023, and Harry is now our all-time record goalscorer, another clinical finish to secure the points against Manchester City taking him beyond Jimmy Greaves’ mark of 266, a figure that had stood for 53 years. As these legendary strikers will testify, it’s a number that always seemed unattainable. Now an Academy graduate, one of our own, has done it.

WATCH - Harry's 267 goals for Spurs

When he hit his century, we spoke to six members of the ‘100 Club’, players to score 100-plus goals for Spurs in all competitions – Martin Chivers, Cliff Jones, Alan Gilzean, Jermain Defoe, Robbie Keane and Teddy Sheringham – for their views on their latest member.

It’s interesting looking back at what these giants of Spurs said about Harry back in 2017. For instance, Jermain Defoe and Robbie Keane had seen him at close quarters in training, a young striker determined to give everything he had to make it. You feel that ‘JD’ and ‘Keano’ knew we had a special talent on our hands, maybe just not how far he’d go.

Now he’s broken the record many believed was unattainable, we’ve gone back to five of those six – Alan Gilzean sadly passed away in 2018 – to listen to what they had to say, six years and another 167 goals on…

Martin Chivers (1968-74)

174 goals/367 games/4th all-time

What he said in 2017: “The main thing about Harry in my view is that he can score with both feet because not all great goalscorers can do that. He’s an all-round scorer of goals and that’s a handy ability to have, especially when he gets into the positions he gets in to.”

2023: “Everything I said in 2017, I’d say again now. He had all the qualities then, but you improve by playing, and he’s done just that. What I will say is it’s so difficult to compare eras and to compare with Jimmy, who was incredible. He’s had a wonderful career and he could go on to score plenty more goals, he could get up to 300!”

WATCH - 'Big Chiv's' thunderbolt v Wolves

Cliff Jones (1958-68)

159 goals/378 games/5th all-time

What he said in 2017: “It’s great he’s come through the system as well. He loves the Club, like me. You can tell it means so much to him. It’s just a matter of time before he passes me, that’s for sure. I’m sure he’ll catch up with me, Big Chiv, Bobby Smith. Then it’s Jimmy Greaves. There is only one Jimmy Greaves. He was the best ever.”

2023: “I must admit, it never seemed possible that someone would overtake Jim, not in my lifetime. I always say about Jimmy Greaves, he wasn’t the greatest player but, without doubt, the greatest goalscorer I’ve ever seen. Harry, in some ways, is more of a complete player. You see him doing his defensive duties, he does it all, Harry. He’s an all-rounder, a real team player. He’s also a member of my golf club! It’s a great achievement. He’ll go down as one of the greatest players Spurs have ever seen.”

Jermain Defoe (2004-14)

143 goals/363 games/6th all-time

What he said in 2017: "I said ages ago ‘H’ was a finisher. I said to the guys how good he was and if he got the chances, he would score goals. I’m not surprised with how well he’s done... he’s still young as well and I’m confident he’ll keep on scoring and scoring. As I said, it’s just in you.”

2023: “The thing is, and this is a huge compliment, I’m almost not surprised! You look at it season after season, and it’s the consistency he’s showed in terms of the amount of goals he’s scored, he guarantees you 20-plus goals every season. He’s a natural goalscorer - not a player who also scores goals, but a goalscorer. If you’ve got that, you’ll score hundreds of goals, and that’s what he’s done. The craziest thing is that he’s broken the record, and he’s not even just a goalscorer! He gets so many assists as well! He’s an all-round player, but to be an all-around player and to score that amount of goals, is crazy! I remember our conversation back in 2017 and saying that he’ll just keep scoring and scoring. I knew he was a finisher, from the start. He just needed that chance, and it was going to happen for him, because he’s such a good finisher. The team creates the chances, and he doesn’t miss. To score 100 goals for one club is amazing. To then get to 200, it’s like, ‘wow’. And then to be on the way to 300, it’s incredible, an unbelievable achievement. Let’s not forget, there were doubters at the beginning. People were saying, ‘can he do it consistently in the Premier League’? or, ‘can he do it consistently at Spurs’? Well, he’s the top goalscorer in the Club’s history... and he’s only 29. Who knows how many more he can score? Don’t forget England, either. And he’s never changed. He loves football, loves to score goals, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon!”

SPURSPLAY special - Defoe x Kane

Teddy Sheringham (1992-2003)

124 goals/277 matches/11th all-time

What he said in 2017: “He has great focus about him, knows what he wants and he’s not just a goalscorer, he brings other players into play as well, sets people up. He knows he’s expected to score, and he keeps doing it, he’s phenomenal. Sometimes strikers at a young age don’t realise how hard it is to score goals, not everyone can do it. It’s an art and he’s got that. People kept having question marks, but he kept doing it and keeps getting better. He’s a leader and leads by example.”

2023: “It’s a phenomenal record. We saw it early in what he gave the team when he played, not just a centre forward who just scores goals, like a Robbie Fowler or Michael Owen - okay, maybe that’s harsh on those two, but that’s the type of player we’re talking about - but Harry’s different to that, he leads the line, he holds the ball up, he brings players into play and he’s shown in the last four or five years that he can make those slide rule passes as well. At the end of the day, he’s a centre forward who wants to score goals, and he does that in abundance. To know that he’s overtaken Jimmy Greaves’ record is, well, ridiculous! He’s been playing regularly eight, nine years and I think back to my own career, and how hard it was to score goals when you first break into the team. It takes a while to feel comfortable in certain situations, and to realise that you can score goals at the top level. Also, to me, he’s showing no signs of slowing down, either. He’s 29, 30 this year, I’d say he’s in the prime of his life as a professional footballer, he knows what he can do, knows what he can’t do, doesn’t get himself into areas he can’t get out of, and still does what he needs to do for the team to make his team come out on top, and scoring goals at the rate he does, you have to take your hat off to the guy... he’s so focussed, so professional, very Gary Lineker-like in his manner. I just love everything about him.”

Robbie Keane (2002-11)

122 goals/306 games/12th all-time

What he said in 2017: “He’s scored over 20 goals in the last three seasons and if he continues to do that, who knows how far he’ll go. When you are a goalscorer you never lose that. You might go three or four without scoring but once you get back on track, off you go again, and Harry has that mentality. The players in the 100 Club are unbelievable, world-class players. Not many reach that 100 mark. All those players have an affiliation towards the Club and a love for the Club - Harry’s the same.”

2023: “It shows what mental strength he has because, as we all know, in football, the hardest thing to do is to score goals. To achieve what he’s done in the six years since we spoke about him reaching 100 goals, look, a lot of people didn’t think getting anywhere near Greavsie’s total would be possible, he’s done it. Just look how he’s turned himself into a world-class player and goalscorer. I always said he’s more than a goalscorer, and it’s very difficult to play against someone like that. If you play against a number nine who plays high up it can be predictable. With Harry, he drops off, gets on the ball and he can assist and score goals, so defenders don’t like to go into those little pockets, and Harry’s made that his own, certainly in the last couple of years. As I said, he’s turned himself into a world-class player, not just a goalscorer, but a very clever, intelligent footballer. Full credit to him. I’ve known him since he was a kid, he’s a great guy, humble, and if anyone deserves it, with his loyalty to the Club, he certainly does. I believe he’ll go on to do even bigger things in terms of the Premier League. He could get close to Alan Shearer’s all-time record (260). I think he’s well on course for that.”

WATCH - Keano's top 10