Tottenham manager Enze Postecoglou says he doesn’t want to see the ‘SON top’ again. This is surprising coming from the man who has played Son Heung-min as a center forward most of the time.
According to the full transcript of the official pre-match press conference against Brentford, published by the British media ‘Football London’ on the 21st, Postecoglou confessed that he didn’t want to wear the ‘SON top’ again. Tottenham welcome Brentford to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at 11 p.m. for the fourth round of the 2024-2025 Premier League season.
Son Heung-min is a left wing forward. Last season, he played more as a center forward due to team needs. Feeling limited, Tottenham signed center forward Dominic Solanke in the summer transfer window. Solanke was injured after the first leg against Leicester City.
Postecoglou added: “He’s also unavailable. Our plan was to have two strong strikers who could threaten from the front. It didn’t help that they were both out. It made it a bit difficult. With Sonny playing there and Dejan Kulusebski coming in there, it wasn’t smooth. Hopefully that’s gone now.”
Postecoglou has been responsible for playing Son Heung-min as a central striker more often than any other position.
According to statistics site Transfer Markt, Son played a whopping 23 games as a center forward in the Premier League in the 2023-2024 season.
It was a meaty position. Tottenham sold their star striker Harry Kane to Bayern Munich ahead of the 2023-2024 season. The only backup striker available was the unproven, untested, and untested, Xherdan Shaqiri. Tottenham didn’t sign a replacement for Kane. With the Frenchman still struggling and nursing a nagging injury, Postecoglou came up with the SON top.
The ‘SON top’ had many advantages, but it also had clear limitations. Heung-min Son is very decisive and active up front, and his ability to work hard in defense and disrupt the opposition’s buildup when they have possession is one of the best among Premier League strikers. This works well against teams with poor defensive organization. Son, 카지노사이트 on the other hand, is not a strong provider and is not very good at breaking up play or creative dribbling in tight spaces. With Son in the center, Tottenham’s attacking tasks became too simplistic.
Toward the end of the season, many English media outlets criticized the move and called for Son to return to his natural position on the flank.
When Tottenham brought in Solanke, it looked like the Spurs attacking line was back to normal.
However, Solanke was injured from the start, forcing Son to play striker again. After a brief flurry of two goals against Everton in the second leg, Heung-min went silent against Newcastle in the third leg and Arsenal in the fourth leg. He even faced criticism for his lack of influence on the flank against Arsenal.
According to The Athletic, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta recognized Son’s weaknesses.
‘It’s not unusual to have two defenders on the opposing winger when defending,’ says The Athletic. In general, Premier League wingers are good in one-on-one situations. If one defense is breached, it can cause big problems,” he explained.
“But in this game, Arteta made a brave tactical decision. He chose to play with only one defender when the Tottenham wingers had the ball.
The Athletic asks, “Why did he do this?” and then diagnoses that “Arteta decided that neither of Tottenham’s starting wingers (Son Heung-min and Brennan Johnson) were particularly dangerous in one-on-one situations.
Normally, two defenders would be required to cover a winger, but Son was left with just one, which allowed him to defend better in other areas.
Sky Sports concluded: “Son Heung-min and other key players are struggling. As Son was leaving the pitch at the end of the Arsenal game, fans could be heard chanting for him to be dropped. Son scored two goals in the 4-0 thrashing of Everton, but it is only the third game in the last 13 in which he has scored a goal.