Anthony Onifade

Wed 12 July 2023 7:10, UK

After the appointment of Ange Postecoglou, many Tottenham players will be desperate for clean slates after a disastrous 2022/23 Premier League campaign, none more so than key man Son Heung-Min.

The South Korean without a shadow of a doubt has proven one of the club’s best signings over the past two decades going on to record an incredible 145 goals from 372 appearances in a Tottenham shirt.

While he and Harry Kane have not been rewarded with trophies throughout their time in North London together, they’ve still both gone on to break ground and records to place themselves in Tottenham Hotspur folklore.

However, while Kane continued his exceptional Premier League consistencies last term, Son looked a shadow of the player fans have regularly become accustomed to and celebrated.

After scoring 23 goals and winning the golden boot in 2021/22, very few fans would have predicted a season of struggle for the South-Korean star during the 2022/23 campaign, but he did.

His league goal tally decreased by more than half, with his 10 goals and six assists in the league, as well as his overall performances. While those numbers can be considered very good for most wingers in the English top flight, it was well below Son’s usual standards.

The South Korean over the past two campaigns has notched a whopping 40 goals combined (23 in 21/21 and 17 in 20/21), so you can imagine and relate to the well-documented disappointment Son tasted last term.

In fact, the underlying stats showed as much and why he suffered a temporary decline.

According to stats provided by FBREF, Son was scoring at a rate of 0.69 non-penalty goals per 90 in 21/22, compared to a rate of just 0.31 in 22/23.

The most concerning part of this statistic is that his total shots per 90 only decreased by 0.05, from 2.57 to 2.52, which suggests that he was still taking a similar number of shots, however, the quality of shots had decreased.

Son attempted fewer passes this season compared to the 21/22 campaign, (28.33 compared to 36.50) and registered fewer successful take-ons (1.03 compared to 1.53).

His influence in the attacking third also rapidly fell too, registering 2.56 progressive carries per 90, compared to the season before in which he was making 3.47 and also recording 3.30 touches per 90 in the opposition penalty area, compared to 4.37 the season before.

Certainly, those stats make for very disappointing reading and highlights a decline in Son’s game but it wasn’t just down to him but the collective, with Spurs massively underachieving under all three managers in Antonio Conte, Cristian Stellieni and Ryan Mason and there’s a case to argue that the continuous rigid and conservative style that had been incorporated at the club, many of the players simply grew tired of and desperately desired change.

The Lilywhites have got that luxury now, through Postecoglou and one of the Australian’s biggest objectives in his first few months at the helm is finding the formula to ensure Son is enjoying his football again, in an expansive attacking system that is suited and tailor-made for him.

The former Celtic boss has been regularly associated with an expansive, progressive, high-octane style which he utilised so impressively during his two years at Parkhead with Celtic, asking his wingers to pick up dangerous areas in half-spaces and out-wide while his full-backs were tasked with staying in close proximity to them to ensure numerical advantages against low blocks and a quick and swift style of football to disrupt the opposition.

As a result, his wingers and attacking players all recorded incredible numbers in a scintillating campaign. Kyogo Furuhashi recorded a whopping 30 goals and three assists, while Jota registered 13 goals and 11 assists, with Liel Abada and Daizen Maeda also both recording double figures for goals [BBC Sport]. The proof is certainly in Postecoglou’s tactical pudding

The departure of Harry Kane may prove a stumbling block but Postecoglou’s system will remain the same even without the English goal machine.

In Kane’s absence, Postecoglou could task Son will fulfilling more duties centrally as well as out-wide granting him more responsibility and trust in his progressive and purposeful system which then increases his confidence and all-round performance levels.

The South Korean will quickly want to forget about last season’s disaster, it was certainly a one-off season in his case, but in the former Celtic manager, Son now possesses a coach whose style will is not dependent on the individual like that of his predecessors, but is tailor-made for the whole collective – a system and formula for which Son can discover a whole new lease on life in North London.

It is an exciting new territory for Son and the Tottenham fans right now.

In other Tottenham news, one pundit has backed Maddison to shine under Postecoglou at the North London club.