EPL TALK: Son Heung-min must shine brightest for Ange Postecoglou's gung-ho Tottenham Hotspur in 2024

Reporting from White Hart Lane, London

SON Heung-min really was everywhere. He was in the shop windows along Park Lane. He was draped across damp burger vans. He was held up by visiting South Koreans, posing for photos outside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. His name was the only one to properly raise the colossal roof.

At halftime, former captain Hugh Lloris bid an emotional farewell to the club after 12 seasons and 447 appearances, but it was no more than a symbolic, albeit poignant, gesture. The baton passed a long time ago. Son is in charge now. The heavens opened on the final day of 2023 and the South Korean reigned throughout.

Tottenham’s 3-1 victory against Bournemouth was entirely in keeping with blustery conditions around the stadium and on the pitch. They poured over their opponents and then dissipated with equal immediacy. Spurs remain a fascinating attacking experiment without a middle ground. They surge. They disappear. They surge. They disappear again. Manager Ange Postecoglou is pioneering an engrossing game of peekaboo in the English Premier League.

Will it lead to silverware and a coveted place in the top four? Who knows? Does it pose too many risks with a weakened squad? Almost certainly. Will it irritate as much as it exhilarates? Most definitely. Spurs’ boom-and-bust approach to EPL management was reflected in the stands as fans applauded another lightning raid and then lamented a misplaced pass, yet another gap in defence or Son’s apparent reluctance to retreat.

He did, but in a rather cerebral, slightly pretentious Messi-esque kind of way. He wasn’t really ponderous. He just pondered. It was a treat to watch the cogs turn and marvel at the deliberate conservation of energy. Is that a flowery way of saying the South Korean was too lazy to put a shift in and track back? Not really. Son remains Postecoglou’s instigator in chief. He’s not a gatekeeper.

So his position, like Tottenham generally, is a tightrope walk. Postecoglou insists on attacking domination despite not having enough dominant attackers, leaving Son to plough lonely furrows and see things a little quicker than those around him. His vision can keep up with his manager’s tactical idealism, but not everyone else can. Son’s no-look pass to Richarlison in the 52nd minute was Ange Ball at its best: fast, inventive and entirely unexpected. It’s just that Richarlison didn’t seem to expect it either. He scuffed and missed.

That’s Son. That’s Tottenham. That’s entertainment. He provides the range, balance and control for a team without enough range, balance and control to execute the creative plans of an uncompromising creative director. The burden can feel almost too much. In the first half, Richarlison released Son. The South Korean cut inside, right on cue, but the shot was too cautious, too direct and was saved.

The disappointment was palpable around the stadium. Son must bury those chances because Spurs will give just as many away – they did against Bournemouth. Son has to put them away because Harry Kane has gone away and Richarlison is often away with the fairies.

Son's importance cannot be overstated

Son can miss one, but not two, not for Tottenham, not as captain and designated lieutenant for Postecoglou’s party games. He has to work on a near Messi-esque ratio of chances to goals for his club. Yes, that’s the second comparison to the finest player to ever kick a ball, but Son’s importance to Spurs cannot be overstated in this transitional season. An injury crisis and an audacious (borderline reckless) masterplan are not easy bedfellows. Son is expected to mind the gaps.

So he put away his second chance. Of course he did. Same position. Same jinking run to his right, only this time his bended effort flew in off the far post. The communal response was one of relief as much as joy. Tottenham’s lead and grip on the contest were both slender. Son took care of both. Again. A fitting send-off before South Korea take his particular set of skills to the Asian Cup. Their gain is Tottenham’s loss, for reasons beyond the obvious.

Son’s 12th goal of the season was arguably less important than his role within Postecoglou’s nascent revolution. He’s an attacking emollient. He smooths over the rough bits and adds a sheen that Spurs’ patched-up line-up doesn’t always possess, particularly with James Maddison and Micky van de Ven ruled out. Tottenham still feel like a runaway speedboat, with nuts and bolts loosening and parts threatening to fall off at any moment, but the only response from the crew is to go even faster and hope for the best.

Against Bournemouth, Richarlison appeared to believe he was having a much better game than he actually was. Confidence has never been a problem for the Brazilian forward. But consistency has. His finish for Tottenham’s third goal was clinical, but his game is less complex than Son’s.

Only Giovani lo Celso matched Son’s artistry, which added to his heavy industry makes the midfielder vital for Postecoglou, who must manage without Son in the coming weeks and deal with an injury list that now includes Pape Matar Sarr.

Everything else is a giddy experiment, like watching a PE teacher hand a ball to his under-8s for the first time and instruct them just to play, attack and score for the unadulterated joy of the experience. Some kids begin to tire. A few hobble off. But the rest keep going, led by an assuming South Korean automaton who loiters with mischievous intent. Eventually, he takes possession and sets off on another chaotic outburst.

Sometimes he misses. Sometimes he scores. Consistency and control remain pipe dreams (or tepid ambitions for other unadventurous teams), but there is no compromise, just chaos and occasional moments of frenetic beauty. That’s Son. That’s Tottenham. That’s entertainment. And that’s how they want it at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Before the match, the stadium announcer declared that Postecoglou’s incorrigible lot were playing the most exciting football seen in these parts in years. The roar of approval was deafening. The crowd agreed. But it must lead to something more in 2024.

The artist needs to play alchemist and turn all this intoxicating promise into something silver. Fortunately for Tottenham, the loss of Son’s form will be temporary. When he returns from the Asian Cup, his class has to be permanent.

Neil Humphreys is an award-winning football writer and a best-selling author, who has covered the English Premier League since 2000 and has written 28 books.

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