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Player Heung-Min Son (손흥민)
- Thread starter jimmyriggle
- Start date
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He’s shown us a lot of loyalty and I really appreciated how clear he was around knocking back the Saudi interest last week. It’s also noticeable, even from the outside how much he does break down some of the cliques amongst the players - everyone seems to love him. Even the media, which is unusual for us.
My only hesitation is whether he’s too much of a joker? I guess there are lots of different captaincy styles but I always like the idea of someone with a calm demeanour but who can scare the hell out of people when needed. Given the question marks over so many players future, it’s hard for know. Regular game time is clearly another factor.
Obviously we need some form back from Son too. Hopefully he’s injury free again as we might need him more than ever this season…
From Ange's interview, seems fair to say that he will keep him playing wide and does not see him as a striker:
Is there anything you have learned about Son that you didn't know before?
Not from playing. I know Sonny really well, I’ve known him for a long time. He’s an outstanding player. Especially the way I like teams to play with wingers who are a goal threat, he’s elite.
He’s as good as anyone because he has that ability to play wide and play one on one. The fact that he scores goals is just priceless.
I’m looking forward to working with him. He’s another one that I think shows real leadership qualities. I look at him and he’s pretty much a conduit for the whole squad. He mixes in all groups. I don’t think it’s just because he’s popular. What he’s done in the game he has a certain standing in the game. It’s good to see that influence on the group. He’s got a massive influence on the group which doesn’t surprise me because I know he’s a leader for his nation and he’s been an icon for his nation for a long time.
He carries that really well for someone who has been in the spotlight for that long. He has enormous respect among the players.
Is there anything you have learned about Son that you didn't know before?
Not from playing. I know Sonny really well, I’ve known him for a long time. He’s an outstanding player. Especially the way I like teams to play with wingers who are a goal threat, he’s elite.
He’s as good as anyone because he has that ability to play wide and play one on one. The fact that he scores goals is just priceless.
I’m looking forward to working with him. He’s another one that I think shows real leadership qualities. I look at him and he’s pretty much a conduit for the whole squad. He mixes in all groups. I don’t think it’s just because he’s popular. What he’s done in the game he has a certain standing in the game. It’s good to see that influence on the group. He’s got a massive influence on the group which doesn’t surprise me because I know he’s a leader for his nation and he’s been an icon for his nation for a long time.
He carries that really well for someone who has been in the spotlight for that long. He has enormous respect among the players.
He has been Korea's National team captain for years now. He also led them to the round of 16 which is a big feat for an Asian nation so we know he has leadership qualities.
Son Heung-min was in ‘incredible pain’ last season – can he get back to his best?
The Tottenham forward reveals he was nursing an injury throughout last season - will surgery and a new manager change his fortunes?..
theathletic.com
Though the physical pain of last season has thankfully gone, the memories of it are still enough to make Son Heung-min wince.Son Heung-min was in ‘incredible pain’ last season – can he get back to his best?
The Tottenham forward reveals he was nursing an injury throughout last season - will surgery and a new manager change his fortunes?..
“I was in pain every single moment, literally,” Son says, looking back on a 2022-23 campaign that preceded him having a sports hernia operation to cure an issue that bothered him for the duration of a hugely disappointing year.
“It sounds weird but every turn, running, stopping, passing, kicking — it affected everything. It was strange because in normal life, doing no exercise, it felt fine, so I went on the pitch excited because I didn’t have pain when I was walking. (But) As soon as I was on the pitch for a warm-up I would be frustrated because the pain is there, every action, turning, passing, kicking… finally I made the decision at the end of the season to have the surgery and I think it’s the best decision I ever made.”
You don't go from a Golden boot season to a player who could hardly run or make the correct decision in the space of a year, something had to explain the drastic drop off - I reckon we will see a marked improvement in Sonny this season.
The most opportune time for him to get this surgery during the season would have been immediately following the World Cup. There were 3 weeks between his last WC match and the PL starting up again on boxing day. But then the narrative would have been that he put South Korea before his obligations to the club.
So I think that in trying not to let his teammates down, he actually let them down pretty hard. He was clearly not right. Most of us thought he was washed, but he was hiding an injury from even his teammates. He didn’t want to let them down. We all get that, but then he proceeded to play like ass and could have gotten the surgery and returned later to finish off the season on a positive note. While also giving someone like Richy or Danjuma more playing time. Pretty selfish decision on his part .
So I think that in trying not to let his teammates down, he actually let them down pretty hard. He was clearly not right. Most of us thought he was washed, but he was hiding an injury from even his teammates. He didn’t want to let them down. We all get that, but then he proceeded to play like ass and could have gotten the surgery and returned later to finish off the season on a positive note. While also giving someone like Richy or Danjuma more playing time. Pretty selfish decision on his part .
Sometimes these injuries can self heal, surgery is not the only fix. I’m himdsight, you are right but not a straightforward decision
It's not up to him to decide his playing time, that was up to Conte who very obviously fucked this up, among the many other things he fucked up.
"Gaffer, please limit my playing time. It sounds weird but every turn, running, stopping, passing, kicking — it affected everything. I was in pain every single moment, literally."
His words not mine. I just added the bit where he should've told this to the manager and not several months after the fact.
Lol as if Conte didn't know, you think he watched him go from a Golden boot season to playing like a turd in the space of a few months and didn't work out what the actual problem was?
This isn't Sunday League mate, you can't hide those sort of things from the manager or the medics.
His first 45 minutes since the surgery. Give him at least the whole pre season before coming to conclusions
I'm not jumping to conclusions, these are conclusion I've had since last year.