Player Watch Player Watch: Son Heung-min

[N'Obody]

He is clearly injured obviously judging by the way he's running around waving to the fans. Some fans just over react to any small clip of a player going down.

 

[WorthATry]

After watching that I suspect he's off in January. Definitely looks like he's waving goodbye

 

[Trent Crimm]

This happens every international break. Wish people would stop sharing Son (or whoever) went down badly the moment it happens. It just spreads fear and anxiety among the fanbase. I looked on X and he was running after the game. So nothing to worry about.

How some people get through regular life is beyond me.

I heard a pop.

 

[neogenisis]

After watching that I suspect he's off in January. Definitely looks like he's waving goodbye

Deffo off to play for Germany.

 

[Bluto Blutarsky]

Son with his 2nd of the game (first was a pen):

 

[Col_M]

He scored with his head!!!! Did you see that?! His Head!!!

 

[glacierSpurs]

 

[sidford]

So frustrating today again. Badly need him to help end the run of defeats. We really need our captain and best player to deliver in next few games

 

[Nocando]

So frustrating today again. Badly need him to help end the run of defeats. We really need our captain and best player to deliver in next few games

He almost scored three. One was a beautiful finish. He's doing exactly what we need him to do imo. The goals will come.

 

[TOLBINY]

Been away with S Korea and yet played the full game and did not stop running, yes the off sides are infuriating but I expect he is feeling more pressure to deliver with all the injuries.

 

[rabbikeane]

2 key passes as well, his stats are good. Shame about the offsides

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

Can’t believe he has the ball in the net 4 bloody times as my FPL captain stay on bloody side Sonny!

He worked so hard today after being jet lagged, can never ever question his commitment but we also need more attacking options as he is no spring chicken anymore and can’t do it all himself every week.

 

[Gilzeanking]

Can’t believe he has the ball in the net 4 bloody times as my FPL captain stay on bloody side Sonny!

He worked so hard today after being jet lagged, can never ever question his commitment but we also need more attacking options as he is no spring chicken anymore and can’t do it all himself every week.

Yep Johnson won't be helping much imo. 47 mill ?

 

[GutBucket]

Our only threat besides Lo Celso, teams will double him more again, nobody is worried about Gil, Kulusevski or Johnson scoring. Not yet at least.

 

[Legacy]

Yep Johnson won't be helping much imo. 47 mill ?

Yeah, it's completely fair to come to that conclusion after Johnson's only managed 2 goal contributions from a whopping 307 minutes of disjointed appearances so far.

v Sheff Utd - 10 minutes played, scores but disallowed for marginal offside
v Arsenal - 63 minutes played, forces a top class save vs Raya, looks a threat but goes off with injury
v Fulham - 9 minutes played
v Palace - 26 minutes played, assist for Son in a move he's heavily involved in twice
v Chelsea - 34 minutes played, assists for Son but disallowed for marginal offside, subbed early due to red card
v Wolves - 75 minutes played, scores
v Villa - 90 minutes played, first full game for the club, assists for Son but disallowed for marginal offside, contributes well to a team making bucket loads of chances against a tough opponent

And those are just the contributions that immediately sprang to mind at 8am on a Monday morning.

 

[spursfan77]

Can’t believe he has the ball in the net 4 bloody times as my FPL captain stay on bloody side Sonny!

He worked so hard today after being jet lagged, can never ever question his commitment but we also need more attacking options as he is no spring chicken anymore and can’t do it all himself every week.

Take him out your team FFS and the goals will come flowing back. Come on, you know how it works!!!

 

[Gilzeanking]

Yeah, it's completely fair to come to that conclusion after Johnson's only managed 2 goal contributions from a whopping 307 minutes of disjointed appearances so far.

v Sheff Utd - 10 minutes played, scores but disallowed for marginal offside
v Arsenal - 63 minutes played, forces a top class save vs Raya, looks a threat but goes off with injury
v Fulham - 9 minutes played
v Palace - 26 minutes played, assist for Son in a move he's heavily involved in twice
v Chelsea - 34 minutes played, assists for Son but disallowed for marginal offside, subbed early due to red card
v Wolves - 75 minutes played, scores
v Villa - 90 minutes played, first full game for the club, assists for Son but disallowed for marginal offside, contributes well to a team making bucket loads of chances against a tough opponent

And those are just the contributions that immediately sprang to mind at 8am on a Monday morning.

Yes I take your point. But we are looking for a one vs one winner down the flanks rather than another passer back.

Fish and Rice said Sonny couldn't shoulder the burden of scoring every week alone....and I agree .We need new help up front imo.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

Yep Johnson won't be helping much imo. 47 mill ?

I don't think Johnson is the problem but we do need more quality up front/in the attacking positions to take the burden off Sonny.

We have injuries for sure but Veliz is clearly not ready yet, Richy has been poor allbeit we now know he's been playing with an injury, Perisic was great in this system but is what 35 now..., Solomon was slowly adapting to the role but don't think he'll score many, Kulu has 3 goals in 13 and whilst I really like the look of Johnson he's not prolific. I think we need to add one top attacking player ideally who can play up front or on the wing and who scores goals, failing that we just need to sign another top out and out striker imo.

 

[tevezito]

I don't think Johnson is the problem but we do need more quality up front/in the attacking positions to take the burden off Sonny.

We have injuries for sure but Veliz is clearly not ready yet, Richy has been poor allbeit we now know he's been playing with an injury, Perisic was great in this system but is what 35 now..., Solomon was slowly adapting to the role but don't think he'll score many, Kulu has 3 goals in 13 and whilst I really like the look of Johnson he's not prolific. I think we need to add one top attacking player ideally who can play up front or on the wing and who scores goals, failing that we just need to sign another top out and out striker imo.

Ideally, yes, but realistically I see this as being very hard to do and would be extremely impressed were it to happen. As you well know. this is why we talk about projects - Johnson will improve over time as he gets instinctively integrated into the system. Solomon needs to recover from injury and do the same. Gil is beginning to do the same. Rich as well. Perisic would have been a great stop gap for this year if he hadn't got injured. Veliz, also needs a lot of time.

We need six top quality forward players. At the moment only Sonny is world class. Richarlison on form and healthy is about as good as we could expect in the real world as a back up, and they can both play on the wing if needed. Johnson, Solomon, Kulu and Gil are the four wide players at the moment. All bring attributes and potential for improvement and could be top quality.

Improving on at least one of this six in the transfer market would definitely help Sonny, but none of the suggestions I see over in the scouting thread seem realistic and actually immediate improvements on what we've got, once the six are fit. Our early season form was mostly built on incredible defensive play more than attacking play (with a big dose of luck / balls thrown in) and many have said, including Ange, that the attacking cohesion takes the longest to come together. Injuries have ruined our front six's ability to build that cohesion, and so until he goes away in January, Sonny will have to carry the burden. It will be very interesting to see how we cater to his absence, as that will give us indications towards Ange's thinking long term. But dropping loads of money for someone to come in and share the burden in January, even if only likely in a dreamworld, is still very unlikely to improve our attacking play, as said player will also need a lot of time to get up to speed with the system and build cohesive relationships on the pitch.

Our best bet is patience, time to recover from injury and build cohesion on the training ground, and plan for Johnson, Solomon, Gil and Richy to all build cohesion and develop both as individuals and within the six as we move forward through the season. In the meantime, stay healthy Sonny and come back from the Asian cup quickly!

 

[Rocksuperstar]

Love yooooooooooou, Captain!