Kulusevski Steps Up And Son Is Looking Defeated! Tottenham 2-2 Wolves [PLAYER RATINGS]

[@BigSmile2784-n2q]

1️⃣Underperforming? I don’t think so. Johnson is younger than Son, but like Son, he’s not the type of player who scores by taking on multiple defenders. So how does he score? It’s because Kulusevski, being left-footed, mostly drives the ball down the right side and provides key passes primarily to players on the right. Since Kulusevski can’t use his right foot effectively, even when he sees Son standing wide open on the left, he rarely attempts a quality cross or pass in that direction. Johnson also doesn’t have the ability to deliver quality crosses to Son on the left. In fact, the only players who sometimes cross to Johnson on the right are Son and Werner, leading to Johnson's tap-in goals. Kulusevski consistently supplies the ball to Johnson on the right, enabling their link-up play, but there’s no midfielder who provides the same kind of service to Son on the left.

[@BigSmile2784-n2q]

4️⃣As a result, Son is currently tasked with everything but scoring, distributing key passes from the left, dropping deep to receive the ball, linking it to the inverted fullback or Maddison, and even participating in defensive duties. However, Ange doesn’t seem to have any intention of making adjustments to utilize Son’s world-class finishing ability. Instead of keeping Son stuck on the left, Ange could allow him to rotate positions with players like Udogie or Maddison, positioning him more centrally or closer to the goal, linking him with Solanke, or enabling better link-up play with the players on the right. But Ange has made no such simple adjustments. 🤔🤔🤔

[@danielskey9040]

Gray never let larson go for his goal. Yes, he might have played him a touch on side but it was radu who never tracked his run, and fraser should have saved the shot.

[@BigSmile2784-n2q]

3️⃣For Son to score, he needs to play closer to the goal. Unlike Johnson, who gets the ball higher up the pitch, Son has to drop deep, receive the ball, and link it to the inverted fullback before making his way forward, which limits his opportunities near the goal. Moreover, this season, Ange has fixed Son to the left touchline, using him as a decoy to draw defenders and create space for players on the right to score. The biggest beneficiary of this tactic is Johnson. If Son is to score more goals, the team needs to link play to him, deliver timely crosses or key passes when he’s open on the left, or exploit his line-breaking runs with quick through balls like Kane used to do. But Tottenham currently lacks players capable of doing that, and Ange hasn’t made any adjustments to maximize Son’s goal-scoring potential. Even during counter-attacks, where Son excels, Ange directs the ball to the slower Kulusevski, which often wastes opportunities and leads to the team restarting the build-up.

[@BigSmile2784-n2q]

6️⃣If Son were to work with a manager who truly utilizes his strengths, he would undoubtedly showcase his talents again. For that reason, I hope Son leaves Tottenham. I don’t want to see him waste any more of his valuable career as a sacrificial pawn in Ange’s tactics or simply helping younger players at Tottenham. His prime is far from over. Son has expressed that he hopes Tottenham wins something this season and has even stated that he doesn’t care about his individual stats to achieve that. The ungrateful Tottenham fans who fail to appreciate his sincerity don’t deserve him. Even when he is used in a wrong way, they don’t even urge Ange to utilize their only world-class player properly. Son deserves to be on a better team.

[@Jonathan-ug9yu]

they should Modric Sonny. Yes, I used Modric as a verb (edit: I don't mean move him on, I mean change his role in the squad to make better use of him based on what he can do)

[@jackgerrity5841]

True, he looks tired starting every game. I think using him as an impact sub at least in some (preferably most) games would cook.

[@simonpendergrest7078]

Move him where exactly? He plays worse centrally than he does out wide. And he's been shite out wide

[@jackgerrity5841]

@@simonpendergrest7078 Clearly did not understand the use of Modric as a verb.

[@anb2456]

Use Modric as a verb? Wow genius

[@leontucker1654]

Some of these scores would suggest we had won! I think a 4 is VERY generous for Son because I don't think i've seen him any worse. I do think the defence played better then recent games but we gave away a goal 5 mins before 90 mins

[@krisorgan]

Would like to see us go 4-1-4-1 Play kulu and maddison centrally and see what happens. Glad to see ange drop the 4-3-3, but doesn't seem to of changed much.

[@EuropeanJo-w3y]

Tottenham fans and the clueless British media are quick to call Son "finished" just because he misses one or two chances in a match. Look at Salah! In his last game, Salah missed 5 easy big chances in front of goal. Despite that, his Liverpool teammates kept providing him with quality key passes throughout the match. Even when he misses, his teammates never stop supporting him, and Klopp brilliantly utilizes Salah’s strengths with smart tactical adjustments. Now, look at Tottenham. When Son barely gets 1 or 2 big chances in a game, which he often has to create himself because no one provides him with key passes, and fails due to a goalkeeper's save or tight marking, people immediately insult him, calling him "finished" and demanding he be sold. It’s absurd!! Ange is no better!! He doesn’t make any adjustments to help Son score. Especially this season!! Instead, he comes out in post-match interviews and publicly criticizes or points out Son's failing to score, as if to shift the blame away from himself 🤡 The worst manager🔥

[@BigSmile2784-n2q]

5️⃣Right now, Son leads the team in assists and ranks top in Europe’s big 5 leagues for average key passes per 90 minutes. In the Premier League, he has created 12 big chances, ranking 3rd behind Saka and Palmer, and first in Tottenham. Kulusevski has only created 6 big chances, half of Son’s total, while Maddison has just 4. Son has also made 31 key passes, ranking second in the team. Son is not a flashy dribbler, and that’s because of how his father coached him from a young age. He was taught to play efficiently, without wasting energy on unnecessary tricks or flair. Even if his style isn’t flashy, his stats speak for themselves.

[@EuropeanJo-w3y]

Don't judge Son based on one missed penalty! Even Haaland, Salah, and Kane miss penalties, but nobody writes them off for it. Before this, Son had scored all 10 of his penalties successfully. This season, Son is averaging only 1-2 shots per game and is not receiving any quality key passes from his teammates. He's hardly being given the conditions to score by Ange and his team, and yet he’s managed to score 5 goals, most of which came from him creating big chances all on his own. No one in the team is providing him with good key passes, but Son himself is leading the team in big chances created and assists. Can you understand what that means?🔥

[@hajduksplit1737]

WTF kulu had a nice pass and that was it... how many balls did he lose again, how many bad passes did he have again? what's the point? he is absolutely overrated. he is not a player for the number ten position.

[@mayapage2707]

Tell me you have watched spurs thsi season. He won us a penalty and a goal, set up multiple chances. While being knackered and not getting rested all season.

[@antonyeleny810]

Ange showed us last season when we was 1st and 2nd that he can do it, and Nuno, Conte, Jose’s football was horrible, so boring and poor quality, and definitely not entertaining, and couldn’t batter Man City 4-0 away, when Ange ball works IT IS THE BEST. He just need to adapt a bit and get some decent players then the consistency will come, don’t want to sack him and be the hamster in the wheel again

[@simonpendergrest7078]

What a load of bollocks Sim giving Werner a 3. Clueless

[@danielhackett1581]

He's their scapegoat

[@tommerrington3270]

Sonny probably distracted by political chaos back home

[@BigSmile2784-n2q]

2️⃣Ange is surely aware of this, but he’s been doing nothing about this. That’s why Son often has to drop deep, receive the ball himself, and link it to the inverted fullback Udogie, who makes forward runs. However, Son is usually tightly marked by multiple defenders, and Udogie, while decent defensively, isn’t a strong offensive contributor, so he doesn’t support Son effectively. When Maddison replaces Kulusevski, Son does receive the ball more often, but Maddison tends to play like a second striker, focusing on scoring himself rather than assisting Son. Maddison often moves into the box, seemingly looking to benefit from Son's assists instead of providing key passes to him.

[@slashieboy]

Can Spurs play Brennan Johnson as a striker? He finds the net more than Solanke because he himself (Johnson) is useless and a terrible winger. So to get the same out of Johnson and more out of Solanke get a winger that is better than Johnson which should not be difficult Bergvall is better than Johnson!

[@HaydenKnight-ci9hk]

I think Johnson would be a very good striker tbh he always knows we’re to be

[@davidjabon508]

He played st for Nottingham forest before

[@paulgee1952]

Need to find some serious new year energy bounce , flat as the 4th March day currently. Ange still being manager then, increasingly long odds. Time for Munn and Lange to step up with some Don Paratici winners ? CoYS !

[@tapiwamujere2233]

Another apology from Sonny

[@SamiGeorge-h9i]

Sony made us as 10 man team heavy legs from the beginning Solanke bec he played and over run he was exhausted if he did not exhaust himself he would have scored

[@mayapage2707]

Bentancur, deki, Solanke, porro best players on the day. Don’t know what son did to get a 4 though

[@johnmccrea7094]

Sonny will always be a club legend but he looks a shadow of the player he once was. But ange wont bench for fear of upsetting levys cash cow in the asian market,the profit levy get from the asian market is massive

[@willy8001]

If Levy is worrying the asian market, he should solve the problem with Son's contract, because Son looks unhappy playing.

[@William-Tyndale]

Son either needs to go or needs the captaincy stripped from him. Atrocious performances every other week can be excused (especially given he's older and had no games off), but the fact he doesn't even try at all is inexcusable. There was a point in the last match where he stood 10 yards offside for like 45 seconds. He consistently refused to track back and was just generally walking around half the game. A captain should set the best example, particularly in such a difficult period. Get someone who doesn't quit Also I hope now folks will stop saying he hasn't been underperforming massively this season. His goal involvements in the league have come in 6 games and all of them were in the matches we won by like 4 goals (except the Chelsea one). And generally those were the only games he's been decent for us

[@kcw9313]

Besides your eye test, what's his PL contribution like this season?

[@William-Tyndale]

​@@kcw9313 he's scored or assisted in 6 games and all of those games were wins that happen without his goals or assists except the Brentford game and Chelsea game where we obviously lost (and where if he'd scored some of his good chances that he's usually capable of scoring we could've won)

[@tomkinsrhino2193]

If only we would have stripped Son of the captaincy, we would be in title contention. You're a genius!

[@William-Tyndale]

@@tomkinsrhino2193 if only you could read you might also be a genius! I'd explain to you that I said that nowhere not even implicitly but I'm not sure you'd be able to understand that either

[@hyunkyupark4236]

You should be our manager in opposition to Ange. Please submit your CV at the moment. Just quit your part-time at Walmart.