In spite of Tottenham’s formidable, unbeaten start to the season, something felt missing without the presence of a goal-scoring ‘#9’ up front. It may have been the obvious move with Richarlison not exactly hitting the ground running, but Ange Postecoglou might just have found the perfect solution in Heung-Min Son. Here is Game of Numbers #27, featuring Son as a ‘#9’, and Evan Ferguson’s stellar hat-trick.
HEUNG MIN-SON IN THE KANE VOID
Embed from Getty ImagesAnge Postecoglou has enjoyed a wonderful start to the 2023-24 season, with Spurs currently sitting only behind City – second in the Premier League table. Starlets like Destiny Udogie and Mickey van de Ven hit the ground running, not to mention the fabulous trio in midfield of Pape Sarr, Yves Bissouma and James Maddison. But the missing piece to the puzzle has been up front, where Harry Kane’s void has been felt.
Perhaps not anymore.
Embed from Getty ImagesPostecoglou finally made the move to drop Richarlison from the ‘9’ role against Burnley, with Heung Min-Son holding down the reigns instead. The South Korean also did not have the brightest start off the left in Postecoglou’s system, so this felt like the right next step. And boy did it deliver!
Embed from Getty ImagesHeung Min-Son naturally makes for a formidable ‘#9’ in the exact opposite vein from Harry Kane. England’s record-scorer prefers to drop in deep and play as more of a ‘False 9’. Son on the other hand prefers to run in behind, where he can use his undeniable speed to gallop away from defenders.
Embed from Getty ImagesThis naturally gives Spurs a different kind of outlet to use up front, where they can be more direct in playing passes over the top. Where they can utilize James Maddison‘s incisive through-ball passing into space. Where they can have more attacking fluidity between the front-line – the type of interchange we saw with Son and Kane at their best. Son offers all of that.
So against team’s looking to press them high, Spurs can go direct over the top and use Son in behind. Quickly, you can create moments like this where Spurs can go 2v2 and have every shot of combining for a goal.
Son thrives off the looping curled passes in behind a defense in particular, since he’s excellent at making out-to-in runs toward the centre from a defender’s blind-spot.
But he also offers nice advantages in driving forward, which means he can still drop to receive the ball just as we saw with Harry Kane. But instead of playing passes to the pacey winger running in behind, the South Korean will be more likely to now be the one using those moments to drive forward himself, forcing opposition defenses to back-peddle.
Beyond all of those wonderful attributes that make him an instant hit in the ‘9’ position, he’s just a smart finisher. The 31-year-old has consistently been one of the top scorers across the past five seasons in the Premier League, and he only needs half a chance to score. Anytime you can get Son on his right foot with the chance to curl the ball into the corner, the Spurs man is destined to score.
It will now be interesting to see if Ange Postecoglou switches up his attack to have Brennan Johnson be the focal point instead. But if the Burnley match is anything to go by, the Australian should definitely stick with his captain in the ‘9’ role instead, and continue to use Manor Solomon alongside him.
EVAN FERGUSON’S HAT-TRICK
Embed from Getty ImagesEvan Ferguson burst onto the scene in the second-half of last campaign under Roberto De Zerbi, following the departure of Leandro Trossard to Arsenal. With a hole needing to be filled up top, Ferguson was given his chance to shine for the Seagulls, and shine he did.
Embed from Getty ImagesNow in 2023-24, just before his 19th birthday, Evan Ferguson is now a Brighton regular and the obvious choice up top – even as De Zerbi eases him into the action. Ferguson combines all of the traits you could want of a modern-day centre-forward. With a powering and imposing frame, his hold-up play is exceptional. But he can also drive at the opposition when given the ball, storming his way into the gaps. A smart finisher that can clearly score goals from all kinds of positions, Ferguson impressed the most against Newcastle for his awareness of space.
Throughout the match, the 18-year-old striker persistently took advantage of the gaps left by the Newcastle defense. Perhaps without the strong partnership of Schar and Botman, the Magpies didn’t have the exact same chemistry at the back. But gaps were left far too vacant for a man of Ferguson’s talent to exploit, and he wonderfully sought out the moments to receive progressive passes into space from the likes of Billy Gilmour.
Gilmour had a fantastic game on his own account, starting to show his promise for his potential to fill the responsibilities left by Alexis Mac Allister in progressing the play. He assisted the Irishman’s second of the encounter, as Ferguson again sought out the space in between Newcastle’s lines.
The Magpies normally condense space vertically with little room to play through, but they overcompensated by trying to press so energetically up against the team with arguably the best build-up in the league. With the midfield line stepping so high to pressure the Seagulls’ incisive build-up play and passing out from their first few lines, Newcastle left space for Brighton’s attackers to venture into time and time again.
This is where Ferguson scored that all-crucial second goal, when he drifted away from Burn, and then found himself with time and space to drive.
That proved to be a particular problem throughout the night, as the Brighton man proved himself to not only be deadly from range, but also difficult to stop even with the right amount of pressure applied. His Haaland-esque strength proved to be even too much for the combination of Burn and Schar, and even getting five men around the ball proved to be a fruitless venture.
It was a truly special evening for Evan Ferguson, and one that certainly announces his arrival on the biggest stage.
WOOBENS PACIUS STEALS THE SHOW
Forge FC have struggled to hit the same high heights in 2023, following up from a third playoff victory in four years of CPL action. Crucial to their success last campaign was Woobens Pacius, operating as an out-and-out ‘#9’. Somewhat limited in comparison to the mobility and intelligence of Terran Campbell, Pacius still has the chops to be one of the best goal-scorers in the league when properly placed. However, he’s been shifted out to the wide areas this season, with Forge unable to find the right balance in their wing-back positions as they look to re-create the dynamics of last season.
I’ve been eager to see either new-boy Béni Badibanga or Kwasi Poku in that vacant left-wing-back slot for Forge, giving them more dynamism on the left and a return to the success that served them so well in previous seasons. Against Vancouver, they made the move to deploy Poku high and wide down that left-side. That proved to be the key in unlocking more out of Woobens, who could then play his position more like a ‘#9’ alongside Terran Campbell.
This is essentially some of the magic Forge have enjoyed throughout their success, with the likes of Babouli and Borges operating as inverted wingers as a left-back gallops up the pitch. They doubled down on ‘Inverted Wingers’ last season with the creativity of David Choinière taking advantage of the half-spaces as the likes of Rama and Sissoko moved around his momentum. This season, the approach has been guided more toward “natural wingers” like Kwasi Poku and Béni Badibanga, who can go toe-to-toe with defenders in the wide areas. Pacius has seemingly made that equation as a ‘natural winger’, despite evidently being best through the middle, closer to goal.
The young Canadian has always been best finishing off chances and holding up the ball for others, which is most valuable when you can get that kind of player closer to the centre. This is exactly what Forge did against Vancouver, and why they had so much instant success in breaking down the CPL’s new-boys.
His hat-trick heroism served as a perfect reminder of how clinical he can be in front of goal, and why it doesn’t have to be an argument of one or the other against Terran Campbell. They can play together, create for one another, and aid Forge’s quest to add more goals to their repertoire this season. But key to that equation will be deploying a “natural” wing-back up and down Pacius’ side, such as Kwasi Poku. If Forge can continue that kind of potency against the top teams in the league, there’s no reason why they can’t rejoin this title race.
MORE TO FOLLOW IN THIS EDITION!
Be sure to check back soon as we analyze more matches and performances across the weekend! Plus be sure to see the previous editions from this campaign below.
-> Game of Numbers #26 – James Ward-Prowse & West Ham on the break
-> Game of Numbers #25 – Barca’s midfield diamond & Frenkie de Jong in defense
-> Game of Numbers #24 – Bellingham at the top of the diamond
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