In this age of waffly management-speak and high-tech tactical wizardry, there is something to be said for just getting the simple things right first. Sort the basics out — making players happy to come to work, for example, or empowering the right individuals at the right time — and the rest might just flow from there. For Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham Hotspur, now five points clear at the top of the Premier League table, the magic of his first few months has been in these small calls. And of all those decisions, it is hard to believe that any have been quite as successful as the one to make Son Heung-min the new captain of the team.
Postecoglou has not reinvented Son as a footballer. The South Korean was a very good player before this season and is still a very good player now. But the new Spurs manager has certainly rejuvenated his star man, who has a new sidekick in James Maddison and seems to be playing with a fresh energy at the age of 31. The responsibility of leadership can be a burden for some players. It might well have been for Son, given his difficulties last year. Instead it has changed him for the better, as evidenced by this latest Spurs victory and his latest goal, his eighth of the campaign. Last season, in 36 league games, Son scored only 10.
Crystal Palace had battled well here, but this season it seems like the quality of the Spurs attackers will always shine through. Son’s effort at Selhurst Park, which followed Joel Ward’s own goal, was deadly in its execution. Maddison, inevitably enough, was heavily involved in both goals. Perhaps most encouraging of all for Spurs supporters, who must now be starting to believe a title challenge is genuinely possible, was the control and poise that Postecoglou’s side showed in the second half. They kept the ball patiently, drawing the sting from the game and effectively ending it as a contest. Cristian Romero, their centre-back, completed 141 passes across the course of the night — the most by a Spurs player on record in a Premier League match.
At what point can Spurs be described as title challengers? Ten games have now passed this season, and they are still going strong. Why not believe? Why not aim high? “Let them dream,” said Postecoglou of the fans. “That’s what being a football supporter is all about. I am certainly not going to dampen that. The dreams last as long as they do, until somebody wakes you up.”. There had been moments of difficulty, of course. But Guglielmo Vicario was impressive in goal again, making a fine stop in the first half to deny Odsonne Edouard, and it required a brilliant strike by Jordan Ayew in stoppage time to breach the Spurs defence.
For all of the control and mastery of the ball that Spurs showed in the second half, there was still a chance for Palace to steal a point. With almost the final kick of the match, Matheus Franca blazed his shot high and wide of Vicario’s goal. A moment of good luck for Spurs, perhaps, but one they had earned. A more “Spursy” team might not have been so fortunate. “I enjoy every game,” said Postecoglou. “I want the players to enjoy the game. Not because we are top of the table but because we are living the dream, playing for a fantastic football club. The rest of it is about honouring that responsibility which has been bestowed upon us. For me, what’s important is we’re giving our supporters some joy, belief, hope. We need to just keep feeding into that.
A good night was made better for Spurs by the return of Rodrigo Bentancur, back from a serious injury he suffered in February. There was also encouragement to be taken from an excellent assist by new signing Brennan Johnson, who found Son with a cut-back after Spurs had sliced through the Palace defence. That was the second goal for the visitors. The first had come a few moments earlier, when the ball bounced towards Maddison in the penalty box. Only the England midfielder can explain whether it was a shot or a cross, as he lashed his effort across the face of goal. All that matters was that it was hit too powerfully, at too awkward an angle, for Ward to handle. It cannoned off the Palace captain and into his own net.
“We made life difficult for Tottenham,” said Roy Hodgson, the Palace manager. “At the break we were satisfied. But when the first goal goes in, with their ability to keep hold of the ball, it makes it difficult. We were trying and wanted to do it, but they are not top of the league for nothing. Tottenham had the opportunity tonight at Selhurst Park to go five points clear before everyone else played this weekend and they have taken it. After a lifeless first half, Tottenham took the lead not long into the second half through a Joel Ward own goal, who should have done better than diverting it into his own goal. Tottenham then doubled their advantage just over 10 minutes later through Son Heung-min, whose strong start to the season continues.
