https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbTUnAuL6vI
(Interview starts at about 05:00)
This guy is obviously a longtime Spurs fan, much more of a "real" Spurs fan than I am (I'm honestly more of a "Son" fan, sorry longtime Spurs fans — I'm with you after Sonny retires though!). Obviously I think he has double standards and disagree with him, but I'm not trying to single him out or attack his views (unless he's just being racist or something). We see many people on here with exactly his sort of thinking, so I'm more interested in the WHY. What exactly makes Son's contributions to the club inferior to Kane's, Gascoigne's, and Klinsmann's? Harry has higher attack points and has been Spurs since before he had body hair, so if that's where the line is drawn, I understand. But neither Paul Gascoigne nor Jurgen Klinsmann has contributed more to Spurs than Son has, in records or in years. So there must be some other criteria, right? Opinions welcome!
Here's a little table that ChatGPT came up with for reference:
Comparing Career Impact: Son Heung-min vs. Gascoigne & Klinsmann
| Metric | Son Heung-min | Paul Gascoigne | Jürgen Klinsmann |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seasons | 9 (and counting) | 4 | 1 full + 1 short return |
| Appearances | 379 | 112 | 68 |
| Goals | 151 | 33 | 38 |
| Assists | 55 | Not documented | Not documented |
| Trophies | None | FA Cup (1991) | None |
| Individual Honors | Golden Boot (2021/22), Player of the Month (3x), Puskas Award (2020) | N/A | FWA Footballer of the Year (1994-95) |
EDIT: Adding some of Son's other accomplishments while at Spurs. Also done by GPT4o, so some stats won't be accurate or up-to-date. I note the assists in particular.
Below is a breakdown of every stat where Son ranks in the top 10 for Tottenham Hotspur:
1. All-Time Goals for Tottenham (All Competitions)
- 5th place: Son Heung-min has scored 151 goals (as of September 2023) in all competitions, putting him 5th on the all-time list for Spurs. The top 4 are:
- Harry Kane – 280
- Jimmy Greaves – 266
- Bobby Smith – 208
- Martin Chivers – 174
- Son Heung-min – 151
2. Premier League Goals (Top Scorer for Tottenham)
- 2nd place: Son Heung-min has scored 107 Premier League goals, which makes him the 2nd-highest scorer in the club’s Premier League history:
- Harry Kane – 213
- Son Heung-min – 107
3. All-Time Appearances for Tottenham (All Competitions)
- 9th place: Son Heung-min has made 379 appearances for Spurs, ranking him in the top 10 for all-time appearances.
- Steve Perryman – 854
- Gary Mabbutt – 611
- Pat Jennings – 590
- Cyril Knowles – 506
- Glenn Hoddle – 490
- Darren Anderton – 429
- Ted Ditchburn – 418
- Alan Gilzean – 396
- Son Heung-min – 379
4. Top Assisters for Tottenham (Premier League)
- 4th place: Son Heung-min has provided 55 Premier League assists, ranking him 4th among Tottenham’s Premier League assist providers.
- Harry Kane – 50+ (Numbers change regularly with each match)
- Christian Eriksen – 62
- Darren Anderton – 67
- Son Heung-min – 55
5. Top Goal Contributions (Goals + Assists) – Premier League
- 2nd place: Son ranks 2nd in Tottenham’s all-time Premier League goal contributions (goals + assists combined).
- Harry Kane – 263+ (Goals + Assists)
- Son Heung-min – 162 (107 goals, 55 assists)
6. (GPT hallucination)
7. Premier League Golden Boot Winner (2021/22)
- 1st place: Son is the only non-European player in Tottenham’s history to win the Premier League Golden Boot (23 goals in 2021/22).
8. Most Left-Footed Goals in Premier League History
- Son has scored more left-footed goals than any right-footed player in Premier League history, surpassing 35.
9. Top Non-European Goal Scorer in Premier League History
- 1st place: Son is the highest non-European goal scorer in Premier League history, with 107 goals (surpassing Sergio Agüero’s previous record of 184 combined across competitions).
10. Premier League Player of the Month Awards
- Son Heung-min has won 3 Premier League Player of the Month awards, tied for the most by any Tottenham player, along with Harry Kane.
11. Top Spurs Scorer in European Competitions
- 3rd place: Son has scored 25 goals in European competitions for Tottenham, ranking him 3rd all-time for the club:
- Harry Kane – 47
- Martin Chivers – 22
- Son Heung-min – 25
12. Most Tottenham Goals in the Champions League
- 1st place: Son Heung-min is the club’s top scorer in the UEFA Champions League with 14 goals.
13. Most Two-Footed Player
- Son is well-known for being one of the most two-footed players in Premier League history. The breakdown of his 107 Premier League goals shows remarkable balance:
- Right foot: 39 goals
- Left foot: 56 goals
- Headers: 12 goals
Additional Honors and Records:
- First Asian player to win the Premier League Golden Boot (2021/22).
- First Asian player to reach 100 goals in the Premier League.
- Most goals by an Asian player in Premier League history.
by Far-Mountain-3412
13 Comments
I really don’t know what makes one player a “Spurs legend” vs another who isn’t.
In my opinion, Son, Kane, Gazza, Bale, these guys are legends.
Klinsmann – I don’t think he is. Just my view.
Sonny is a peg above Kane in my book because he didn’t jump ship like a little rat.
The most important factor is that Son is loyal and has stayed with the club through hard times even when he could’ve left.
If Sonny wins a trophy he tops Kane and all others in my book.
Players who always give 120% on the field are all legends to me, with or without trophy. Especially long-service players. The likes of Ben Davies, VDV, Mousa Dembele, Sandro, Hugo, Sissoko, Lamela, Lucas are my kind of legends. But yeah, the term is subjective and will vary from one fan to another. Like how some would think Llorente’s hips are legendary..lol. So for me, it mostly boils down to the emotional impact. If their contributions hv been significant and memorable, they deserve to be considered as legends. And in Son’s case, he is and will always be considered as a Legend in my book.
6 is just wrong
Ehhh he’s a legend to me, Kane too.
Being a top player isn’t the same as being a legend. Kane is a top player *and* a legend, in large part due to being one of our own. Gazza is a top player and pivotal in a trophy win, I would say a Spurs legend. Klinsmann for sure was an important part of the team and a really good player, but not a Spurs legend by any means. He wasn’t here for long and didn’t contribute to a trophy or anything like that.
Sonny? I don’t know. I’d call him a top player and certainly iconic to Spurs due to the number of people who started supporting Tottenham through him. I like him a lot and I think him staying with us through the years is worthy of merit, but I’d save the debate on his legend status until he’s left the club (through retirement or otherwise). I think a judgement at this point would be clouded by what we want to see. All these other players we can look back on and decide, it’s much harder when Son’s still here with more to give for the club.
Why does the player need a trophy to be a legend at their club? I would be ecstatic when spurs win a trophy but I don’t think that is a player’s achievement, it is the achievement of the whole team.
Son is already a legend in my eyes.
Many of these stats are out of date.
Its all subjective Talksport nonsense, mate.
Gazza won us the semi that lead to an FA Cup. Also, being England’s most gifted player and daft as a brush means he’s remembered in a way that nobody else is.
Signing Klinsman was as close as Spurs will ever get to signing a player like Messi, and it just “happened”, even more so than VDV(aart) The he came back to stop us getting relegated.
Kane came up through the academy, aand broken a lot of records. Club and country.
At the end of the day, “legend” isn’t a very objective term as it’s used colloquially in football. It’s not unlike arguing who is better between Messi and Ronaldo. In the same way, people have as much right to call <player x> a legend as any other. It’s just opinion and their own personal experiences…
To me, Sonny is absolutely a legend.
As far as I’m aware though, it’s Son himself has started repeating the whole “you have to win something to be a legend” narrative. I imagine that narrative can probably be traced back to Talksport one way or another…
Certainly one of the most iconic of all time. Is that the equivalent of a legend? Personally, yes I think so. But I do understand if some fans disagree with that.
If he does win something with us, then the debate would definitively be over.
I’ve been a supporter for over 40 years, I’ve seen some lgreats, some legends, and some fucking awful players in those years.
Son is a legend, more so than Klinsmann.
By all measures except a trophy, he is one of our best ever players
19th on appearances
5th on goals
Club captain