James Maddison lifted his arms within the air, performing because the conductor for Tottenham Hotspur’s supporters as he urged them to create extra noise.
Ange Postecoglou’s facet had simply taken a 2-1 lead in opposition to Brentford on Saturday after they recovered from the shock of conceding inside 25 seconds. It was a major second as they wrestled again management of the sport and took an enormous step in direction of successful for under the second time within the league this season.
Following back-to-back defeats to Newcastle United and Arsenal, plus an unconvincing last-gasp Carabao Cup victory over Championship facet Coventry Metropolis in midweek, this was the tonic all people wanted to elevate their spirits, however the identification of the goalscorer at that specific second was essential to the sensation of goodwill which enveloped the followers.
Final week, Brennan Johnson deactivated his Instagram account because of the abuse he acquired after Spurs misplaced that north London derby at dwelling. The 23-year-old ahead then began on the bench in opposition to Coventry, earlier than scoring the winner in second-half stoppage time. His muted celebration advised what occurred off the pitch had taken its toll.
Maddison spoke glowingly of Johnson (Alex Pantling/Getty Photos)
That’s the reason, when Johnson burst previous Nathan Collins and drilled a right-footed shot previous goalkeeper Mark Flekken within the twenty eighth minute, the group on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium erupted.
Johnson shushed the Brentford followers, nonetheless bitter that their membership made a number of provides to signal him from Nottingham Forest however failed to finish a deal, and was then surrounded by his team-mates as chants of ‘There’s just one Brennan Johnson’ rang out loudly.
The Wales worldwide had scored in consecutive matches for the primary time since he joined Spurs from Forest final August for £47.5million ($63.2m on the present alternate price). The final time he discovered the online in back-to-back membership video games was in Might 2022, when Forest had been on their method to promotion from the Championship.
Maddison needed him to benefit from the second, which he deserved.
“He works so laborious for the group and made so many runs in behind to stretch Brentford,” Maddison advised The Athletic. “What number of instances did he come quick and Pedro (Porro, Spurs’ right-back) clipped a ball for him to chase? It creates extra space within the center for me and (Dejan) Kulusevski. Unselfish stuff like that folks don’t at all times see.
“So when he does rating, and so they can shout his identify, I used to be simply getting them going. That can imply loads to him and his household right here. That’s back-to-back objectives. He is a superb child and I like him so I used to be simply attempting to provide him confidence.”
Head coach Postecoglou admitted the ahead had endured a “robust interval” however has not spoken to him straight to supply additional assist. Johnson has, unfairly, turn out to be a scapegoat for sections of the fanbase however his performances are symbolic of the long-term challenge Postecoglou is overseeing.
It is a younger squad with huge potential, who’re rising collectively as a gaggle and studying to turn out to be extra constant. Errors are going to occur. Tottenham spent some huge cash on Johnson as a result of he might each contribute instantly and probably turn into an elite winger. That’s nonetheless a piece in progress.
Final season, Johnson scored 5 instances from a determine for anticipated objectives (xG) — a metric that measures the standard of probabilities a group creates — of 10.6. As such, he was the largest underperformer in entrance of objective within the Premier League behind Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
If he continues to work laborious on the coaching pitch, you’d count on the standard of his ending to enhance — it was definitely a crisp strike that beat Flekken.
Two in two for our 22 🤍 pic.twitter.com/KmNbQelqSn
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 21, 2024
Johnson created the fourth-most probabilities from open play (45) for Tottenham within the Premier League final season, behind Maddison (47), Kulusevski (66) and Son Heung-min (67) however began fewer video games than all of them. He was joint-top with Son for league assists (10).
Postecoglou used Son, Richarlison and, on uncommon events, Kulusevski at centre-forward final season. Now he has £65million club-record signing Dominic Solanke to play off, don’t be shocked if Johnson advantages from having a constant presence up entrance and registers much more assists than that.
Johnson’s total efficiency in opposition to Brentford demonstrated how a lot of a devastating attacker he might be.
Thomas Frank’s guests lined up in a 3-5-2 formation, with Collins because the left centre-back and Keane Lewis-Potter as an aggressive left wing-back who pushed excessive up the pitch. That meant Johnson had giant pockets of area to drive straight at Collins in.
Kulusevski created an excellent alternative for the Welshman within the tenth minute however his shot flashed previous the submit. Within the second half, Cristian Romero launched a counter-attack which ended with Johnson dragging one other try vast, earlier than lifting his shirt up over his head in frustration whereas Postecoglou dropped his arms to his knees.
These are the moments the place Johnson must turn out to be extra medical, which Postecoglou acknowledged earlier than the sport, whereas not each opposing group will afford him as a lot area as Brentford did.
“With Brennan, it’s simply the consistency in his recreation, which we’re continuously engaged on with him,” Postecoglou stated on Friday. “He’s at all times moving into good areas, it’s about decision-making at sure instances in that entrance third however it’s a troublesome place to play as a younger participant; as soon as he unlocks in his head the stuff he’s actually good at and adjusts his recreation to get probably the most out of that side of it, he’ll turn out to be an important participant.
“He works laborious on that on daily basis and typically individuals simply take a look at objectives and assists, which is the plain measure for attacking gamers. He provides us numerous different issues, significantly working laborious defensively. When he first got here to us it wasn’t one thing pure to him, however he has bought loads higher at that. Now it’s placing layers on his recreation.”
On the finish of per week which has been a rollercoaster of feelings, Johnson will probably be hoping his newest match-winning contributions could be a springboard for an thrilling second 12 months with Spurs.
(High picture: Johnson shushed booing Brentford followers – and his critics; Alex Pantling/Getty Photos)
