Player Watch Player Watch: Brennan Johnson

[jurgen11]

He was supposed to be integrated slowly , making impact off the bench , thrown in because of injury, he is going to be fine for us

 

[Stamford]

I kept faith with richarlison. Ange will get BJ playing, I have no doubt. Just need to be patient

 

[rebrab]

He was really poor today, but give him time. If he ups his aggression and workrate he’ll look a different player. Ange and the scouting department must have felt he had it in him/had the right character to be a success so let’s see.

 

[Jamturk]

FFS!

some people need to realise that sometimes it takes longer than 5 minutes to settle into a new club/team

The boy is doing fine.

 

[Tucker]

I actually think he compliments Porro quite well going forward. He’s got the pace to get onto the through balls. Just needs to be more composed in the final third.

 

[h2005]

For his first season I think he’s done quite well. Lots to work on but he fits the system.

 

[spurs9]

I did think of Son when opening this thread. But Son always had an intensity about him. Yes Son can shirk tackles and be a bit weak, but Son always had a great mentality. Persistent and determined.

Early days for Johnson so definitely not writing him off. He's been OK. I just do see a bit of Sess in him and it's worrying.

Yeah, I've got to agree, it is a worry. I'm hoping a pre-season with Ange will sort him out.

It's possible that he isn't physically up to it yet, as he was injured in pre-season with Forest, then got injured a couple of games into his start here.

 

[Jamturk]

I don't know many players who get the better of Wan Bissaka one on one

Ten Hag deemed him to be that much of a threat he played him on his wrong side to counter Brennan today.

 

[spurs9]

I always find it weird when people bring up transfer fees. Why? It isn't your money, so who the fuck cares if we spent 5p or 50 million. Financially, we are well-run; we aren't going bankrupt any time soon.

Also, if you look at the first 20 pages of Son's thread (basically his first season), many were saying he didn't look a 20+ million pound player. How wrong they turned out to be.

 

[THFCSPURS19]

He’s the right sided version of a (when fit) Sessegnon… all the attributes to do well but a Bambi in headlights

And yet you seemingly have him in your preferred first XI based on your signature?

 

[spurs9]

The big concerning factor for me is more of a mentality thing. I understand the move to Spurs must of been big but if you compare him to Udogie and Sarr who are both younger and came from weaker European leagues, there does seem to be a large gap. Both Udogie and Sarr look far more assured than Johnson, it’s not just their raw ability but how much conviction they have in their play that makes them have the potential to be truly elite. I’ve never seen that in Johnson ether at Spurs or at Forrest.

That doesn’t mean he can’t become a very good player in time and you could well be right in that he just needs time and eventually it will click. Id be lying if I said I didn’t have a few doubts but I think all he needs now is patience and time to develop.

For what it’s worth I think he will actually look really good when he starts playing a bench role.

I'm hoping that is just because he missed pre-season (with Forest) then got injured on his 2nd appearance (1st start) with us, has been thrust into a larger role than we had hoped and hasn't had the same players around him due to injuries etc.

It's been a far from ideal introduction.

There are definitely some flags for concern but don't think we should judge him until his 2nd season.

 

[CowInAComa]

I dont know if you can coach timidity out of someone. i dont think you can

He might have talent but honestly i dunno, its hard to tell when all i ever see is him trying to get rid of the ball like its a hot potato whenever he receives it. His lack of directness and aggression seems somewhat at odds with the sort of player Ange clearly likes.

 

[TEESSIDE1]

And yet you seemingly have him in your preferred first XI based on your signature?

Yep, I like him as he adds balance in terms of his pace and directness but he’s not performing as well as one would expect with his skill set. He’s ’too soft’. Sess is the same… they’ve both got the attributes to be very good players but they need to be confident and have some conviction in what they’re doing. Look at Bale, he was like an excitable child once who was more concerned about his hair… then after a summer of hard work he transformed his game and went on to be a footballing superstar. Now I’m not saying Sess and/or Johnson will reach the same levels of Gareth but the point stands that they both need to grow up and utilise their attributes otherwise they’ll never achieve what they’re capable of.

 

[mil1lion]

Loved his bit of skill second half where he sort knocked it over his head to run onto , such a shame it was just a bit too heavy. He seems to have these great moments that just make you think he could be special if it just comes off. Maybe one of those special types of goals will raise his confidence, he seems a little timid. It's obviously a big move for him with a different pressure to what he's used too. Just needs time.

 

[bubble07]

I don't know many players who get the better of Wan Bissaka one on one

Ten Hag deemed him to be that much of a threat he played him on his wrong side to counter Brennan today.

He played him there because Shaw got injured day before game. AWB wasn't going to be starting. ETH didn't want to move Dalot to left back when he was prepping him to play RB

 

[rossdapep]

We didnt spend 50m on him cause he is a 50m player now.

We spent 50m on him because he has the potential to be one day.

He isnt really far off it either. just a little bit of work.

Also, why do people often flock into these new player threads to make statements like "Poor signing" or "Not gonna make it"?

Is it to be able to turn around and say "I told you"?

 

[spurs-r-us]

I don't know many players who get the better of Wan Bissaka one on one

Ten Hag deemed him to be that much of a threat he played him on his wrong side to counter Brennan today.

Get the feeling that was more for Porro's sake.

 

[spurs-r-us]

Today was one of his poorer games, but otherwise he's been okay. There's a lot of undue pressure on him as one of our only fit attackers, and he's not positioned to deal with that at the moment. Kulusevski and Werner will both be ahead of him as starters when all are fit at this stage in my view, but he's very young.

 

[Fergus]

The lack of confidence might have originated from being wiped out by Wan-Bissaka in the first five minutes.

And if he'd gone back at Wan-Bissaka again and again, United may well have finished the game with 10 men. Being regularly flattened goes with the territory if you are a wide attacking player. Christiano Ronaldo had the shit kicked out of him continuously as an 18/19 year-old at United, back when refereeing was a lot more lax and defending a great deal cruder, and just kept getting back up and looking for more.

 

[alexis]

I dont know if you can coach timidity out of someone. i dont think you can

He might have talent but honestly i dunno, it’s hard to tell when all i ever see is him trying to get rid of the ball like it’s a hot potato whenever he receives it. His lack of directness and aggression seems somewhat at odds with the sort of player Ange clearly likes.

Never thought he was timid at forest. Maybe as he’s young and he was confident of his place there he was happy taking his player on. Give him time.