Player Watch Player Watch: Brennan Johnson

[rebrab]

Gil is yet to prove he can cut it in the PL.

I don't think he ever will tbh.

I don’t think Brennan has proved it either

 

[Wig]

We shouldnt be going for any striker other than Vlahovic. Hes the one.

Is he available for a realistic fee and does he actually want to come to us compared to other teams in Europe? Just can't see it happening

 

[Guntz]

I don’t think Brennan has proved it either

He got 10 goals and 3 assists last season in a shocking Forest side, he's definitely more proven than Gil.

Has Gil even scored for us yet?

 

[arunspurs]

He got benched for much of the run in as he wasn’t cutting it and so I disagree with him being pivotal in their survival.

Fails the stats and eye test for me

He started 33 out of 38 games. Of the 5 missed he was benched for Chelsea & Arsenal game in run in .
Cooper clearly explained it was nothing to do with Johnson - more to do with need to go back3 & have a 3man midfield to add more protection as they had been conceding badly prior to it, so he had to sacrifice Johnson.

If anyone has doubts , suggest to speak with Forest fans on his importance instead of trying to look at goals or matches played.

 

[Powder Keg]

If we’re looking to offload players as part of any deal, this strikes me as a “club signing” which is absolutely not what we need

 

[Flobadob]

Gil is yet to prove he can cut it in the PL.

I don't think he ever will tbh.

I don’t see it with him either. He’s a 7/10 player technically at best despite what some people say and when it comes to physicality he’s so far off the level it’s not even funny. Would way rather Devine gets minutes at LW, 10 and RW over him, much more talented player and it will be shown over the next couple of years

 

[arunspurs]

I don’t think Brennan has proved it either

There are levels . Gil hasn’t taken baby steps in PL

Johnson 11 goal contribution may look small but it was still 30% of the total PL goals scored for Forest

 

[Ghost Hardware]

He got 10 goals and 3 assists last season in a shocking Forest side, he's definitely more proven than Gil.

Has Gil even scored for us yet?

Seeing as people are comparing im curious but how many PL mins does Gil have in comparison to Johnson? I feel like if one is going to compare goals and assists etc its always helpful to give context of mins and starts.

 

[Joely]

Not convinced to be honest. Not to say he isn't a good player or one with potential but not sure he is the right type of player we need right now. Yes we need a wide forward with serious pace but that alone is not enough. Type of player we require imo needs a combination of pace and good close control and the ability to shift the ball quickly....this is the combination that opens up things and cause defenders headaches. Only seen Johnson a handful of times but don't see the close control/trickiness from him there to really open up the game for us.

He looks a good athlete and can cause problems by using his pace to get on the end of things/being found in space out wide to run at players but don't think the really tight control and ability to shift the ball quickly is there to really give defenders a problem. Looks more like someone who move the ball forward with a touch and then use his pace to get onto the ball.

 

[dj_stu]

To add to this. Last season Forest scored 38 goals. Of which Johnson contributed 11 (8G + 3A). A pretty impressive % contribution.

Almost Kane-esque

 

[arunspurs]

I can see why people are worried - we have a similar player in Richarlison who came from a avg team too. We thought he will do better but till now been disappointment on goal contribution

Difference for me is, unlike Richy , Johnson is technically far better to suit our play. Richy has all the fair but is still clumsy and doesn’t have a clean idea and composure in front of goal . Johnson crossing is good and also can take on & play well from right side

 

[arunspurs]

Not convinced to be honest. Not to say he isn't a good player or one with potential but not sure he is the right type of player we need right now. Yes we need a wide forward with serious pace but that alone is not enough. Type of player we require imo needs a combination of pace and good close control and the ability to shift the ball quickly....this is the combination that opens up things and cause defenders headaches. Only seen Johnson a handful of times but don't see the close control/trickiness from him there to really open up the game for us.

He looks a good athlete and can cause problems by using his pace to get on the end of things/being found in space out wide to run at players but don't think the really tight control and ability to shift the ball quickly is there to really give defenders a problem. Looks more like someone who move the ball forward with a touch and then use his pace to get onto the ball.

I am of view Ange system doesn’t necessarily need a tricky winger - Ange system IMO needs a player who can go both ways and deliver the cross as well as have ability to finish .

Ange system will have the runners overlap & underlap - so wingers will have space . It’s about what they do when they have those space.

Currently , Kulu cannot cross from right . At best he can do is to take the ball far into box and cutback. Son as well isnt crossing that well.

Johnson can cross well from right side and also find the bottom corner consistently. He can also play through kiddie or from left if required.

We all will love a Doku style wing forward but Johnson style will also work IMO

 

[rebrab]

He started 33 out of 38 games. Of the 5 missed he was benched for Chelsea & Arsenal game in run in .
Cooper clearly explained it was nothing to do with Johnson - more to do with need to go back3 & have a 3man midfield to add more protection as they had been conceding badly prior to it, so he had to sacrifice Johnson.

If anyone has doubts , suggest to speak with Forest fans on his importance instead of trying to look at goals or matches played.

I only know two Forest fans, so very small sample size, but they both said the same thing: he’s a moments player who they’d happily sell if they could get a decent replacement. Neither think he will do better in a bigger team as they don’t think we’ll have the patience in between those “moments” to stick with him.

The counter to that is that he’ll almost certainly have more moments in a team like ours so maybe he’ll step up ala Jota/Mane and become a different beast.

If Ange wants him, I want him, but on the face of it I think there’s better players out there for the money personally

 

[y1dk1d]

I actually think Johnson is a bit overly-criticised in here, and I think he’s a decent player.

But that doesn’t mean I’d want him starting for us, and that’s a hell of a lot of money. I’d have thought around the £30M mark. Selling Kane and bringing him in his incredibly underwhelming

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

Out of interest what RWf’s are more suited to an Postecoglu team either going by names or attributes?. Because from what I’ve seen he’s had different types of wide forwards/wingers in his teams. I would actually say Johnson Is more something that he would like to compliment what we have at the moment. full backs cutting in, a wide player being able to go on the outside, stretching the pitch and getting in behind. I would say wingers that like to drift inside would be a weird link as that’s basically what all our forwards/wingers do at the moment

Nico Williams, Johan Bakayoko, Pedro Neto to name 3 off the top of my head.

 

[Now it's Spursonal]

I don’t think Brennan has proved it either

Think this is very harsh on Brennan, he’s shown that he can 100% cut it in the league last season.

A better question though is if he could cut it at a top 6 team, which is yet unknown.

Im going to put trust in our scouting here though, and hope for the best.

One thing I did see on Sky sports when he was being linked to Chelsea was two stats.
It was a few days back though so correct me if I’m misremembering.
But I think it was that he was number one in the league for ball carrying distance last season, but also that he was number one in the league for having the least passing options available to him at the end of a run.

These would suggest slightly that he has been hampered by playing with a struggling team.

 

[KILLA_SIN]

Seeing as people are comparing im curious but how many PL mins does Gil have in comparison to Johnson? I feel like if one is going to compare goals and assists etc its always helpful to give context of mins and starts.

234 minutes across 13 league games over 2 seasons according to TM

I don't know how he would do putting in numbers but I know he's not played enough football for anyone to have an opinion on whether he will cut it

 

[chas vs dave]

Nico Williams, Johan Bakayoko, Pedro Neto to name 3 off the top of my head.

Pedro neto is easy on the eye, but his stats make Brennan Johnson look productive.

 

[Now it's Spursonal]

Found them.

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

Think this is very harsh on Brennan, he’s shown that he can 100% cut it in the league last season.

A better question though is if he could cut it at a top 6 team, which is yet unknown.

Im going to put trust in our scouting here though, and hope for the best.

One thing I did see on Sky sports when he was being linked to Chelsea was two stats.
It was a few days back though so correct me if I’m misremembering.
But I think it was that he was number one in the league for ball carrying distance last season, but also that he was number one in the league for having the least passing options available to him at the end of a run.

These would suggest slightly that he has been hampered by playing with a struggling team.

I would be surprised and confused by this. Here’s his carrying stats from fbref.