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Brennan Johnson

yiddo37 said:
This is the main one for me, he has a lot of pace but has zero confidence in using it to beat the full back.
Probably our best finisher now Sonny has gone so he is useful, think he could work well alongside another forward if we ever play 2 up top.
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He’s not slow but he’s not rapid either. I actually thought it might be worth a try up front because the other options we have are poor but he can’t hold the ball up and he has no strength or guile so would lose the ball or give it away as often as Richarlison does. He’s not a technically sound footballer. That would have been fine in the 90s but the game has moved on. Forwards need to be more rounded and polished.
 
yiddo37 said:
This is the main one for me, he has a lot of pace but has zero confidence in using it to beat the full back.
Probably our best finisher now Sonny has gone so he is useful, think he could work well alongside another forward if we ever play 2 up top.
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Made me laugh when the commentator was saying how tenacious a defender Dorgu is and so Johnson had his work cut out for him. Obviously has no clue that Johnson hasn't tried to take his man on once for us and thus Dorgu's tenaciousness was settled before the game kicked off. Only hope I can see for Johnson is if Frank can find some way to play him as a kind of false nine poacher but he'd have to play near someone who can hold the ball up and he's not worth rejigging an attack around.
 
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Jurgen the German said:
I actually thought it might be worth a try up front because the other options we have are poor
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Yes I could see him being effective in that role, waiting on the shoulder then running on to flick-ons from some big lad. It is an option, since Richie and Johnson are utterly hopeless at actually playing football, it might be 20 times more effective and actually yield 1 xG per game.
 
Mosquito_Coasting said:
Made me laugh when the commentator was saying how tenacious a defender Dorgu is and so Johnson had his work cut out for him. Obviously has no clue that Johnson hasn't tried to take his man on once for us and thus Dorgu's tenaciousness was settled before the game kicked off. Only hope I can see for Johnson is if Frank can find some way to play him as a kind of false nine poacher but he'd have to play near someone who can hold the ball up and he's not worth rejigging an attack around.
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I think he's trying to do more in those situations recently. Also up against Dorgu he did try to take him on a couple of times IIRC.

I still think he's not doing enough. And particularly with the changes in how we attack meaning that he gets fewer of those situations he really thrives in meaning less end product too.

Still think he can improve. If it will be enough though, I'm not sure.
 
Bullet said:
Yes I could see him being effective in that role, waiting on the shoulder then running on to flick-ons from some big lad. It is an option, since Richie and Johnson are utterly hopeless at actually playing football, it might be 20 times more effective and actually yield 1 xG per game.
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Yes, his making runs, and timing and location of those runs is good, a strong point. And then, his finishing is generally decent.
 
ricky2tricky4city said:
Yes, his making runs, and timing and location of those runs is good, a strong point. And then, his finishing is generally decent.
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You need more than just runs to play striker. He would occasionally at the very least be expected to keep the ball and then sometimes move it on positively. All things he's not capable of doing. I think it would be disaster with up top, not too similar to playing with Richy who actually has more of a physical presence than Johnson does.
 
Bishop said:
You need more than just runs to play striker. He would occasionally at the very least be expected to keep the ball and then sometimes move it on positively. All things he's not capable of doing. I think it would be disaster with up top, not too similar to playing with Richy who actually has more of a physical presence than Johnson does.
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Yeah...Im not saying he could lead the line alone....just trying to facilitate the qualities he does have (and even then that probably only succeeds in counter-attack or quick transition mode)
 
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Bullet said:
Yes I could see him being effective in that role, waiting on the shoulder then running on to flick-ons from some big lad. It is an option, since Richie and Johnson are utterly hopeless at actually playing football, it might be 20 times more effective and actually yield 1 xG per game.
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That would require a big lad though. And if we had that big lad him being the one striker may be a good solution too, or if we were to partner a big lad with someone else, why not Tel?

I can see how it could work, but for me the main realistic path for Johnson is to improve his overall game as a winger.
 
metalgear said:
unfortunately both ange and TF don't like to send the ball down for johnson to chase in full flight
i'd thought that with chelsea's press sending a long ball down either wing would be interesting
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That's part of why a good high press works so well though imo.

When I think of long pings over the top for a player to run in behind I picture Alderweireld to Alli, sometimes Porro or Romero now to whoever. What pops up in my head that may not be the full picture is a defender with both quality and a bit of time and space to pick and play that ping with accuracy.

Good pressing teams are well aware of who has that quality, they're well aware of that threat. Closing players down quickly enough to not give the defenders who can play those passes the time and space to actually do it is part of the job of the pressing players. If high pressing teams fail to do that they'll be in massive trouble, again and again.

To me the solution has to include breaking through that initial high press and then get a midfielder or defender (usually a full back if it's a defender) in a bit of space in between the lines of the high press to play those through balls. Do that a couple of times and the opposition forwards may start second guessing their pressing giving time to the defenders to sometimes play those pings themselves.

That requires playing with more risk in those situations than we have typically done. To be fair against Chelsea we tried imo, but we weren't good enough at it, lost the ball, conceded chances and ultimately the goal.
 
ricky2tricky4city said:
We have a big lad. Solanke
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To me yes and no.

He's our best holdup striker, probably our most well rounded striker. I'm genuinely curious and excited to see what he can do under Frank. He's also quite a big lad, gives most centre backs a real battle physically.

For me a "big lad" it's relative. The PL is an exceptionally physical league and most PL defenders are real big strong players. In that context he's himself big and strong, but not to the extent that he outpowers PL centre backs with regularity.

In that context, relatively speaking he's not imo "a big lad". There aren't many strikers around who are "big lads" compared to most PL centre backs, but there's a few. He to me isn't one of them.

Don't think we disagree really. More just "definitions" and that to me he's not someone you can build a long ball strategy around. Whereas someone like Toney you could.
 
braineclipse said:
To me yes and no.

He's our best holdup striker, probably our most well rounded striker. I'm genuinely curious and excited to see what he can do under Frank. He's also quite a big lad, gives most centre backs a real battle physically.

For me a "big lad" it's relative. The PL is an exceptionally physical league and most PL defenders are real big strong players. In that context he's himself big and strong, but not to the extent that he outpowers PL centre backs with regularity.

In that context, relatively speaking he's not imo "a big lad". There aren't many strikers around who are "big lads" compared to most PL centre backs, but there's a few. He to me isn't one of them.

Don't think we disagree really. More just "definitions" and that to me he's not someone you can build a long ball strategy around. Whereas someone like Toney you could.
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Are there any currently in the Premier League who fit the big lad description? I guess you thinking of the likes of Lukaku when he was here? He was basically monstrous lad
 
RunTMC said:
Are there any currently in the Premier League who fit the big lad description? I guess you thinking of the likes of Lukaku when he was here? He was basically monstrous lad
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May be some disagreements on some of these, but Mateta, Beto at Everton (though overall not a good player), Haaland has a bit of that about him. Woltemade in his way.
 
braineclipse said:
That's part of why a good high press works so well though imo.

When I think of long pings over the top for a player to run in behind I picture Alderweireld to Alli, sometimes Porro or Romero now to whoever. What pops up in my head that may not be the full picture is a defender with both quality and a bit of time and space to pick and play that ping with accuracy.

Good pressing teams are well aware of who has that quality, they're well aware of that threat. Closing players down quickly enough to not give the defenders who can play those passes the time and space to actually do it is part of the job of the pressing players. If high pressing teams fail to do that they'll be in massive trouble, again and again.

To me the solution has to include breaking through that initial high press and then get a midfielder or defender (usually a full back if it's a defender) in a bit of space in between the lines of the high press to play those through balls. Do that a couple of times and the opposition forwards may start second guessing their pressing giving time to the defenders to sometimes play those pings themselves.

That requires playing with more risk in those situations than we have typically done. To be fair against Chelsea we tried imo, but we weren't good enough at it, lost the ball, conceded chances and ultimately the goal.
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one of the issues we have is that a lot of balls are passed laterally or behind the player. Paulinha gets on my nerves because he works so hard to win the ball back and all he thinks of is "here take it from me" and he passes a lame pass laterally to the nearest player, instead of looking up and thinking of the best option. usually the receiving players is now under pressure for the other team's press.

instead he needs to be more aware of the situation around and make the effort to draw players away so that he can lay off one neatly for another to give him time and space for an incisive forward pass.
 
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