Tottenham shut out the outside noise by coming from behind to beat Brentford on Saturday.
Ange Postecoglou has been coming under fire for recent results and these three points were very much needed.
It didn’t help matters that Tottenham were a goal down inside a minute when Bryan Mbeumo fired home a spectacular half-volley.
But the home team showcased their attacking might, and after half an hour, they were leading 2-1, with goals from Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson.
That was significant because Solanke scored his first goal for the club and Johnson has now netted twice within a week.
Given Brentford’s strength going forward, and they were causing problems, another goal was needed and James Maddison provided that towards the end.
Once again, he is another player who has needed something in the final third given his poor start to the new season.
Several Spurs players have come under fire during these early parts, and in some cases, their price tag doesn’t help matters.
The London club paid close to £50 million for Johnson’s talents from Nottingham Forest last summer, but his final third play simply hasn’t been good enough.
It has been building and building, going back to last season, with Tottenham’s defeat to Arsenal in the north London derby being the final straw.
Johnson proceeded to deactivate his Instagram account, with Jamie O’Hara claiming that it has worked because he scored the winner against Coventry in the League Cup and now the goal against Brentford.
O’Hara wanted to point out that the Wales international has to ‘expect stick’ as a footballer because of the price tag he signed for.
But admitted that if he does ’stick the middle finger to the Spurs fans’, then he has every right to and ‘fair play’ to him, as he told talkSPORT.
Brennan Johnson scores again for Tottenham
“You pay £50 million for someone, you have got to expect stick,” said O’Hara. “You can’t be weak mentally as a football player. You have to be strong. It’s a tough one. You play for Spurs, you have to produce week in and week out. If you don’t, then you are going to get stick. Every footballer takes stick. It’s part and parcel of playing at the top. You are on a lot of money. You are ready to get shot at.
“So, Brennan Johnson has to be thicker skinned. He’s a good player and we signed him for £50 million. He hasn’t quite done the business yet. When you come at that price tag, you have to do the business, especially at Tottenham.
“When he has deactivated his Instagram account, you know what, good because he doesn’t need it. He isn’t an influencer. He is a professional football player. Concentrate on your game and score goals. No coincidence that he has deactivated his Instagram and scored two goals. You go ‘you know what, I am going to show you and I am going to do the business’. If he sticks the middle finger up to the fans, great. Fair play, son. I have no problem with that.”
Tottenham in the Europa League
The team finished fifth last term, narrowly missing out on Champions League football, but they didn’t have any midweek games to deal with.
Now, they have the difficulty of trying to juggle Europa League matches and you wonder what effect this will have on the squad.
Postecoglou’s all-action style is going to be tested because his teams don’t sit back, but have a very high line, play with so much energy and their defensive players have to make a lot of recovery runs.
Tottenham’s bench strength needs to prove itself here, or else, more stick will be coming the players’ way.
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