- Johnson still searching for first Palace goal
- Glasner defends his big money signing
- Fans beginning to lose patience
Brennan Johnson played 78 minutes in Palace’s 0-0 draw with West Ham, and once again frustrated fans with his performance. Not only that, but Alan Smith, who was commentating on the game, described his first twenty minutes as a ‘nightmare’.
Despite this, Palace manager Oliver Glasner has thrown praise in the direction of the Welshman, who continues to search for his first goal since his £35 million move to Selhurst Park.
Glasner Insists Johnson Will Come Good
In his post-match press conference, Glasner spoke about Johnson’s performance, which received heavy criticism from viewers of the game.
“I think it was a good performance, he was a big threat today. He had the header first half. In the second half the same and I think it was a very good performance.”
“For me, it’s not just the goals the attackers score”, he continued, which is a great thing for Johnson, who has not scored once in his 18 games for Palace. In fact, he’s now on a run of 29 club games without a goal.
“He did very well out of possession. I think it was a good step in the right direction and he will get confidence from these performances.”
Whilst Glasner defending one of his players is not surprising, there is a sense of honesty that seems to be amiss from these comments.
The winger made two defensive contributions in the entire game. One tackle, one clearance, and was fortunate not to be sent off when he tripped a West Ham player off the ball. His other attempted challenge was late, high and from behind, and was punished with a yellow card.
In possession, Johnson struggled to have any real impact. He missed a glorious chance as he headed wide from six yards, despite being completely unmarked.
His passing was poor, putting up a measly 58% accuracy, making zero successful dribbles and losing possession of the football nine times.
All of these statistics, along with the all-trusty eye test, suggest that Glasner’s praise is at the very best sympathetic.
Patience Running Out
Whilst the line about his confidence has been used consistently since his arrival in January, the lack of accountability for how poorly he is playing makes it slightly difficult to feel sorry for him. At the end of the day, this is a professional footballer earning millions of pounds who is ultimately not doing his job.
£35 million feels like a complete rip-off when you consider the output actually provided.
“It’s fallen to the wrong man. A player low in confidence.”
Alan Smith was certainly aware of the performance he was seeing and vocalised his concern over Johnson’s form on numerous occasions, summarising his start to the game by saying, “Everything that could have gone wrong has.”
This isn’t a young player learning his trade. Johnson is an experienced professional who has simply failed to perform since his transfer. There needs to be some sort of progress, development, or, at the very least, signs of improvement.
The frustration for me and many Palace fans is that he is a likeable character. As a fan, you naturally want him to succeed and improve, and I’m as desperate as anyone for that to happen.
However, there is a certain level you expect from someone who has not only cost that much money, but is being paid as much as he is. Johnson himself will be aware that these performances are not at the level expected, and surely not what he expects of himself, so improvement is the only option.
Glasner afforded him the chance to impress by leaving him on the pitch when he made a cull of changes, but again, the player replacing him, in this instance Justin Devenny, made more of an impact in much fewer minutes.
Johnson needs to improve if his future at Palace is to be of any significance, and I cannot stress enough how much I really want that to happen.
