Latest news with #BrennanJohnson
The National
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Tottenham 2024/25 season review and ratings: Johnson and Romero 8, Werner 3
Season synopsis Premier League final position: 17th FA Cup: Fourth round League Cup: Semi-finals Europa League: Winners, beat Manchester United 1-0 in the final It's impossible to come to a consensus on Tottenham's season. Domestically, it was a train wreck - 17th in the league, 22 games lost – the most in a 38-game Premier League season by a side who were not relegated. They were also thrashed over two legs by Liverpool in the League Cup semi-finals. A total shambles. In Europe, however, it was a completely different story. Spurs saved their best for the continent, pulling off superb wins away to Eintracht Frankfurt and Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League quarter and semi-finals before beating Manchester United in a scrappy final. Brennan Johnson's goal in Bilbao secured Spurs a first trophy in 17 years. Winning the Europa League carried the added bonus of entry into next season's Uefa Champions League. It was their fourth victory over United this season, meaning 16% of Tottenham's wins in 2024/25 came against the club from Old Trafford. So what would Spurs fans prefer? Fourth or fifth in the league, a decent cup run, and qualify for Europe, or finish one place above relegation and win a major trophy, finally getting that monkey off their back? No doubt there are questions that need answering, deficiencies in the squad that need upgrading, tactics that need addressing. Ange Postecoglou's future is far from clear, and winning a trophy shouldn't absolve him of scrutiny, but few would blame the Australian if he walked, having made good on his promise to win a trophy in his second year. Best performance of the season Manchester City 0 Tottenham 4: In a league campaign drowning in disappointment, the undoubted highlight was an emphatic road victory that brought to an end City's 52-match unbeaten record at the Etihad Stadium. James Maddison struck twice in seven first-half minutes before Pedro Porro rubbed salt in the wounds of his former club and Johnson completed the rout. The win moved Spurs into the top six. That was to be their zenith as they tumbled down the table. Worst performance of the season Everton 3 Tottenham 2: To be brutally honest, there are too many to choose from in this category. The capitulation from 2-0 up against Brighton, the error-strewn 4-2 defeat to Wolves, but for sheer lack of fortitude, it has to be the defeat at Goodison. Spurs were as hapless as they were hopeless, wasting opportunities and failing to do the fundamentals like track runners or put bodies on the line. Dominic Calvert-Lewin opened the scoring on 13 minutes before Iliman Ndiaye sliced through the defence to double Everton's lead. An Archie Gray own goal seven minutes into first-half injury time compounded an awful first half. Dejan Kulusevski pulled a goal back before former Toffee Richarlison gave the scoreline an air of respectability when there really was none. Thriller of the season Coventry City 1 Tottenham 2: It says something about Spurs' season that their most thrilling win came against second-tier opposition in the third round of the League Cup. Championship club Coventry were well worth their lead through Brandon Thomas-Asante, having peppered Fraser Forster in the Tottenham goal throughout. Spurs were living on the edge - a collision between Forster and defender Radu Dragusin that almost led to a second Coventry goal typifying their evening - before substitutes Djed Spence and Johnson scored on 88 and 92 minutes to spare their blushes. Player of the season Brennan Johnson: Spurs were blighted by injuries to key players - not least Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven - which may go some way to explaining an appalling defensive record. Dominic Solanke proved a capable signing after joining for a club record £55 million from Bournemouth; Spence showed huge improvement, while Gray seemed to fill in at every position bar goalkeeper. Lucas Bergvall, 19, looks to have a bright future ahead of him, too. Porro was the one constant (49 games across competitions) and deserves special mention, but the award for Spurs' player of the season must go to Johnson. The winger suffered dog's abuse off fans early in the campaign. It became so bad that he even took himself off social media. Whether by fault or design, it made all the difference, and he ended the campaign as top scorer with 18 goals. None were more important than the feather touch applied to win the Europa League final. Some call it scrappy; Spurs fans think it's the most beautiful sight they've seen. Goal of the season Yves Bissouma's banger against Everton was great individual skill, but for a team goal, it's hard to look past Wilson Odobert's second goal in a 3-1 victory against AZ. Spurs were cruising at 2-0 up before the Dutch club pulled a goal back. Spurs have often been criticised for trying to play out from the back this season (with good reason) but when it works, it's a thing of beauty. All of the back five, including goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, touched the ball before Maddison showed ballerina skills to deceive his marker and advance up the pitch. The ball was eventually worked to the marauding Spence on the left, who crossed to Solanke, who's deft back-heel saw the ball land perfectly for Odobert to prod home. Pure 'Angeball'. Ratings Marks out of 10. Manager Ange Postecoglou - 7 May have had the last laugh by delivering - as promised - a trophy in his second season, and no doubt a spate of injuries seriously depleted his options, but he cannot be beyond reproach when judging Spurs' woeful domestic campaign. Goalkeepers Guglielmo Vicario - 6 Capable of the sublime and the stupid all in the same 90 minutes – never more evident than in his display in the Europa League final. If he was only half as good with his passing as he thinks he is, he would be only twice as good as he actually is. Fraser Forster - 4 Called upon when Vicario was one of many players to be sidelined and failed to take his chance. On the receiving end of some humbling losses. Antonin Kinsky - 5 Joined Spurs in January to help with a mounting injury crisis and a crisis of confidence in Spurs' other goalkeepers. Played six games with mixed performances. Brandon Austin - 4 Was named man of the match in his lone league appearance, a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United. Defenders Kevin Danso - 6 Was largely disappointing after signing on loan from Lens in February, but a towering defensive header in the dying seconds of the Europa League final, with Harry Maguire ready to pounce, made up for all of it. Sergio Reguilon - 4 Spurs' forgotten man. Made five appearances, and none of them memorable. Radu Dragusin - 4 Showed signs of promise after joining from Genoa last season but the Romanian went backwards this term. Destiny Udogie - 7 Sidelined by injury for big chunks of the season, but the Italian defender is one of Spurs' most potent attacking threats when fit. Archie Gray - 7 At various times, Gray has been deployed at right-back, left-back, centre-back, right and centre midfield. In all, made 45 appearances. A boy asked to do a man's job and he did it as well as any teenager could be expected. Cristian Romero - 7.5 The Argentine is as good as any defender in world football on his day but concerns over his temperament and dallying on the ball persist. His horror show in the defeat to Wolves capped off a miserable week for him at club and international level and there were other examples of him losing his head when a calm one was needed. Was a colossus in the Europa League final, though. Pedro Porro - 8 The Spaniard is scorer of the spectacular, as is evident in his strike away in Bodo that sent Spurs through to the Europa League final. As good a passer as anyone in the squad. Offers incision down the right and about as much stability at the back as you will get from a Spurs defender. Djed Spence - 7 The club's most improved player. More often than not deployed at full-back but some observers see his future as part of a defensive back three alongside Romero and Micky van de Ven. Lightning quick and comfortable on the ball. Ben Davies - 6 Was asked to fill the considerable shoes of Van de Ven during the Dutchman's prolonged absences. Micky van de Ven - 7.5 A goal-line clearance in the Europa League final was the perfect end to an injury-hit campaign. Keep him, and Romero, fit and Spurs will surely improve next term. Midfielders Yves Bissouma - 6 Still a far cry from the box-to-box powerhouse he was at Brighton. Had an excellent Europa League final, though. Pape Matar Sarr - 6 Suffered a dramatic loss of form after a promising start to the campaign. By far Spurs' best player in their Europa League triumph in a superb rearguard display against Manchester United. James Maddison - 7 A decent goal return with 12 across competitions. An infuriating player who can carve open teams at his best and be a passenger at his worst. Lucas Bergvall - 7 Probably played more games than he would have expected in his debut season, owing to Spurs' horrendous casualty list. Showed enough promise to expect big things in the future. Rodrigo Bentancur - 7 Another who saved his best for European nights. The Uruguayan is a handful on the deck and in the air but needs to take more games by the scruff of the neck. Dejan Kulusevski - 7 Spurs' most creative player who is great at getting his team up the pitch. Cruelly robbed of a place in the Europa League final by injury. Wilson Odobert - 6 Felt as though the Frenchman was underused in a season crying out for guile and creative flair. Brennan Johnson - 8 Finished the season with Spurs fans singing him happy birthday after his Europa League final heroics. A far cry from the vitriol that came his way at the start of the season. Has a knack for arriving at the back post to score. Timo Werner - 3 The German winger disappointed almost every chance he got. Forwards Dominic Solanke - 7.5 Answered critics who wondered if he was worth the money Spurs paid for him last summer. Excellent hold-up play, surprising pace and a threat in both boxes. Will want to improve on his 16 goals next term. Son Heung-min - 7 Anyone who wasn't crying at the footage of Son embracing his elderly father after lifting the Europa League trophy has no soul. A quiet season by his high standards, but none deserved a title more than the South Korean. Mathys Tel - 6 The French forward joined on loan from Bayern Munich in January and was asked to play mostly on the wing. A lively operator but maybe not done quite enough to convince to make the move permanent. Cops plenty of flack but in fairness to the Brazilian few put themselves about the pitch as much as him. Another who excelled in the Europa League title triumph.
The Guardian
7 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
‘Forget what you've done': Bellamy wants Wales players to switch focus to World Cup
Craig Bellamy has said his Wales players must reset and focus on a the World Cup qualifying double-header regardless of whether they finished the season 'on a trampoline or with a ball around their neck'. Brennan Johnson and Ben Davies won the Europa League with Tottenham, while Bellamy's squad for matches against Liechtenstein and Belgium also includes a quartet of Leeds players in Karl Darlow, Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rodon and Daniel James, who recently celebrated promotion to the Premier League. Connor Roberts was also promoted with Burnley, but Bellamy is mindful other players experienced disappointment. The Wales manager said: 'It's a positive [to have winners in the squad]. But when I was at a club, anyone who went away for international football and came back it was: 'Forget about what you've just done. Focus on what we're doing here. Every meeting, every part of football you thought you'd just learned there, forget about it. Get back on track here.' 'It's the same here with international football. You'll have a moment where you can congratulate players and I love them being on a high. But I also have to be responsible for players that perhaps haven't had the season they would have expected. As well as your egos, everything else is forgotten, it's not going to serve you here. 'This is what we do, how we work.' 'You're in a different world, you need to be in our world and they always are. Whether they're coming in on a trampoline or with a ball round their neck, off we go.' Bellamy named a 27-man squad for the qualifiers on Wednesday, with the 18-year-old Cardiff City right-back Ronan Kpakio receiving his first call-up. There is no place for the 18-year-old Manchester United striker Luca Biancheri, who will join Canada's senior squad on Sunday. Biancheri, whose mother is Canadian and father is Italian, has been capped by Wales at Under-19 level and was part of Wales's recent training camp in Spain, but Bellamy had no plans to bring him into his latest squad. Wales are relaxed about the teenager's situation and are happy for him to gain further experience. Wales are without Joe Allen, who retired this month. The 35-year-old reversed his decision to retire from international duty last year, but has stepped away a second time. Wales were staring at a first defeat under Bellamy when Allen's wayward pass allowed North Macedonia to take a stoppage-time lead in Skopje in March until David Brooks's 96th-minute equaliser. 'I knew he was going to retire,' Bellamy said. 'When we conceded, it was like: 'There's no way this is going to be his last touch for us.' Even if I would delay it after we play this one in June, you are not finishing that way.'' Bellamy, who had two spells at Liverpool as a player, said he was shaken by the incident at their title parade on Monday that left 65 people injured. 'It's heartbreaking to go to what should be an incredible moment, the most successful club in England with 20 titles, which was so important,' he said. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion 'I am a Liverpool fan and to see that happen was incredible. I'm probably like everyone else, I'm still trying to absorb it. Maybe I will in the next few weeks, but it is still quite raw for me.'
New York Times
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Tottenham's player of 2024-25: Pedro Porro – nobody gave them more
Through the turmoil and the triumphs, there was one constant on the pitch for Tottenham Hotspur this season: Pedro Porro. Sure, some players have had higher highs. Dejan Kulusevski was the outstanding player of their campaign's first half, and had he remained fit throughout and continued on a similar trajectory, he may have fashioned an argument for the Premier League's player of the year award, not just Tottenham's. Brennan Johnson's near-post finish in Bilbao inscribed his name in the club's history books forever, and that image will be immortalised on the walls of the stadium and training ground to inspire generations to come. Lucas Bergvall, who was probably Tottenham's outstanding player of 2025 before an ankle injury in training ahead of the Europa League semi-final, is deservedly in the conversation, too. Advertisement But there are few substitutes for availability, and no player has given more to Spurs this season than Porro. Seasonal awards often come down to endurance, and numbers tell that part of our story. Porro totalled more Premier League minutes than any Tottenham player this season (2,608), 217 more than second-busiest Kulusevski. He is one of just six players to have played more than 2,000 minutes for Tottenham in the league. Only Pape Matar Sarr played in more of their 38 top-flight matches (36 to 33), though the Senegal international came off the bench for 14 of those. Had Spurs not gone so far in Europe, Porro would likely have featured in every game. As the defensive unit — from where the team's success tends to live or die — was broken apart by injuries over the winter period, the Spaniard was the last of coach Ange Postecoglou's preferred starters standing. Adjusting to a single change in a settled back line is not straightforward at the best of times, but Porro made do as Postecoglou experimented with makeshift alternatives. He didn't always find it easy — he was run ragged in the FA Cup by non-League Tamworth's winger Beck-Ray Enoru, a sales assistant at high-street clothing store Zara to supplement his semi-professional wage — but nobody could question his effort and dedication. Combining that dedication with his technical brilliance makes him as crucial to Spurs' success as anyone. Inverted full-backs are not the tactical marvels today they were considered to be five years ago, but at his best, Porro delivers from that position in a manner that makes it seem entirely fresh. His delivery is world-class, and he finished with nine Premier League and Europa League assists to show for it. When he takes the quarterback role from central defender Cristian Romero, he can land balls on a sixpence for runners, as evidenced by the excellent pass played to James Maddison for his goal in January's 3-2 win against Hoffenheim. Should he push forward and cross from the right half-space, his execution is equally precise. Dominic Solanke's header against Newcastle United a few weeks earlier is evidence of that. Advertisement 'It's something we're continually working on, to get him on the ball in more key areas,' Postecoglou said of Porro in a press conference in May. 'He has such quality with his ability to hit the longer pass. But also, the quality of his crosses every time he puts the ball in the box — whether that's a set piece or a cross in general — causes opposition problems. 'He's played more than anyone else this year. He's been unbelievable for us. Not just in his durability — which has been important because we've had so many players going down; we've needed a few to be durable like he has — but also the quality he's shown.' Still, maybe the most thrilling part of Porro's game is his ability to ghost into dangerous positions. No full-back in England's top flight has a greater instinct for goals, something that proved crucial to Tottenham's Europa League success. Porro telegraphed his ability to sniff out a goalscoring chance in the season's opening-weekend draw away to Leicester City, making a late run to meet Maddison's whipped cross with a glancing header into the bottom corner. Maddison played provider again for the most important of Porro's four goals during the campaign, cutting a cross back for him to delightfully flick Spurs back onto level terms against Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final. Having been partly to blame for Hugo Ekitike's goal earlier in that match, it was not just an excellent piece of skill but a crucial atonement during their run to glory in Bilbao. In the following round, his looping effort from outside the box away to Bodo/Glimt was when Spurs fans knew they were heading to a European final. Porro has not just been there for all the season's best moments, he has been responsible for delivering them. But for all his apparent talent going forward, it's defensively where he's progressed the most. Advertisement At odds with everything we're supposed to believe about football under Postecoglou, Tottenham's Europa League triumph was built on the defenders. And not brilliant line-breaking passes from Romero or Micky van de Ven's recovery pace, either. It was pragmatism, structure, and dedication to executing assignments that kept Frankfurt and Glimt at bay in the second legs away from home, when much of the discussion beforehand suggested Spurs' only possible route to success was to be the last team standing in a goals-filled standoff. Porro was reliable in those moments. Had he not been, the outcome against Manchester United in the final — or against Frankfurt or Glimt — may have been different. In the wake of last week's triumph back home on Spanish soil, he captioned a picture of himself holding the trophy with 'I don't defend,' poking fun at the suggestion he's solely an attacking full-back. He deserves to be considered Tottenham's player of the season because he has been much more than that: a constant, a scorer of important goals, and, crucially, a dependable defender in the biggest moments.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Luis de la Fuente eyes historic second Nations League title for Spain
Johnson weighs advantage or disadvantage of facing United in Europa final Brennan Johnson reflects on the pros and cons of facing a familiar Premier League rival in the Europa League final. 0:47 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Sinar Daily
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Sinar Daily
Son Heung Min celebrates first european title as Spurs win Europa League
Brennan Johnson scored the decisive goal in the 42nd minute and Spurs held on firmly to clinch the European crown. 22 May 2025 08:38am Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean forward #07 Son Heung-min raises the trophy as he celebrates with teammates winning the UEFA Europa League final football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at San Mames stadium in Bilbao on May 21, 2025. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP) SEOUL - Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung Min has secured the first major trophy of his 15-year European career after the North London club defeated Manchester United 1-0 in the UEFA Europa League final. The victory at San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain, on Wednesday (local time) marked Tottenham's first title in 17 years, Yonhap news agency reported. Tottenham Hotspur's Greek-Australian Head Coach Ange Postecoglou (L) and Manchester United's Portuguese head coach Ruben Amorim speak after the UEFA Europa League final football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at San Mames stadium in Bilbao on May 21, 2025. (Photo by CESAR MANSO / AFP) Brennan Johnson scored the decisive goal in the 42nd minute and Spurs held on firmly to clinch the European crown. Son, who came on as a substitute in the 67th minute, replacing Richarlison, lifted the first club trophy of his professional career, which began in 2010 with Hamburger SV in Germany. Since joining Tottenham in 2015, the South Korean forward had reached two major finals -- the 2019 UEFA Champions League and the 2021 English Football League (EFL) Cup -- but lost both. Tottenham's last silverware prior to this week was the 2008 EFL Cup. Spurs were also runners-up to Chelsea in the 2016-2017 Premier League season. Wednesday's win also marked the club's first continental title since lifting the UEFA Cup -- the previous version of the Europa League -- in 1984. Son's triumph has been celebrated widely in South Korea, where he remains one of the nation's most prominent sporting figures. - BERNAMA-YONHAP More Like This
