Ange Postecoglou sends a warning to Spurs fans abusing Brennan Johnson

Ange Postecoglou admits he feels sorry for Brennan Johnson after the winger decided to delete his Instagram account on the back of abuse from Spurs fans.

Brennan Johnson’s Spurs struggles

Johnson has not had a good start to the season and has become a bit of a scapegoat among sections of the Tottenham fan base.

The 23-year-old was once again on the receiving end of plenty of online vitriol after the North London Derby loss, forcing him to deactivate his Instagram account.

Postecoglou pointed out that the former Nottingham Forest man works as hard as anyone and is really hurting at the fact that he is not able to deliver more on the pitch.

When asked if social media abuse has become par for the course for young players, the Tottenham boss told Football.London: “I hope not. I hate how we’ve just normalised all that stuff. I’ve been around long enough and even when I was playing, I copped a fair bit, but it was usually on the terraces and then the game was over and you’d go home.

“When people are at the game they get a bit frustrated that you’re not playing well, they give you some fairly direct feedback, I’ve had all that. You’re talking about a young guy who is probably lacking a bit of confidence at the moment.

“Things haven’t gone his way, but he comes here every day, he’s working his backside off, he’s asking for feedback, he’s doing everything right, he’s trying so hard to become the player he wants to be, it’s hurting him a lot. It’s not like he’s out on the town and he doesn’t care and he rolls up late. So what’s his crime?

“His crime is he isn’t performing at the level that people expect of him. As a professional footballer you’ve got to expect that you’re going to get criticism about that, that’s part of your growth. He’s still a young player and I think there is so much more of Brennan that we’re going to bring out in him.

“It’s sad for me that we’ve kind of normalised that stuff. That getting abuse, and it is abuse and a lot of it personal, is ‘oh well, that’s part of the territory’. I don’t see that.”

Ange warns Spurs fans with a punch on the nose

The Australian said that while he understands the criticism, he does not tolerate any abuse and remarked that he does not understand the satisfaction people get by having a go at someone on social media.

Postecoglou also insisted that he remains confident that the Wales international will turn things around on the pitch.

He added: “I don’t cop it anymore. If somebody is abusive to me, they’re going to hear it back. I don’t believe that’s right. I’ll take criticism because that’s my role, and scrutiny, you have to because that’s your role, but I don’t have time for abuse. I feel sorry for the young people today, they are on these social media platforms. I can switch off and my one follower doesn’t get upset by it.

“For the young guys today, it’s part of their world. They seem to get some sort of enjoyment from it. I don’t understand it but they do. The fact that they’ve got to limit their world, close their world a little bit because of… I mean what kind of person writes abusive things to an individual?

“Criticism is one thing, exasperation at a game, you accept that. To sit down and write something abusive anonymously… say it in front of me, you’ll get a punch on the nose, you won’t do it again, mate. But they won’t do that. They’ll hide behind this… I hate that it’s normalised but unfortunately that’s the world we live in.

“When I look at Brennan I see a young man who is trying his hardest to be the best he can be. It doesn’t always guarantee success and it’s part of his journey how he deals with all this, but he’s a great kid, a great footballer and I’m very optimistic about what he’s going to do for us.”

Spurs Web Opinion

I will go a step further than Ange and say that even criticism is not acceptable when you directly tag a player and comment on his own post.

Fans can have whatever opinion they want about certain players and voice it on social media but to specifically go out of your way to make sure the player sees it, is embarrassing behaviour.

Delivering bad performances is not some sort of moral failing. Any grown-up would realise that Johnson would be more disappointed than any one of us with the way things are going for him on the pitch.

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