A lot of rubbish has been written about Andrew Johnson over the last few days.
Here is a young English player who has taken the Premiership by storm – forcing his way into the national team and taking on all comers in the top-scorers chart.
But because ten of his 19 Premiership goals have come from the penalty spot, the hacks in the media are suddenly queuing up to belittle AJ’s achievements.
Never mind that top defenders from the toughest league in the world can’t get near him. Johnson has been fouled a lot this season, so he must be cheating.
Take this wrong-headed spot of ‘analysis’ from Keith Pike of The Times:
"Crystal Palace’s hopes of staying up appear to depend entirely upon Andrew Johnson’s penchant for going down. No fewer than eight [penalties] have been given for perceived fouls on the muscular 24-year-old."
‘Perceived fouls’? You’ve got to love that. The foul that led to our penalty last Saturday was about as straightforward as they come. As Johnson surged into the area he was body-checked by Jason Shackell and hit the deck.
There was no hint of a dive – AJ smashed into the ground face-first, staggering to his feet with his face covered in paint from the six-yard line. It was the run of a man totally committed to getting the ball and getting his team back in the match – not the half-hearted gamesmanship so often seen from the media darlings playing for the likes of Chelsea, United and Arsenal.
And let’s face it – in Rob Styles on Saturday you would have been hard pushed to find a ref more determined NOT to give a penalty. Freedman was thrown five feet into the air by a shocking challenge – no foul. Safri practically caught the ball on his own goal-line – again, no foul (and no red card, either). And AJ was upended several times before the whistle finally blew in our favour.
No, the shocking thing about the Norwich game wasn’t that Palace won another penalty. It was that we hadn’t already had three more.
When Styles eventually pointed to the spot, it was because Johson had been completely taken out by a defender who had no clue how to deal with his pace. And that’s been the hallmark of AJ’s season – and the real reason he has won so many penalties.
Every one of the kicks AJ has won have been the result of him being hauled down when faced with a clear shot on goal. We’re not talking a lame dive from a player running up a dead-end – but a foul on a player who would have had a great chance of scoring if he hadn’t been taken out. There’s no cheating there – just the tireless performance of an outstanding player who will run for his team-mates all day.
The media won’t like his record because he plays for an unfashionable club, not one financed by a faceless PLC or a Russian billionaire. They had no complaints during the season Alan Shearer belted home ten penalties for Newcastle (the record AJ has just equalled). And they certainly wouldn’t dare criticise the diving you see from those playing for the country’s top-three clubs – the interviews might suddenly dry up. But AJ is an easy target, so he’s fair game.
Fortunately, the player himself doesn’t give a monkey’s what the press think. Neither do his team-mates, his manager, or the Palace supporters. We’re all more concerned on seeing Palace retain their place in the top league. And none of us will mind whether that is brought about by forty-yard screamers or twelve-yard spot-kicks.