Football fans love a stat and as with all statistics they can use them to prove what they already think. We've learned this week that Jonathan Tehoue was a great asset to Orient because his goals to starting appearance ratio was so good. Conversely he was ultimately a disappointment because the majority of those goals came from the bench and he rarely scored when he started a game.
Some players achieve something so momentous in a single game or even in a single moment that not only are they remembered because of it, everything they do subsequently is viewed through the prism of that moment. I thought that daring to say I didn't think Jonathan Tehoue leaving the club was that big of a disappointment earlier this week would be met with howls of derision. However, since he left he has been critical of his time at Orient and it has been enough for quite a few people to remove their Arsenal tinted spectacles - particularly his comment that he would like to come back to Brisbane Road with Swindon and score a goal against his old club. As panic sets in this week, some fans wouldn't mind just still being in League One so that it is a possibility.
It was appropriate that Tehoue's most famous moment in an Os shirt came as a substitute, a role he was more than familiar with in his time at the club. You can't argue that Tehoue was a player who could come on and make a real impact on a game and he turned around matches that seemed beyond redemption on a number of occasions. But the romantic notion of the super sub masked the fact that over a long period of time he was unable or unwilling to get himself properly fit. There were times at the end of last season when he was downright embarrassing, wheezing in the centre circle, unable to join an attack just 15 minutes after coming on as sub. Russell Slade's problem became that Tehoue 'could' come on and change a game but he could equally come on and look entirely disinterested in anything happening more than 5 yards away from him. It becomes a dilemma for a manager - better the devil you know or look for someone you hope is more consistent and reliable.
The rumour going around for a year or so now is that Tehoue was the highest paid player in the club, picking up three grand a week for these 20 minute cameos. That shows a massive underestimation of Barry Hearn and would be contrary to every other dealing he has had at the club since becoming Chairman. It is entirely possible that Tehoue receives that sort of money if he starts a game, scores, Orient win and are in a play-off position and he turns up for training on time all week. But it defies logic that Hearn would agree to pay a man with a long history of injuries and a string of ex-clubs, one of whom he was in dispute with shortly before joining the Os. It would be a gamble completely out of character for the club and thankfully so.
After leaving for Swindon people have speculated that he must have fallen out with Russell Slade and was quickly on his way. But I felt he was on his way out as soon as he made a number of starting appearances for Orient, starting with the away win at Bournemouth, his first league start this season. Whenever this happens people immediately assume that a player is being given a chance having been on the far fringes of the squad for as long as anyone can remember. More often than not they are actually being put in the shop window - their time is up, they aren't in the manager's long term plans and if they can be removed from the pay bill the sooner the better and no one is going to be interested in a reserve team player. Isn't it amazing, as soon as someone is playing for a move away from the club they are suddenly able to look interested for 90 minutes and play consecutive games? I don't think being subbed at half time against Walsall in what was potentially his last game for the club had as much to do with Tehoue's departure as much as Slade's need to free up space in the squad for much needed fresh blood. It has been a surprise though that he has so far chosen to bring in three midfielders to replace him. Slade's plans will become apparent over the next few games but he is currently hamstrung by accumulating injuries and suspensions.
Russell Slade appears to have a very clear idea of the mix of characters he thinks he needs at the club and isn't shy of moving people on if they don't live up to his expectations. Tehoue had more time than most and he may complain now that Slade never rated him but he had longer than some to convince the manager that he really wanted to be part of what he is trying to do at the club. The manager who is able to get 100% from Jonathan Tehoue is going get a great return from the striker. He is an unstoppable cannon ball who terrifies defences when he is in the mood, you just need to know how to light his fuse. You can almost guarantee there will be fireworks at Swindon, Paulo Di Canio will either fire up Tehoue and he'll be the player we wanted him to be or it'll be a partnership that backfires spectacularly.
But Tehoue will rightly always be a cult hero to Os fans. However high his wages he re-paid it and more by earning a replay at the Emirates (not to mention we were only still in the competition thanks to his last minute equaliser against Droylsden). For all of the frustrations there is that unrivalled moment of sheer joy as he crashed his shot past Manuel Almunia. I just watched it again and it still brings a tear to the eye. For the Brisbane Road faithful Jonathan Tehoue will always be a riddle, wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in an Os shirt.
Big John is a legend!
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