Johnson Final Appearance on Radio Bristol for 17/18

[The Nest Egg]

38 minutes ago, swanker said:

He’s a big lad for his age but still got knocked around by Clarke. Remember last season. Tammy Abraham v Sol Bamba. Abraham was a similar age against a more physical player than Clarke. Abraham gave him some big time. If you’re a central defender with his build you’ve got to be able to deal with players like Clarke. 

That said I thought he was class second half at full back. Should have kept him on. 

I remember Abraham's hold up play and ability to win the ball in the air being his main weaknesses when he first joined. He improved massively over the course of the season but he had to start somewhere. Kelly will come good without a doubt.

[chinapig]

18 minutes ago, Red Exile said:

A really interesting observation...which made me think of my professional life and the reality that very few people are hired to deliver a project of any significance who are expected to prioritise planning beyond the end of their contract. That bit is done by the people running the show...and doing the hiring. If I was running BCFC I'd be setting goals and objectives and hiring people to deliver them. In which case it's the responsibility of the manager/head coach to deliver stability, promotion, a fight against relegation...but not the long term strategic goals of the club. I think that's where the regime at City are all over the place. Set the goals and get a manager in to deliver them...the bit that's missing is, for me, an understanding of what it is that the club is trying to deliver on the pitch. Apparently today SL was saying that the goal for next season was 'making the top 6 and promotion at the end of the season (quoted on the Evening Post site)...great, but I don't see much evidence that Johnson is a manager capable of delivering the consistency across a season to achieve that...

Very thought provoking comments, thanks.

I suppose my point was that managers of the old school are often not much interested in, for instance, a club's academy as it may not deliver until after they have left. The same applies to signing the dreaded 'ones for the future' if they think the next manager will be the one to benefit  Rather like politicians not looking beyond the next election.

And if the aim is a regular turnover of players for profit stability becomes harder to achieve.

This goes beyond LJ I think and I strongly suspect financial stability is a higher priority for SL.

[Meh]

1 hour ago, Captain Hindsight said:

Skims through thread....

BIG YAWN

I was wide awake until I read your inciteful  input

[EstoniaTallinnRed]

1 minute ago, chinapig said:

Very thought provoking comments, thanks.

I suppose my point was that managers of the old school are often not much interested in, for instance, a club's academy as it may not deliver until after they have left. The same applies to signing the dreaded 'ones for the future' if they think the next manager will be the one to benefit  Rather like politicians not looking beyond the next election.

And if the aim is a regular turnover of players for profit stability becomes harder to achieve.

This goes beyond LJ I think and I strongly suspect financial stability is a higher priority for SL.

"This goes beyond LJ I think and I strongly suspect financial stability is a higher priority for SL"

Yes, you are right.  If you listened to Twentyman interviewing SL before today's game, you will know that he told him "there is still a deficiency and the aim is to be self sufficient"

[TwoSheds]

2 hours ago, GasDestroyer said:

The fact Johnson is unsackable is why I wont be getting a ST next season. The senior management of this club are just taking us “punters” as mugs.

If I didn’t perform in my job, I would be sacked! WTF is the difference? SL has been more than patient and £ supportive with Johnson (30 players) yet this mug still stays in his job. We have just thrown away a defo playoff place and most appear happy to finish mid table. How did we fall away so badly?

MA - Where is the ambition? Why accept 2nd best? Do we want to get to the Prem?

Can’t accept this! He will get 12 games start of next season and if a poor start, he will have to get the sack - you assume?

This can’t continue to go on!

For all we know, we could be in a relegation fight all next season!

Not renewed think we will be in a relegation fight by Xmas total pants today 

[bengalcub]

Positionally week , tactically week , physically week , timing week , 

but some think he can be coached into a quality cb ..... 

assured at lb , so he’s a lb then surely .

[SedRA]

5 minutes ago, bengalcub said:

Positionally week , tactically week , physically week , timing week , 

but some think he can be coached into a quality cb ..... 

assured at lb , so he’s a lb then surely .

weak. 

[ZiderMeUp]

5 hours ago, swanker said:

Weakness in his game? That was men against boys out there and Clarke made mince meat of him. It was embarrassing. Judging on that display he ain’t no centre back!

Luckily his career isn’t going to be judged on a dead rubber against sheff Utd then!

[Wolf Island]

4 hours ago, TwoSheds said:

Not renewed think we will be in a relegation fight by Xmas total pants today 

We are going down unless someone at the club wakes up. Delusional. 

[robin_unreliant]

6 hours ago, Major Isewater said:

He mentioned ' trimming ' the squad.

So we are going to run with less first teamers and have more Development players coming in to cover perhaps .

 

I cringed when he said we needed to "remove some of the fat".

How the hell would that sound to you if you were one of the players? Tomlin jokes aside I really despair at the ineptitude of a leader saying something like that.

On balance I think LJ has earned the chance of another season but it wouldn't surprise me at all if it all goes horribly wrong.

Edited May 6, 2018 by robin_unreliant

[ScottishRed]

5 hours ago, Red Exile said:

A really interesting observation...which made me think of my professional life and the reality that very few people are hired to deliver a project of any significance who are expected to prioritise planning beyond the end of their contract. That bit is done by the people running the show...and doing the hiring. If I was running BCFC I'd be setting goals and objectives and hiring people to deliver them. In which case it's the responsibility of the manager/head coach to deliver stability, promotion, a fight against relegation...but not the long term strategic goals of the club. I think that's where the regime at City are all over the place. Set the goals and get a manager in to deliver them...the bit that's missing is, for me, an understanding of what it is that the club is trying to deliver on the pitch. Apparently today SL was saying that the goal for next season was 'making the top 6 and promotion at the end of the season (quoted on the Evening Post site)...great, but I don't see much evidence that Johnson is a manager capable of delivering the consistency across a season to achieve that...

Good post fella.

IF SL did say that to,the BP, only to be expected. Actions speak louder than words but given his blind faith in his hugely inexperienced and failing HC, let's see........

[Gert Mare]

14 hours ago, Red Exile said:

I heard that - made me laugh out loud - has he only just noticed that we've been missing all three? Feeble interview from a much diminished figure...all bluff and bluster. He knows he won't lose his job...but he also surely knows that he hasn't had a clue how to replicate our early season form, and that most of the people in the stands can see that. I feel sorry for the bloke...but not as sorry as I feel for our club right now, best opportunity in years thrown away. You have to wonder what goes through SL's head in trusting the whole 'project' to such a wet-behind-the-ears rookie, unfathomable...

Top post.

Had his 3 Windows. No further forward.

No leaders or communicators? Surely that was part of Mark Ashton’s ‘due diligence’? He and Lee certainly banged on and on about DNA.

I have seen lots of people with all of these coaching badges and excellent grades, but they cannot get the best out of players and can’t properly man manage.

I have seen them make the fatal mistake of trying to ‘educate’ the players with this pompously written clap trap, but this is footballers we are talking about. They just want to play football and enjoy it. They don’t want to be ‘schooled’. 

Talent, fitness and fun will get the best out of footballers, not quoting Einstein’s theory of relatively.

You pass to him, he passes to him, he crosses to him, and he scores. He’s deadly in front of goal so make sure you get it to him as much as possible. If the ball comes near our goal don’t piss about with it get it as far up the other end of the pitch as you can because the opposition won’t score from there.

Football is a simple game. Get a brilliant man manager and an assistant who can find the right sort of players to do their jobs well as part of a team. Job done.

I think that our problem is that we’ve tried to go all 21st century and our players aren’t interested anymore. The fun has gone. The demise has begun.

 

[CotswoldRed]

I'm still waiting for him to explain why the same group of players cannot get anywhere close to their performance level of a few months ago. 

That has absolutely NOTHING to do with recruitment. 

[Lympsham Red]

deleted

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 7, 2018 by Lympsham Red
Accidentally posted while unfinished

[The Coach]

4 minutes ago, Lympsham Red said:

I love Football Manager myself and decided this would be great to look at. Obviously it's not going to be 100% accurate, but FM is known to be fairly accurate and its just a bit of bank holiday fun!

First off, I set the following transfers to happen, realistically mimicking what has been rumoured:

Next, I set Lee Johnson to be "Assistant Manager". Basically, to put into place the changes needed for this experiment, I had to make myself manager. However, as I'll be simulating the season, not playing, default control will fall to the Assistant Manager. By making LJ assistant, it means the team will play as he wishes and so enhances the realism.

After this, I set up the squad. I went for a basic, LJ-esque 4-4-2 formation, made up of six development players and five players from this season who are likely to be here in 2018-19.

The other four substitutes were Tyreeq Bakinson,  

and Lee still kept a job!!!!

[Top Robin]

2 hours ago, CotswoldRed said:

I'm still waiting for him to explain why the same group of players cannot get anywhere close to their performance level of a few months ago. 

That has absolutely NOTHING to do with recruitment. 

He doesn't know which is the biggest concern! 

[havanatopia]

1 hour ago, Lympsham Red said:

deleted

No sooner did that crystal ball appear it was snatched from under us.

[Lympsham Red]

On 06/05/2018 at 16:46, havanatopia said:

Hey, since you do and if the game allows, would you mind running a simulated season using half of City's development squad as regular first teamers? Major (I think it was Major anyway) was suggesting this was likely to happen next season.. we all would like to look in to the crystal ball and see if we are headed for the drop. Might help a few people decide if a season ticket is for them or not!

I love Football Manager and thought this could be a really interesting experiment, so I did it myself! Obviously this is just for fun and not 100% accurate, but FM is known for its accurate statistics and simulations in part and so could be a good indicator like you suggest.

First off, I set up a number of transfers, mimicking the rumoured movements as suggested on here:

Next, I set Lee Johnson to be "Assistant Manager". Due to the way the game works, to put in place the changes required to simulate the scenario, I have to put myself into the game as manager. However, as I'll be simulating the entire season, and not playing it, Lee Johnson will be automatically placed in charge of first-team affairs, increasing the accuracy of the simulation.

After that, I set up the squad and tactics. I chose a basic, LJ-esque 4-4-2 formation and set up the squad to be made up of six development players and five first-teamers that are likely to be around for the 2018-19 season.

The four other substitutes were Tyreeq Bakinson, Liam Walsh, Jamie Paterson and Freddie Hinds, and the other players in the squad were Jake Andrews, George Dowling and Jonny Smith. 

So then I began the simulation - firstly, until the 2nd of January. As you can see I've set it so the current squad and tactic will be retained where possible, even though I won't be in control directly.

So, this was the situation on the 2nd January. City were 12th in the Championship, on 38 points, 4 points outside the playoffs. Josh Brownhill had the highest average rating of any player in the league.

The two following screenshots show the results so far. A few that stand out include a 5-2 win against Leeds at home, with Milan Djuric bagging a brace, and a 4-0 thrashing of Cardiff at a sold out Ashton Gate (Fammy scoring a hat-trick and Shawn McCoulsky grabbing a goal too). Sadly though, City can't make it past the Second Round of the League Cup, losing 1-0 to Brentford away.

So then I went to have a look at how the squad as a whole were doing.

Overall, not bad at all. Fammy is top goalscorer, with 13 goals and 6 assists from 23 appearances. Shawn McCoulsky was behind him, with a fantastic 12 goals and 4 assists from 28 appearances; great stuff for a first half-season in the Championship. Josh Brownhill bagged himself 8 goals and 11 assists from 28 appearances too.

In terms of defence, the statistics looked promising as well. Lloyd Kelly with a 7.01 average rating, the best out of all of the back four. Zak Vyner's performance were somewhat sub-par though, with only a 6.67 average rating. Max O'Leary had 7 clean sheets to his name, and Frank Fielding 9.

All in all, though, not bad at all for a team made up of 6 development players. Let's see how things ended.

As we can see, it was a lower-end finish for City. 17th, and 4 points above the relegation zone. A fair drop from where the team were at Christmas, 4 points outside the playoffs. Now let's have a look at the final squad stats...

So Fammy finishes the season as top scorer, with 24 goals and 8 assists from 42 games. Shawn McCoulsky has a fantastic first season in the Championship, with 17 goals and 7 assists from 49 appearances. Josh Brownhill bags himself 10 goals, 15 assists, and 41 chances created from 47 games.

In terms of the average ratings of the development lads, Shawn McCoulsky has the highest with 6.99, then Taylor Moore with 6.87, followed by Max O'Leary with 6.83,  Lloyd Kelly on 6.82, Joe Morrell on 6.72, and finally Zak Vyner on a disappointing 6.59.

City also managed to reach the Fifth Round of the FA Cup, beating Reading 3-1 in the Third Round, followed by Middlesbrough 1-0 in the Fourth Round, before losing to Norwich 3-0 in the Fifth Round.

These were the full results from 2nd January to the end of the season:

   

Not the best form...in fact, turns out to be 2 wins in 25 games. Sound familiar?

In terms of the two loanees, Gustav Engvall and Hörður Magnússon, these were their respective performances while out on loan:

All-in-all, though, the crystal ball of Football Manager Touch 2018 tells us that, should LJ choose to field a team of six development players next season, as well as selling Nathan Baker, Joe Bryan, Bobby Reid, Marlon Pack and Aden Flint, with Gustav Engvall and Hörður Magnússon going on loan, then we can expect a 17th place finish, 4 points above the relegation zone...

P.S. - sorry about the earlier post, I hit enter before finishing it, hence why it was "deleted!"

Edited May 7, 2018 by Lympsham Red

[ZiderEyed]

@Lympsham Red That's an LJ losing streak if I've ever seen one.

[Lympsham Red]

1 minute ago, ZiderEyed said:

@Lympsham Red That's an LJ losing streak if I've ever seen one.

And people dare to say that Football Manager isn't realistic!

[Lanterne Rouge]

Some work gone into that, fair play mate!

[Lympsham Red]

1 minute ago, Red Right Hand said:

Some work gone into that, fair play mate!

Cheers! I had nothing better to do on Bank Holiday Monday

[Tin Soldier]

That is impressive LympshamRed.

Edited May 7, 2018 by GasDestroyer

[Northern Red]

Scarily realistic!

[havanatopia]

Thanks Lympsham Red. Now, need to find quality time to read it all, which I will.

Edited May 8, 2018 by havanatopia