Lee's after match interview

[Major Isewater]

1 hour ago, NickJ said:

Very amusing and oh so true. 

It was clear from early on that as good as the crosses were, their giant centre halfs were going to out muscle Fammy all day long.

Really?

Which is probably why Kelly was playing crosses into the box  on the floor . 

[Major Isewater]

17 minutes ago, Badger08 said:

Good reply.  What I'm trying to get at is, maybe our current situation is simply a result of being Bristol City Football club.  We are going to be average, we are going to have to take punts on players, and we are going to have to have to accept that we can't by the league or use our name to attract the best kind of players.  LJ can't be responsible for those things, we just need to get used to it, however frustrating it may be for us fans. 

 

My simple logic is this , if players aren't attracted to the club , just maybe , if we had a well respected , successful coach they would come to play for him ? 

SL wants us to be sustainable and the majority of top coaches earn less than the players they're coaching. 

Pay a top coach the 3 or 4 million a year it needs and stop buying and paying over the odds for mediocre players. 

I'm sure the budget could be balanced in terms of improving player sales, results, higher gates , more telly money and better sponsorship deals . 

No guarantees , of course but I'm convinced that there's a better coach out there than LJ  for this club. 

[BobBobSuperBob]

11 minutes ago, billywedlock said:

That is a fair point, and I have suggested that we cannot afford the technical and physical players got adapt to that style of play (maybe if the Academy is delivering a player a season  to the first team ?). However, on the other hand, it's an easy kop out. Well I cannot do the job because, exaggerating, I do not have Messi. I feel you have to adapt to your circumstances in that sense, and try and find a plan that works for our budget and resources. equally, you cannot achieve anything if you keep changing ideas and approach. What lj has done is no worse than sacking 3 managers, in fact it is worse, because we still have a squad where it is anyones guess what the best approach would be, yet millions has been spent and 47 players through the door. That is the crux of the angst. It is not that anyone expects promotion, I have never read anything of the sort. More that it is impossible to see what he is trying to achieve and a continued under utilisation (or maximisation)  of the resources available to him. But if you do want to adapt a certain way of playing, you have to set out and stick to it, LJ has not, and that has confused supporters and players in equal measure. The Millwall game was nonsense as he had his players, none of the clique that ruined his last seasons (his excuse) , had his choice of leaders (his excuse), his tactics, everything. Yet against a terrible team (no money BTW) there was nothing on show to suggest we have a clue what we are doing. I can accept losing Reid was tough if you want to play a certain way, but I do not accept the Flint and Bryan excuses when you have Wright, Baker, Kalas, Hunt, Pisano, Webster, DaSilva, Kelly. Even Reid was replaced by a player that had played 113 games in the Premier league . The players looked confused , uncertain, and clearly do not believe in what they are being told.

I think LJ will be given more time, and all will revolve on the home games against Brentford and Rotherham in Dec. It is where we are then that will determine if he will get a January transfer window or not. I do not accept SL is oblivious to the issues,  it is more he had an ideal that he wanted to work. It is not, and whilst it clearly offers him far greater access to the daily running of the club by having family friend LJ there, he cannot risk the frustration of fans turning on him, which it will do when the situation is beyond obvious that it is failing. He deserves credit for sticking with LJ and backing him, but that has not been repaid by any semblance of direction or strategy, just a list of excuses, that vary week to week. 

Great post

 

as usual

[RobintheRed Red]

Southampton just sacked Hughes is there any hope they might want johnson please take him the bad news David moyes in talks with them

[Jack Bailey]

2 hours ago, bearded_red said:

He’s had three years.

If he was even a good coach rather than a ‘fantstic’ one the team would have a style of play and an ‘identity’ we could all relate to, regardless of the standard of players. May be a stupid comparison, but I remember watching Pochettino’s first game managing Southampton and you could see after barely a week on the training ground how he wanted his team to play and how different that was to Nigel Adkins. Johnson has had three years and nobody can tell me how we will attempt to play at Birmingham.

It’s obviously fair to point out that our players don’t have the quality to be getting promotion from this level, but if he was a good coach (or even fantastic!) he would be able to improve them. Their weaknesses would stop being so obvious. As it happens almost all of them are the exact same player they were the day they signed and in fact some of them have regressed.

Callum O’Dowda for me sums up the current way the club is run. He is a perfect example of us supposedly signing young talented players to improve them and then sell at a profit. The fact he is looking likely to go in January for a reduced fee or on a free in the summer is one thing, the fact he is the exact same player today that we signed two and a half years ago shows Johnson’s famous coaching to be the same as the vast majority of things about him. Compete bluffer.

Hit the nail on the head. Callum really only plays on the international stage now. All rather crazy, and I cant blame him for wanting the **ck out of Bristol and away from Tinkerman

[Olé]

3 hours ago, BobBobSuperBob said:

Genuine question ?

For such a good coach

How many players do people think have noticeably improved or developed in the last 3 years

How many have developed , how many stagnated, and how many gone backwards ?

Developed (6): Korey Smith, Joe Bryan, Bobby Reid, Marlon Pack, Josh Brownhill**, Niclas Eliasson

**I would argue Brownhill is in danger of slipping into the stagnate category. There was a point last season where he hit another level and talk of next one to make step up. He has regressed since then as the team as a whole plays with less speed and energy and certainly far less instruction to run with the ball, all things he was particularly effective at.

Stagnated (9): Frankie Fielding, Matty Taylor, Gary O'Neil, Milan Djuric, Callum O'Dowda, Jamie Paterson, Bailey Wright, Hörður Magnússon, Eros Pisano

Backwards (5): Lee Tomlin, Jens Hegeler, Adam Matthews, Nathan Baker, Famara Diedhiou

Not Good Enough (10): Gustav Engvall, Diego di Girolamo, Taylor Moore, Ivan Lucic, Fabian Giefer, Joel Ekstrand, Jonathan Leko, Cauley Woodrow, Lois Diony, Ryan Kent 

Too Soon To Say (11): Zak Vyner, Adam Webster (potential Developed), Andreas Weimann (potential Developed or Stagnated), Mo Eisa (potential Stagnated or Not Good Enough), Jack Hunt (potential Developed), Marley Watkins (potential Stagnated given cost), Hakeeb Adelakun, Niki Maenpaa, Jay Da Silva, Lloyd Kelly (on the basis he is clearly gifted and progressive before the first team too soon to say Developed), Liam Walsh (tempting after a year to say Stagnated but hopefully on track for Developed)

Now stagnation and going backwards are as much on the player themselves (i.e. Magnússon's failure to learn or, Baker's disinterest) as it is on the manager, so not necessarily arguing LJ is at entirely complicit, but you could not tell me the overall impact of coaching has improved known or visible flaws in both players and others in that category.

I've excluded Flint as LJ would have sold him sooner if he could, so like Williams, Ayling etc before him, I see coaching incidental to his progress and personal determination.

[Dynamite Red]

People harping on about 4 months of fantastic football last year seem to forget the rest of the time it has been utter dross. All the season ticket holders around me and in the pubs are board stiff. We had a great hot streak (maybe because he was forced to play players due to injuries in a certain way). 

Johnson has combined the tinkerman of McInnes with a duller brand of football than O'Driscoll. Despite having blown millions of pounds. Fantastic coach? I'm not so sure. Awful manager? Without a doubt. 

[Robbored]

34 minutes ago, Olé said:

Developed (6): Korey Smith, Joe Bryan, Bobby Reid, Marlon Pack, Josh Brownhill**, Niclas Eliasson

**I would argue Brownhill is in danger of slipping into the stagnate category. There was a point last season where he hit another level and talk of next one to make step up. He has regressed since then as the team as a whole plays with less speed and energy and certainly far less instruction to run with the ball, all things he was particularly effective at.

Stagnated (9): Frankie Fielding, Matty Taylor, Gary O'Neil, Milan Djuric, Callum O'Dowda, Jamie Paterson, Bailey Wright, Hörður Magnússon, Eros Pisano

Backwards (5): Lee Tomlin, Jens Hegeler, Adam Matthews, Nathan Baker, Famara Diedhiou

Not Good Enough (10): Gustav Engvall, Diego di Girolamo, Taylor Moore, Ivan Lucic, Fabian Giefer, Joel Ekstrand, Jonathan Leko, Cauley Woodrow, Lois Diony, Ryan Kent 

Too Soon To Say (11): Zak Vyner, Adam Webster (potential Developed), Andreas Weimann (potential Developed or Stagnated), Mo Eisa (potential Stagnated or Not Good Enough), Jack Hunt (potential Developed), Marley Watkins (potential Stagnated given cost), Hakeeb Adelakun, Niki Maenpaa, Jay Da Silva, Lloyd Kelly (on the basis he is clearly gifted and progressive before the first team too soon to say Developed), Liam Walsh (tempting after a year to say Stagnated but hopefully on track for Developed)

Now stagnation and going backwards are as much on the player themselves (i.e. Magnússon's failure to learn or, Baker's disinterest) as it is on the manager, so not necessarily arguing LJ is at entirely complicit, but you could not tell me the overall impact of coaching has improved known or visible flaws in both players and others in that category.

I've excluded Flint as LJ would have sold him sooner if he could, so like Williams, Ayling etc before him, I see coaching incidental to his progress and personal determination.

Sweeping statements on most of them. 

Lots of factors that haven’t been considered - injuries for one.........jeez........

[EstoniaTallinnRed]

21 hours ago, westonred said:

If LJ is "Happy with that"  then we might as well pack up.

It was bloody gutless and clueless again, players out of position again awful substitutions and totally tactic less

He ought to come up in the stands to watch it he like us, he would be from from Happy  

He's happy enough drawing his inflated salary and knowing that whatever happens his job is safe!

[Son of Fred]

3 hours ago, bearded_red said:

He’s had three years.

If he was even a good coach rather than a ‘fantstic’ one the team would have a style of play and an ‘identity’ we could all relate to, regardless of the standard of players. May be a stupid comparison, but I remember watching Pochettino’s first game managing Southampton and you could see after barely a week on the training ground how he wanted his team to play and how different that was to Nigel Adkins. Johnson has had three years and nobody can tell me how we will attempt to play at Birmingham.

It’s obviously fair to point out that our players don’t have the quality to be getting promotion from this level, but if he was a good coach (or even fantastic!) he would be able to improve them. Their weaknesses would stop being so obvious. As it happens almost all of them are the exact same player they were the day they signed and in fact some of them have regressed.

Callum O’Dowda for me sums up the current way the club is run. He is a perfect example of us supposedly signing young talented players to improve them and then sell at a profit. The fact he is looking likely to go in January for a reduced fee or on a free in the summer is one thing, the fact he is the exact same player today that we signed two and a half years ago shows Johnson’s famous coaching to be the same as the vast majority of things about him. Compete bluffer.

Ranieri's first match in charge at Fulham & you could see the difference,the approach/set up..

It's what clever managers can achieve in a short period of time.... Clarity.

[Drew Peacock]

6 hours ago, BobBobSuperBob said:

@Davefevs rightly regularly picks up on this M 

He only calls out or aims criticism the younger players publicly, never a senior player

If he thinks that’s a clever move , I’d suggest it’s not, decent older pros in the dressing room will pick up on it and be just as p’d off with it as if they were being criticised themselves, particularly when it’s popular / likeable characters as in Hörður and Lloyd

(Can’t believe at the forum he was bemoaning losing Hörður- he never trusted him when he was here)

It's interesting, particularly picking on Kelly (and let's face it goals conceded are rarely the fault of just one person, it is usually a collective failure - lack of cover, team mates not tracking back etc) as I seem to remember that when LJ was explaining the VR stuff he said something along the lines of "if Lloyd Kelly misses a defensive header leading to a goal......." wtf is all that about?  What a great way to piss off one of our best rising stars and encourage him to leave us early.  Blokes an absolute idiot.

[Drew Peacock]

2 hours ago, RobintheRed Red said:

Southampton just sacked Hughes is there any hope they might want johnson please take him the bad news David moyes in talks with them

I thought they were going for some Austrian bloke - the Alpine Klopp according to the BBC.

[The Original OTIB]

5 minutes ago, Drew Peacock said:

It's interesting, particularly picking on Kelly (and let's face it goals conceded are rarely the fault of just one person, it is usually a collective failure - lack of cover, team mates not tracking back etc) as I seem to remember that when LJ was explaining the VR stuff he said something along the lines of "if Lloyd Kelly misses a defensive header leading to a goal......." wtf is all that about?  What a great way to piss off one of our best rising stars and encourage him to leave us early.  Blokes an absolute idiot.

Kelly beaten to the header but: Paterson did not track Williams (no great surprise) and Webster was caught watching the ball and not checking for runners into the box. Goals are not often about just one thing.

[Robbored]

Did any of LJs actually try to listen to what he said post match? 

So far we’ve seen statements taken in completely twisted into negativity.

Firstly he got slated by saying ‘this is a new team’ - well he’s right! This is a new team, how many were at AG last season?

Secondly he gets slated for ‘calling out’ Kelly........he wasn’t at all. What he was saying that the Millwall goal came through and experienced Championship player in Morrison against a 19 year old inexperienced defender and got the better of him - which is spot on. That’s not calling out Kelly or anyone else. He’s simply stated it as it was.

Jeez.........give the guy a break...............

[paulcityfan]

22 hours ago, BobBobSuperBob said:

Was an interesting comment

Whos on their way out or available then and have any value or he sees as tradeable ?

I’d say

Baker

Famara

COD

Not a lot to trade with after 47 signings is it?..  I can't think of one player I would be really sad to lose except perhaps Eliasson

[oldstandrobin]

58 minutes ago, Robbored said:

Did any of LJs actually try to listen to what he said post match? 

So far we’ve seen statements taken in completely twisted into negativity.

Firstly he got slated by saying ‘this is a new team’ - well he’s right! This is a new team, how many were at AG last season?

Secondly he gets slated for ‘calling out’ Kelly........he wasn’t at all. What he was saying that the Millwall goal came through and experienced Championship player in Morrison against a 19 year old inexperienced defender and got the better of him - which is spot on. That’s not calling out Kelly or anyone else. He’s simply stated it as it was.

Jeez.........give the guy a break...............

I know a man I met in a Pub who could help you out there RR

[B block]

22 hours ago, Portland Bill said:

Another ten transfer windows should do it.................

That’s just to sort out the back four, another 10 for the midfield, don’t get me started on the front 2 or should I say front 1

[Numero Uno]

6 hours ago, Badger08 said:

Good reply.  What I'm trying to get at is, maybe our current situation is simply a result of being Bristol City Football club.  We are going to be average, we are going to have to take punts on players, and we are going to have to have to accept that we can't by the league or use our name to attract the best kind of players.  LJ can't be responsible for those things, we just need to get used to it, however frustrating it may be for us fans. 

 

It’s possible to be BOTH bang average and to have a go when you are playing at home!!

[Major Isewater]

1 hour ago, Drew Peacock said:

It's interesting, particularly picking on Kelly (and let's face it goals conceded are rarely the fault of just one person, it is usually a collective failure - lack of cover, team mates not tracking back etc) as I seem to remember that when LJ was explaining the VR stuff he said something along the lines of "if Lloyd Kelly misses a defensive header leading to a goal......." wtf is all that about?  What a great way to piss off one of our best rising stars and encourage him to leave us early.  Blokes an absolute idiot.

Unless the idea is to piss off one of our best rising stars and encourage him to leave us early . 

[AppyDAZE]

Surely the most damning evidence over the whole LJ, is he up to it? saga is the fact that Robbored is backing him to the hilt.

[Fordy62]

10 minutes ago, AppyDAZE said:

Surely the most damning evidence over the whole LJ, is he up to it? saga is the fact that Robbored is backing him to the hilt.

You’ve touched upon an important point here, inadvertently I would think. 

You know things are bad when all of the most eloquent, well reasoned posters are united in their views on LJ. 

And the one chap backing him is that nause of a troll who never contributes anything decent. 

[AppyDAZE]

1 minute ago, Fordy62 said:

You’ve touched upon an important point here, inadvertently I would think. 

You know things are bad when all of the most eloquent, well reasoned posters are united in their views on LJ. 

And the one chap backing him is that nause of a troll who never contributes anything decent. 

Post of the week. Top man

[Fiale]

8 hours ago, Olé said:

I think the truth is there was no style of play. There was Bobby Reid who off the back of the intense physical training with Back2Action in preparation for last season (which let's remember, only very few pro footballers are doing, and several play in the Premiership) led the line and the press for City in a way no player of the LJ era has managed. Similarly his movement between the lines, quick feet and ability to offer an outlet to midfielders, was essential to the one touch football too. HE produced an identity.

Occams razor is required here. There isn't some grand mystery about the total disappearance of an LJ tactical masterplan overnight, because that would be illogical and hard to explain if the tactics really were valid and sustainable. The obvious answer is something much more simple: there is no mystery, as there were no sustainable tactics, just a player whose efforts and ability made everything work. That surely must be a simpler explanation for why his 40 odd other signings rarely reproduce this identity.

 

God I hope this is not true as it suggest LJ simply will not get us going again unless by some accident we stumble across another BR. 

[RedRock]

7 hours ago, Badger08 said:

Good reply.  What I'm trying to get at is, maybe our current situation is simply a result of being Bristol City Football club.  We are going to be average, we are going to have to take punts on players, and we are going to have to have to accept that we can't by the league or use our name to attract the best kind of players.  LJ can't be responsible for those things, we just need to get used to it, however frustrating it may be for us fans. 

 

I get this.

We were ‘sold’ LJ on the basis he was the best man for the Bristol City job. Taking young players and developing their talent and getting the best out of ‘limited ability’ teams.

After the 2018 ‘experience’ I’ve concluded he is definitely not what we were ‘sold’.

The brief was right, the manager selected clearly wasn’t/isn’t. 

The problem for SL is that MA appears just as culpable. Our incoming transfer dealings have been nothing short of horrendous.

So that’s the manager, CEO and probably the coaches who need to be despatched in one go. Massive cost and disruption.

Do you gamble that we’ll avoid relegation and sort it out in the Summer or push the button now? Suspect SL will sit tight at least until the end of February regrettably. 

[Drew Peacock]

3 hours ago, Robbored said:

Did any of LJs actually try to listen to what he said post match? 

So far we’ve seen statements taken in completely twisted into negativity.

Firstly he got slated by saying ‘this is a new team’ - well he’s right! This is a new team, how many were at AG last season?

Secondly he gets slated for ‘calling out’ Kelly........he wasn’t at all. What he was saying that the Millwall goal came through and experienced Championship player in Morrison against a 19 year old inexperienced defender and got the better of him - which is spot on. That’s not calling out Kelly or anyone else. He’s simply stated it as it was.

Jeez.........give the guy a break...............

The England U20 captain?

As has been pointed out many times it wasn't solely the result of a 19yo against an experienced Championship player, why point to Paterson for failing to track back again (it is hardly his first offence).  Blaming any individual player for a team failure is rank bad man management, if we have read it Kelly being called out, the chances are he has too.

I have always tended towards giving LJ the benefit of the doubt, particularly given some of the posters continually attacking him and quite unpleasantly too, but I have jumped onto the LJ out side of the fence. It isn't just one fault, there seem to be several and worst of all he doesn't seem to learn from his mistakes.

[RobintheRed Red]

3 hours ago, Drew Peacock said:

I thought they were going for some Austrian bloke - the Alpine Klopp according to the BBC.

Yes you are right but Moyes was at Southampton for talks aswell

[glen humphries]

15 minutes ago, Drew Peacock said:

The England U20 captain?

As has been pointed out many times it wasn't solely the result of a 19yo against an experienced Championship player, why point to Paterson for failing to track back again (it is hardly his first offence).  Blaming any individual player for a team failure is rank bad man management, if we have read it Kelly being called out, the chances are he has too.

I have always tended towards giving LJ the benefit of the doubt, particularly given some of the posters continually attacking him and quite unpleasantly too, but I have jumped onto the LJ out side of the fence. It isn't just one fault, there seem to be several and worst of all he doesn't seem to learn from his mistakes.

Welcome to the club , Johnson out.

[Drew Peacock]

12 minutes ago, glen humphries said:

Welcome to the club , Johnson out.

The trouble is I am a middle of the road supporter and I get the impression more and more "average" supporters have lost patience with the bloke.

[glen humphries]

1 minute ago, Drew Peacock said:

The trouble is I am a middle of the road supporter and I get the impression more and more "average" supporters have lost patience with the bloke.

Without doubt, mate.

[glen humphries]

27 minutes ago, RobintheRed Red said:

Yes you are right but Moyes was at Southampton for talks aswell

Think he might of had a chat with landsdown as well.