Rednready Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 2009 and for this season if we finish between half way and scraping into the playoffs, for me thats a success. GJ will have done well with the restricted squad that he has. Still in 2009. Next season will be GJ's biggest challenge to date, there will be a big turnover of players and a bigtime transition period. Consider the following ! Next season one third of the squad will be wrinkly crinkly's [ thats grandkid talk for OLD ]. Next season : Basso 34....McAllister 30....Carey 33.....Murray 35.....McIndoe 30....Adebola 34.....Trundle 33....John 33. On Championship wages, at least half of these players have to go, especially when only playing 70 minutes, or off the bench. Thats quite a challenge for GJ, especially when you add Orr who could be gone, youngsters like Artus, Plummer and Myrie Williams who are considered inadequate and at least 4 squad players who are barely average Championship players. Major changes ahead, along with a new stadium to come. Good forward planning will be a prime requistite. Exciting times, what do you think ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richwwtk Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 Next season : Basso 34....McAllister 30....Carey 33.....Murray 35.....McIndoe 30....Adebola 34.....Trundle 33....John 33. Of those I think Murray will revert to a coaching role in the Academy next season and we'll only likely keep one of Adebola, John or Trundle. McIndoe and Carey probably have two seasons left in them at most whilst McAllister and Basso will still be playing in 3-4 years time (injuries permitting). Unless we start selling a lot of players it's not anything that can't be covered by 3-4 new additions which is likely to happen naturally anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redhyde Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 Exciting or worrying depending on whether you trust GJ and his team on signings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayer Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 I fully expect a major push in signing high quality early 20;s players, with the odd mid to late 20's experienced player around them. Easier said than done in this league I'm afraid, remember City are the still the 'new boys' in a way. I would expect GJ to bring some quality unknown players in. ( Pete has his work cut out ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinker Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 I actually think this was all part of the plan, it was phase 1 of gaining a solid foothold in the league, phase 2 is mounting a serious challenge for the league, and that is where players like Maynard come in. Basso can play on until 38 without many worries, but the others yes are out of the door. I fully expect a major push in signing high quality early 20;s players, with the odd mid to late 20's experienced player around them. Between Jan and the summer window, I am sure we will see 6 to 8 players come and go. I think it is a challenge, but again, I think it is all part of the evolution, you cannot change a Div 3 squad overnight, and the whole club was 3rd grade for the best part of 15 years, from Academy through to first team. Step 1, a full back in their early 20;s, Ribiero will be the other side (left), plus a centre back with age on their side, who will eventually work with Fonts and Wilson. Midfield is the harder one, we need some youth there, level like Sinclair of Chelsea. That is the area we will have to work hardest on, not that many out there. While there is one protected, sacred cow in a deemed key position we will never advance. Although we are currently turning it around it will still be our weakest link...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon79 Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 Exciting or worrying depending on whether you trust GJ and his team on signings. EXCITING then.No more to be said! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ashtonyate Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 The player's we should be looking for now are the one's to take us to a position to challenge for promotion not the one's who have reached there penitential. The Academy wants looking at it is still not having enough effect on the first team, i expected J Williams and a few more to be let go as they have not made the progress they should have done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 To me his challenge is to move us forward now whilst also reducing the average age of the squad. I can't see Adebola being with us beyond the summer, whilst whether John is will surely depend on how he fares in 2009 and also if we can move Trundle on. Not at all worried about Basso's age, 34 is nothing for a keeper and McAllister being 30 is less of an issue to me than his recent tendency to miss increasing numbers of games. Carey will get another deal, I'm sure, whilst Murray's future with us has to be off the field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citynut54 Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 While there is one protected, sacred cow in a deemed key position we will never advance. Although we are currently turning it around it will still be our weakest link...... This really is getting way beyond boring!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimplyRed Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 I think Johnson's REAL challenge in 2009 is being able to get and manage players with a bigger ego than his! He obviously doesn't get on with players whose egos challenge the size of his own... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spekkie Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 I think Johnson's REAL challenge in 2009 is being able to get and manage players with a bigger ego than his! He obviously doesn't get on with players whose egos challenge the size of his own... That is a very perceptive comment; he really does have a problem with the "bigger players". Marcus Stewart et al. He needs to work on that if his full managerial potential, which GJ most certainly has, is to be realised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edson Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 I think Johnson's REAL challenge in 2009 is being able to get and manage players with a bigger ego than his! He obviously doesn't get on with players whose egos challenge the size of his own... Can you support that comment with evidence? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dezgimed Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 Can you support that comment with evidence? Can you discredit it with evidence? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spekkie Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 Can you support that comment with evidence? The evidence is clear; where are the big players now? They have been moved on, benched or waiting for the next "window of opportunity". Resistance is futile I believe is the popular phrase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edson Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 Can you discredit it with evidence? I don't know the sizes of the egos of every player at the club, so clearly not. But then I'm not the one making the claim. Gary Johnson can't handle players unless they agree to massage him twice a day and fluff him as and when required. Can you disprove that? The evidence is clear; where are the big players now? They have been moved on, benched or waiting for the next "window of opportunity". Resistance is futile I believe is the popular phrase. Define a 'big' player and supply evidence of those players that Gary has been able to sign but refused to do so because of the size of that player's ego. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spekkie Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 I don't know the sizes of the egos of every player at the club, so clearly not. But then I'm not the one making the claim. Gary Johnson can't handle players unless they agree to massage him twice a day and fluff him as and when required. Can you disprove that? Define a 'big' player and supply evidence of those players that Gary has been able to sign but refused to do so because of the size of that player's ego. Point missed. "Gary has been able to sign but has not?" The point was what about the players he has signed and was not able to work with because they told him a few hard facts? For your information Big Player = not from the Conference and has played at the higher level and has a proven record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donkeeebles Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 Point missed. "Gary has been able to sign but has not?" The point was what about the players he has signed and was not able to work with because they told him a few hard facts? For your information Big Player = not from the Conference and has played at the higher level and has a proven record. Sounds like Stern John.....and he is here!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dezgimed Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 I don't know the sizes of the egos of every player at the club, so clearly not. But then I'm not the one making the claim. It just seems we have a squad made of lower league players, and they typically wouldnt walk around like they're big time one would assume. McIndoe acts like one, but then he knows not to cross Johnson as per their Yeovil days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terjon Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 I just hope the last 2 results don't over shadow the facts we need to add quality, not quantity to the side, Midfielder, winger, Cenre half, Fullbacks, The next 6 months will be GJ biggest challange, he will need to replace most if not all his ex yeovil boys... I would use Akinde as soon as possible to gain him the experience he will need, We will be very very lucky to reach the playoffs this season and when we are clear of the bottom 6, it could be an opportunity to experiment with the younger players, akinde, wilson, ribiera, etc, Happy New Year to everyone......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolcitysweden Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 2009 and for this season if we finish between half way and scraping into the playoffs, for me thats a success. GJ will have done well with the restricted squad that he has. Still in 2009. Next season will be GJ's biggest challenge to date, there will be a big turnover of players and a bigtime transition period. Consider the following ! Next season one third of the squad will be wrinkly crinkly's [ thats grandkid talk for OLD ]. Next season : Basso 34....McAllister 30....Carey 33.....Murray 35.....McIndoe 30....Adebola 34.....Trundle 33....John 33. On Championship wages, at least half of these players have to go, especially when only playing 70 minutes, or off the bench. Thats quite a challenge for GJ, especially when you add Orr who could be gone, youngsters like Artus, Plummer and Myrie Williams who are considered inadequate and at least 4 squad players who are barely average Championship players. Major changes ahead, along with a new stadium to come. Good forward planning will be a prime requistite. Exciting times, what do you think ? A very good post. In five years time we will have a new stadium and we need to double our crowd. To do this we need some flair to attract new supporters. We also need our own academy to produce Bristol pedigree - not killing it off. After two years in the Champinship we really need to look forward. Todays team is frankly dull and will not ever attract new supporters. Basso is 24 at the most and should run out at the new stadium : ) Wish we had the possibility to get rid of some dead meat in January. In the future no one over 24 should be offered a long term contract. Out with the English working horses. A good manager is a butler serving his players making them play their best football. Yes Sir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edson Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 Point missed. "Gary has been able to sign but has not?" The point was what about the players he has signed and was not able to work with because they told him a few hard facts? For your information Big Player = not from the Conference and has played at the higher level and has a proven record. Who has he not been able to work with that "told him a few hard facts"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinker Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 Who has he not been able to work with that "told him a few hard facts"? marcus stewart partridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maltshoveller Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 2009 and for this season if we finish between half way and scraping into the playoffs, for me thats a success. GJ will have done well with the restricted squad that he has. Still in 2009. Next season will be GJ's biggest challenge to date, there will be a big turnover of players and a bigtime transition period. Consider the following ! Next season one third of the squad will be wrinkly crinkly's [ thats grandkid talk for OLD ]. Next season : Basso 34....McAllister 30....Carey 33.....Murray 35.....McIndoe 30....Adebola 34.....Trundle 33....John 33. On Championship wages, at least half of these players have to go, especially when only playing 70 minutes, or off the bench. Thats quite a challenge for GJ, especially when you add Orr who could be gone, youngsters like Artus, Plummer and Myrie Williams who are considered inadequate and at least 4 squad players who are barely average Championship players. Major changes ahead, along with a new stadium to come. Good forward planning will be a prime requistite. Exciting times, what do you think ? Basso Carey McIndoe can still do a job Murray should have gone last season John and Adebola will leave in summer Trundle ????????????????????????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimplyRed Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 Can you support that comment with evidence? Do we need evidence now in order to voice an opinion on this forum? Things here are worse than I thought! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheese Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 Do we need evidence now in order to voice an opinion on this forum? Things here are worse than I thought! You said that Johnson couldn't handle players with big egos - surely your "opinion" must be based on something to make such a claim. All that's being asked is how you came to such a conclusion. Is that really an unfair request? If you tell us why you think that then maybe we will all agree with you!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cider head Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 You said that Johnson couldn't handle players with big egos - surely your "opinion" must be based on something to make such a claim. All that's being asked is how you came to such a conclusion. Is that really an unfair request? If you tell us why you think that then maybe we will all agree with you!! fair point.. who player wise has a big ego at ashton gate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheese Posted December 31, 2008 Report Share Posted December 31, 2008 fair point.. who player wise has a big ego at ashton gate? I've no idea but my experience of professional footballers (and I've known a good many) is that they all have very big opinions of their ability - they have to - it's a cruel, cut-throat business with plenty of people happy to tell you that you're not good enough so you have to have a relatively large ego compared to the average man in the street to be able to survive. But, assuming there is no-one, that doesn't prove that Johnson can't handle them. And anyway, I'm not claiming Johnson can handle big egos (but I don't see anything to suggest he can't), SimplyRed is the one claiming that he can't so as I see it it's incumbent upon him to provide the reasoning. It will take more than just saying that we don't have anyone - otherwise I could claim that Johnson can't handle players with ginger hair - cos we ain't got none. So, tell us what leads to that conclusion and maybe we can agree. If it's merely because people don't think the squad contains anyone with big egos then I can't agree with the conclusion and would go so far as to say it's a ridiculous position to hold and fails close scrutiny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezo Posted December 31, 2008 Report Share Posted December 31, 2008 I think Johnson's REAL challenge in 2009 is being able to get and manage players with a bigger ego than his! He obviously doesn't get on with players whose egos challenge the size of his own... this may sound crazy but I sort of agree - he needs to make sure his ego is bigger than any player we want to bring in, and it should be - I cant think of any manager at this level that has a better managerial record then his over the last 10 years. we all know what the "vision" is but the plan is Johnson's and if players think they know better then their going to be moving in a different direction to the rest of the team that all agree with Johnson's plan. There is no point in bringing in any player that wants to stamp his mark anywhere other then the training ground and the pitch. Its not like you can have a different player telling you his different plan every week, the rest of the team wouldn't know if they were coming or going, of course ask your team where things can be improved and communicate with them to find out their ideas but they may all have a different idea so they will need to understand that Johnson's plan is final (I believe this is where Mr Stewart failed because he wanted to play being a one man manager of himself without the job title or the responsibility). Leadership and explanation of "the plan" has to come from Johnson which I believe he does very well and its only when players don't stick to the plan that we don't look a decent team (or maybe he hasn't explained it well enough for some players and they need 5 or 6 games to understand his rough cockney accent) . In Johnson we trust and for me it has to be his way or the highway for the reasons above. It is Johnson that gets judged afterall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jungle Jim Posted December 31, 2008 Report Share Posted December 31, 2008 So of the players with "big egos" who GJ has decided not to bother with, we have Stewart, Partridge, Phillips...? And coincidentally all 3 have basically done ###### all compared with what City have achieved in the last couple of years. But that aside, I don't think GJ's ability to work with "big" players is proven or unproven yet. What will prove it is how he handles the precocious young talent that we need to bring in over the next 12 months and beyond. Arguably Maynard & Akinde are the first of these, although both seem to have excellent temperament so far. But the point is if you doubt GJ's man management, if we get an exciting 23 year old with a bit of an attitude but loads of ability (a new Lita for example) how will GJ manage him. My guess is, there will be no major problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Ian M Posted December 31, 2008 Admin Report Share Posted December 31, 2008 The problem with Stewart was that at the time Gary Johnson was only in his first season managing at any level higher than League 2. Since then his stock has considerably risen, so much so that many outsiders view him as one of the best managers outside the top flight. This helps generate a respect from players that clearly wasn't there in the Stewart case. Without the respect of your workforce it is very difficult to be a manager in any vocation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.