mozo Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Just been watching john Barnes on Goals on Sunday and have to say he is a really interesting guy when he gets talking about football. He was talking about how individual talent is secondary to the team philosophy, and that if all the players believe in the cause, success will follow, hence why Robinho and Elano cannot perform for Man City like they do for Brazil. He also said that whilst he would never accuse a player of 'not trying', there are times where players who are at an unsettled club will subconsciously know that the manager will be held accountable for the teams bad form and so won't be mentally tuned in to produce their best football. He pointed out that at Man Utd, the players are always accountable because fans have faith in Ferguson even in the bad times, whereas at other clubs the players can get away with getting into bad habits, both individually, and as a group, often bringing about a sacking (I'm sure Brian Tinnion will concur!). What's this got to do with City? Well, it reminded me of when Gary Johnson led our team to a record run of defeats. Now, history has taught us that Johnson is a good manager, so you have to question whether the players at the time were really putting their all into the cause. Clearly Johnson had come in with a very clear vision of how the club should operate from top to bottom. He wanted complete control and was intent on creating a squad of players that will give 100%, and be accountable if they don't. Johnson was even willing to throw a few grenades around the dressing room as he sought to identify which players were responsive and which weren't. I wonder, too, whether earlier in this season, a sufficient number of players lost sight of the common cause to bring about a bad run of form. For example, Bradley Orr was clearly discontent, and Trundle, Brooker and Noble were unsettled, as well as mounting speculation about Elliott and Basso. Perhaps there were other issues that caused a subconscious lack of dedication from players that last season looked so fired up. What else could explain the Jekyll and Hyde season that we are experiencing? Naturally, when our form dipped the reaction of fans was in part to turn on players such as Lee Johnson and Stern John, but also to have a dig at the manager for making bad signings or getting tactics wrong. We know that not many of our players could walk straight into a Premier League team, but when they show that spirit and determination that Gary Johnson often refers to, they are capable of big things, such as the current winning streak. Hopefully the fans and chairman of this club have too much faith in Gary Johnson for him to ever be damned by a lack of player accountability, and hopefully the players will continue to believe in the Bristol City philosophy of hard work, passion and attacking football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTFiGO!?! Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Only this morning on ITV GJ was asked what the ingredients for a successful promotion push are, he answered by saying bringing in people whos ambition matches his own which is what I think all those having spasm attacks over our often cautious transfer activety fail to acknowledge. The right tea lady's important too, apparently :noexpression: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Ian M Posted February 15, 2009 Admin Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 He also said that whilst he would never accuse a player of 'not trying', there are times where players who are at an unsettled club will subconsciously know that the manager will be held accountable for the teams bad form and so won't be mentally tuned in to produce their best football. He pointed out that at Man Utd, the players are always accountable because fans have faith in Ferguson even in the bad times, whereas at other clubs the players can get away with getting into bad habits, both individually, and as a group, often bringing about a sacking (I'm sure Brian Tinnion will concur!). Very interesting thread. At City, of course, we have the added situation where players may subconciously know that no matter how poor a game they have, other players (or a player) will be held accountable for the team's bad form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanatopia Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Very interesting thread. At City, of course, we have the added situation where players may subconciously know that no matter how poor a game they have, other players (or a player) will be held accountable for the team's bad form. You mean they will all rise and fall together?.. team philosophy. very much the Shankly way at Liverpool and Revie at Leeds. Gary J, I believe, tries to follow this same philosophy and clearly explains why the likes of Carle, Noble and Trundle have not been the type of player who can easily be successful at the club; talent like that is sometimes difficult to harness and pull into a squad for the collective good. You cannot bemoan our manager for trying though. I notice this is the same with Nigel Clough at Derby following the same ethos as his Dad and, despite having a few prima donnas and big egos in his team, Ferguson is the best at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Gow Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Anyone going to mention Stern John in this thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheese Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Anyone going to mention Stern John in this thread? You? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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