Why Johnson Shouldn't Go

[B-Rizzle]

There has been lots of talk and opinions expressed at why people think it's time for Johnson to leave...now im going to have my say.

I don't think we're in as much of a crisis as people make out, yes were not having the best of times at the moment but that's not un normal for a football team. If we were to have beaten watford, we'd have been right back up there again and no one would be calling for GJ's head. I know that's all ifs and buts but it shows the fine line between people being content and then freaking out.

Certain people on this forum have a nack of losing the plot when we get a few bad results in a row and quite frankly it's laughable.

To get a new manager would undo everything GJ has been working on and put us right back at square 1 again. Decisions to do that should only be made in a crisis and we are NOT in a crisis. if we go another 3, 4 ,5 games without winning then yes we probably will be.

But for now let's keep our heads a bit and get out of this rut together!

Up the City!

[bcfcas1]

Won 4 games in last 20.

We are 20th in the championship form tables.

Its hardly a few bad results, face facts, its been seven good results (wins) in our last 30 games. Don't need to be a stat freak to work that one out.

Progression is needed and were not seeing it, relegation form is a slippery slope and we are well and truly on it....

[Irish_Red]

I very rarely write anything on this forum but follow the views of others and the "banter" between forum members.

I am 36 and have followed the City since I was about 8 and so have experienced the lows with the odd highlight peppered in between.

I am neither a Johnson "Believer" or a Johnson "Critic", I believe that he is a temporary custodian of my/our team and acknowledge the fact that he will in time move on to other and maybe different/better things. Steve Lansdown again is a custodian of the club and has done more to advance our club than any other chairman that I remember other than Des Williams who provided stability for the club when it was desperately needed a long time ago. To say that the fans do not have the right to criticise the manager when things are blatantly wrong is niave and quite frankly blinkered to the problems that exist at our club. Everyone is behind the club not necessarily those that are in charge.

People should remember that when Johnson took over we went on our record breaking run of nine consecutive defeats but the difference then was that he had inherited many problems and was in the process of clearing them up and the club was moving in the right direction which resulted in promotion the following season. To look at the situation now it is obvious that the club is on a dismal run of form which started at the middle to back end of last season and has carried on this season. He has signed all the players with the exception of Carey and Orr (Who may have been there under Tinnion) and therefore cannot say he has not been given resources or time. There is obviously something fundamentally wrong with his players, can they not relate to him anymore, are his instructions clear, does he care? He constantly criticises individual players and the fans (something that he did not do when he first came), everything then was collective responsibility, we won as a team, failed as team, defended as a team etc...

I do not think that SL will jump and push GJ out unless he can see that there are fundamental issues with his style of management or the way that he runs the playing side of things and unfortunately that is something that only a few of us will know about (or claim to know a friends aunties uncle who was in the paper shop talking to xyz). SL is a results driven guy and would not be in the position that he is in by making rash and hasty decisions. He will be aware that the long term success of the club is predicated on the new stadium that will generate revenue outside of the 23 or so matches that are played at home each season and by not having a successful team will damage that earning potential.

The obvious issue is that the team have been on the decline for sometime and this is not a blip, blips are 5 or so games not 40. The question is can GJ turn it around? He is signing players who do not fit into the team and are quite frankly not good enough for this division or we are putting square pegs into round holes. I have been through Terry Copper, Joe Jordan (twice), Jimmy Lumsden, Denis Smith, Russell Osman, John Ward, Benny, Tiny P*nis, Fawthrop et al, Danny Wilson and Brian Tinnion and too be honest the same signs are there;

• Questionable signings
• Panic signings
• Disjointed performances
• Players not performing to the standard we know they can
• Poor formation and team selection
• Blaming the fans (though this is restricted to Osman, Pulis and now GJ)

I know that GJ has done a lot for the club but his days are numbered unless he can turn things around in the next few games which looking at the fixture list is unlikely. My view would be that he will be gone within 2-3 games which would give his successor a chance to stave off a relegation battle.

It is a shame because he has done much for the club, the question is when and why did it all go wrong, what started to happen 40-50 games ago.

In Bristol City I believe...

Irish Red

[WellRedPhil]

There has been lots of talk and opinions expressed at why people think it's time for Johnson to leave...now im going to have my say.

I don't think we're in as much of a crisis as people make out, yes were not having the best of times at the moment but that's not un normal for a football team. If we were to have beaten watford, we'd have been right back up there again and no one would be calling for GJ's head. I know that's all ifs and buts but it shows the fine line between people being content and then freaking out.

Certain people on this forum have a nack of losing the plot when we get a few bad results in a row and quite frankly it's laughable.

To get a new manager would undo everything GJ has been working on and put us right back at square 1 again. Decisions to do that should only be made in a crisis and we are NOT in a crisis. if we go another 3, 4 ,5 games without winning then yes we probably will be.

But for now let's keep our heads a bit and get out of this rut together!

Up the City!

It's not just the results that are an issue, I believe tactically Johnson has lost it. He has tinkered with formations all season, doesn't even know his best formation let alone best team, has brought in several loan signings which have seemed unneccessary and have just not performed and we don't appear to have a Plan B. Take the game at Vicarage Road for example, what sort of team selection/tactics was that? Did he honestly believe we would get anything from the game with that team on the field, the players didn't even seem to know what they were supposed to be doing most of the time. There seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel and with the tough fixtures we have coming up I can't see things getting any better. If we don't beat Leicester on Tuesday then I cannot see where our next win will come from, and that is a very worrying sign.

[BrizzleRed]

I very rarely write anything on this forum but follow the views of others and the "banter" between forum members.

I am 36 and have followed the City since I was about 8 and so have experienced the lows with the odd highlight peppered in between.

I am neither a Johnson "Believer" or a Johnson "Critic", I believe that he is a temporary custodian of my/our team and acknowledge the fact that he will in time move on to other and maybe different/better things. Steve Lansdown again is a custodian of the club and has done more to advance our club than any other chairman that I remember other than Des Williams who provided stability for the club when it was desperately needed a long time ago. To say that the fans do not have the right to criticise the manager when things are blatantly wrong is niave and quite frankly blinkered to the problems that exist at our club. Everyone is behind the club not necessarily those that are in charge.

People should remember that when Johnson took over we went on our record breaking run of nine consecutive defeats but the difference then was that he had inherited many problems and was in the process of clearing them up and the club was moving in the right direction which resulted in promotion the following season. To look at the situation now it is obvious that the club is on a dismal run of form which started at the middle to back end of last season and has carried on this season. He has signed all the players with the exception of Carey and Orr (Who may have been there under Tinnion) and therefore cannot say he has not been given resources or time. There is obviously something fundamentally wrong with his players, can they not relate to him anymore, are his instructions clear, does he care? He constantly criticises individual players and the fans (something that he did not do when he first came), everything then was collective responsibility, we won as a team, failed as team, defended as a team etc...

I do not think that SL will jump and push GJ out unless he can see that there are fundamental issues with his style of management or the way that he runs the playing side of things and unfortunately that is something that only a few of us will know about (or claim to know a friends aunties uncle who was in the paper shop talking to xyz). SL is a results driven guy and would not be in the position that he is in by making rash and hasty decisions. He will be aware that the long term success of the club is predicated on the new stadium that will generate revenue outside of the 23 or so matches that are played at home each season and by not having a successful team will damage that earning potential.

The obvious issue is that the team have been on the decline for sometime and this is not a blip, blips are 5 or so games not 40. The question is can GJ turn it around? He is signing players who do not fit into the team and are quite frankly not good enough for this division or we are putting square pegs into round holes. I have been through Terry Copper, Joe Jordan (twice), Jimmy Lumsden, Denis Smith, Russell Osman, John Ward, Benny, Tiny P*nis, Fawthrop et al, Danny Wilson and Brian Tinnion and too be honest the same signs are there;

• Questionable signings
• Panic signings
• Disjointed performances
• Players not performing to the standard we know they can
• Poor formation and team selection
• Blaming the fans (though this is restricted to Osman, Pulis and now GJ)

I know that GJ has done a lot for the club but his days are numbered unless he can turn things around in the next few games which looking at the fixture list is unlikely. My view would be that he will be gone within 2-3 games which would give his successor a chance to stave off a relegation battle.

It is a shame because he has done much for the club, the question is when and why did it all go wrong, what started to happen 40-50 games ago.

In Bristol City I believe...

Irish Red

Must say, you may not comment often Irish Red , but it's certainly a case of quality over quantity. It looks like you've hit the nail on the head with every point you've made and can't argue with any of it to be honest.

Spot on!

[Chappers]

Top posts IrishRed, very eloquently put.

Personally, I do think that we need a change, although I will be more than happy to be proved wrong. I gather that GJ is looking to bring in some loan signings, which is worrying based on the rubbish players that he has recently brought in, and begs the question why we have so many fringe players out on loan. If we survive this season, I hope we have a couple of seasons re-building, where the Academy lads get a chance, we look to sign some young up and coming players, but retain a good nucleus of experience to guide the younger players, and avoid any risk of relegation.

[Tunley Legend]

Top posts IrishRed, very eloquently put.

Personally, I do think that we need a change, although I will be more than happy to be proved wrong. I gather that GJ is looking to bring in some loan signings, which is worrying based on the rubbish players that he has recently brought in, and begs the question why we have so many fringe players out on loan. If we survive this season, I hope we have a couple of seasons re-building, where the Academy lads get a chance, we look to sign some young up and coming players, but retain a good nucleus of experience to guide the younger players, and avoid any risk of relegation.

What you've just said - isn't that what we should have been doing this season? And what many fans would have deemed acceptable all along?

[Loderingo]

There has been lots of talk and opinions expressed at why people think it's time for Johnson to leave...now im going to have my say.

I don't think we're in as much of a crisis as people make out, yes were not having the best of times at the moment but that's not un normal for a football team. If we were to have beaten watford, we'd have been right back up there again and no one would be calling for GJ's head. I know that's all ifs and buts but it shows the fine line between people being content and then freaking out.

Certain people on this forum have a nack of losing the plot when we get a few bad results in a row and quite frankly it's laughable.

To get a new manager would undo everything GJ has been working on and put us right back at square 1 again. Decisions to do that should only be made in a crisis and we are NOT in a crisis. if we go another 3, 4 ,5 games without winning then yes we probably will be.

But for now let's keep our heads a bit and get out of this rut together!

Up the City!

I'm not what you would call a moaner but i have started to lose faith in the last few weeks. It's not so much the bad results as the manner of the bad results.

You could say there are many reasons why teams can have runs of bad results

1) The team isn't very good

2) A large number of players are injured or ill.

3) Key players have been sold to balance the books

4) A large number of new players have come in and they need time to gel

5) The team suffers a run of bad luck/poor referee decisions

6) The team plays a lot of tough opponents in a row

7) Key team members have lost form

8) The team has lost confidence

9) The team is being badly managed

Looking at City's current bad run: most people agree this is one of the best City sides for years. Up to this week we have not had issues with injury. No-one has been sold and infact we brought a couple of players in. The players brought in, in the summer have had 1/2 a season to gel. I don't think we have been unlucky with regards to refereeing decisions. The teams we've played have been average. Maynard has lost form but you would hope that others could pick up some of the slack. That leaves reasons 7 and 8....

I think most City fans can put up with a few bad results on a temporary basis but we need some light at the end of the tunnel and I'm not seeing any. Gary is saying to trust him but that won't wash after a while. What we need is a plan. If he came out and said the team was doing badly but he was doing x and y and this would lead to better results down the line then it would be easier to be supportive but I can't see a plan. the constant formation changes, the bringing in of Agyemang and now the talk of loan signings is starting to smack of desperation.

Don't get me wrong, I like GJ and hope he can turn the corner but I can't see it happening.

On the subject of managerial changes, yes for some teams it won't make a difference. An example is Peterborough who have had 3 managers this season. Their problem is the team simply isn't good enough and no managerial changes will fix that (without a large wodge of cash in the window). Other teams though it has made a difference. Look at Barnsley - Simon Davey got them promoted and to the FA CUP semis but still got the boot and now they are flying under Mark Robins. If the issue is confidence then a new manager can make all the difference.

So on the whole i think we need to make a change but maybe give it 3 more games as no point brining in a new man until the tough games we've got are out the way,