headhunter Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Port Said Red Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 About 2 years ago I was made aware of an article in the Guardian which disputed what a great success GJ was in his spell as the manager of Latvia. Bearing in mind the God like esteem his was held in by most then and even some now I did not introduce the content of the article on the forum. However in the light of current alleged events it appears our cockney friend has lashed out with his fists before. I present below what was written by a Latvian after the glowing reports on what a great job he was doing at BCFC appeared in the paper[ I think someone made reference to that article only the other day on this forum. THE GUARDIAN JANUARY 11 2008 Johnson shattering the myth Calitis January 11, 2008 2:34 PM Riga/lva I have to say a few words about Johnson's reign as Latvia manager. I know that he has built up the image that he was a great success, reformed the team, the coaching, the style of play, blah blah blah... But the truth is rather different. Under Johnson the Latvian national team experienced the worst string of results in their history (and that's saying something!). He was eventually fired after a punch-up with a reporter after a home 1-1 draw with san Marino in 2001 (the first points San Marino ever collected in a UEFA or FIFA qualifying competition). The fans had been chanting "Johnson go home" for the last 10 minutes of the game. Moreover, Johnson claimed that he had been asked to "consult" the Latvian team after it had miraculously qualified for the 2004 European Championships - but this was denied by the coach Aleksandrs Starkovs, the General-Secretary of the Latvian Football Association and everyone associated with the national team. Of course, Johnson went onto achieve great success with Yeovil and now Bristol City. But he was a disaster with Latvia, and is probably the most disliked football coach in Latvia's history. It would be nice is this journalist had actually bothered to check this out before writing this article. It is rather well documented. So because this one guy says so it's true now? The Stalinists have arrived to rewrite history, you read it here first; Brian Tinnion was stabbed in the back by GJ, who arranged for his sacking after the magnificent 7-1 against Swanseawe never did get promotedwe were actually in the prem and were relegatedthe trip to wembley wasn't really for a play off final SL paid for it to happen For Goodness sake, if he goes, he goes, but this kind of character assassination is totally uncalled for, it's sickening to watch. "And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposedif all records told the same talethen the lie passed into history and became truth. 'Who controls the past' ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.'" - George Orwell - 1984 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headhunter Posted March 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2010 Yes, perhaps I'm being harsh dragging this up now but as a reply to this thread shows with an article from WSC the fracas with a reporter would appear to be true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TorontoRed Posted March 18, 2010 Report Share Posted March 18, 2010 But other reports, including this one from FIFA's website suggest he made a huge positive difference to the whole set up in Latvia. I suspect it simply depends on your point of view. Maybe the Guardian reporter also wrote for FIFA? http://bosh.me/H31Jsj He may have only drawn 1-1 with San Marino at home, but he'd already beaten Norway and Greece away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atticus Posted March 18, 2010 Report Share Posted March 18, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhowie11 Posted March 18, 2010 Report Share Posted March 18, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Port Said Red Posted March 18, 2010 Report Share Posted March 18, 2010 wow, you his best mate? He never said its FACT, read his post again mate, he is writing what has been said before. So your bizarre ramblings about Tinnion being stabbed in the back etc are a waste of time. I am not his best mate, but I am someone who is grateful for the man for the good times over the last 4 1/2 years and I am not prepared to sit back while people (not just headhunter) ignore all that and make out they never happened. Promotion, Wembley etc, it all happened and he is now paying the price for achieving far more than most people thought was possible, quicker than they thought possible. The expectations amongst some supporters on here now are unobtainable in the short term and the next manager, (which seems a given now) will get exactly the same treatment unless he is a footballing genius. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riaz Posted March 18, 2010 Report Share Posted March 18, 2010 talk about kick a guy when he's down! so what if he exaggerated how well he did with Lativa?! Point is, for the first 3 years he did an amazing job for us and almost delivered prem football. Something we could only dream about before he came here - he almost made it a reality. For him to do that, taking us from the relegation zone of league one - we should all be grateful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Marsh Posted March 18, 2010 Report Share Posted March 18, 2010 the trip to wembley wasn't really for a play off final SL paid for it to happen That one's true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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