Gary Johnson

[SC_Red]

Hodgson i should imagine is a lot richer and got a fair bit more of a pay off than Johnson, why did he take the WBA job so soon after Liverpool, passion for football, Johnson interview on Soccer AM he can't handle Saturday afternoons without football, he will get another chance one day in the championship.

indeed. some people have to work because they are passionate about what they do.

bit worrying that someone working in the NHS doesnt recognise that.

[Esmond Million's Bung]

No 82% of this forum says Gj is a legend, which doesn't even come close to representing even a small minority of City fans views across the spectrum, so you could say that according to this forum Robbo is wrong, but then you could ask that about most things and 82% of this forum would say the Robbo was wrong.

Gj is not a legend, the word is far, far to overused these days, many people on here who are saying that Gj is a legend for this and that reason and whining when people point out his payoff will also hapily point out that the AG 8 by tearing up their contracts secured themselfs payoffs that they wouldn't have gotten had the club been liquidated.

Johnson was comfortably up there with the best managers we have had in my years of supporting and most likely the best as i wasn't really aware of Jordans first tenure in charge. But legend **** no. We only have 2 managers that can be considered legends and that is Cooper and Dicks, both have done far more for this club than Johnson really could have dreamed of doing, one gave this club it's only meaningful top flight tenure and the other dragged us from the duldrums, lets face it mincing around in league 1 for 10 years is nothing compared to the shit we were in in 82/83.

Had Gj got us up and kept us up even just once then in my eyes he would have been a legend, but he didn't, he nearly achieved greatness but sadly failed at the largest and most important hurdle, (thats in no way a pop at GJ, as not many wouldn't have failed before Gj let alone got us that far) but the man is not a legend by any stretch of the imagination, best manager we've had in my time supporting City, most probably, but legend no.

indeed it is in fact ask many on here and a certain lazy Polish play boy is a legend, what is it 6 goals in over 40 appearances and achieved SFA with us, but apparently he can be afforded legendary status by I would say a majority of posters on this forum, funny old game.

[Redcliffe 78]

indeed it is in fact ask many on here and a certain lazy Polish play boy is a legend, what is it 6 goals in over 40 appearances and achieved SFA with us, but apparently he can be afforded legendary status by I would say a majority of posters on this forum, funny old game.

He's a legend for drinking rough Cider in my eyes that's about it.

[Robbored]

Robbored said GJ was not a city legend. But surely if 82% of city fans say he's a legend, then surely he is a legend?!!

You are overlooking that fact that many forum users who don't see Johnson as a legend have not bothered to vote on a pretty meaningless poll. In fact I guestimate the figure to be around 80%.

[Redcliffe 78]

You are overlooking that fact that many forum users who don't see Johnson as a legend have not bothered to vote on a pretty meaningless poll. In fact I guestimate the figure to be around 80%.

Meaningless poll because it don't agree with you?, i don't know what happened between you and GJ and i agree he is not a legend but what happened between you and him for you to dislike him so much?

[Robbored]

i don't know what happened between you and GJ and i agree he is not a legend but what happened between you and him for you to dislike him so much?

Its a long story that no-one other than me, Johnson, his taxi driver brother and Millen know what really happened despite the made up crap from my critics on here. I've read so much misinformation about what down between us its truly laughable.

Btw I didn't like the way he managed the players with his snide, controlling and bullying tactics. I didn't like the way he was afraid to lose and blamed the players when his tactics failed. It was always the fault of the players under Johnson even though he'd picked them.

I applaud the promotion,the good first Championship season and day at Wembley but after than it was dire for the best part of two seasons. I did a jig when he left. So did most of the playing squad.

[sglosbcfc]

LEGEND - No doubt. He moved City thirty plus places up the league structure in a reasonably short period of time.

[Redcliffe 78]

Its a long story that no-one other than me, Johnson, his taxi driver brother and Millen know what really happened despite the made up crap from my critics on here. I've read so much misinformation about what down between us its truly laughable.

Btw I didn't like the way he managed the players with his snide, controlling and bullying tactics. I didn't like the way he was afraid to lose and blamed the players when his tactics failed. It was always the fault of the players under Johnson even though he'd picked them.

I applaud the promotion,the good first Championship season and day at Wembley but after than it was dire for the best part of two seasons. I did a jig when he left. So did most of the playing squad.

Fair enough the Basso situation and i have heard a few stories of its was my way or the highway (Trundle accused him of being a bully in his book and in years to come i'm sure more stories will come out) and he clearly lost the changing room in the last few months, only time will tell someone will tell the truth one day about the Basso situation.

[Donald]

Legends

Real Legends

Get stands, stadiums, Statues, plaques etc in thier honour to represent greatness

Harry Dolman

John Atyeo

Billy Wedlock

Ashton Gate 8

Select Members of the division 2 promotion team

Alan Dicks

Terry Cooper

THEY ARE LEGENDS OF BRISTOL CITY

Great Man who have given key parts of their lives to the club and achieved greatness either by putting the club at it's highest or saving the club in it's lowest hour.

These people are REAL legends

Their are people who fought for the love and the good of the club.

Their are a number of people who were greats, Tinnion, Murray, Walsh, Jordan, Newman and Gary Johnson

Great but not legends,

Gary Johnson did alot of good things, but he is no where near a Bristol City legend and too class him as such for me, totally disrespects the true legends of the club and thier achievements.

[steviestevieneville]

Johnson? good manager Yes - Legend No

We got promotion from L1 but the club wasn't on it's knees like it was in 1982/3. We had lost to Swansea in that massive defeat but the club was solvent and SL

provided the funds for GJ to improve the team, we also still had some good players. All Gary needed to do was steady the ship, get the players behaving more profesionally and

bring a few players in - which he did. I'm not saying it was easy, planty of managers had failed before him - but the crucial point is that he did have the cash backing of SL and was able to sign pretty much whoever he wanted within the ample budget given to him by SL.

Some would say he wasted a lot of money on questionable buys and loans and his reliance on family members - when not always in the best interests of BCFC (IMO) - has been well documented.

Terry Cooper - Legend undoubtedly

For those not around in 82-3 it is difficult to understand how low things had sunk. The club had gone broke, the majority of the Ist team had either torn up the contracts or been sold, Roy Hodgson had been sacked (wonder what he's doing now!) and we were in the 4th div. no money and basically a squad of 17-18 year old reserves.

Terry Cooper dragged the club back through sheer force of his personality with a team cobbled up at times with 16 year old work experience kids (remember the Kelly brothers?) and local players from the Downs of similar leagues (Grimshaw, Richard Thomson, John "Donkey" Palmer anyone ??). Plus free transfer like Riley and Crawford

What Terry did was to put the pride back into City, He developed a fantastic relationship with the fans and drove the tiny squad to promotion often coming on for the last 15-20 minutes and changing the game by "winning" a free kick.

Most City fans who were around then will tell you that despite being in the 4th and 3rd divisions it was the most enjoyable time to be a City fan.

Alan Dicks - Legend

Did what no other manager has done in BS3 in the modern era, he did it without a benevolent chairman like SL - in fact the directors then were pretty hopeless,

in it for what they could get, - he had little money and relied on youth winning promotion and keeping us there in spite of the inept directors.

To say he took us down is unfair. Key players left under the new freedom of contract, others were injured and the directors wouldn't spend to keep us up.

They were too quick to fire AD and the replacements- Bob Houghton/Roy Hodgson - have subsequently in interviews stated the the board hid the truth about the financial situation when interviewing them for the job.

CR

I started watching us as a six year old the year we were promoted to the first division, and obviously watching the likes of Gow, Hunter,Royale etc were superb for a young lad. But the years under TC were far more enjoyable. The ground was a state, the players only a few years older than myself and we had hit rock bottom. We were all in it together though and getting promotion in 84 and wembley in 86 meant far more to me than beating the great Liverpool team of the late 70's. The early 80's were the days i really fell in love with our club and for what he done for the club, Terry Cooper deserves a stand named after him at the new stadium. GJ was a very good manager for us but compared to sir terry was he average.

[Esmond Million's Bung]

He's a legend for drinking rough Cider in my eyes that's about it.

Also only last week somebody on here even afforded Danny Wilson with legend status and what did he achieve for us?.

[112 Days]

Clearly a legend.

[112 Days]

Of course he was a legend, if you're under 35 he's the best manager the club has ever had.

I blame, partly, the Ginger, lonely, male nurse who ruined the best thing this club had for years. He is a small man.

[Matty-H]

If GJ really did piss off Robbored, then that elevates him beyond legend status

[Redcliffe 78]

Of course he was a legend, if you're under 35 he's the best manager the club has ever had.

I blame, partly, the Ginger, lonely, male nurse who ruined the best thing this club had for years. He is a small man.

And Landsdown relieved him of his duties because of this, one of the best business men the south west has ever seen got rid of Johnson because a lonely male nurse didn't like what he heard and Landsdown he reads this forum religiously said part of the reason you you got to go is because this male nurse don't like you. Millen will be sacked soon because Esmond don't like him.

[Redcliffe 78]

Of course he was a legend, if you're under 35 he's the best manager the club has ever had.

I blame, partly, the Ginger, lonely, male nurse who ruined the best thing this club had for years. He is a small man.

And Landsdown relieved him of his duties because of this, one of the best business men the south west has ever seen got rid of Johnson because a lonely male nurse didn't like what he heard and Landsdown he reads this forum religiously said part of the reason you got to go is because this male nurse don't like you. Millen will be sacked soon because Esmond don't like him.

[Esmond Million's Bung]

And Landsdown relieved him of his duties because of this, one of the best business men the south west has ever seen got rid of Johnson because a lonely male nurse didn't like what he heard and Landsdown he reads this forum religiously said part of the reason you got to go is because this male nurse don't like you. Millen will be sacked soon because Esmond don't like him.

Please show me the evidence of this statement, I don't dislike him, don't know him, seems a nice enough bloke, just remain unconvinced, hopefully he will convince me next season and unlike somebody else I will admit I was wrong, all I want is for BCFC to be successful always have always will.

[Redcliffe 78]

Please show me the evidence of this statement, I don't dislike him, don't know him, seems a nice enough bloke, just remain unconvinced, hopefully he will convince me next season and unlike somebody else I will admit I was wrong, all I want is for BCFC to be successful always have always will.

You don't like him as a manager and now just because he's has maybe turned the corner you are now saying unconvinced, i don't like the lies Esmond.

[Clarky89]

Good luck to Northampton Town. Decent club, tidy little stadium, nice little town. Hope he gets them into League 1. Legend in my eyes, even though not a legend to the club!

[Redcliffe 78]

Good luck to Northampton Town. Decent club, tidy little stadium, nice little town. Hope he gets them into League 1. Legend in my eyes, even though not a legend to the club!

A legend in the young fans eyes, yet the older fans attack them and come back with the the managers who were legends in years gone by, great point.

[Red-Robbo]

The mess he left at the end shouldn't detract from his achievements. I believed - and still do - he went at the right time.

But I still voted Legend!

[Martyn Hocking]

GJ Legend? Nah I dont think so

- Left a mess, unbalanced squad, full of overpaid players on long contracts, which has now taken 2 managers to sort out

The case for:-

- 1 promotion

- Increased media presence for the club

- Occasional, brilliance in the transfer market

er, struggling

So that's a definitely no, not a legend from this poster, legends dont completely and utterly bork the club up from top to bottom. On those grounds alone he can never be a legend

You are being way too harsh Ralphy IMO - what manager ever leaves a club looking rosy?

In reality you could apply the above criticisms and praise to Alan Dicks! Got us one promotion, increased our media profile and signed the likes of Norman Hunter and TC.

But also left a mess, unbalanced squad, full of overpaid players on long contracts, which took THREE managers to sort out (Houghton and Hodgson couldn't do it, TC did). If you are old enough to remember Dicksy signing Clive Whitehead up to a TEN YEAR contract, you will perhaps be less harsh in your judgement of Gary's transfer dealings I would suggest.

The reality is that the mess Dicksy left saw the club go bust and get relegated three years running. So I assume he isn't a legend either then?

[Economou]

Legend to me. Not sure how he can be blamed for leaving a so called mess, I doubt if it was part of his plans to depart.

Also the critics who bang on about him ignoring the Academy, he played Skuse, I'm sure we'd have seen plenty of Wilson & Ribs, if they were ever fit, and Edwards was in the squad last season.

Promotion followed by near promotion put the club back in the spotlight and meant two seasons-worth of highest average gates since 78/79, the 07/08 season was the best I've known, fantastic atmosphere at the Gate, and on the road. Compare that with this season.

'08/09 fizzled out due to last minute goals but the crowds were great and we still finished top 10.

Overall he was a success in the transfer market, standouts being Basso, Elliott, Maynard, Fontaine, Adebola, Hartley. Only real flops being Styvar, Saborio and possibly Trunds, although I'm not convinced that was a GJ signing.

Who cares what he was allegedly like behind the scenes he brought unimaginable success to the club in a short period of time and is therefore a legend.

[Andy082005]

You are overlooking that fact that many forum users who don't see Johnson as a legend have not bothered to vote on a pretty meaningless poll. In fact I guestimate the figure to be around 80%.

so you now make up figures to try and back up your argument?

Ok, Im saying 85% of non forum user see GJ as a legend

Im also saying 80% of players who played under Johnson enjoyed playing under him

Im also gonna say 98% of forum user consider you to be a gutless hypocrite

[Pemburthy]

Good maybe even GREAT manager. Legend F@@K NO!

Wedlock, Atyeo, Gow, Sweeney, etc, some people might even say Tinnion, they were City Legends

Only One Legendary Manager - Alan Dicks & maybe even Terry Cooper

Sorry, but Johnson just didn't do anything like enough to compare to those

Spot on!

[Esmond Million's Bung]

You don't like him as a manager and now just because he's has maybe turned the corner you are now saying unconvinced, i don't like the lies Esmond.

My god you've turned into RR on this post, once more show the evidence of your claim, I have stressed from the very start, I remain unconvinced about him, FFS you'll be driving a mini bus full of gasheads to an away game soon and telling us all about it.

I see you only say "maybe turned the corner", so your even hedging your bets.

Anyway good luck on your search for the non existent evidence.

[Matty-H]

so you now make up figures to try and back up your argument?

Ok, Im saying 85% of non forum user see GJ as a legend

Im also saying 80% of players who played under Johnson enjoyed playing under him

Im also gonna say 98% of forum user consider you to be a gutless hypocrite

[Martyn Hocking]

Wow Ralphy - you sound like an angry man! Chill mate - it's Saturday morning and we're going to take a point or three off Cov.

Personally I thought GJ was great and would rank him alongside TC and Jordan as one of best City managers since Dicks, but it's a game of opinions.

[Esmond Million's Bung]

Wow Ralphy - you sound like an angry man! Chill mate - it's Saturday morning and we're going to take a point or three off Cov.

Personally I thought GJ was great and would rank him alongside TC and Jordan as one of best City managers since Dicks, but it's a game of opinions.

Exactly when you analyze all of the 'legends' mentioned on this thread, ultimately things started to go wrong and panic set in and it all started to go tits up, so in that respect all of them are flawed.

Dicks panicked in the last 2 seasons and made some incredibly dodgy signings and was instrumental in the handing out of ridiculously long contracts which led to the Ashton 8 problem, but i'm sure at the time he thought it was the right thing to do.

Cooper who saved this club by sheer hard work and a lot of skill and made average players believe and brought back the pride to the club, but as soon as things improved and we were suddenly financially better off and he was allowed to actually spend real money on bringing in new players, his judgment went awry and he acted very angrily when questioned about his signings and our league position and made statements like "this is mine and Clive's club" as if he was beyond criticism. I am sure TC believed he could turn things around again.

Jordan was different in as much as he was totally the master of his own destiny, having won us promotion and playing great football, he allowed himself to be seduced into joining a club who made him false promises.

We all know GJ was flawed but he is the reason that Millen has the privilege of managing a championship club and not a 1st division club and that must never be forgotten.

[Dan Robin]

I don't know very much about City's history ( I support the club since 4-5 years), but GJ is the man that brought the club back in the Championship and almost in the Premier League. In the following seasons maybe he wasn't able to give the same contribution to the team's performances and results, but to me he has done a great job for BCFC (and that's why I'm a bit sad to see him in League Two now, thinking he was a good Championship manager a few years ago...but in football everything can change in a short time....we know this so it's not so strange...)