Scrumpy_247 Posted March 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 think you might be right there. We was in a position to push on. Lansdown made a considerable investment the following season. We needed someone who would have taken advantage of that. Johnson was simply out of his depth and brought in rubbish like styvar He was never going to be sacked after the play off final - everyone would of settled for survival that season! Getting to the play off final was a fantastic achievement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CiderArmyy Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 Where would we be if we would of beaten Hull? where hull are now, we'd get parachute payment and be able to fund decent players Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolcitysweden Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 think you might be right there. We was in a position to push on. Lansdown made a considerable investment the following season. We needed someone who would have taken advantage of that. Johnson was simply out of his depth and brought in rubbish like styvar It was a fantastic achievent. Reaching the play offs on +1 in goal difference takes something. Genious of much of the season benched trunde and Noble to be more precise. Big misstake was offering poor fluke season players long term contracts. In secrecy. Some of them still here. Spoiling sesason after season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrs Court Red Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 League 1. Unfortunatly the wheels had well and truely come off and Millen did well to save the sinking ship. I blame the players. The same players that cost Millen and Del with woefull performances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downendcity Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 Certainly heading the wrong way. I agree with Robbored in that I never really enjoyed any of the football (including going up and play off season). It was effective and going up and getting to the play offs were great, don't get me wrong, but the football was so bland.it would have been interesting to see if he would have had a complete clear out if he hadn't been sacked, as it seems as though he had lost the dressing room. I was going to post the same thing TRL. I think there were ringleaders in the dressing room who undermined him for some time ( in certain cases possibly since he first came here). and I have little doubt that had he stayed we would have seen a fair few players leave that summer. Also, he had stayed loyal to the promotion team for too long, and an influx of new players would have freshened up the squad and given the chance to make a fresh start, so to speak. Having said that, GJ's transfer record was erratic, so it could have been that the new players could have been rubbish and we may have gone backwards anyway. My gut feeling is that had he cleared out the bad apples in the dressing room then it is unlikely that things would not have got as bad with him as they have without him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CiderArmyy Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 League 1. Unfortunatly the wheels had well and truely come off and Millen did well to save the sinking ship. I blame the players. The same players that cost Millen and Del with woefull performances. then plummeted us deeper into the ocean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redtucks Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 It's impossible to say, but one thing's for sure Robbored will be on saying we'd be in the conference and that he foresaw it before anyone else. This will be on account of his greater level-headedness and ability to reason accurately. In division one. 'kin 'ell. He must be mellowing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrs Court Red Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 then plummeted us deeper into the ocean Well yes. But Isk you this. How could the players who did so well at the tail end of that season turn so bad? It was the reading gsme the following season and an utter capitulation that underlined the core group of players had decided they werent going to perform for yet another manager. History is repeating itself with certain players finding their form since SOD has joined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Portland Bill Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 I know we are past the Johnson days but if he was still here, where does everyone think we would be? I think we would be a mid table championship side like before he left We weren't a mid table side when he left, we were hovering just above the relegation zone. If he was still here then League 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMS Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 Think it was the perfect time to call it a day. Absolute legend though IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolcitysweden Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 Well yes. But Isk you this. How could the players who did so well at the tail end of that season turn so bad? It was the reading gsme the following season and an utter capitulation that underlined the core group of players had decided they werent going to perform for yet another manager. History is repeating itself with certain players finding their form since SOD has joined. How many games did we win 1-0 that season? Luck and on the high comes to an end. Not good enough. Certainly not for long term contracts on very good money.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrs Court Red Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 So spend even more despite the highest finish for 30 years. Ok then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Dazzler Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 I always look back on Johnson's time from the time he came here (despite THAT losing streak) to somewhere in season 08/09 with a lot of fondness and mainly good memories. It seemed to start going badly wrong when we had this habit of letting in late goals at AG, when we were invariably 1-0 up and it got to the point where you just knew what was going to happen, fortunately we were never in danger of being relegated. This would have been around the times of the ever-increasing dodgy signings (Styvar etc), and too many "good" signings (Stern John etc) that were just dire for us. One of the things that paid dividends for GJ in the early days was getting rid of the deadwood/bad apples, use of hand grenades etc, ultimately proved to be his undoing. In retrospect his no-nonsense way of ousting the likes of Marcus Stewart and Steve Phillips was seen as a good thing by many in getting his imprint on the club and building up a successful unit. But his confrontational methods did not cut a lot of ice with some members of the team that achieved beyond all expectation up to that defeat at Wembley, and they were not prepared to be dropped, or frozen out, or be offered contracts that did not match some of their teammates. So, where his falling out with players he had not signed, or really worked with, in a struggling team in the early days was not really an issue, disputes with players he had signed or nurtured during his rise up the table did him no favours. The number of players he fell out with in the couple of years since promotion in 2007 is actually staggering and maybe tells the tale of why, despite some great times between 2006 and 2008/9, he was ultimately doomed with tales of lost dressing rooms. GJ fell out with the following during a very short period of time (to varying degrees but in many cases this resulted in them leaving the club for next to nothing):- Trundle, Showunmi, Noble, Orr, Basso, Sproule, McIndoe, Keogh (there must be others) add into the mix disgruntled players played out of position or just not in the team enough (Sno, Gavin Williams, Clarkson etc) + all the dodgy signings (loans or otherwise) and the perception by some fans of his son's merits to he club and you have a recipe for disaster and, despite being the most successful manager since Alan Dicks, his position became untenable. Yessir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aizoon Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 Excellent analysis, Mr Dazzler, but it could also be interpreted as player power gone wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolfOfWestStreet Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 Think it was the perfect time to call it a day. Absolute legend though IMO Right time agreed but anyone knocking his achievements at this club needs a dry slap. It was a great time to be a city fan, a performing team who showed fight, heart and courage. A manager who was charming, interesting and defiant. Who stood up to c*** like Warnock and Chopra. We believed in him. We rode on the crest of that wave and loved every minute of it. Could be a long time til we get that feel good factor back. BUT lets not get bitter we're better than that. bit drunk so might be a bit strong, apologies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red-Robbo Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 Gary had run his course, run out of ideas. His last season was truly painful. The number of times we tried to sit back and defend 1-0 leads, the number of poor players - Styvar being just one example - he brought in, and the number of times he playeed his son regardless of whether he was in form or was having a nightmare. It doesn't need me to say he is a good manager - his record speaks for itself - but he literally had run out of steam here and seemed clueless as to why we were losing games - even though it was obvious to most observers, both fans in the stands and neutrals. We'd have gone down had he stayed for sure and the question of him still being boss would be a moot one because he'd have been sacked then. I have no personal animus against Gary myself, but then I've never worked for the guy. People I know who did, say he was a million miles away from his cheery cockney persona once the cameras were off him. He was a nightmare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin1988 Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 How many games did we win 1-0 that season? Luck and on the high comes to an end. Not good enough. Certainly not for long term contracts on very good money.. Luck is the ignorant term for a well drilled, efficient, consistent squad. The attitude of the squad changed, not the luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Dazzler Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 Excellent analysis, Mr Dazzler, but it could also be interpreted as player power gone wrong. Thanks, and I agree to a degree with your comment about player power. Another player that seemed to have a falling out was Nick Carle, although the fee we got from Palace was excellent business. One thing that intrigues me was the signing of Trunds after promotion and his subsequent contribution to the play-off season. The fact that Darren Byfield was our top scorer that season with 8 goals (when you think we were one game away from the Premier league) is astonishing, when Trundle was still a class player, someone you would have expected to get at least a 15 goal return at that level. Trunds only showed glimpes of his class, so few glimpses that it is easy to recall his moments! After the Palace play-offs I remember thinking he would probably be the man who would be most likely to be the match winner at Wembley, but it just didn't happen! The signs were that GJ had problems dealing and getting the best out of "big ego-type players" and the way the LT was used in a team that could have gone up automatically, was maybe a sign of things to come (Sno, Sobario, Stern John, Aygerman (spelling)) come to mind! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete1975Legend Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 There are some really bizarre assumptions about GJ final few games and even someone said we were hovering above relegation........yet when our last boss went 11 games with just 3 draws people were willing to give him a chance yet as soon as our most successful manager for ages loses a few everyone wanted him gone and imo a massive mistake. Ok yes we got two bad results at home Cardiff and Doncaster spring to mind but no one mentions the win at Leicester, Palace the fact we went to st james park and got a 0-0 draw not many teams did that in that season. But you don't win every game and sides do get thrashed from time time its football. So when GJ was hounded out by a number of vocal fans and the players alike, we were 15th place on 45 points only 10 points off playoffs and 7 off the relegation zone and that Plymouth game the players needed a good shouting at after a dire first half where we went two down we pulled it back to two two so what ever happened did the trick and then we lost the game it in the last minute. So had GJ still been here instead of the disruptive players I have no doubt we wouldn't be in the trouble we are in now. If any fan tells me they'd rather of seen the last 3 seasons than any of GJ ones then they're fibbing, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son of Fred Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 would you rather have GJ than Millen?...would you rather GJ than Del?...maybe its just that many of you,and the board,got what you deserved... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 should of sacked johnson after the hull play off final That would of been ridiculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan Tansley Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 Do people not remember how terrible his last couple of months was, 6 nil defeat by Cardiff. Yes he got us up and we had a good season in reaching the play offs but from that moment on we was on the slide. Had he stayed for the rest of the season we would have been relegated without a doubt. I've been through this before, we absolutely would not have been relegated that season as we needed something like 5 points from 11 games to survive. No matter what Johnson did or didn't lose, we would never have gone down in a month of Sundays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunningdalered Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 Good grief, can we stop collectively pining and keep going over this again and again and again. It's like a teenager moping after his first love who got away. GJ left 3 years ago on Monday just gone. We have both moved on. let it lie or forever be mired in the could of/should of/maybes.. This. The championship is a different place now (as GJ will find if he gets YT up). We were mediocre, at best, for large parts of the play-off season. By the time GJ left, the players were playing in such a constricted, formulaic way that they didnt dare move from where they had been told to stay - and KM's 'success' at the end of the season was, IIRC, based almost entirely on just sending the players out to play football without all the pseudo-tactical bollox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davros Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 I know we are past the Johnson days but if he was still here, where does everyone think we would be? I think we would be a mid table championship side like before he left Up there, he was rebuilding, so he would have rebuilt by now. People lost sight of the fact he was mid rebuild of a team that failed to get promoted and was moving slowly loosing confidence. HE IS THE BEST MANAGER WE HAVE HAD IN 20 YEARS! the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aizoon Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 Up there, he was rebuilding, so he would have rebuilt by now. People lost sight of the fact he was mid rebuild of a team that failed to get promoted and was moving slowly loosing confidence. HE IS THE BEST MANAGER WE HAVE HAD IN 20 YEARS! the end. Well put. Of course the players were unhappy - they'd failed at the last hurdle through no fault of their own, and GJ was rebuilding without many of them. Sad, but that's football. Any manager who stays more than five minutes has to go through this process. Pity he didn't get more backing from the board. The fans got on his back because that's what fans do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strictly Obi Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 I know we are past the Johnson days but if he was still here, where does everyone think we would be? I think we would be a mid table championship side like before he left This! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 Up there, he was rebuilding, so he would have rebuilt by now. People lost sight of the fact he was mid rebuild of a team that failed to get promoted and was moving slowly loosing confidence. HE IS THE BEST MANAGER WE HAVE HAD IN 20 YEARS! the end. You are forgetting Benny.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strictly Obi Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 GJ had to go! had he stayed, we would never have had the Glory day's under Coppel, Millen and McInnes! The flip-side is at least in SoD, we now have a manager that will keep us up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myol'man Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 My guess is if GJ had stayed we'd have gone down and back up again by now. I also think if we had beaten Hull that fateful day we'd be back down by now. All in all, back exactly were we are! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SecretSam Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 Do people not remember how terrible his last couple of months was, 6 nil defeat by Cardiff. Yes he got us up and we had a good season in reaching the play offs but from that moment on we was on the slide. Had he stayed for the rest of the season we would have been relegated without a doubt. Spot on The last few months were dire - don't we all remember that? It was time for him to go and I do not think he left a good legacy, academy out on a limb, poor performances....... Good ridance if you ask me. Spot on again The continued 'love in' for GJ is baffling, we were in a mess when he left, poor squad, which hadn't been developed, lack of youth policy and long term vision. As others have said, the first season up was a tidal wave of confidence...which we failed to build on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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