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I think the vast majority of the credit for this season's showing (so far!) has to go to the head coach, not the owner.

He lost his best three players and was not given the same resources to replace them. That point is indisputable. But the job he's done (so far!) has been just magnificent - and beyond realistic expectation.

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I think my hopes were this season to be comfortably mid table, hopefully competitive and playing some nice stuff.

Last year mid table was 60 points, so it’s all bonus from here. Just hope we can keep a fit squad with eight games to play in a month.

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6 minutes ago, Moments of Pleasure said:

....or Forest.

That was the cry back in August. On otib.

All the while, Steve Lansdown was insisting that we "get in the top six" .... "and vie for promotion" ..... "at the end of the season."

Well, we are certainly vie-ing now

 

We can’t in terms of transfer fees, it was true in August and still is true now,

which is why we iproved our facilities invested in youth and slowly built the squad,

i don’t think promotion is a priority this season, but next season we’ll want to be challenging for automatic

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28 minutes ago, The Journalist said:

I think the vast majority of the credit for this season's showing (so far!) has to go to the head coach, not the owner.

He lost his best three players and was not given the same resources to replace them. That point is indisputable. But the job he's done (so far!) has been just magnificent - and beyond realistic expectation.

You don’t know if the proceeds from the 3 sales were not given to the HC. They probably weren’t but you don’t know that.

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31 minutes ago, Moments of Pleasure said:

....or Forest.

That was the cry back in August. On otib.

All the while, Steve Lansdown was insisting that we "get in the top six" .... "and vie for promotion" ..... "at the end of the season."

Well, we are certainly vie-ing now

 

Thanks to Vie-mann (and a fantastic squad)

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27 minutes ago, The Journalist said:

I think the vast majority of the credit for this season's showing (so far!) has to go to the head coach, not the owner.

He lost his best three players and was not given the same resources to replace them. That point is indisputable. But the job he's done (so far!) has been just magnificent - and beyond realistic expectation.

Lost his three best players? Perhaps. But.  In the hypothetical world would you swap Webster for Flint ? Desilva or Kelly for Bryant ?   Nnnaahhhhh

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2 minutes ago, simon uk said:

Im still not ljs biggest fan due to the streaks of losing runs, but ive said all along that this year hes been let down on recruitment of a top forward. Being in 5th place with this squad at this point is remarkable!

I second that statement.

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37 minutes ago, Moments of Pleasure said:

....or Forest.

That was the cry back in August. On otib.

All the while, Steve Lansdown was insisting that we "get in the top six" .... "and vie for promotion" ..... "at the end of the season."

Well, we are certainly vie-ing now

 

Just highlights how limited some posters knee jerk reactions are to the slightest thing City related. Very few actually understand what’s goung on with the wider picture.

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LJ has done very well and many acknowledge this. But regardless of how we are doing our fans and even other clubs fans cannot stand him! 

I'm sure this would change if we made the playoffs but even if we just miss out, IMO we have made a bloody good go against some clubs spend way more than us!

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Tbf I’m more than sure that the ‘compete’ was more to do with financial terms, we probably can’t with half the clubs in this league, which when you look at it, it makes the job LJ has done so far this season even more remarkable, long may it continue.

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52 minutes ago, The Journalist said:

I think the vast majority of the credit for this season's showing (so far!) has to go to the head coach, not the owner.

He lost his best three players and was not given the same resources to replace them. That point is indisputable. But the job he's done (so far!) has been just magnificent - and beyond realistic expectation.

Well said... In addition to losing the big three , we were also without Fam for the first 6 games, Bailey for about half the season and Korey for pretty much all of it to date...

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23 minutes ago, BCFC11 said:

Tbf I’m more than sure that the ‘compete’ was more to do with financial terms, we probably can’t with half the clubs in this league, which when you look at it, it makes the job LJ has done so far this season even more remarkable, long may it continue.

I’ve been saying that for most of this season. 

Regardless of where City finish, LJ will have done a terrific job essentially with one hand tied behind his back. 

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55 minutes ago, simon uk said:

Im still not ljs biggest fan due to the streaks of losing runs, but ive said all along that this year hes been let down on recruitment of a top forward. Being in 5th place with this squad at this point is remarkable!

Yet you’re still not an LJ fan..?! 

 

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30 minutes ago, FNQ said:

Well said... In addition to losing the big three , we were also without Fam for the first 6 games, Bailey for about half the season and Korey for pretty much all of it to date...

Or a first choice goalkeeper for the last 10?? Games

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1 hour ago, The Journalist said:

I think the vast majority of the credit for this season's showing (so far!) has to go to the head coach, not the owner.

He lost his best three players and was not given the same resources to replace them. That point is indisputable. But the job he's done (so far!) has been just magnificent - and beyond realistic expectation.

Great millenial post!

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We are about the sum of the parts.  We have good players, but no magic spark player (possibly Palmer, possibly Paterson).  Our players need to be at or near the top of their game.

We have often bemoaned teams like Preston and Brentford (for different reasons) as over-achieving, punching above their weight, and that we should be doing as well, if not better than them.  This season, we have become that sort of side, especially away from home.

Johnson has been a bit cavalier at times, and maybe that’s why he will have streaks.  Maybe we have to accept it.

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1 hour ago, simon uk said:

Im still not ljs biggest fan due to the streaks of losing runs, but ive said all along that this year hes been let down on recruitment of a top forward. Being in 5th place with this squad at this point is remarkable!

Agreed should have been backed with top doller to bring that extra bit of class upfront in 

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1 hour ago, simon uk said:

Im still not ljs biggest fan due to the streaks of losing runs, but ive said all along that this year hes been let down on recruitment of a top forward. Being in 5th place with this squad at this point is remarkable!

So where do we need to be for you to fully support Lee Johnson?

1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th?

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4 minutes ago, RedLionLad said:

So where do we need to be for you to fully support Lee Johnson?

1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th?

We could lose in the charity shield and some would still moan about it..! 

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1 hour ago, simon uk said:

Im still not ljs biggest fan due to the streaks of losing runs, but ive said all along that this year hes been let down on recruitment of a top forward. Being in 5th place with this squad at this point is remarkable!

 

2 hours ago, The Journalist said:

I think the vast majority of the credit for this season's showing (so far!) has to go to the head coach, not the owner.

He lost his best three players and was not given the same resources to replace them. That point is indisputable. But the job he's done (so far!) has been just magnificent - and beyond realistic expectation.

Much of this is down to man management imo. All the players clearly like him and they are prepared to put a shift in for him. Sounds simple but some of the best tactical managers often lose the dressing room and have egos. LJ has everybody on board and in game like today that shows. 

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12 minutes ago, dereks no1 said:

 

Much of this is down to man management imo. All the players clearly like him and they are prepared to put a shift in for him. Sounds simple but some of the best tactical managers often lose the dressing room and have egos. LJ has everybody on board and in game like today that shows. 

Could of sworn I read on here by quite a few that were adamant that LJ had lost the dressing room only 2months or so ago?

Perhaps he found it again? 

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9 hours ago, The Journalist said:

I think the vast majority of the credit for this season's showing (so far!) has to go to the head coach, not the owner.

He lost his best three players and was not given the same resources to replace them. That point is indisputable. But the job he's done (so far!) has been just magnificent - and beyond realistic expectation.

My point is not about "credit" and where it is due, it is about "expectation." 

For us, competing with parachute payment clubs and one day winning promotion from this division is our "Everest," our sub four minute mile. All require going beyond what might "realistically" be expected, or asked for. 

I believe that our head coach is not wanting for unrealistic expectations himself; you've got to have a dream....

 

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36 minutes ago, Moments of Pleasure said:

My point is not about "credit" and where it is due, it is about "expectation." 

For us, competing with parachute payment clubs and one day winning promotion from this division is our "Everest," our sub four minute mile. All require going beyond what might "realistically" be expected, or asked for. 

I believe that our head coach is not wanting for unrealistic expectations himself; you've got to have a dream....

 

That’s just happy talk .

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10 hours ago, The Journalist said:

I think the vast majority of the credit for this season's showing (so far!) has to go to the head coach, not the owner.

Surely credit must also go to the owner for standing by his head coach when many on here were calling for his head.

He lost his best three players and was not given the same resources to replace them. That point is indisputable. But the job he's done (so far!) has been just magnificent - and beyond realistic expectation.

How do you know that he was not given the same resources to replace them?

He's proved that he didn't need the same resources to obtain better replacements.

 

 

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11 hours ago, The Journalist said:

I think the vast majority of the credit for this season's showing (so far!) has to go to the head coach, not the owner.

He lost his best three players and was not given the same resources to replace them. That point is indisputable. But the job he's done (so far!) has been just magnificent - and beyond realistic expectation.

Except that if it wasn't for the owner the head coach wouldn't be here (and would probably have been sacked last season)

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5 hours ago, ashton_fan said:

 Except that if it wasn't for the owner the head coach wouldn't be here (and would probably have been sacked last season)

Last season?

Could have made a case for it 2 seasons ago, could have made a case for it after the run of losses in late Autumn of 2018, but last season?

 

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4 hours ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Last season?

Could have made a case for it 2 seasons ago, could have made a case for it after the run of losses in late Autumn of 2018, but last season?

 

Yes, following our poor finish to the season, I think it was the right decision to keep LJ but a lot of owners would have switched to try and get into the play-offs so credit to SL again!

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LJ was backed with

Webster

kalas (do you honestly believe he is free except wages!!!?)

 Desilva (as above)

elliason

moore

engval

weimann

The list is effing endless.

For anyone to say he was not backed is nuts. The club has invested millions in the development and training facilities and stadium to the tune of well of a couple of hundred million. We just don’t pay big checks to asombalongas etc. that’s the way we do it. And guess what it is working. 

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22 hours ago, Davefevs said:

We are about the sum of the parts.  We have good players, but no magic spark player (possibly Palmer, possibly Paterson).  Our players need to be at or near the top of their game.

We have often bemoaned teams like Preston and Brentford (for different reasons) as over-achieving, punching above their weight, and that we should be doing as well, if not better than them.  This season, we have become that sort of side, especially away from home.

Johnson has been a bit cavalier at times, and maybe that’s why he will have streaks.  Maybe we have to accept it.

Its a real conundrum trying to understand which team will turn up. 

I'm not being negative, but we could easily arrive at AG on Saturday to watch our beloved team struggle to string 3 passes together with Fammy playing on his own up front. 

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58 minutes ago, BS4 on Tour... said:

Plummeting from 2nd to 11th?

Was more of a slow, fairly drawn out decline really wasn't it?

Yeah he made mistakes, mismanaged certain players- no doubt. However we were only 2nd for one game I believe.

Should we have made the playoffs? Probably. However the Cup run, the high injuries- would have all counted in his favour.

11th at the start of the season thinking back to Summer 2017, probably would have been quite acceptable to the board. Some memorable and notable results too!

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We have raised our expectations now as to who we can compete with.  Years gone by, we used to concede we were a small club, always up against it in this league.

Now, I'm not so sure.  I feel we can call ourselves one of the bigger clubs in the Championship, which is remarkable when you reflect that we've never had the top flight riches to fuel our growth.

We can compete with anyone in the top 8 of this league, and hopefully will continue to grow.

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29 minutes ago, Robbored said:

What has ‘whether you like the bloke or not’ got to do with anything? 

 

Because some fans fail to acknowledge what a good job he's done even now just because they have a vendetta against him.

Simple point I was trying to make.

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On 02/04/2019 at 22:16, The Journalist said:

I think the vast majority of the credit for this season's showing (so far!) has to go to the head coach, not the owner.

He lost his best three players and was not given the same resources to replace them. That point is indisputable. But the job he's done (so far!) has been just magnificent - and beyond realistic expectation.

You may all want to sit down whilst I say this, as it may shock everyone...but

.....I agree 

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11 minutes ago, Robbored said:

What has ‘whether you like the bloke or not’ got to do with anything? 

Whether we like it or not, fans' preconceptions of managers, coaches and players have a huge impact on their subsequent opinions.

In Lee's case, he started with a bigger handicap than most, as you, more than most, will understand that the Johnson family connection is not viewed positively by all our fans! Many fans didn't like Lee as a player and thought he only played because his Dad  was manager and that he kept better and more skilful players out of the team.

Fast forward to the time of LJ's appointment as head coach and once again many thought he was only appointed because of SL's 's connection with the Johnson family,  and especially as it appeared that there was little selection process, despite SL saying the contrary was going to be the case. 

With all this background, it would not be a surprise that some fans were never enamoured with LJ and this would only have been reinforced when we went through the dire slump a couple of seasons ago, when those fans would have probably been livid that he was not sacked - aggravating feelings that LJ is metaphorically SL's favoured "son".

The nature of internet forums seems to be that some posters are loath to give up long held opinions, even when evidence seems to disprove them, preferring to persist with their initial views in the hope that it will be proved right eventually. This might be the case with LJ, although it does seem that more fans are coming round to see that he might not be all bad. 

P.S. As to "what has whether you like the bloke or not got to do with anything" -  see the classic thread re Gary Johnson for reference purposes!

 

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11 minutes ago, Kodjias Wrist said:

Because some fans fail to acknowledge what a good job he's done even now just because they have a vendetta against him.

Simple point I was trying to make.

Vendetta?   

What on earth for? 

Personally Ive never had real issue with LJ as Head Coach. I didn’t rate him as a player and it seems only his dad did........:cool2:

Early in his job and that run of dismal results I was able to pretty much see what he was trying to do and was willing to be patient and never once called for his head - particularly as SL had said that LJ was the man to implement his long term strategy and wouldn’t be going anywhere.

At times with LJ in charge I’ve been :dunno: with him but in recent times we’re reaping the benefits of what he’s done so far.

5th in the Championship with 8 games to go and a realistic chance of reaching the pray offs. Who’d have thought it eh?

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1 hour ago, Robbored said:

Vendetta?   

What on earth for? 

Personally Ive never had real issue with LJ as Head Coach. I didn’t rate him as a player and it seems only his dad did........:cool2:

Early in his job and that run of dismal results I was able to pretty much see what he was trying to do and was willing to be patient and never once called for his head - particularly as SL had said that LJ was the man to implement his long term strategy and wouldn’t be going anywhere.

At times with LJ in charge I’ve been :dunno: with him but in recent times we’re reaping the benefits of what he’s done so far.

5th in the Championship with 8 games to go and a realistic chance of reaching the pray offs. Who’d have thought it eh?

we were 1 point off the play-offs with 61 points this time last season, we picked up 6 points from the remaining 8 games

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4 minutes ago, Monkeh said:

we were 1 point off the play-offs with 61 points this time last season, we picked up 6 points from the remaining 8 games

Yeah we were but this is a different and stronger team. No reason to assume City will implode again.

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5 minutes ago, Robbored said:

Yeah we were but this is a different and stronger team. No reason to assume City will implode again.

No reason to assume but we've seen it happen (under the same manager and similar team). I'm trying my best to stay grounded but things are looking so good 

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Just now, Robbored said:

Yeah we were but this is a different and stronger team. No reason to assume City will implode again.

no reason to assume we'll go on a massive unbeaten run ether, both are just a likely,

We've still got to play Villa (in form) West Brom (in form) Derby (finding form)  Wednesday (going well at the moment), as well as Wigan, Reading, Milwall all fighting for their lives

We've a much harder run then this time last season,

 

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9 minutes ago, Monkeh said:

We've a much harder run then this time last season,

I honestly don't think it's relevant who we have left to play.

It's a cliché, but anyone can beat anyone in this league, and if anything, we've played best against the better teams this season.

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7 minutes ago, Monkeh said:

no reason to assume we'll go on a massive unbeaten run ether, both are just a likely,

We've still got to play Villa (in form) West Brom (in form) Derby (finding form)  Wednesday (going well at the moment), as well as Wigan, Reading, Milwall all fighting for their lives

We've a much harder run then this time last season,

 

City had an amazing cup run last season but it that had a negative effect on the Championship form.

We don’t have that this time around. Add to that the fact that LJ, his assistants and all the players have another season on Championship experience which helps tremendously. Plus LJ has instilled his particular method of play and the entire squad know how to implement it. He gets pissy if he sees them not doing it.

Plus.....Kalas and Webster are two top CBs and they and the other defenders are now the third best in the league.

Its a very different set of factors this time around.

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16 minutes ago, Robbored said:

City had an amazing cup run last season but it that had a negative effect on the Championship form.

We don’t have that this time around. Add to that the fact that LJ, his assistants and all the players have another season on Championship experience which helps tremendously. Plus LJ has instilled his particular method of play and the entire squad know how to implement it. He gets pissy if he sees them not doing it.

Plus.....Kalas and Webster are two top CBs and they and the other defenders are now the third best in the league.

Its a very different set of factors this time around.

different factors maybe, but the way this league I wouldn't assume we'd go on a run,

People should stay grounded

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34 minutes ago, Robbored said:

City had an amazing cup run last season but it that had a negative effect on the Championship form.

Last year we had a great cup run, which ended on 23rd January.

This year we've had a great cup run, which ended on 17th February.

So, not entirely sure why last year's cup run would have had more of an affect on us?

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3 minutes ago, elhombrecito said:

Last year we had a great cup run, which ended on 23rd January.

This year we've had a great cup run, which ended on 17th February.

So, not entirely sure why last year's cup run would have had more of an affect on us?

Because it was involved both Manchester clubs.......both high profile international clubs with a huge fan base. 

Every single City player would have desperate to play against them. The added pressure and exhausting matches took its toll.

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