Johnson

[tin]

As I see it, opinion is divided on Johnson. Ok, we've lost eight on the spin but what can he do until January??? I'm fully behind the guy because, like him or hate him, he is a winner but where do all you guys stand officially on the matter?

Answer's below please, aside from Bristol Boy who clearly wants him out!

[gaz897]

As I see it, opinion is divided on Johnson. Ok, we've lost eight on the spin but what can he do until January??? I'm fully behind the guy because, like him or hate him, he is a winner but where do all you guys stand officially on the matter?

Answer's below please, aside from Bristol Boy who clearly wants him out!

To be honest. I wouldn't care either way, if he was sacked or if he stays.

[nester]

Totally FOR.

As every city fan should be. Right to the bitter end. Sorry I'm branching onto a different thread.

But, if he fails, I really fear for this club.

[Guest redphilc]

To be honest. I wouldn't care either way, if he was sacked or if he stays.

I think with hindsight he was too quick to crack the whip and it has backfired on him a little which there was always a risk that that would happen.

Maybe he should have kept those hand grenades waiting until just before the transfer window opened?

I am 100% behind him but having spoken to a lot of the fans at yesterdays game who rarely miss a game I have realised a lot of fans want him out. I spent the whole second half trying to convince a freind of mine to stick with GJ but couldn't find many reasons for him to trust my opnion.

I don't think it will be long before people become more vocal about wanting GJ out if results don't improve but that is the reality of football management.

[tin]

I don't think it will be long before people become more vocal about wanting GJ out if results don't improve but that is the reality of football management.

These people need to back off IMO and try to let him get on and do the job because, ultimately, if what you say does happen, and I've got no reason to think it won't should results not improve, then we will witness the fall of Bristol City. Whether we like him or not, we all have to stick behind him and his team if we're going to stay up this year.

[swampy]

Alex Ferguson replaced Atkinson and guided the club to an 11th place finish. The following season (1987-88), United finished second, with Brian McClair becoming the first United player since George Best to score twenty league goals in a season.

However, United struggled badly throughout 1989, with many of Ferguson's signings not reaching the expectations of the fans. There was speculation that Ferguson would be sacked at the beginning of 1990 but a win in the third round of the FA Cup kept the season alive and United went on to win the competition.

Time gentlemen please.

[Alex_BCFC]

Alex Ferguson replaced Atkinson and guided the club to an 11th place finish. The following season (1987-88), United finished second, with Brian McClair becoming the first United player since George Best to score twenty league goals in a season.

However, United struggled badly throughout 1989, with many of Ferguson's signings not reaching the expectations of the fans. There was speculation that Ferguson would be sacked at the beginning of 1990 but a win in the third round of the FA Cup kept the season alive and United went on to win the competition.

Time gentlemen please.

Indeed. David Moyes lost 6 league games in a row in the league at the start of this season. Some Everton fans called for his head. Laughable, and it just shows how fickle fans are. If we won the next eight which we won't then people would be saying the exact opposite and would have forgotten what they are saying now. Form is temporary but class is permanent.

[Bristol Boy]

Frankly, I don't care who the manager is.

I support Bristol City-not GJ, DW or BT.

I, like many of you, will still be supporting City when GJ is long gone.

For the record, after viewing his performance to date, I don't think he's the guy for this job for the reasons I've listed in my "Johnsons' Errors Thread."

While he's here, he'll have my full support on match days and I'll priase or criticise as I see fit.

As is my right as a paying customer.

Indeed. David Moyes lost 6 league games in a row in the league at the start of this season. Some Everton fans called for his head. Laughable, and it just shows how fickle fans are. If we won the next eight which we won't then people would be saying the exact opposite and would have forgotten what they are saying now. Form is temporary but class is permanent.

The difference is that Moyes had managed that team the previous season and taken them to 4th.

The same can't be said for GJ.

Although DW took us to 3rd and still got binned!!

These people need to back off IMO and try to let him get on and do the job because, ultimately, if what you say does happen, and I've got no reason to think it won't should results not improve, then we will witness the fall of Bristol City. Whether we like him or not, we all have to stick behind him and his team if we're going to stay up this year.

Trouble is mate, we're in free fall now and, despite numerous Johnson loan signings, we're getting worse, not better

[redmeanie]

100% for. No doubts at all that he's going to be the guy to turn it all round.

[Chappers]

As I keep saying, GJ's track record as a manager is with just ONE Club. Unfortunately, the GJ spin machine makes him seem like a superstar - He took the best supported Conference Club into the League, and then got them into div 1 at the second attempt. So many Managers have been successful in just one place, similarly, others have occasional failures. Graydon was excellent at Walsall, rubbish at Gas. Neale Cooper, great at Hartlepool, lasted 4 Months at Gillingham. Given time, he might succeed, or might just load the squad with rubbish, like Pulis did. Judging on what he has done so far, none of you will be stunned if I say that I am distinctly unimpressed.

[Red Skin]

4

[Super Scotty Murray]

Totally with him.

Can someone please explain to me how sacking a second manager in two months is going to help a club that is in disarray?????????????????

Who are we going to get instead??? Who is going to want this job??? How are they going to motivate these players??? How are we going to afford them after paying off Johnson after paying off Tinnion and paying off Wilson???

I will run around naked on the pitch against bradford if someone can tell me one good thing for this club that could come out of sacking one of the most righly respected managers in the lower leagues.

[Guest The Codfather 0312]

With the guy 100%. Its not his fault that the players don't have any passion for this club. I myself belive that the reason why we are doing so bad is because half the players we have know they will be shipped out in January so think whats the point in playing well for this club when the know they will be leaving.

Also i think that the dressing room is is now split and there is a bad atmosphere in there due to the famous three.

Thats what are problem is and the sooner they are gone the better.

[Strictly Obi]

i am totally behind the guy, and believe given time he will bring success to our club.

[Guest]

B.B. is entitled to his opinion but G.J. will be given till the end of the season and a few more, as I cant see the suits allowing us to be relagated.

We will spend in Jan whatever the cost as relagation would cost us more. WE WILL NOT GO DOWN.

[Coin-op]

100% with Gary Johnson.

[Guest Legend City Man]

I'm %100 with him, i mean his tactics are great, his signings are going to keep us up and with the way he's put a downer on our whole team he'l sure be a big sucess in the future.... Oh and did I say pigs can fly..

[Guest Harry Dolman]

Part of the problem with any forum is that opinions tend to get polarised & factions form. Like all fans I am unhappy with our current form, but I am, broadly for Johnson. That doesn't mean I love him (I don't) or I don't think he has made any mistakes (he has).

To me his 2 biggest errors have been letting Woodman go (Younga is no better) & letting Gilly go (whilst I am not a massive fan, he offers something different & we aren't exactly well blessed with strikers.

Personally I don't think the 4-4-2 is the problem - it worked fine v Brentford, Barnsley, Hartlepool & to a lesser extent Tranny. A lof of the games we have lost recently, we actually started quite well. To me there are 3 issues:

1. Desperate lack of confidence/heart for a battle. Having said that I was encouraged that on Sat at least we didn't capitulate after conceding.

2. The argument about the squad comes up again & again - how can pre season faves be mid season turkeys ? The problem is that we have too many players who can be very good on their day, but that day is too rare & when they are not very good, they tend to be poor. I would even put Brooker in that category - yes he's our best striker by a mile (but when did he last score??) - but when he has an off day he isn dreadful. Wilskhire is another one - great for the 1st 20 mins against Chesterfield, but when they piled on the pressure he disappeared. Maybe we need less glamourous players that will just be solid - good for 90% of the games.

3. The 3rd issue is the most thorny - Johnson has footballling principles, if we are to escape from this mess we will do it his way, by playing good attacking football. Whether we have the players to do this or indeed that is the right recipe for a relegation battle remains to be seen.

Despite the above I support Johnson - he has a track record of success - there is no reason why he has lost all his mgmt ability in 12 weeks. Frankly I find it amazing when people quote the Leeds/Brian Clough scenario as a good E.g of when things just don't work out - if ever there was a chance of a manager leaving a club too early, thats it!

[BCFC Taunton]

i back him

[DANNY]

I back him for now but really can't see us winning before January and then I just hope he's got some really good players lined up.

[RedTauntonian]

Definatly with him, i Believe he is a good manager, but when a team is playing like they know they are going to lose, it is hard to restore the confidence in them.

[Guest bristolbred]

The Manager's, The Chairmen, The Player's.........................................

They come and they go!!

But i shall still support Bristol City!!

Am i worried about Relegation??

Not really!!, i shall get a bit of stick in my Local Pub, but Nottm Forest and Derby aren't exactly "Great" sides anymore!!.

And during the Summer, the Locals will forget!!

I actually think that being Relegated could be a good thing for the Club!!

It will be a rude awakening to us all!!

Are we really that big a Club??

Do we think to highly of City, because of the Alan Dicks era??

Do we need such a big ground to seat 20,000/ 25,000??

Would we ever play "Premiership" football, or should the Championship be our "Holy Grail!",??.

The Cinderella or Sleeping Giant of the West Country!!

Too much Media Hype!!.

A season in the Old 4th Division would allow us to look at where the team should aim for, who should lead the Club, and who should manage it!!

Clubs coming up from the old 4th have managed to commit their stay in the old 3rd Division to just one season!!, and are now enjoying Championship football!!

Believe in Fate!!

[Braemarstan]

He's impressing me less and less as the games roll by.

He hit the nail right on the head with his aftermatch comments on Staurday "Doncaster looked liked a side that had played together for a long time." I think we can imply from that remark that he thought City didn't.

One of the major factors that separates successful sides from unsuccessful ones is the number of players that make appearances during a season. Lots of the winning sides have numbers as low as fourteen or fifteen (A first choice eleven and four or five subs).

How many different players have already made an apperance for City ?

As significant is the question "How many different defensive and midfield combinations have been tried already?"

Even with Johnsons fairly frantic loan activity he still hasn't addressed the glaringly obvious flaw in the City side. A defensive / holding / tackling midfielder. The club doesn't need any more centrebacks, strikers or attacking midfielders. Tommy Doherty's on field ability and presence has simply not been replaced.

I think you can also safely say that Johnson, by his words and deeds, has now "lost the dressing room".

That cost Tins his job. It remains to be seen whether it does the same for Johnson.

[One Team In Keynsham]

Various comments to this thread:

- In my mind the jury is most definitely still out on Johnson: you can only judge him on results (pretty dire to date) but tempered with the fact that the squad presented to him is mediocre, and the finances have been savaged by questionable poor dealins, and, as the old saying goes "you can't plait sawdust".

- In addition, getting rid of him now will probably do more harm than good: something tells me that getting a squad, already with p1ss-poor confidence, to work for a 3rd manager inside 6 months is a huge task, plus you will get the normal case of a manager bringing in his players, which, given the financial state we are in, probably equates to another disjointed bunch of loanees.

- Where should we be aiming to be? With a wealthy benefactor and a huge amount of luck we may get the one season in Div 1. Me? I'd take mid-table Div 2, the occaisional run for the play-offs and the odd decent cup run. Expecting anything more just seems delusional. And the whole sleeping giant thing is total garbage.

- But, most importantly, I cannot see anyway that relegation to the basement would in any way be a good thing for the club. For those too young to have experienced Div 4 in the early 1980s, trust me, I for one don't want to go back.

[Exiled Hogg]

even though results suggest otherwise i'm 100% behind him. he's got a awful squad to work with and needs time to turn things round. if that means relegation then so be it because he will wake the club up eventually

in hope, rc hogg esq.

[Guest ashtonyate]

You got to give him a couple of years one fault is he should stop getting loan signings in except if he is going sign them on full time to be. I would have keept Keown and played him instead of sofa who has gone back to Charlton able to sign them on full time

You got to give him a couple of years one fault is he should stop getting loan signings in except if he is going sign them on full time . I would have kept Keown and played him instead of sofa who has gone back to Charlton

[Alex_BCFC]

You got to give him a couple of years one fault is he should stop getting loan signings in except if he is going sign them on full time to be. I would have keept Keown and played him instead of sofa who has gone back to Charlton able to sign them on full time

You got to give him a couple of years one fault is he should stop getting loan signings in except if he is going sign them on full time . I would have kept Keown and played him instead of sofa who has gone back to Charlton

I didn't know we had Martin Keown...

[tin]

You got to give him a couple of years one fault is he should stop getting loan signings in except if he is going sign them on full time to be. I would have keept Keown and played him instead of sofa who has gone back to Charlton able to sign them on full time

You got to give him a couple of years one fault is he should stop getting loan signings in except if he is going sign them on full time . I would have kept Keown and played him instead of sofa who has gone back to Charlton

[Guest ashtonyate]

Thanks for that they are looking for English teachers at our local school

[Port Said Red]

If he goes I go.

I'm serious, if this club falls in to the trap of sacking a manager every five minutes then I will give up on them in the same way. I don't want to be associated with that kind of short-term attitude.

We all knew there were problems in the dressing room and that just like a group of naughty schoolkids, the 1st person to crack the whip was going to meet a rebellion. If we let GJ go the players will have won and the club will continue it's less than merry demise.