New Deal For Johnson

[BCFCfan]

http://www.bcfc.co.uk/page/WTPSDetail/0,,1...1091236,00.html

There's only one GARY JOHNSON...repeat.

[Bristol Boy]

GJ has acheived what he was brought in to do within the timescale.

However, on the basis that all a contract does is give the manager more security and enable us to claim compensation if he leaves, shouldn't we just review this at Xmas or the end of the season? GJ's ambitious and if he's a success this season, I've no doubt a bigger club at this level will be in sooner rather than later.If he fails (and failure would probably be relegation) he'll be labelled a good lower division manager.Providing he keeps us up he'll keep his job and the pressure/expectation on GJ isn't like that on Martin Allen at Leicester or Bryan Robson at Sheff Utd.

I understand that GJ's current deal is a one year rolling contract at, I would guess, about £250/300kpa + Significant Bonuses.

[giles_23_bcfc]

GJ has acheived what he was brought in to do within the timescale.

However, on the basis that all a contract does is give the manager more security and enable us to claim compensation if he leaves, shouldn't we just review this at Xmas or the end of the season? GJ's ambitious and if he's a success this season, I've no doubt a bigger club at this level will be in sooner rather than later.If he fails (and failure would probably be relegation) he'll be labelled a good lower division manager.Providing he keeps us up he'll keep his job and the pressure/expectation on GJ isn't like that on Martin Allen at Leicester or Bryan Robson at Sheff Utd.

I understand that GJ's current deal is a one year rolling contract at, I would guess, about £250/300kpa + Significant Bonuses.

Why leave it and review it at christmas and get him worried? Its best to sort it all out now. Why shouldnt we offer him a new deal now? He's done what he set out to do within the timescale given, and, had we had him in charge from the start of the 2005/2006 season, I'm pretty sure we wouldve gone up that season and already be a championship club.

If we finish in a good position this season then he has exceeded expectations for this season, and, if he goes to a bigger club afterthat, then our status will then enable us to get a bigger named, bigger reputation manager in who has the experience to turn a mid table championship team into a promotion challenging team.

[Bristol Boy]

Why leave it and review it at christmas and get him worried? Its best to sort it all out now. Why shouldnt we offer him a new deal now? He's done what he set out to do within the timescale given, and, had we had him in charge from the start of the 2005/2006 season, I'm pretty sure we wouldve gone up that season and already be a championship club.

Because in the event that we find out he can't do it in The CCC (I think he will & can) the compensation could double or treble if he's sacked.[GJ was very well rewarded and incentivised to get us promoted.That's done and let's see what happens now/b]

If we finish in a good position this season then he has exceeded expectations for this season,

Define good position

and, if he goes to a bigger club afterthat, then our status will then enable us to get a bigger named, bigger reputation manager in who has the experience to turn a mid table championship team into a promotion challenging team.

And we'll need to pay a good package to attract one of those.It cuts both ways, but it'll be interesting to see what happens if we're in the relegation zone at Xmas or even 10/12 games in.

Long term contracts are a double edged sword as this club should know more than any other.

[red panda]

It is right to sort this out now. Even if we struggle this season, it would be madness to get rid of GJ.

He has been with us for less than 2 years, but there are only 4 managers in the Championship who have been in place for longer than this.

The current fashion for getting rid of the manager as soon as they have a bad run of results is completely crazy. It very rarely does any long term good and often does harm. Perhaps clubs listen to their fans too much

The experience of Birmingham last year is an object lesson in what can happen if you resist that temptation - there was a point last seaon where everyone expected Bruce to be sacked, but fortunately for them sense prevailed.

[Guest ashtonyate]

It is right to sort this out now. Even if we struggle this season, it would be madness to get rid of GJ.

He has been with us for less than 2 years, but there are only 4 managers in the Championship who have been in place for longer than this.

The current fashion for getting rid of the manager as soon as they have a bad run of results is completely crazy. It very rarely does any long term good and often does harm. Perhaps clubs listen to their fans too much

The experience of Birmingham last year is an object lesson in what can happen if you resist that temptation - there was a point last seaon where everyone expected Bruce to be sacked, but fortunately for them sense prevailed.

The reason Managers get the sack is to take the heat of the board when things don't go OK. I think a two year contract is long enough both ways because it allows both party's to re valuate there aims.

In truth if either party wants out it means a bit of compensation one way or the other, so its not that binding anyway.

[giles_23_bcfc]

The reason Managers get the sack is to take the heat of the board when things don't go OK. I think a two year contract is long enough both ways because it allows both party's to re valuate there aims.

In truth if either party wants out it means a bit of compensation one way or the other, so its not that binding anyway.

*whispers to self* "i cant believe i'm about to agree with ashtonyate"...

good point. he had 1 year left which i imagine wouldve finished at the end of this season? so now is the time to do it. If this time next year we are playing championship football after just narrowly missing the play offs, then the pressure will be on GJ to do the same again and get that extra bit from the players to get into the play offs. But if we say, narrowly stay up then there wont be so much pressure on him because we will probably have to slightly better this seasons points total and we stay up again.

[Nibor]

However, on the basis that all a contract does is give the manager more security and enable us to claim compensation if he leaves, shouldn't we just review this at Xmas or the end of the season?

No, I don't think so. Would you make the same argument with a player? Should we not bother renewing Richard Keogh's contract for example because if we want to release him we'd have to pay it up? What is the difference?

If we consider GJ to be an asset to the club, and I would think 100% of us do, then we should be trying to ensure he stays and that means keeping him on a > 1 year contract.

GJ's ambitious and if he's a success this season, I've no doubt a bigger club at this level will be in sooner rather than later.

And if he's under a year's contract he'll be able to walk away for hardly anything. If he's got a 2-3 year contract then that £500k+ price tag might make the other club look elsewhere and the security and loyalty shown to him by BCFC might well make GJ less willing to up and leave.

If we fail and everything goes wrong and we want to part company and have to pay up a couple of years contract, well - that's just a risk you take. It's about getting the judgement right, and I think anyone would have to say it's a comparatively small risk compared to losing a successful GJ and having to replace him.

[Guest ashtonyate]

No, I don't think so. Would you make the same argument with a player? Should we not bother renewing Richard Keogh's contract for example because if we want to release him we'd have to pay it up? What is the difference?

If we consider GJ to be an asset to the club, and I would think 100% of us do, then we should be trying to ensure he stays and that means keeping him on a > 1 year contract.

And if he's under a year's contract he'll be able to walk away for hardly anything. If he's got a 2-3 year contract then that £500k+ price tag might make the other club look elsewhere and the security and loyalty shown to him by BCFC might well make GJ less willing to up and leave.

If we fail and everything goes wrong and we want to part company and have to pay up a couple of years contract, well - that's just a risk you take. It's about getting the judgement right, and I think anyone would have to say it's a comparatively small risk compared to losing a successful GJ and having to replace him.

I do not agree with you if Johnson leaves us it will be for a prem club and 500k or even a million is small change to them. At the moment Johnson is flavour of the month but in football that can alter very quickly.

Just think if we went down at the end of the season and next season started to plummet again it would be us putting up the 500k to get rid of him. At the end of the day like footballers if they want to go you got to let them.

[Nibor]

I do not agree with you if Johnson leaves us it will be for a prem club and 500k or even a million is small change to them. At the moment Johnson is flavour of the month but in football that can alter very quickly.

So? More likely is that Johnson will continue to be flavour of the month by keeping us up, in which case we want to keep him and offering a new contract helps immensely to do that. A longer contract means someone is more settled and more expensive, that makes GJ less attractive than alternatives a big club might have.

Just think if we went down at the end of the season and next season started to plummet again it would be us putting up the 500k to get rid of him. At the end of the day like footballers if they want to go you got to let them.

If we went down I wouldn't want GJ sacked anyway - he has already shown he can get us promoted once, who would you replace him with?

It's quite simple, if we want to keep GJ - and we should - we need to get him on a longer contract. There's a risk in offering anyone a contract, you just have to live with it. The consequences of not doing so could well see us looking for a new manager having just lost a very successful one and completely disrupting the squad that's been built.

[CiderHider]

Quality, but don't be deluded by the word contract, they are meaningless in many respects and only exist in order to be broken.

This noway means that Prem clubs won't come knocking, its not like money is an issue for them, if they want him they'll have him.

[Guest ashtonyate]

So? More likely is that Johnson will continue to be flavour of the month by keeping us up, in which case we want to keep him and offering a new contract helps immensely to do that. A longer contract means someone is more settled and more expensive, that makes GJ less attractive than alternatives a big club might have.

If we went down I wouldn't want GJ sacked anyway - he has already shown he can get us promoted once, who would you replace him with?

It's quite simple, if we want to keep GJ - and we should - we need to get him on a longer contract. There's a risk in offering anyone a contract, you just have to live with it. The consequences of not doing so could well see us looking for a new manager having just lost a very successful one and completely disrupting the squad that's been built.

If the job came along that he wanted he would go like he did when City came in for him, you and I might not want him to go but you know what it can be like at the Gate when the crowd get on someones back

[Nibor]

Quality, but don't be deluded by the word contract, they are meaningless in many respects and only exist in order to be broken.

This noway means that Prem clubs won't come knocking, its not like money is an issue for them, if they want him they'll have him.

A manager who has a long contract is going to feel more settled and secure, and less inclined to join any old club a few places higher than us.

Equally, a Prem club looking for a new manager is going to be less keen on trying to pry away a settled manager if they have alternatives.

If the job came along that he wanted he would go like he did when City came in for him, you and I might not want him to go but you know what it can be like at the Gate when the crowd get on someones back

Bear in mind that he turned down Coventry and Derby when at Yeovil and took the City job as much because he thought he'd gone as far as he could at Yeovil as because of the money and us being bigger. If he'd had 6 months left on his deal there do you think he'd have turned Coventry down?

If a big Prem club comes in of course GJ may want to go in which case we will get more money in compensation, but I would suggest that if a club only slightly "bigger" like.... say Southampton approached us the contract he has and loyalty he has been shown might well be what tip the balance either way. If that happens and he has only a few months left on his deal we might as well start looking for a replacement.

I can't believe people are arguing against offering the most successful manager we've had in 10 years a contract extension.

[red panda]

I can't believe people are arguing against offering the most successful manager we've had in 10 years a contract extension.

Come on, this is OTIB.

What do you expect? Surely not sanity, balance, constructive comment, perspective .....