Johnson Out - Noble In

[Tenyards]

Lee Johnson is 26. So far he has been in six promotion sides...this season will make it seven. he can't be that bad. It is all about opinions and although others on here have praised him I thought our worst player today was McCombe and on that showing I would go back to our old back four. Midfield had a tough battle and LJ, as usual, tried some long balls that didn't come off but at least he was looking to do something adventurous rather than a safe pass to the bloke next to him...which is what he is there for.

[rossjonesuk]

Lee Johnson is 26. So far he has been in six promotion sides...this season will make it seven. he can't be that bad. It is all about opinions and although others on here have praised him I thought our worst player today was McCombe and on that showing I would go back to our old back four. Midfield had a tough battle and LJ, as usual, tried some long balls that didn't come off but at least he was looking to do something adventurous rather than a safe pass to the bloke next to him...which is what he is there for.

As for McCombe being the worst player please note the other threads that list him as one of the best!! What game you were watching I don't know but he certainly stood out as one of the more assured performances.

But to say Johnson is in the team to try ridciulous passes that end up giving the ball to the opposition is even better!!!!!!!

If thats his job then bloody sell him now cos I don't want a player who's role is to spray the ball left right and centre where 75% of the time it ends up giving it away! Which is exactly what he dod today. And surely someone like Noble can spray the ball about both more accurately and more influentially than LJ??

[rossjonesuk]

Amen Brother!

I listened, for the first time, to 5 Live extra today, was quite illuminating. No only did they pick out LJ as a key figure if were to maintain a play-off push, as you said, but throughout the game were commenting on how he, sometimes, on his own, was providing a potential source of a city break-thro ... i commented on some of their quotes in the match thread, anticipating such a thread as this...

Dunno who commentated on 5 Live but they should have actually watched the game by the sounds of it!! To say LJ was good today... even his most adamant supporters would disagree!! He gave the ball away at least every other pass if not more!!!

[rossjonesuk]

because quite simply some people are just stupid and despite going to games each week, don't understand football

If you are realistically trying to claim Johnson was man of the match today then I would suggest you study the concept of football.

TO HOLD ON TO THE BALL UNTIL YOU CAN CREATE A SITUATION WHEREBY YOU CAN MAKE THE BALL CROSS THE OPPOSITION GOAL-LINE.

To pass the ball to the opposition, to not make a tackle, win a header, win the 50/50 ball, falls quite far from this.

[rossjonesuk]

Lee Johnson is 26. So far he has been in six promotion sides...this season will make it seven. he can't be that bad. .

Haha!!!!!!! Wasn't Djimi Traore in a Champions League winning team? Is he thus good?

[Stephen Lewis]

Even in winning there are always bound to be some aspects that are not right, and only a happy clapper like yourself cannot admit that.

When you have a bad day in work and f__k up do you think the boss should send you back to school.

How many pro football teams have you been manager of that you can question the reasons behind the selection of a certain player.

You think it would be better to leave out LJ, an opinion your entitled to, but GJ doesn't and I trust his judgment on that .

Your trying to use the term happy clapper as a derogatory comment, much as M. thatcher tried to convince many people socialism was evil.

I've supported City through too many bad times to be anything but " a happy clapper " this season and by the way I'm also a socialist.

[Rednready]

Most of you seem to agree that Elliot should be one midfielder. Playing 4-4-1-1, enables us to play Noble and Johnson. All of this is a protracted week by week topic, getting like the Archers.

I wonder what Artus feels like, his name is always left out of the equation. With the Christmas/New years batch of games and an FA cup match, I for one would at least like to see him make the bench. Its more than a year since GJ promised Artus he was close to selection........is he injured, or just not good enough.

[Guest Tafkar]

Dunno who commentated on 5 Live but they should have actually watched the game by the sounds of it!! To say LJ was good today... even his most adamant supporters would disagree!! He gave the ball away at least every other pass if not more!!!

You might like to read the majority of this thread then, my friend.

[Ian M]

I think you`re going a little OTT. I actually agree that he may benefit from a game or two starting on the bench but he`s certainly not as bad as you`re making him out to be. 90% of our forward movement starts from him and theres bound to be the odd misplaced pass but of late there`s been more of them than you`d want. Yes, he`s not the strongest and our midfield is weakened if he`s continuously muscled off the ball and unable to compete in the air. I just feel that know might be a good time to try something different while we have a little leeway (excuse the pun).

He`s a good little player and noone can question his commitment.............just give a him a a little rest GJ.

PDG

I agree. According to pro-zone, there isn't a player at the club with a higher pass completion rate than Johnson Jnr.

....and yes that includes David Noble.

[old_man_terry]

If you are realistically trying to claim Johnson was man of the match today then I would suggest you study the concept of football.

TO HOLD ON TO THE BALL UNTIL YOU CAN CREATE A SITUATION WHEREBY YOU CAN MAKE THE BALL CROSS THE OPPOSITION GOAL-LINE.

To pass the ball to the opposition, to not make a tackle, win a header, win the 50/50 ball, falls quite far from this.

I haven't actually tried to claim as many of the match.

as for other comments, you do realise that he created the goal and had actually got booked for a dangerous tackle when he nearly snapped the cardiff player in 2?

go find another bandwagon to jump on, because your talking rubbish

[Rob k]

As for McCombe being the worst player please note the other threads that list him as one of the best!! What game you were watching I don't know but he certainly stood out as one of the more assured performances.

But to say Johnson is in the team to try ridciulous passes that end up giving the ball to the opposition is even better!!!!!!!

If thats his job then bloody sell him now cos I don't want a player who's role is to spray the ball left right and centre where 75% of the time it ends up giving it away! Which is exactly what he dod today. And surely someone like Noble can spray the ball about both more accurately and more influentially than LJ??

Noble cant play a full game thats why he is not playing, Tell me which game Noble has influenced this season? Tell me who set our goal up yesterday? Also whilst we are at who lost the ball 10 secs after coming on and then could not keep up with the attacker because hes too unfit?

[Redbarn]

I expect a backlash from those on this forum who seem to support Johnson no matter what he does, and I don't think he's a bad player from time to time - but surely no-one (who actually watches City regularly) can argue that he is a better player than Noble?!

So why cant we have Elliot and Nobe's in the middle - what a partnership it would be with Elliot winning the ball for us and Noble orchestrating the middle of the pitch. To see Johnson start again when Noble sits on the bench is so frustrating.

And to appease you Johnson lovers - perhaps after a rest LJ will come back a bit more like he was at the start of the season and not give every other pass to an opposition player like today.

There are far too many "Amateur Gary Johnsons" on this one. We have all got to be behind the manager, just look where he has got us, a quick promotion and 3rd position in The Championship...still they ask for more, what a thankless bunch, those that continually question and seemingly undermine the man that has got us here, who could possibly take us even further.

If we want to keep Gary Johnson at The Gate, then "FF" sake let's show him.

[redcityman]

I swear some of you go to the game with a subconscious intention of picking up on the slightest of mistakes Lee makes and blanks out any other indiscretion by any other player, then rush home to lambaste the poor guy on here.

FFs it's a team game and all players make mistakes, and yes sometimes lee will make more than most, but is that not because of a lot of our build up play comes through him? hence he will get a bigger percentage of time on the ball but not necessarily a bigger percentage of errors.

Constantly bashing the lad is certainly not going to help his confidence.

If the rumours from Reading are true, then surely he must have something about him to warrant Coppel considering him to play in the premiership.

To say he brings nothing to the team is absolute rubbish, try watch the whole game and not sit waiting to say " i told you so".

[Redhyde]

My main problem with the LJ criticism is noone ever highlights a player who can do the same job as him but better.

Once we have one of those in the squad by all means drop LJ.

[Leveller]

Dunno who commentated on 5 Live but they should have actually watched the game by the sounds of it!! To say LJ was good today... even his most adamant supporters would disagree!! He gave the ball away at least every other pass if not more!!!

You really have got a bee in your bonnet over this haven't you? Try reading all the comments on this thread and you'll find you're in a small minority of .. um .. one. Or possibly two or three. The silent majority have come out of hiding to try and put an end to all this pathetic backstabbing. Leave the bloke alone.

[worthyred]

As for McCombe being the worst player please note the other threads that list him as one of the best!! What game you were watching I don't know but he certainly stood out as one of the more assured performances.

But to say Johnson is in the team to try ridciulous passes that end up giving the ball to the opposition is even better!!!!!!!

If thats his job then bloody sell him now cos I don't want a player who's role is to spray the ball left right and centre where 75% of the time it ends up giving it away! Which is exactly what he dod today. And surely someone like Noble can spray the ball about both more accurately and more influentially than LJ??

I would take your own advice mate!

[Guest Tafkar]

If you think back a while, it used to be Orr getting the abuse on here - those dishing it out then have gone very quiet.

Because now it's LJ's turn.

It really is as simple as that - some people can only see the worst in one player and latch onto it.

They just don't understand the game. They can't do - we are third and lost just 4 games, and we are currently on course for a shout of the Premiership with LJ having the most amount of time on the ball in every game we play.

Like Orr (who still has another gear in him), LJ is on a learning curve and is progressing nicely and is also more than capable of playing for bigger clubs than BCFC.

An interesting philosophy; and you may well be onto something.

For what it's worth, I thought Orr had a very poor game yesterday, but so did a lot of players. Singling him out for individual criticism in what was a team effort to fall over the line to victory would be totally unfair on him.

[Alex_BCFC]

An interesting philosophy; and you may well be onto something.

For what it's worth, I thought Orr had a very poor game yesterday, but so did a lot of players. Singling him out for individual criticism in what was a team effort to fall over the line to victory would be totally unfair on him.

I actually thought Orr had a cracking first half and shocking 2nd one.

[Tunley Legend]

An interesting philosophy; and you may well be onto something.

For what it's worth, I thought Orr had a very poor game yesterday, but so did a lot of players. Singling him out for individual criticism in what was a team effort to fall over the line to victory would be totally unfair on him.

Orr had a good game and a poor game all in one. What do I mean? Well, Peter Whittingham is easily Cardiff's best player and he ended up being substituted after being rendered ineffective by Orr's marking of him. Most crosses he slung in were 30 yards from the bye line because he couldn't get past Orr to get to the bye line. On the other hand Orr had a very patchy game distribution wise - this is surprising for a player who has such a good first touch (you watch if you haven't noticed it). If Orr can improve his distribution then he will be as good a right back as we can expect to have at this level. Particularly when you consider that all the "experts" on here who joyously predicted he would get embarrassed week after week by opposition left wingers have been completely wrong in their prediction.

[Tunley Legend]

If you think back a while, it used to be Orr getting the abuse on here - those dishing it out then have gone very quiet.

Because now it's LJ's turn.

It really is as simple as that - some people can only see the worst in one player and latch onto it.

They just don't understand the game. They can't do - we are third and lost just 4 games, and we are currently on course for a shout of the Premiership with LJ having the most amount of time on the ball in every game we play.

Like Orr (who still has another gear in him), LJ is on a learning curve and is progressing nicely and is also more than capable of playing for bigger clubs than BCFC.

I do agree that there has to be a whipping boy on this forum. Basso had it big time (Downs League keeper was the thread - what a f00k1n uneducated d1ck that poster now looks), Orr has had it, Showumni has been there, Jevons had a spell and so on and so on. It seems to be the mentality of these message boards.

[rossjonesuk]

It seems I am in a minority. I find it odd but I will accept in never-the-less.

I hope you all do prove me wrong and LJ turns out to be the silent assassin in the team who is driving us to our current dizzy heights; the argument that he has been outstanding away and below par at home could possibly explain my view (being as I've only made two away games so far this season).

HOWEVER, if he is replaced for a spell of games through injury or suspension and Skuse/Noble/possibly even Artus comes in and highlights Johnsons short-comings, then expect an "I told you so" thread!!!!!!!

Until then consider my Johnson grumblings silenced

[BristolCity1992]

Two funny moments yesterday.

Ball comes into LJ before it even reaches him "###### PASS IT YOU PILLOCK" which he did a nice pass to Sproule it was to.

Just before the goal "don't let that ###### Idiot take the corner" two minutes later we were 1-0 up.

A few weeks ago I had enough and the guy sat behind me got a bit of a shout down from me after going on and on for 85 minutes at him. There used to be two old blokes behind us who moaned about Murray non stop and he is a hero if there ever was one and now we have this guy going on and on at Johnson though he was much quieter yesterday either that or I just did not notice him.

[Guest Tafkar]

Guys behind me yesterday were giving LJ a similar constant angry commentary, and received some sarcastic comments in return from me and my friend. Don't think it'll make any difference, they did go a bit quiet after the goal though. Some of the things they were coming up with were frankly ridiculous, "Win the header, Johnson!". I wish I was joking.

[Nibor]

Johnson had an OK game yesterday, no more no less. There were a few decent tackles as well as a few half hearted ones, the usual couple of moments of being over casual too close to his own goal, some good passes, some passes that were nearly very, very good, a great run most of the length of the pitch resulting in a good effort on goal, a couple of good set pieces one of which resulted in a goal and a couple of poor set pieces. He worked hard and saw a lot of the ball, always wants it. We had the better of the midfield for most of the game but they were a man short.

What I find frustrating about LJ is not the ambitious 30 yard passes in the final third that go astray (they're expected) but the lazy 10 yard passes across the back line that are mishit and put someone in trouble. I think sometimes he just doesn't concentrate on the easy stuff.

Noble didn't look great when he came on and gave the ball away carelessly twice almost immediately. Made a couple of good breaks with the ball but his shooting wasn't good enough. I would say it's tough to make an impact when brought on 10 minutes from the end of a game being played at a great pace.

[Alex_BCFC]

Noble needs to become less casual. When he was through on goal he thought he had all day before he got his shot off. If he showed some urgency at times his play might improve?!

[nickD]

It seems I am in a minority. I find it odd but I will accept in never-the-less.

I hope you all do prove me wrong and LJ turns out to be the silent assassin in the team who is driving us to our current dizzy heights; the argument that he has been outstanding away and below par at home could possibly explain my view (being as I've only made two away games so far this season).

HOWEVER, if he is replaced for a spell of games through injury or suspension and Skuse/Noble/possibly even Artus comes in and highlights Johnsons short-comings, then expect an "I told you so" thread!!!!!!!

Until then consider my Johnson grumblings silenced

Sit down shut up!

To be fair I don't get to watch all the matches I want to as I'm an exile, but from what I have seen this season, Johnson's form has been patchy at best. Not sure if he deserves to be "dropped" as such, as we need to have a solid midfield playing week in week out (not chopping and changing), and Noble's fitness can't handle an entire 90 mins.

At least we can all agree that Elliot is player of the season so far!

[rossjonesuk]

Sit down shut up!

To be fair I don't get to watch all the matches I want to as I'm an exile, but from what I have seen this season, Johnson's form has been patchy at best. Not sure if he deserves to be "dropped" as such, as we need to have a solid midfield playing week in week out (not chopping and changing), and Noble's fitness can't handle an entire 90 mins.

At least we can all agree that Elliot is player of the season so far!

Oh dear oh dear!!! Here he is.

Will be in touch with you about coming yours for Colchester away and we can have it out over LJ after a few more performances!

[RedTop]

LeeJ had a poor game for us yesterday, I thought. But in general I think he is more than worth his place on merit. He certainly should not be seen as a straight swap for Noble, who has shown that his most effective role is playing in the 'hole' between the midfield and a striker. Like many, I have doubts about Noble's fitness over 90 minutes (I'm still not sure he's sobered up entirely from the promotion celebrations!), but if he's fit then he is quality and I would like to see him playing behind Enoch, perhaps being replaced late in the game by an 'impact' player like Byfield or Trundle.

It's great being an armchair GJ, isn't it?

[REDOXO]

There are far too many "Amateur Gary Johnsons" on this one. We have all got to be behind the manager, just look where he has got us, a quick promotion and 3rd position in The Championship...still they ask for more, what a thankless bunch, those that continually question and seemingly undermine the man that has got us here, who could possibly take us even further.

If we want to keep Gary Johnson at The Gate, then "FF" sake let's show him.

Yep....My thoughts entirely

[BITW]

I swear some of you go to the game with a subconscious intention of picking up on the slightest of mistakes Lee makes and blanks out any other indiscretion by any other player, then rush home to lambaste the poor guy on here.

FFs it's a team game and all players make mistakes, and yes sometimes lee will make more than most, but is that not because of a lot of our build up play comes through him? hence he will get a bigger percentage of time on the ball but not necessarily a bigger percentage of errors.

Constantly bashing the lad is certainly not going to help his confidence.

If the rumours from Reading are true, then surely he must have something about him to warrant Coppel considering him to play in the premiership.

To say he brings nothing to the team is absolute rubbish, try watch the whole game and not sit waiting to say " i told you so".

Couldnt put it better myself!