Lee Johnson & Today's Game

[Godzilla]

[Riaz]

I personally have criticised GJ for not dropping his son... But in the last month LJ has been very good like you say and very consistent, and today was his worst performance for a while. But until recently LJ has been very inconsistent.

If he's as consistent as he has been lately he will certainly win me over.....

[scumbag]

[REDOXO]

[kiwicolin]

what did lee johnson get booked for?

seems strange from the kick off

[tin]

Fair post and I agree with a lot of what you've said, particularly his form over the last month or so. I think people get on his back because he can be far too casual at times, giving the ball away cheaply then not putting the effort in to win it back. Yesterday was a pleasing change from that as he got stuck in a couple of times and won some tackles which is what a central midfielder has to do.

As far as the game was concerned, I thought it was a shite spectacle really. We produced one of our worst performances of the season to date and Boro weren't that much better anyway but if it wasn't for a shocker from Basso then we'd have still got a reply.

I thought GJ got his tactics wrong though. We should've been looking to take Boro by surprise and not list the same formation as we played them a year ago. Southgate said it was a case of 'better the devil you know' when the draw was made and he was right as they knew everything about Noble in the hole and combatted it efficiently.

Saying that, I'm not disappointed with the result. We've lost narrowly to a Prem side, come out with no new injuries or suspensions and we don't have to bother with a reply. At the end of the day, a Cup run is ideal when your season is petering out into mediocrity and our season has only just begun.

[BCFC Grim]

Top post. We struggled, we didn't keep the ball, and if you give it away as constantly as we did. Your going to get beat. The result wasn't the dissapointing thing about yesterday. It was the performance. Thankfully we left one of our worst performances for the cup, rather than the league.

[The Fat Controller]

Fair post and I agree with a lot of what you've said, particularly his form over the last month or so. I think people get on his back because he can be far too casual at times, giving the ball away cheaply then not putting the effort in to win it back.

I wasnt at the game yesterday, but this is what bugged me against Coventry. *Sometimes* he'd be better off playing the easy ball, especially if we've gone through a period of being under pressure and ball retention is vital.

*Sometimes* his game isnt helped by having no "outlets" that can hold the ball. If Sproule is sitting too deep or if Noble is having an off game or if Trundle is being marked out, this can heap further pressure on Johnson.

As has been stated. Johnson is part of the side that has got us to 3rd in the Championship. He must be doing something right.

[SimplyRed]

Johnson had another sub-standard game yesterday and needs a break.

Being vertically challenged, he has a torrid time against more aggressive midfielders of which Boro have their fair share.

If you think about all the 'great' short midfielders, they all had a qualities that Johnson lacks - aggression and ball-winning tackling.

Johnson 'strengths' are his creativity and passing, but these 2 qualities have been severely lacking in his last few games. He gives the ball away too cheaply and his pass selection has been suspect, by attempting to play the 'killer pass' when a simpler one would suffice, or playing silly little flicks and feints which rarely succeeed.

It'll be interesting to see whether this new Australian midfielder can make a dent in Johnson Snr's resolve to never drop his son.

[bh_red]

Johnson had another sub-standard game yesterday and needs a break.

Being vertically challenged, he has a torrid time against more aggressive midfielders of which Boro have their fair share.

If you think about all the 'great' short midfielders, they all had a qualities that Johnson lacks - aggression and ball-winning tackling.

Johnson 'strengths' are his creativity and passing, but these 2 qualities have been severely lacking in his last few games. He gives the ball away too cheaply and his pass selection has been suspect, by attempting to play the 'killer pass' when a simpler one would suffice, or playing silly little flicks and feints which rarely succeeed.

It'll be interesting to see whether this new Australian midfielder can make a dent in Johnson Snr's resolve to never drop his son.

and yet noble played worse and no one is suggesting he is "given a break"

[Somertonian]

It was the fans fault.

They were singing "Johnson, Johnson, shows us you're arse!"

And he did.

S

[candygram for mongo]

Johnson had another sub-standard game yesterday and needs a break.

Being vertically challenged, he has a torrid time against more aggressive midfielders of which Boro have their fair share.

If you think about all the 'great' short midfielders, they all had a qualities that Johnson lacks - aggression and ball-winning tackling.

Johnson 'strengths' are his creativity and passing, but these 2 qualities have been severely lacking in his last few games. He gives the ball away too cheaply and his pass selection has been suspect, by attempting to play the 'killer pass' when a simpler one would suffice, or playing silly little flicks and feints which rarely succeeed.

It'll be interesting to see whether this new Australian midfielder can make a dent in Johnson Snr's resolve to never drop his son.

Do you focus on any other players mistakes,eg.

1/ Basso's error yesterday

2/ Sproule's only contribution in yesterdays game was 1 cross.

3/ Elliott giving the ball away and being out muscled yesterday.

4/ Mcallister appealing for a throw in the lead up to WBA's 1st goal.

5/ Bradley Orr not kicking the ball in to row Z before Barnsleys 1st goal

These 5 mistakes are off the top of my head without giving it much thought, what I am trying to say is why do you constantly highlight the mistakes of LJ when every other player regularly makes them.

LJ is available to receive a pass every minute of every game unlike others that fade in and out of games.

OK he may not be everyone's cup of tea but for gods sake get off of his back.

[SimplyRed]

and yet noble played worse and no one is suggesting he is "given a break"

That's because he's not immune to being dropped or substituted. Indeed, he was subbed yesterday.

How badly does Johnson have to play before he subbed, or dropped?

[Longacre_red]

That's because he's not immune to being dropped or substituted. Indeed, he was subbed yesterday.

How badly does Johnson have to play before he subbed, or dropped?

out of interest, who would you have played instead of Johnson?

[SimplyRed]

Do you focus on any other players mistakes,eg.

1/ Basso's error yesterday

2/ Sproule's only contribution in yesterdays game was 1 cross.

3/ Elliott giving the ball away and being out muscled yesterday.

4/ Mcallister appealing for a throw in the lead up to WBA's 1st goal.

5/ Bradley Orr not kicking the ball in to row Z before Barnsleys 1st goal

These 5 mistakes are off the top of my head without giving it much thought, what I am trying to say is why do you constantly highlight the mistakes of LJ when every other player regularly makes them.

LJ is available to receive a pass every minute of every game unlike others that fade in and out of games.

OK he may not be everyone's cup of tea but for gods sake get off of his back.

I'm happy to criticise other players - and I do - but my point is that Johnson appears to be immune to the big hook and is always the first player on the team sheet, regardless of his form.

Whether or not he is available to receive a pass every minute is irrelevant. It's what he does with the passes he receives, and how well he is able to win the ball that get's my attention...

Normally, he deserves his place, but his form in general over the past 4 or 5 games has been sub-standard.

[SimplyRed]

out of interest, who would you have played instead of Johnson?

Does it matter? Noble, Skuse, Russell - take your pick. They, and maybe others, deserve a go if an incumbent player is not pulling his weight.

[Bourne End Red]

Great post, have wanted to post something similar to this for a while but never have.

What i see when i watch johnson play is a player always looking for the ball and always trying to go forward.

Yes he sometimes gives the ball away, but thats bound to happen when you try creative passes ie forward balls.

Its easy to pass the ball sideways or backwards. We have been crying out for a player that does this for as long as i can remember.

If you watch the midfield or back 4 in particular they are always looking to play it to johnson, because hes daddys boy - no because he is the creative one, if the players didnt trust his ability they would not give him the ball so often.

It really annoys me to hear the stick he gets and i admire the fact he hasnt just said sod it and asked for a transfer. One day i fear this will happen and it will become apparent then to all the people that abused him, how much we will miss him. I genuinely feel if GJ dropped LJ or he was injured for months we would plummet to lower mid table.

I think if he wasnt in the side you would see the ball going side to side in the midfield and then you would hear the fans moaning to go forward.

I'm no footballing expert mind you but just wanted to post my opinons on LJ.

Up the city.

[Longacre_red]

Does it matter? Noble, Skuse, Russell - take your pick. They, and maybe others, deserve a go if an incumbent player is not pulling his weight.

Noble is not fit enough to play in johnson role, you watch Johnson, constantly picking the ball up off of the back 4, then continues to get forward with the attack before getting back when we are defending. Cole skuse - who would create anything?, Russell - maybe worth a go but didn't really set the world alight at Northampton and isn't getting younger

[Bourne End Red]

A lot of city fans (myself included) say "in johnson we trust".

I really do believe this, pretty much all of his signings have been quality and he seems to make average player into good players. The man is worth his weight in gold and one day when he moves on, i will be gutted.

With all this in mind why cant people trust in johnson when he plays LJ ?

We have probably the best manager and chairman bcfc will ever have. Now is the best time to support city since i can remember yet anyone would think we were in league 2 with the moaning and atmosphere round Ashton Gate.

Look how far we have come since the 7-1 mauling we took at swansea, we are challenging for a place in the prem, something i didnt think i would see for years and years.

Just wish sometimes we would ALL get behind the team regardless of the score.

I'm starting to go way off topic now, but my point was that nobody can deny what an awesome manager GJ is, so with this in mind if he plays LJ every week, why are we questioning it.

[BCFC Grim]

Johnson gave the ball away no more than Noble, Sproule, Orr. Elliot, yesterday. No thread on them. The reason it's noticed more is the groans you get when he does. I will garauntee his pass completion is better than most in the team.

Give the lad a break.

[MarcusX]

To be fair, how could he take Johnson off yesterday? There were 3 subs that HAD to be made:

Noble had to go off because unfortunatly he was having a bad game and was given no space by their defensive midfielder.

Byfield looked knackered, he took a knock in the first half and thought he was going to go off then but he stayed on and struggled.

Sproule was creating nothing down the wing.... bringing Murray on was exactly the right thing to do, in theory.

What people fail to realise is when you are the MAIN creative player in the team and you get given the ball the most by your teamates you are obviously more likely togive it away. If his main outlets going forward are Byfield (marked out of the game), Noble (no space at all), Wilson (left wing, was never there) and Sproule (who he did look for the runs) if these people are unavailble hes gotta look up and see who is, if the only players available are behind him he cant go forward.

Also, he trys the creative through balls over the top etc, and when they workout they are absolutely killer, like as Godzilla mentioned, the time he was taken out when playing a ball through to Byfield against Coventry. I would rather see this sort of ball if he feels confident it will work, you cant blame him if the player recieving the pass doesnt make the run or doesnt lose his marker.

People like to use the excuse that he is GJs son so he is immune as a good reason why he isnt subbed. That is not the reason, its just the easiest conclusion to come to. I would be willing to bet a lot of money that LJ gets a harder time than anyone else, Ive played sunday league football for my Dad's team, I would not recommend it! When the players go home after a game thats the end of it till next training session, I'm sure when LJ has a bad game his dad lets him know!!

[dezgimed]

Do you focus on any other players mistakes,eg.

1/ Basso's error yesterday

2/ Sproule's only contribution in yesterdays game was 1 cross.

3/ Elliott giving the ball away and being out muscled yesterday.

4/ Mcallister appealing for a throw in the lead up to WBA's 1st goal.

5/ Bradley Orr not kicking the ball in to row Z before Barnsleys 1st goal

These 5 mistakes are off the top of my head without giving it much thought, what I am trying to say is why do you constantly highlight the mistakes of LJ when every other player regularly makes them.

LJ is available to receive a pass every minute of every game unlike others that fade in and out of games.

OK he may not be everyone's cup of tea but for gods sake get off of his back.

Sproule was decent yesterday at put in at least 3 fantastic balls in the 2nd half alone that would have been put away had we someone with a bit more of poaching ability, so not sure what you mean by 1 cross.

The difference between criticising Orr/Elliott and LJ is that the former put in 100% effort week in week out, hence are fans favorites.

[Guest DanC]

That's because he's not immune to being dropped or substituted. Indeed, he was subbed yesterday.

How badly does Johnson have to play before he subbed, or dropped?

He doesn't get dropped or subbed because he plays well and if he does have an off game we haven't got another player like him so we would lose his passing ability. Out of all the players on the bench yesterday who could have come on and replaced LJ and done a good job against Premiership opposition.

Vasko was brilliant yesterday I thought. I like it how despite him being so tall he always tries and plays the ball with his feet.

[scumbag]

judging by some of the posts on here recently, it seems that pretty much every player in the squad should be "rested/pulled out of firing line/dropped" for their own good, because most of the have been terrible this season and in recent games, especially the last 3 wins in the last 4 league games.

:noexpression:

[Redtucks]

The difference between criticising Orr/Elliott and LJ is that the former put in 100% effort week in week out, hence are fans favorites.

Are you seriously saying that you feel LJ does not give 100% effort week in week out?

[littlerobin]

Johnson gave the ball away no more than Noble, Sproule, Orr. Elliot, yesterday. No thread on them. The reason it's noticed more is the groans you get when he does. I will garauntee his pass completion is better than most in the team.

Give the lad a break.

Too right

When the whole midfield struggles there is no reason to blame our best passer. He recieves the ball in difficult situations and most of the time he gets it right, when he gets it wrong he is jumped on immediately.

If that is the culture then that whole midfield should be given a rest. Just because they have done 1 brilliant thing for the club dopes not mean that they get more leeway than someone who has done countless good for the club.

[dezgimed]

Are you seriously saying that you feel LJ does not give 100% effort week in week out?

Absolutely.

Rarely do we see him sprint to make a challenge or bomb forward, let alone go into a challenge with 100% commitement.

Until we do, I cant say he's putting in his maximum.

The way he casually jogs around the pitch make players like McIndoe, Elliott and Orr look like worldbeaters.

[BristolCity1992]

I gave up trying to defend him ages ago some people will never give him a break.

Elliot and Noble did a lot less running yesterday in my opinon but ah well.

[Redtucks]

Absolutely.

Rarely do we see him sprint to make a challenge or bomb forward, let alone go into a challenge with 100% commitement.

Until we do, I cant say he's putting in his maximum.

The way he casually jogs around the pitch make players like McIndoe, Elliott and Orr look like worldbeaters.

Just as well that the manager has better judgement than you then!

[Nibor]

Just as well that the manager has better judgement than you then!

The thing is though that's how much of the crowd thinks.

Many Bristolians do equate tackling and going in hard with effort and commitment and therefore not doing so with not putting the effort in.

I think LJ is being more intelligent about it, he knows it's not his strength so he concentrates on what is - staying available to make the play when the ball is won - and only makes those types of challenges when he absolutely has to.

To many people in the crowd that can appear to be laziness and I reckon that's got far more to do with him getting stick than who his dad is, and I think he could probably help himself out by making a couple of high visibility crunching challenges and desperate chases now and then even if it means someone else has to pass the resultant ball.