Lee Johnson (merged)

[newboy]

Yes, they will. And the team's failure to finish Derby off in the first half royally came back to bite us on the arse, as they were the better side throughout the second and fully deserved their equaliser. Johnson made one mistake, unfortunately for him in a dangerous position. It's ok thinking "well in the box you can't afford to make mistakes", but if that were possible people wouldn't have any need to make mistakes anywhere. And the second half was riddled with mistakes all over. And then there's the million dollar question - would you single out another player if they made the same mistake in this same vain?

As I've said above, to miskick a ball is forgivable. To lazily/arrogantly/foolishly not clear the lines if in doubt is a major sized piece of stupidity that deserves to be royally castigated.

Note that I'm not assuming what is was and certainly not jumping to conclusions because of blinkered love/hate of any player.

[Ron]

As I've said above, to miskick a ball is forgivable. To lazily/arrogantly/foolishly not clear the lines if in doubt is a major sized piece of stupidity that deserves to be royally castigated.

Note that I'm not assuming what is was and certainly not jumping to conclusions because of blinkered love/hate of any player.

I do hope that last statement was ironic, I'm sorry - lazy and arrogant? A poor clearance brought you to that conclusion? Take off the specs, newboy.

[newboy]

I do hope that last statement was ironic, I'm sorry - lazy and arrogant? A poor clearance brought you to that conclusion? Take off the specs, newboy.

What specs? Don't be so rude/personal. As I've said if it was a miskick fair enough. Nobody should ever be castigated for that.

But it could have been lazy/arrogant thinking that meant that a pass would be ok without checking if it was. If that was the case then people have a right to be royalled hacked off and have a go at the player.

This entire thread has been people either slagging him off or leaping to his defence. I'm just trying to say that rather than just coming out with such statements, there are two motivators for being justified in saying such things and rather than blindly saying "he's crap" or "any mistake can be forgiven" we should try and assess what grounds there are for having a qualified objective opinion.

Was it a simple mistake or very bad judgement. I feel that only when that has been answered then anyone's opinion can hold any weight.

Rather than just coming in with obnoxious statements like you have.

[dezgimed]

I can accept Lee Johnson making a mistake or three. Every player does that (example - Maynard missing an open goal last week). I can even take bouts of sloppy passing (although not the whole of the second half like yesterday) as long as his overall game was beneficial to the team. What I simply do not accept, and I don't care what the "he can do no wrong" crew think or say, is the pulling out of numerous tackles every week. It is just not on - totally unacceptable.

Yesterday, he pulled out of a tackle on the edge of our box and, with more composure, Derby should have scored from the situation. Had that been Wilson, Williams, Noble or any other squad player who pulled out there would be uproar on here but because it is LJ he is excused as tackling is apparently "not part of his game". There was another situation where he gave a three kick away twenty five yards from goal because he decided it would be better to handle the ball rather than go into a tackle and Weale had to make a decent save from Commons. So yesterday, due to one mistake (happens to everybody) and two situations where his bottle went (should happen to nobody) Johnson could easily have cost us three goals. It might be unpalatable to read but it did happen.

When I pay my £750 for two season tickets the one thing I want to see is total commitment from all. That should be a 100% given. Whether I feel a player has the ability or not is just a matter of opinion and, of course, I accept that GJ knows infinitely more about that than me. I cannot fault Johnson's "workrate or grass coverage" as some have stated on other threads but I do not accept that because he is weak in the tackle that he should actually pull out of them altogether. That is plain wrong. Even just getting some kind of foot in the tackle, even if you don't win it, can be the difference between a player having the ball in the perfect position to get a shot away or not (as per the Derby chance yesterday).

So, who are the people with the blinkered opinions just because of LJ's relationship with the manager? Is it the likes of me who are merely stating an honest opinion or is it people who fail to recognise he has any faults in his game whatsoever? I do take the point, though, that things are unlikely to change and it is pointless getting too worked up about it. Which is a shame because a quality centre midfield creative player (or Williams in the centre and a quality right winger) together with a dominant centre half would see us, if we remain relatively injury free, as near play off certainties in my opinion.

Well said. If a player is wearing the red shirt, its his responsibility to make challenges. Lee isnt made of glass, he wont break, he needs to overcome this fear of sticking in a tackle because its a hinderance to us.

[bs3]

LJ bottles every challange and does not have a big enough impact on the game that is requird in that position.

When we are in control of a game he can play some nice football but when the going gets tough he goes missing.

Was Nick Carle sold becuase he and Elliot would of been in the team in front of LJ,becuase after yesterday display from our midfeild duo it begs the question why the hell did we sell Carle.

[Guest MaloneFM]

Bit confused here...is this the Lee Johnson that we were missing towards the end of last season along with Louis Carey which some say cost us promotion or another Lee Johnson?

Welcome back Lee. Same as it ever was eh?

[westred1]

LJ's mistake was ONE of the reasons we lost 2 points, not the only. As someone said football is a team game and everyone should take responsibility for mistakes they've made in a game such as not taking chances in front of goal, not being creative enough, missing a challenge which leads to an attack, losing out in midfield etc. Those are just some reasons of many why we dropped 2 points yesterday along with Johnson's misplaced pass to Derby's goalscorer.

IMO, yes, LJ should be dropped as it is a very poor mistake to make but if he is dropped then we would lack the small bit of creativity that we have in midfield.

[QuedgeRed]

In my mind it's a case of intent. If a footballer intends to do the right thing, but makes a mistake you've got to forgive it

Everytime I take to the field I 'intend' to score a double hat-trick.

It doesn't change the fact that I am hopelessly shite!

[BS3_RED]

LJ's mistake was ONE of the reasons we lost 2 points, not the only. As someone said football is a team game and everyone should take responsibility for mistakes they've made in a game such as not taking chances in front of goal, not being creative enough, missing a challenge which leads to an attack, losing out in midfield etc. Those are just some reasons of many why we dropped 2 points yesterday along with Johnson's misplaced pass to Derby's goalscorer.

IMO, yes, LJ should be dropped as it is a very poor mistake to make but if he is dropped then we would lack the small bit of creativity that we have in midfield.

That would be because we sold the only other decent creative player we had to Palace.

[redfred]

I think as long as Lee Johnson is the managers son (which i think might be for a while longer yet) he will always have that extra focus on him. Unfortunately this means that when he makes a mistake then it seems to be highlighted that little bit more than others. Someone said earlier that he was trying to play a pass in the box yesterday, but to me he was trying to whack it clear but took his eye of the ball for long enough to make a hash of it. It happens and at the time we were under immense pressure from Derby and it made every player a bit edgy so a mistake from someone was inevitable. We need to get over it and remember that he has the ability, when his confidence is high, to be our best player and currently our team would struggle without his creation in the side. He isn't a great tackler and does seem to struggle when the team are under pressure, but he's not the only one in the side.

Whoever says that Marv and Skuse could play in the centre and Johnson should be left out really wants their head read. That would lead to zero creativity and less chances to score, it's as simple as that.

[Ron]

What specs? Don't be so rude/personal. As I've said if it was a miskick fair enough. Nobody should ever be castigated for that.

But it could have been lazy/arrogant thinking that meant that a pass would be ok without checking if it was. If that was the case then people have a right to be royalled hacked off and have a go at the player.

This entire thread has been people either slagging him off or leaping to his defence. I'm just trying to say that rather than just coming out with such statements, there are two motivators for being justified in saying such things and rather than blindly saying "he's crap" or "any mistake can be forgiven" we should try and assess what grounds there are for having a qualified objective opinion.

Was it a simple mistake or very bad judgement. I feel that only when that has been answered then anyone's opinion can hold any weight.

Rather than just coming in with obnoxious statements like you have.

I assumed your previous statement was a blinkered attack on anyone daring to, while not defend Johnson's mistake, keep it in proportion. It still reads like it, but if I misread then sorry.

[QuedgeRed]

Is johnson really creative?

He links play together well at times, but this includes a great deal of sideways passing and not much else.

When does he ever provide a killer through ball or assist?

If Williams was given a chance in the middle I am confident he could do everything that Johnson does AND provide a little more in terms of creativity (much like his neat little pass to Wilson for the goal yesterday, but from the middle).

One thing no-one can fault Johnson for is his delivery on free kicks and corners which has provide the team with a numer of goals in the past.

My own personal veiw on Johnson is that he cocked up bigtime yesterday. He knows this more than anybody. He should not be dropped, but given the chance to redeem himself. If he then went on to continue to lose possesion in dangerous areas, he should lose his place in the team.

[SimplyRed]

A little unfair - maybe.

Yes, Johnson's mistake did cost us 2 pts - without it we would have won 1-0

Your quite right, football is a team game and the team played well to create those chances in the first half.

But, no matter what spin you put on it, the mistake that led to their goal was not a team mistake, it was an individual one.

But if we'd gone on and beat Derby, his mistake wouldn't be causing half the fuss it currently is. No matter what spin you put on it, it's not entirely his fault we dropped two points!

We should've been out of sight by half time - is that his fault?

We had numerous chances to score and didn't - is it his fault that those players to whom the chances were presented didn't finish?

Derby had numerous chances to score - was it entirely down to Johnson that they forged those chances?

It is absolute and utter nonsense to blame him for the loss of two points. Yes, he made the mistake which led to their goal and he will acknowledge that, but there were ten other players on that pitch yesterday and they too were unable to beat Derby.

[redfred]

Is johnson really creative?

He links play together well at times, but this includes a great deal of sideways passing and not much else.

When does he ever provide a killer through ball or assist?

If Williams was given a chance in the middle I am confident he could do everything that Johnson does AND provide a little more in terms of creativity (much like his neat little pass to Wilson for the goal yesterday, but from the middle).

One thing no-one can fault Johnson for is his delivery on free kicks and corners which has provide the team with a numer of goals in the past.

My own personal veiw on Johnson is that he cocked up bigtime yesterday. He knows this more than anybody. He should not be dropped, but given the chance to redeem himself. If he then went on to continue to lose possesion in dangerous areas, he should lose his place in the team.

Yes he is creative. A sideways pass can be as good as a 40 yard ball to feet if the recieving player is in an advancing position. He plays a lot of neat balls and is always available to recieve the ball to play the potential killer pass, which he does do. You have noted his delivery from free kicks and corners and this alone demonstrates his ability to hit an accurate ball.

I think you are being a bit over the top saying that he has to redeem himself. He made a mistake, he didn't steal a tenner from his Nan's purse to buy some smack.

If it had been Carey or Bradley that had made the mistake then i guarantee you that the mistake would have had minimal analysis by comparison.

[Ron]

When does he ever provide a killer through ball or assist?

In 2006/7 he was the highest assister at the club, and second to McIndoe in 07/08.

[Alex_BCFC]

Yes he is creative. A sideways pass can be as good as a 40 yard ball to feet if the recieving player is in an advancing position. He plays a lot of neat balls and is always available to recieve the ball to play the potential killer pass, which he does do. You have noted his delivery from free kicks and corners and this alone demonstrates his ability to hit an accurate ball

Players who can put in good balls from free-kicks and corners are easy to come by though. For me he adds little to the game other than that (how many goals does he set up from normal play?) and would be easily replaceable with someone better (Williams for a start) though I would like to see us replace Carle really.

[redfred]

Players who can put in good balls from free-kicks and corners are easy to come by though. For me he adds little to the game other than that (how many goals does he set up from normal play?) and would be easily replaceable with someone better (Williams for a start) though I would like to see us replace Carle really.

I can't say i agree with that. I am not statistically placed to tell you how many goals he sets up from normal play, but i'll bet that he has a hand in a large percentage of our goals whether that be directly or instagating the passage of play that leads to the goal. The boy is seriously under rated and seriously over criticised and only because of who he is. I've no doubt that Williams will get a chance in centre midfield as the season wears on and then, and then only, can he be considered as a suitable alternative to Johnson. Williams is Carle's replacemement as you've just suggested yourself.

[Guest Red Wardy]

I see this as a bit like the Maynard situation regarding views on how well he played.

Maynards job is to score goals, which today he did. Many would say job done, others would say he didn't do much else ( not my view )

Johnsons job is to control midfield and be generally solid defensively, which was done apart from one mistake ( yes it was a big one ) and his second half suffered for it.

If an attaker misses an obvious chance it's mentioned but he still gets another chance.

If a player makes a mistake which gifts a goal he is hammered as he doesn't get another chance.

It appears an attakers job is far easier than any other player for these reasons.

I wouldn't be too hard on Lee Johnson but would like to see the silly errors erradicated.

Good player but an absolutely awful mistake. He gave them a point, Derby created nothing.

[CiderHider]

Yes he is creative. A sideways pass can be as good as a 40 yard ball to feet if the recieving player is in an advancing position. He plays a lot of neat balls and is always available to recieve the ball to play the potential killer pass, which he does do. You have noted his delivery from free kicks and corners and this alone demonstrates his ability to hit an accurate ball.

I think you are being a bit over the top saying that he has to redeem himself. He made a mistake, he didn't steal a tenner from his Nan's purse to buy some smack.

If it had been Carey or Bradley that had made the mistake then i guarantee you that the mistake would have had minimal analysis by comparison.

That's spot on.

Does anyone honestly think that LJ gets picked because he's the gaffers son? .. I can guarantee you LJ has to work 10% harder than any others for his place.

LJ is a key player for us, and contrary to the utter BS i read on here, his performances last season ARE frickin relevant because it demonstrates what a great player hes been for us and will be this season!

This unnecessary hostility towards LJ from some imbecilic sections of fans is actually hilarious, and do you think either LJ or GJ give a shit? NO!! because they don't have to justify themselves to a few mouthy dipshits who clearly have no grasp of the game.

[QuedgeRed]

But if we'd gone on and beat Derby, his mistake wouldn't be causing half the fuss it currently is. No matter what spin you put on it, it's not entirely his fault we dropped two points!

No, obviously, it would not be causing such a fuss as we would have come away from the game with 3 pts. But no-one can deny that the reason they scored their only goal was because of Johnson's howler.

We should've been out of sight by half time - is that his fault?

HE made the mistake when we were only 1-0 up, regardless of whatever had happened previously in the match.

We had numerous chances to score and didn't - is it his fault that those players to whom the chances were presented didn't finish?

No obviously not his fault. I would say that there were not many clear chances yesterday and it was a tight game which, unfortunately for Johnson, highlighted his howler. As i said previously He made the mistake when we were only 1-0 up.

Derby had numerous chances to score - was it entirely down to Johnson that they forged those chances?

Give Derby some credit, they upped their game in the 2nd half, but we didn't concede under that pressure untill the mistake.

It is absolute and utter nonsense to blame him for the loss of two points. Yes, he made the mistake which led to their goal and he will acknowledge that, but there were ten other players on that pitch yesterday and they too were unable to beat Derby.

We would have indeed beaten Derby if the mistake hadn't been made 1-0 in fact. IMO Johnson cost us 2 pts yesterday.

[dezgimed]

That's spot on.

Does anyone honestly think that LJ gets picked because he's the gaffers son? .. I can guarantee you LJ has to work 10% harder than any others for his place.

LJ is a key player for us, and contrary to the utter BS i read on here, his performances last season ARE frickin relevant because it demonstrates what a great player hes been for us and will be this season!

This unnecessary hostility towards LJ from some imbecilic sections of fans is actually hilarious, and do you think either LJ or GJ give a shit? NO!! because they don't have to justify themselves to a few mouthy dipshits who clearly have no grasp of the game.

Um, slightly different. Players like Carey and Orr put their asses on the line and give 100% every game, often contributing to our success vastly. If they make a mistake, the pros outway the cons.

LJ can often do very little, such as yesterday, so any blatantly ridiculous mistake is obviously going to sour his rating even further.

Midfielders should score/create goals, simple as that.

[chinapig]

Players who can put in good balls from free-kicks and corners are easy to come by though. For me he adds little to the game other than that (how many goals does he set up from normal play?) and would be easily replaceable with someone better (Williams for a start) though I would like to see us replace Carle really.

Really? Is that why 90% of corners in any game you choose to watch, including those taken by players on a fortune in the Prem fail to get past the first defender or go sailing miles over everybody? For years we couldn't score from corners in particular. In fact before Lee Johnson the last decent corner taker I can remember was Mark Gavin, who could drop it on David Rennie's head at the near post every time. Even Brian Tinnion wasn't a great corner taker. With defences stronger than ever set pieces are more important than ever and we seem to be pretty good at them.

[Drew Peacock]

Johnson wouldn't have been in that position if the rest of the team were doing their job. We were being over run, gave the ball away cheaply, Commons was allowed a free run down the wing to put a fairly average cross over, comedy defending all round, ending up with LJs mistake.

It was NOT solely down to him, the first 20 -25 minutes of the second half were an all round very poor performance by the whole team. It's a team game and for too long a spell the team didn't perform.

And for people to excuse Skuse's poor second half performance by saying that he was covering for LJ is just ridiculous. Carey was having to do extra work to help out Orr (do you think he was called BO at school?) in an unfamiliar role but he didn't tire, he kept on performing.

[Alex_BCFC]

Really? Is that why 90% of corners in any game you choose to watch, including those taken by players on a fortune in the Prem fail to get past the first defender or go sailing miles over everybody? For years we couldn't score from corners in particular. In fact before Lee Johnson the last decent corner taker I can remember was Mark Gavin, who could drop it on David Rennie's head at the near post every time. Even Brian Tinnion wasn't a great corner taker. With defences stronger than ever set pieces are more important than ever and we seem to be pretty good at them.

Really? Where did you get this figure from?!

I'll stand by that there are many players who can deliver just as good as LJ at this level and will add more in open play. Commons for one.

[tin]

You may well laugh but, despite being heavily Natched up when posting those comments last night, I still stand by them today.

It's got nothing to do with him being the manager's son. If it was Skuse, Elliott or whoever I'd still be moaning about a mistake that you wouldn't expect to see on the playground let alone in the professional game.

The bottom line is, LJ needs some serious competition brought in. Skuse and Elliott wouldn't be an affective partnership as they're competing for one spot but if we are serious about kicking on from last year then he needs a kick up the arse. One goal and a handful of assists don't constitute being and automatic choice in my eyes and there's no room for sentiment in football.

I ain't jumping on the bandwagon either, I just think we've carried him for a long time now and it's an opinion I've had for some time now. Having seen the replay this morning, I still can't understand WTF he was trying to do. Weale should've arguably done better with it at a second glance but LJ was responsible for that situation arising and costing us two points. Of that there is no doubt.

[Alex_BCFC]

Johnson wouldn't have been in that position if the rest of the team were doing their job. We were being over run, gave the ball away cheaply, Commons was allowed a free run down the wing to put a fairly average cross over, comedy defending all round, ending up with LJs mistake.

It was NOT solely down to him, the first 20 -25 minutes of the second half were an all round very poor performance by the whole team. It's a team game and for too long a spell the team didn't perform.

And for people to excuse Skuse's poor second half performance by saying that he was covering for LJ is just ridiculous. Carey was having to do extra work to help out Orr (do you think he was called BO at school?) in an unfamiliar role but he didn't tire, he kept on performing.

I don't think anyone is suggesting it was are they?

[Drew Peacock]

Sport is about winning. That attitude is what means England rarely do well in any major tournaments- we need the Australia mentality.

have a look at the Olympic medal table

[Alex_BCFC]

have a look at the Olympic medal table

Have a look at many sporting events of recent times.

[Drew Peacock]

I don't think anyone is suggesting it was are they?

Reads that way to me

[Drew Peacock]

Have a look at many sporting events of recent times.

What have Australia won?

[Alex_BCFC]

What have Australia won?

Nearly every Ashes series in recent times. Rugby League often. Getting better at football despite being late comers. Do you not think Australia are superior to England in their mentality? I'm sure there is an article on the net somehwere that you could find which states England's mentatlity to sport in schools- 'taking part' whereas Australia promote winners more.

And look at the last Olympics medal table from 2004. Haven't seen previous one but I'm guessing they look similar. We may not even beat Aus in this one either yet.

[chinapig]

Having seen the replay this morning, I still can't understand WTF he was trying to do.

Specifically, what he was trying to do was hit a first time pass to his left rather than thump the ball clear. Stupid option to choose but we were the victims of our own mentality. We always like to play the ball out of defence (in fact on one occasion yesterday we had a three man passing movement in our own area) but sometimes we take silly risks when we should clear our lines. Usually we get away with it, this time we didn't.

[QuedgeRed]

I don't think anyone is suggesting it was are they?

Yes I am - I think!

[Alex_BCFC]

Yes I am - I think!

But the team weren't playing well so to blame it all on LJ is unfair.

[QuedgeRed]

But the team weren't playing well so to blame it all on LJ is unfair.

I agree, the team weren't playing well (Derby were also playing better). But we hadn't conceeded untill the howler, and we didn't conceed after.

[Seend Red]

I actually thought LJ had a decent first half, although this was probably due to Derby being dire in the first half and Johnson was afforded lots of time on the ball with minimal pressure. As soon as Derby stepped it up in the 2nd half Johnson struggled.

LJ gives the ball away frequently in every match, the only difference on Saturday was the fact he did it 8 yards from his own goal. Talk about a school boy error. I also think had that of been Noble or Skuse they'd of been pulled off

Bottom line is if he's fit he'll play so I see no point in working myself up about it.

Where's Noble?

But the team weren't playing well so to blame it all on LJ is unfair.

Lee Johnson sticks his size 3 through the ball and clears his lines then it stays 1-0. Derby created nothing of note all afternoon.

[Guest red red robin]

I think he is good and his fellow pros think he is good and i can remember steve coppell saying he was interested in him.

I personally think he is good but can do the odd annoying, irritating pass and then suddenly everyone hates him. But now without him we would definitely be quite stuck.

he's not good enough for a league like this! he cant afford to be making those sorts of mistakes! we were well established without him at the end of the season! the only reason he is back in the team is because instead of buying people we sold them! get elliot back to fitness and johnson can go back to keeping the bench warm!

[windmillhillred]

we were well established without him at the end of the season! the only reason he is back in the team is because instead of buying people we sold them!

And we were well established before Carle arrived in January, if I'm not mistaken. Carle's the only firsr team regular we've sold, we made a bundle of cash on it, and Williams has made a promising enough start.

get elliot back to fitness and johnson can go back to keeping the bench warm!

And have Elliott and Skuse in central midfield? They're both good players, but they aren't going to work together/.

[cheese]

I see no-one has asked why Carey though it necessary to try and dribble the ball past 3 players just over the half-way line before losing it which then led to the goal? Why's that then? Cos Mr Carey Snr isn't the manager I suspect.

[rockin-robin]

I see no-one has asked why Carey though it necessary to try and dribble the ball past 3 players just over the half-way line before losing it which then led to the goal? Why's that then? Cos Mr Carey Snr isn't the manager I suspect.

Because he lost the ball over the half way line and not in as a potentially goal threatening area. Slightly different than passing it to the opposition in your own penalty box don't you think?

[DavidNoble]

Please Delete this thread.

LJ is a quality player and very important to us, if you found out hes just signed for palace you would be livid and especially as we only really have skuse left there at the moment.

I can see why people get frustrated with him and get on his back but each game he has to play about 60 balls. Hes human, of course hes going to miss one but he always gets back and tries again, he doesnt go missing.

I say we make a song for him.

[tin]

I see no-one has asked why Carey though it necessary to try and dribble the ball past 3 players just over the half-way line before losing it which then led to the goal? Why's that then? Cos Mr Carey Snr isn't the manager I suspect.

What rubbish. The only people that could've stopped Derby's equaliser was Weale being a bit sharper and LJ putting his boot through the ball.

Managers son or not, you simply cannot afford to give the ball away in the box at this level or you will get punished. The proof was in the pudding.

[Drew Peacock]

What rubbish. The only people that could've stopped Derby's equaliser was Weale being a bit sharper and LJ putting his boot through the ball.

Rubbish. The goal could have been stopped by not being in that position in the first place.

[bucksred]

have a look at the Olympic medal table

That also includes numbers of Scottish, Welsh, AND N Irish winners. the team is called Team GB, not England. Just to make this comment somewhat more accurate.

[dezgimed]

Please Delete this thread.

LJ is a quality player and very important to us, if you found out hes just signed for palace you would be livid and especially as we only really have skuse left there at the moment.

I can see why people get frustrated with him and get on his back but each game he has to play about 60 balls. Hes human, of course hes going to miss one but he always gets back and tries again, he doesnt go missing.

I say we make a song for him.

He went missing yesterday. We have Elliott, Skuse, Noble, Williams and McIndoe who can play CM for starters.

Why ask for the thread to be deleted? Everyone is voicing their opinions in a reasonable way, only you have lowered the tone thus far.

[Guest Brizred]

Please Delete this thread.

LJ is a quality player and very important to us, if you found out hes just signed for palace you would be livid and especially as we only really have skuse left there at the moment.

I can see why people get frustrated with him and get on his back but each game he has to play about 60 balls. Hes human, of course hes going to miss one but he always gets back and tries again, he doesnt go missing.

I say we make a song for him.

Rather than delete this thread where people are making honest comments as they see them perhaps it would be better to delete the postings on the 'Heres an experiment' thread where idiots are taking the p1ss for the sake of it, you haven't posted on there by any chance have you?

[tin]

Rubbish. The goal could have been stopped by not being in that position in the first place.

What?

[bucksred]

Please Delete this thread.

LJ is a quality player and very important to us, if you found out hes just signed for palace you would be livid and especially as we only really have skuse left there at the moment.

I can see why people get frustrated with him and get on his back but each game he has to play about 60 balls. Hes human, of course hes going to miss one but he always gets back and tries again, he doesnt go missing.

I say we make a song for him.

Against Leicester, at home last season?

[Tales From The Front]

Rubbish. The goal could have been stopped by not being in that position in the first place.

Surely thats the whole point is was the centre of midfields inability to domiate and tackle higher up the pitch that put Lee Johnson in that part of the field. That is the problem without Elliott once put under pressure the midfield drop to deep and inevitably its th elikes of Carey that win the ball back for City.

Elliott carried Johnson's type of game for six months last season until he physicaly burnt out and he is still paying for it. Nobody should think that how ever good Elliott is, that he can keep doing that. The team desperately needs someone to share that burden and I personaly don't think that player is within the current squad.

It is nothing personal with the players in question, it is just how I see it. Very few teams are going to give City the time and space that Deby did in the first half. Jewel by all accounts blew a gasket ripping into them at half time and even an average team like Derby were able to close down better after the break and the problem was our centre midfield had very little to answer it with.

Given time and space Lee Johnson is a capable and intelligent footballer, that is why he is effective at set pieces but in general play his ability to cover the ground break up play is up for debate. And its no good saying that isn't is job becuase it is, you cannot carry anyone in centre midfield over the season.

[cheese]

What rubbish. The only people that could've stopped Derby's equaliser was Weale being a bit sharper and LJ putting his boot through the ball.

Managers son or not, you simply cannot afford to give the ball away in the box at this level or you will get punished. The proof was in the pudding.

So you don't think that our central defender being caught in possession and therefore also out of position wasn't a contributory factor?

[Guest kristian444]

Derby created nothing of note all afternoon.

Really? I seem to remember having several near-death experiences when their players got played clean through (as a result of our unfortunate makeshift centre-back marauding up and down the wing). At one point the only thing that stopped Derby going ahead was the fact that their player was a bit thick and slow to react when the ball fell to him seven yards out.

[redfred]

What rubbish. The only people that could've stopped Derby's equaliser was Weale being a bit sharper and LJ putting his boot through the ball.

Managers son or not, you simply cannot afford to give the ball away in the box at this level or you will get punished. The proof was in the pudding.

Are you (conveniently) forgetting that the ball took two deflections before it reached Johnson and therefore undoubtedly affected his attempt to clear it. It is starting to sound like people think he did it on purpose. He tried to clear the ball and failed. Just like McAllister tried to knock the ball back to Weale from the half way line and failed when he hit Carey five yards away. That was careless and at the time would have cost us the game had it fallen a little kinder to Derby. Johnson's was not, it was just plain unlucky and it could have gone anywhere but unfortunately fell to a Derby player. Lay off the bloke and stop over analysing everything he does. As has already been said, mistakes from other members of the team ultimately led to Johnson being put in that position so lets show a bit od perspective shall we.

[Tales From The Front]

Are you (conveniently) forgetting that the ball took two deflections before it reached Johnson and therefore undoubtedly affected his attempt to clear it. It is starting to sound like people think he did it on purpose. He tried to clear the ball and failed. Just like McAllister tried to knock the ball back to Weale from the half way line and failed when he hit Carey five yards away. That was careless and at the time would have cost us the game had it fallen a little kinder to Derby. Johnson's was not, it was just plain unlucky and it could have gone anywhere but unfortunately fell to a Derby player. Lay off the bloke and stop over analysing everything he does. As has already been said, mistakes from other members of the team ultimately led to Johnson being put in that position so lets show a bit od perspective shall we.

One of the first fundermentals any kid is taught when playing football is not to pass across your own box, so the fact his pass went to a Deby player is a little more than "unlucky", irespective of the sequence of events that led to the incident. A bit like a player who clears off the line, he was the man on the spot and what happened next was determined by that players actions.

I agree he didn't intentionaly give the ball away, he was clearly gutted afterwards and I feel for the bloke. But its not the first time Johnson has done this sort of thing in his own penataly box. Burnley at home last season, being another example.

[Ron]

Um, slightly different. Players like Carey and Orr put their asses on the line and give 100% every game, often contributing to our success vastly. If they make a mistake, the pros outway the cons.

LJ can often do very little, such as yesterday, so any blatantly ridiculous mistake is obviously going to sour his rating even further.

Midfielders should score/create goals, simple as that.

It's just as well he's created goals to a consistent level over the past 2 years then.

[dargla]

Every bloody season the same old shit about LJ, Change the record......

[Tales From The Front]

Every bloody season the same old shit about LJ, Change the record......

Ask yourself why....and no its not because he is the managers son.

[Alex_BCFC]

Lee Johnson sticks his size 3 through the ball and clears his lines then it stays 1-0. Derby created nothing of note all afternoon.

But we got into a mess at the back because the team were playing badly. It is a team game- yes it was an individual mistake and I'm no LJ fan, but I won't be putting on the blame on him for not winning the game.

[Whale Eye Beef Hooked]

I have always been a massive Lee Johnson fan, but i feel that we have now got this straight forward problem. When we played 1 up front last year Lee J was superb as he was the spare man in midfield doing as Tinnion did in a 5 man midfield for us, BUT....... in buying Maynard we have to play with 2 up front as he is too lightweight to play on his own. Lee Johnson cannot perform to the standard required in a 4-4-2. If he loses the ball he is not quick enough to get back, and he can't tackle and he doesnt score enough goals, I don't think there can be any argument over those 3 things.

If we continue with 2 up front then we need to bring someone in like Brian Howard ( would probably bee too dear but someone like that ) who would play alongside Elliot. If we are not going to bring someone in then i would go with Skuse and elliot. All this Bull about they wont be able to play together is nonsense. 2 Defence minded midfielders would give Sproule and mcindoe more license to push forward.

I am still a big fan of LJ, i enjoy watching him play, his passing is Premier League standard but he cant play in a 4-4-2 imo

[Guest DR DICKNOSE]

One of the first fundermentals any kid is taught when playing football is not to pass across your own box, so the fact his pass went to a Deby player is a little more than "unlucky", irespective of the sequence of events that led to the incident. A bit like a player who clears off the line, he was the man on the spot and what happened next was determined by that players actions.

I agree he didn't intentionaly give the ball away, he was clearly gutted afterwards and I feel for the bloke. But its not the first time Johnson has done this sort of thing in his own penataly box. Burnley at home last season, being another example.

Stop slating the bloke he was not the worst player on the park,i think youll find hes done a lot more good than bad during his city career .

and what is a penataly box? :noexpression:

[Belfastcityfan]

Yes, Johnson made a mistake that led to their goal. Mr Green's shot wasn't the sweetest and I feel Weale should have done better with Green's feeble effort. After the error, LJ confidence was shot to pieces, which is why his game slipped.

Suck it up, it happens to some of the best players in the Premier League and at the end of the day four points from our opening two games, and unbeaten in three, who wouldn't have taken that two weeks ago.

[tin]

So you don't think that our central defender being caught in possession and therefore also out of position wasn't a contributory factor?

Are you (conveniently) forgetting that the ball took two deflections before it reached Johnson and therefore undoubtedly affected his attempt to clear it. It is starting to sound like people think he did it on purpose. He tried to clear the ball and failed. Just like McAllister tried to knock the ball back to Weale from the half way line and failed when he hit Carey five yards away. That was careless and at the time would have cost us the game had it fallen a little kinder to Derby. Johnson's was not, it was just plain unlucky and it could have gone anywhere but unfortunately fell to a Derby player. Lay off the bloke and stop over analysing everything he does. As has already been said, mistakes from other members of the team ultimately led to Johnson being put in that position so lets show a bit od perspective shall we.

I give up. Some people are so short sighted they can't see what's in front of them for what it really is. No wonder most of the decent posters on here have f*cked off in recent months because there's just no reasoning with some folk. Another self imposed exile for me.

[Guest guernica]

I have to say that some of the comments on here are nothing short of embarrassing.

To even think of dropping LJ because of what happened yesterday is ridiculous. Our two regular central midfielders without question are LJ and Marvin. We're just about coping without Marvin and now you want us to drop LJ? So we're now without BOTH of our two regulars? Now I can accept that as a team you have to adapt and that when players get injured the team has to cope, but to suggest such an unsettling move DELIBERATELY is simply naive. It won't solve any problems and it won't improve the team. No doubt LJ knows he did bad and if GJ's any sort of manager he will have dealt with it already.

Let's hope he has a belter against Coventry and then we can put all this nonsense to bed...

[westred1]

Stop slating the bloke he was not the worst player on the park,i think youll find hes done a lot more good than bad during his city career .

and what is a penataly box? :noexpression:

Who are you suggesting was the worst on the park? No other player made as big a howler as that.

[Guest DR DICKNOSE]

I have to say that some of the comments on here are nothing short of embarrassing.

To even think of dropping LJ because of what happened yesterday is ridiculous. Our two regular central midfielders without question are LJ and Marvin. We're just about coping without Marvin and now you want us to drop LJ? So we're now without BOTH of our two regulars? Now I can accept that as a team you have to adapt and that when players get injured the team has to cope, but to suggest such an unsettling move DELIBERATELY is simply naive. It won't solve any problems and it won't improve the team. No doubt LJ knows he did bad and if GJ's any sort of manager he will have dealt with it already.

Let's hope he has a belter against Coventry and then we can put all this nonsense to bed...

don't you all think that theres something suspiciously gassy abouth all these anti LJ posts!!

Stop invading our forum you bunch of w******

concentrate on that bunch of muppets you call BRFC(Youll always be in our shadow,just ######* accept it.)

[Guest guernica]

don't you all think that theres something suspiciously gassy abouth all these anti LJ posts!!

Stop invading our forum you bunch of w******

concentrate on that bunch of muppets you call BRFC(Youll always be in our shadow,just ######* accept it.)

How is my post anti-LJ? Did you actually bother to read it?

[windmillhillred]

don't you all think that theres something suspiciously gassy abouth all these anti LJ posts!!

Nope, from the Dolman, every time Johnson misplaces a pass, there's a groan, followed by a sizable contigent who have a pop at him. Best yesterday was from the chap who said he was 'fed up of City playing with 10 men every week' which, I thought, was somewhat less than insightful. God knows what some of them were saying about him in the Williams.

[Guest guernica]

Nope, from the Dolman, every time Johnson misplaces a pass, there's a groan, followed by a sizable contigent who have a pop at him. Best yesterday was from the chap who said he was 'fed up of City playing with 10 men every week' which, I thought, was somewhat less than insightful. God knows what some of them were saying about him in the Williams.

Sounds like you're in Block D! There's a chap a few rows behind me who did nothing but moan about him. Drives me nuts...

[windmillhillred]

Sounds like you're in Block D! There's a chap a few rows behind me who did nothing but moan about him. Drives me nuts...

Nope, but that just goes to show that there's a healthy contigent of moaners...!

[Guest DR DICKNOSE]

How is my post anti-LJ? Did you actually bother to read it?

sorry mate replied to the wrong post!!!

it was aimed at all the LJ slaters!!

[Guest DR DICKNOSE]

Who are you suggesting was the worst on the park? No other player made as big a howler as that.

most of the derby players for 70 mins of the game.