How big a mistake letting Bradley go ?

[Yellowhammer 86]

It was a big mistake one of several the club has made over the years ,Chris Martin was not given enough time, not playing becchio ,not playing lafferty , not signing a quality srtiker and defender in the close season .

[Crabbycanary3 994]

That''s fair enough iron-stan, you have your preference, but tbf, Dorrans and BJ are differing types of midfielders. Someone who can rough someone up, a) won''t last long in this League, and b) needs to be able to contribute more than that to a team trying to win Prem League games and for me, BJ can''t offer that

[GJP 79]

No mistake. At all.

[Indy 3,283]

No mistake, but Grabban should have been offloaded too, it was another distraction we didn''t need going into a tough season.

[mrs miggins 0]

I don''t think the question is; was it a mistake to let him go. I think the question is; Was it a mistake that we didn''t reinvest the £6-7m that we got for him?

Make no mistake Dorrans has been great in some games this season and it was only a couple of games ago that there was a thread with a link to an article about Howson being the ultimate complete box to box midfielder after his brilliant performance, which everyone on the thread agreed.

The fact is these players are out of form. Hoolahan had a good start to the season as well, as did Redmond before being left out after a few poor performances, both being top of the assists list in the PL (or at least near them).

Jarvis and Brady also had a brilliant starts to the season on the left, both below par yesterday.

We''ve got good players; we know how good Brady, Howson, Redmond and Hoolahan can be. Unfortunately we now know how useless they can be as well.

AN needs to pick them up pronto because they''re severely lacking confidence. After only 10 games this is a worry that so many players are under performing....especially with our defence.

They need confidence, but perhaps they also need genuine competition as well (going back to the original question I set). VOO and O'' Neil are not adequate replacements, though luckily we''ve got another West Brom reject who couldn''t get in their squad to come into ours, hopefully he can make the impact that our players did at the start of the season.

[komakino 272]

Selling BJ - POTY I would like to remind all, was wrong for two reasons:

1. He was not sold for reasons on this pitch. AN should of sorted that out without the need of selling him.

2. He was not replaced. The money was kept by a club that said they didn''t need to sell.

I''m also concerned about the lack of his influence in the dressing room.

Alex Neil''s press conference yesterday looked like a man the had ran out of ideas.

I said the transfer window was a shambles for the club and now it''s biting them hard.

[Crabbycanary3 994]

Point 1. I would say you are wrong with that viewpoint

Point 2. I would say you are wrong with that viewpoint

[Herman 9,715]

[quote user="silvester"]It was a big mistake one of several the club has made over the years ,Chris Martin was not given enough time, not playing becchio ,not playing lafferty , not signing a quality srtiker and defender in the close season .[/quote]Chris Martin was given plenty of time. The club progressed faster than him.To not get played by 3 different managers says all you need to know about Becchio.Lafferty needs to be played up front, not wide. Is he good enough?We signed Mbokani and so far looks ok.Not signing quality defenders I''ll give you.

[Making Plans 936]

Which, if any, of our midfield players show as much passion as Johnson.Which, if any, of our midfield players have as much drive as JohnsonWhich, if any, of our midfield players get the crowd going & instill belief into the rest of the playersWhich, if any, of our midfield players can shoot as hard or straight, as Johnson.Which, if any, of midfield players will score 10 goals this season, let alone 15.Yes BJ had bad games and he wasn''t a nailed on selection for every game but as a squad player he would have been invaluable.

[Duncan Edwards 2,219]

One of my favourite players for his passion and heart-on-his-sleeve displays but I can''t help but think it was probably the right decision, most importantly, for him.

It''s not wrong to think that he''d have added some solidity to the left hand side but as others have pointed out, it''s unlikely he''d be starting and he couldn''t add that steel from the bench or Colney. Up until yesterday we''ve looked to play a more expansive style with pace on the flanks and full backs that bomb on and be key personnel in attack. This has left us vulnerable to the counter as we''ve seen almost constantly, but also made us a constant threat going the other way and exciting to watch.

The more conservative approach yesterday would have been more up BJs alley but yesterday was the worst that we have played all season and was eerily reminiscent of Hughton''s last game in charge. We''ve seen that conservative approach fail before and it failed again yesterday; with Johnson or without, it failed. 

Where I will concede I suffer with a pang of wishing he was part of the team is when we see these balls stood up to the far post with nobody attacking them. That was bread and butter stuff for Johnno and I wish we had someone challenging for them like he used to. 

The best solution would be for Olsson to improve the defensive side of his game to free Brady up to play further forward because as much as I loved Johnson, Brady is a better player. Once Mulumbu is fit, I fancy he''ll come in and join Tettey, we''ll see Jarvis switched to the right, Brady in front of Olsson on the left and either Redmond or Hoolahan playing in the floating "ten" role behind Mbokani, Jerome or Grabban. There''d be no place for Johnson in that formation either, so, I have to conclude that it wasn''t a mistake to let him go. 

I''m equally sure that others would still have him as the first name on the sheet. Opinions are what keeps the game fresh!

[Crabbycanary3 994]

MP, we will agree to disagree on this subject, but the first 3 points you make, with respect, although relevant, are minor details (as a contribution to the overall team) , and I would wager that other current players we have will cover those aspects you worry about.

Re the shooting, yes BJ does a great job, and I would ask current players to have a go more often than they do. and the last point is only relevant to BJs scoring in the Championship. He has yet to set the World alight when it comes to Premier League goalscoring.

[Van wink 2,994]

Big mistake to let Jonno go, big character in the dressing room ((not always his own dressing room it has been said by some) and certainly brings a physical presence on the field.

The sort of player you can bring on, will put a foot in, lift the crowd and possibly change the course of the game.

There''s more to the man than simply his footballing ability, it''s other less tangible qualities that he can bring to help the team perform.

He would be a great option to have on the bench, something different to the rest, and my how the manager now needs options.

[Cantiaci Canary 556]

If we had drawn yesterday no one would be writing about Johnson.

I think we need to trust Neil on this one. He knows what''s necessary.

[Making Plans 936]

[quote user="Crabbycanary3"]MP, we will agree to disagree on this subject, but the first 3 points you make, with respect, although relevant, are minor details (as a contribution to the overall team) , and I would wager that other current players we have will cover those aspects you worry about. [/quote]Well I haven''t seen much of that from anyone in the last 3 games.

[ZLF 271]

Not a mistake at all, let alone a big one.

It seems we have gained some rose tinted glasses with BJ. He was and remains a good championship midfielder but as the manager called out his 4 appearances this season were poor; he was off the pace, his passing poor, not getting to tackles or interceptions and winning a fraction of the headers.

He had lost his place (rightly) and the truth is at this level he simply isnt good enough. Nor better than those picked yesterday - howson is far the superior player and if he is currently looking lost how poor would bj look.

Its always easy to look at departed heros; but he has always been out of his depth in the prem and with better options the £6m was too good to reject (esp with so many midfielders in the squad) its just a shame the cash arrived too late to make a cb signing that we all know we need.

Tettey showed that missing drive yesterday - as he did in the run in last season and esp at wembley. We do need others to show it too; but BJ is rightly history; celebrate his contribution but dont labour under the misapprehension he would improve our squad or performances

[Cantiaci Canary 556]

Oli Johnson would have scored a hat trick yesterday ... can''t believe we let him go.

[mrs miggins 0]

Making Plans wrote the following post at 25/10/2015 3:04 PM:

Which, if any, of our midfield players show as much passion as Johnson.

Which, if any, of our midfield players have as much drive as Johnson

Which, if any, of our midfield players get the crowd going & instill belief into the rest of the players

Which, if any, of our midfield players can shoot as hard or straight, as Johnson.

Which, if any, of midfield players will score 10 goals this season, let alone 15.

---------------------------------

The first three are the same point

The fourth one is completely irrelevant

The fifth one doesn''t make any sense because Johnson wouldn''t get 10 goals this season, even if he did play every match