Barnett and Johnson

[BlyBlyBabes 0]

The form of Leon Barnett and Bradley Johnson so far this season has been a real and somewhat unexpected bonus.

I always had faith in Barnett, but Johnson''s form has both delighted and surprised me.

Well done and keep it up lads.

OTBC

[Gingerpele 0]

Why are people surprised by Johnson playing well?

He started last season well, had a slightly off par patch, and then was much better again. Especially when playing with Howson. I''ve said all summer Johnson is the DM everyone was so desperate for. Howson and Johnson in CM is a fantastic pairing.

[Mike 2]

I thought Johnson started and finished really well last year.... great free signing

[lappinitup 629]

[quote user="Mike "]I thought Johnson started and finished really well last year.... great free signing[/quote]Yeah, but......He would have been even better if he had cost £5m......[;)]

[BlyBlyBabes 0]

[quote user="Mike "]I thought Johnson started and finished really well last year.... great free signing[/quote]

That maybe so, but his form in the last two matches has been clearly above anything he produced last season. Somebody has improved his passing and taught him to time his tackles much better.

OTBC

[ROBFLECK 132]

Johnson really has been class and Barnett has showed us again what he can do. Bradley''s really earnt his place in the team now!

[lappinitup 629]

[quote user="BlyBlyBabes"]That maybe so, but his form in the last two matches has been clearly above anything he produced last season. Somebody has improved his passing and taught him to time his tackles much better.

OTBC[/quote]Totally agree Bly, for me he was MOM against QPR and I was pleasantly surprised by the improvement in his passing since last season. If he can maintain that form, he will be a huge asset in the coming months.

[Lavanche 0]

I agree with BBB. I have always liked Johnson style to play and he is good holding middlefielder, but now he has shown improvement in his activity n the pitch and passing game. He also seems to find himself a bit more often from a shooting position

He just seems to be more well rounded than previous season and will be nice to see if he can hold Tettey and Fox behind him in a pecking order.

[BroadstairsR 2,168]

He is also getting a growing reputation in the game for being a hard man. This can''t be bad.

[pete 319]

BJ under pressure from Tettey and he knows it so will keep performing. 

[S10 Canary 0]

Could be that they''re both more comfortable with Hughton''s ethos. I guess it would make sense that it suits their natural game and sets of attributes.

[Proper Charlie 0]

Qpr completely played into our hands with their long ball footy, as Barnett and Bassong just won everything in the air.

I was a tad worried about Barnett being up against Defoe as he far more mobile than Zamora, but again he was excellent along side Bassong, they are both quick powerful and good in the air (every strikers nightmare)!!

Johnson was good last year but he has undoubtedly improved his passing and tackling this year and he is looking every part a premier league DM, long may it continue. Just needs to get one of those ballistic missiles he hits on target now and again.

[The ghost of Michael Theoklitos 0]

[quote user="Gingerpele"]Why are people surprised by Johnson playing well?[/quote]I am. I thought his form dropped considerably towards the end of last year. I thought he got complacent with our good start. So much so, he was kind of dropped if I think back to selections around Feb / March, with Fox / Howson being the favored center-mid partnership.However, this did make him come back stronger when he was back around the first team, which brings us to....[quote user="pete"]BJ under pressure from Tettey and he knows it so will keep performing. [/quote]Exactly! I think Johnson is the type of player that needs to constantly be pushed and checked. Tettley will be a great signing, and will bring the best out on Johnson, and perhaps a few others.

[stoke canary 0]

Liked Barnett in the championship until he got injured,perhaps a good run in the team ,if he can keep fit will do him no harm at all.After a dogey start the last 2 prem games have been very good team performances.Looking forward too West Ham my first game or the season.

[BlyBlyBabes 0]

[quote user="pete"]BJ under pressure from Tettey and he knows it so will keep performing. [/quote]

That may be so Pete, but I don''t believe it can account for his improvement in technique.

OTBC

[Gnasher 0]

Barnett has flourished alongside Bassong (who I was cautiously optimistic over his signing, Fulham doubts freshly imprinted) and the back four already look much more solid, Garrido being a class addition as well.

As for Johnson, he started last season well, but faded with the talks of an england call up and struggled to get any real form other than the last few of last season. Glad to see he''s rediscovered it, hopefully he''ll keep it up, spurs was up there with his best performances for us

[lake district canary 0]

Good thread.   Agree with op, I always thought Barnett  had it in him to do the job, but Johnson looked to have lost his way last season.  Like everyone else I''ve been impressed with  him so far this season.     It shouldn''t be a surprise that we will see the best form from the players because this is what Hughton is reknowned for - getting the best out of his players.    Lambert had a different approach which had the effect of galavanising the team in terms of mass competetiveness, but Hughton seems to have the knack of being able to get the best out of individuals - which of course added to a strong team ethic bodes well for the development of the team.  

 

 

 

[Mr Brownstone 0]

Johnson''s form in the middle of last season definitely wasn''t up to that of the end, and particularly the start of the season, but let''s not forget that he started the season so strongly that he was being touted for an England call up around October time (that sort of coincided with his dip in form) so it shouldn''t come as too much of a surpise that he''s playing so well now.

[Robert Parsons 0]

I believe that Johnson also put in a lot of extra physical training in the summer which means that he is even stronger and fitter than before.

RP

[Phillip J Fry 0]

Johnson is flourishing because he has the ideal midfield partner in Howson. Johnson is a very staic player, movement is not his strong point, he likes to play a deep role, break up the play, and play a simple pass to the nearest team mates. Johnson spent most of last season in a 4-2-3-1 with Fox. The two deeper midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 act as a pivot, one player goes forward the other stays back, and this is not Johnson''s strongest point. Fox and Johnson aren''t similar players but they do have two similarities. Firstly, both like to play a deeper role and secondly, both are not the most mobile. In the 4-2-3-1 with Fox, Johnson was asked to play a role that didn''t suit him and that showed in his performances.

Howson, on the other hand, optimizes movement from the centre of midfield allowing Johnson to do what he is best suited to doing: winning the ball back and giving it to more creative players. Whilst the team may have seemed like a 4-4-2 against Spurs, it was really wasn''t. In attack it looked like this:

                       Ruddy

R.Martin Barnett Bassong Garrido

                        Johnson

Snodgrass       Howson     Pilkington

              Holt               Jackson

Whilst in defense it was more like:

                     Ruddy

R.Martin Barnett Bassong Garrido

Snodgrass Howson Johnson Pilkington

                         Holt

                       Jackson

[lake district canary 0]

[quote user="Gareth"]Johnson is flourishing because he has the ideal midfield partner in Howson. Johnson is a very staic player, movement is not his strong point, he likes to play a deep role, break up the play, and play a simple pass to the nearest team mates. Johnson spent most of last season in a 4-2-3-1 with Fox. The two deeper midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 act as a pivot, one player goes forward the other stays back, and this is not Johnson''s strongest point. Fox and Johnson aren''t similar players but they do have two similarities. Firstly, both like to play a deeper role and secondly, both are not the most mobile. In the 4-2-3-1 with Fox, Johnson was asked to play a role that didn''t suit him and that showed in his performances.

Howson, on the other hand, optimizes movement from the centre of midfield allowing Johnson to do what he is best suited to doing: winning the ball back and giving it to more creative players. Whilst the team may have seemed like a 4-4-2 against Spurs, it was really wasn''t. In attack it looked like this:

                       Ruddy

R.Martin Barnett Bassong Garrido

                        Johnson

Snodgrass       Howson     Pilkington

              Holt               Jackson

Whilst in defense it was more like:

                     Ruddy

R.Martin Barnett Bassong Garrido

Snodgrass Howson Johnson Pilkington

                         Holt

                       Jackson

[/quote]

 

 

Good post Gareth, it was interesting to see Holt drop back more into midfield, leaving Jackson up front.   Much better than when we used  442  last season when whoever was in the two used to stay up more, isolating the attack from defence.   This is what happened when Martin and Holt were up front in early last season.    This shows well the extra tactical astuteness/experience that Hughton brings to the table - and maybe demonstrates some of the lack of tactical awareness of last season which was - to be kind - quite often hit or miss.    It could also be a reason why Martin has been retained - he may be better utilised by Hughton - who as we have seen with Johnson and Barnett is beginning to get the best of his players. 

 

 

[Norfolk Mustard 94]

BJ is physically wide! - certainly nobody’s pushover is he? After the Spurs game how on earth will CH fit Tettey in?...

Barney is surpassing himself to keep classy Ryan Bennett out - that makes excellent competition too.

[G 0]

I find it funny how you say you always had faith in Barnett more so than Johnson, last season and against QPR this season it made me nervous that Barnett was in the lineup. I am though delighted with boths form so far, long may it continue.

 

Out of curiosity where do you the people that had more faith in Barnett sit?

[lake district canary 0]

[quote user="G"]

Out of curiosity where do you the people that had more faith in Barnett sit?

[/quote]

 

If that''s meant to be some kind of dig - you can get lost.   Everyone has an opinion.  Get used to it.  

 

 

      

[crabbycanary 2]

Johnson is likely to score 2 or 3 ''worldies'' this  season if the shot on Sat is anything to go by (granted he will miss 8 or 10 of them) but if you don''t buy a ticket..........

He is turning out to be an awesome player for us, and I had my reservations about Barnett (where does this Ward?) but with Bassong, he could have found his ideal partner.

[crabbycanary 2]

*where does this LEAVE Ward?

[Phillip J Fry 0]

[quote user="lake district canary"]

Good post Gareth, it was interesting to see Holt drop back more into midfield, leaving Jackson up front.   Much better than when we used  442  last season when whoever was in the two used to stay up more, isolating the attack from defence.   This is what happened when Martin and Holt were up front in early last season.    This shows well the extra tactical astuteness/experience that Hughton brings to the table - and maybe demonstrates some of the lack of tactical awareness of last season which was - to be kind - quite often hit or miss.    It could also be a reason why Martin has been retained - he may be better utilised by Hughton - who as we have seen with Johnson and Barnett is beginning to get the best of his players.

[/quote]

I''m not sure it''s that so much as that Hughton was more wary of giving Spurs the extra man in midfield, asking Holt (with his work rate) to drop back and make sure we were in a 3v3 in the central midfield battle is common sense really. Lambert probably wouldn''t have done it, because he would''ve played more direct to counter-act the midfield imbalance. Lambert was a very reactive manager (not that that''s a bad thing!) he picked a team to match the opposition (that''s why he changed teams so often, identifying the oppositions weaknesses and changing his tactics/formation/personnel in order to maximise said weaknesses). Hughton seems like he would rather tweak the team slightly to suit the opposition but still keep a similar formation/personnel, offering consistency to the team, which improves the defensive aspect of your squad.  

[TIL 1010 4,748]

In answer to Crabbys question about where does this leave Ward i think it is an example of one manager having a different view on a player to another.Obviously we know that Lambert signed Barnett but by his continued absence once he had recovered from injury Lambert did not fancy him enough to put him on the bench in the Premiership whereas Ward was straight back into the fray after any injuries.Looks like Hughton views things entirely differently as it would appear that Barnett is in the team to stay barring injury and it is Ward who has been thrust into the wilderness.

[York Canary 28]

Even Russ Martin looks 10 times more comfortable now with Snoddy playing brilliantly in front of him and the three guys to the left of him being much more composed/solid. Russ could have had 2 goals himself already and I hope we get goals chipped in from all of our players again this season to really give us a great chance of doing well again.

 

And Garrido has one HELL of a delivery! As someone said when he signed for us..wand of a left foot. Put 2 absolute beauties onto Snoddy''s had that he unfortunately couldn''t convert, but hopefully he''ll get more goals after that volley against Spurs and Holt/Moro/Jacko will convert those crosses too

[G 0]

[quote user="lake district canary"][quote user="G"]

Out of curiosity where do you the people that had more faith in Barnett sit?

[/quote]

 

If that''s meant to be some kind of dig - you can get lost.   Everyone has an opinion.  Get used to it.  

 

 

      

[/quote]

 

Jesus Christ, chill out mate it was a genuine question. I respect everyones opinion. I just was curious if people sitting in different area''s see players perfomances different to because against QPR alot of people weren''t happy with Snodgrass''s perfomance even though he was quality from my seat.

 

Just remember not everyone on this forum is a knob head.