Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
Tetteys Jig

Bradley Johnson's Passing

Recommended Posts

He cropped up on my Facebook, on the whoscored.com site as having the worst pass completion ratio of any centre mid in the league! Now don''t get me wrong, I like him, and his passing has noticeably improved recently, but that''s a very poor stat to be associated with. Think of some of the shocking contenders!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Not surprising, he is not really a championship player in my opinion and that stat proves it.  He is like a Yorkshire terrier, noisy, irritating but will never really hurt you.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Stats only tell some of the story.

If you watch closely you''ll see that Bradders tries to pass the ball forwards a lot more often than a lot of other midfield players.

Remember the laughable guff about Joe Allan''s passing at Swansea last season. 97% success rate blah, blah, blah. Nearly all of those were sideways or backwards.

Mike Milligan (remember him) would probably have had a very high pass completion rate - but in his whole career at Norwich he never knowingly passed the ball forwards.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I don''t get the fascination with ''passing the ball forwards''. You pass the ball to keep possession. Not every ball has to be an assist or killer pass. The same people who laud Barcelona moan when we aren''t hitting the box within 3 passes of winning the ball back!

Option 1) Johnson wins the ball and makes a short 5 yard pass backwards or sideways to a player who can make a decent pass.

Option 2) Johnson wins the ball and tries to play a forward pass but isn''t good enough and gives it back to the opposition.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
To answer the OP though - I''m not at all surprised by that stat. Yes he has had a good season in terms of breaking the opposition''s play up, but that''s not much use if you give it them back straight away.

Next season I think he needs to either be used as an impact sub to keep things tight in the last 15/20 minutes, or he needs to have a real quality ball player next to him so that he can make that 5 yard pass to a better player more frequently - at the moment, even if he did make a short sideways pass, the player he passed to would likely give it away as well!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
But do you not think that breaking up an oppositions attack allows other players to get back in position and stops the flow of an attack, leading to disjointed attacking. Even if they have the ball back straight away, it''s not gonna be as fast paced an attack, giving defenders time to get set and mark up.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Aggy"]I don''t get the fascination with ''passing the ball forwards''. You pass the ball to keep possession. Not every ball has to be an assist or killer pass. The same people who laud Barcelona moan when we aren''t hitting the box within 3 passes of winning the ball back! Option 1) Johnson wins the ball and makes a short 5 yard pass backwards or sideways to a player who can make a decent pass. Option 2) Johnson wins the ball and tries to play a forward pass but isn''t good enough and gives it back to the opposition.[/quote]

This sums it up pretty well for me. Problem we had this year is we didn''t have anyone with the ability to make that forward pass with any real accuracy or killer instinct. Hence Bradley trying and failing regularly - at least he tried to make things happen.

This part of the squad MUST be improved, more important than wingers or another striker IMO. Like everyone has said and knows, BJ can tackle and win the ball back to a PL standard, just needs that support so he can be the man playing sideways football with the ball.

Personally I prefer Tetty''s all round game anyway :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="burn down the ipswich"]But do you not think that breaking up an oppositions attack allows other players to get back in position and stops the flow of an attack, leading to disjointed attacking. Even if they have the ball back straight away, it''s not gonna be as fast paced an attack, giving defenders time to get set and mark up.[/quote]
If you break up the play and give it away immediately with your first pass, I doubt many of your team have got back into position; not least because once Johnson has won the ball they''ll be looking to go forward again, not get back into position. Secondly, his passing isn''t only after he has won the ball, it also disjoints our own attacks. 
His sort of role is essential at times; I don''t want to be too critical of him. However, his poor passing outweighs his defensive impact in my opinion. I don''t expect a defensive midfielder to be the best passer of the ball ever, but I do expect him to at least recycle possession in terms of that short pass to someone who can spray it around.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I couldn''t care less what his passing rate is, his job is to stop opposing teams attacks, and he did that fantastically well this year.

I bet he has a few assists too, I remember a few balls over the top to Pilks and Hoolahoop from Bradders, good ones too.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
A little more research shows the claims are utter bullshite.

He appears to have the lowest passing stats in OUR team, but not in the entire league. Poor Kenwyn Jones holds that award.

http://www.whoscored.com/Regions/252/Tournaments/2/Seasons/3389/Stages/6531/PlayerStatistics/England-Premier-League-2012-2013

Bradders is on Page 12

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Whatever the stats say he is a very poor passer of the ball, certainly not Premiership standard

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I''m expecting Foxy to get a mention soon. In fact I can''t believe the post has gone this long.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
If the team are going to progress then a defensive midfielder who can pick a pass is a priority. Pity a Johnson/Fox clone is not possible.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote user="AJ"]A little more research shows the claims are utter bullshite. He appears to have the lowest passing stats in OUR team, but not in the entire league. Poor Kenwyn Jones holds that award. http://www.whoscored.com/Regions/252/Tournaments/2/Seasons/3389/Stages/6531/PlayerStatistics/England-Premier-League-2012-2013 Bradders is on Page 12[/quote]

He has the lowest passing stats for a central midfielder in the league, and the 50th worst overall, including Goalkeepers (Mark Bunn has the lowest percentage of any player) Kenwyn Jones has the lowest percentage for an outfield player. BJ''s 71% for a player in his position is incredibly low (for comparision Tettey, whos passing isn''t brilliant, has about 83% accuracy) and does highlight the problem Norwich have had in building attacks, to often it breaks down in midfield. I also saw that Norwich were the only team in the league to not score a goal on the counter attack, which again is partly down to the inability to transition from defence to attack.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="AJ"]A little more research shows the claims are utter bullshite.

He appears to have the lowest passing stats in OUR team, but not in the entire league. Poor Kenwyn Jones holds that award.

http://www.whoscored.com/Regions/252/Tournaments/2/Seasons/3389/Stages/6531/PlayerStatistics/England-Premier-League-2012-2013

Bradders is on Page 12[/quote]
Jimmy said in the first post he had the lowest passing percentage for a central midfielder, which holds true according to the link you''ve put up there. Those with worse records than Johnson are mostly keepers, forwards and centre backs with the odd winger chucked in. 
Like I said, I don''t expect him to have a high passing rate, but breaking up opposition''s attacks has to be countered with breaking up our own and the fact that breaking up attacks and giving them the ball back can put us in just as much trouble as we were before he broke up the attacks; just because he''s put in a tackle doesn''t mean we are suddenly all in position and rock solid at the back again. His instructions next season have got to be "win ball, pass 5 yards to the new centre mid who knows how to pass".

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Aggy wrote - "His instructions next season have got to be "win ball, pass 5 yards to the new centre mid who knows how to pass""

I think they will be "Sit next to Wes on the bench until you are needed".

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The key signing this summer will be a quality ''all-rounder'' in CM who can defend and break up play, pass effectively, support the attack and score goals as well. A big ask, I know, but that is why it is the key signing. It may be a Biglia or Defour, but this is where money needs to be spent first. After struggling earlier, Howson has recently shown signs of achieving this role, but City need to replace Fox with a player with these attributes if further progress in the PL is to be achieved.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Passing is and never was strong part of BJ''s game, although it has improved.

We looked alot better in the last few games when Howson / Hoolahan provided him with a simple out ball after winning the ball. Letting them deal with the creative side.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I would not be surprised to see a good defensive midfielder brought in along the lines of Biglia, Defour, Parker, etc. to claim the right sided CM slot. Howson will then play left CM with BJ or Tettey on the bench.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote user="AJ"]I couldn''t care less what his passing rate is, his job is to stop opposing teams attacks, and he did that fantastically well this year. .[/quote]

He did it quite well.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Joanna Grey"]Aggy wrote - "His instructions next season have got to be "win ball, pass 5 yards to the new centre mid who knows how to pass""

I think they will be "Sit next to Wes on the bench until you are needed".[/quote]
I would not grumble whatsoever if that were the case!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Seriously, any need?

He is a player that has come to the Premiership and improved dramatically, a player we bought because he was what we wanted, and he was the right price.

I have a great admiration for players like this that do the dirty graft in the engine room, but rarely receive the plaudits they deserve.

For another example see Gary Holt.

Seriously are we going to just pick, pick, pick at every player because they aren''t world class?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I admire Johnson as a player and thought it was harsh to pick on him myself, but i thought i''d point it out.

It goes to show how hard the premiership is, i don''t think 71% sounds THAT bad.

As I also said, he has noticeably improved recently.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="morty"]Seriously, any need?

He is a player that has come to the Premiership and improved dramatically, a player we bought because he was what we wanted, and he was the right price.

I have a great admiration for players like this that do the dirty graft in the engine room, but rarely receive the plaudits they deserve.

For another example see Gary Holt.

Seriously are we going to just pick, pick, pick at every player because they aren''t world class?[/quote]
Nope, we''re going to discuss how to improve the squad. We''ve not kept the ball well this season, and Johnson has the worst passing success percentage out of any central midfielder in the division. I don''t think it''s "picking on him" to put the two things together and draw a conclusion as to where we can probably most improve. 
I think he has been given a fair amount of praise in this thread for his defensive work this season, but that doesn''t mean we can''t get someone better/more rounded in.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I put it to you that Bradley Johnson will be a part of the team next season. Every side needs a no frills grafter, and I am sure he is aware of his shortfalls re passing and will be working on that over the summer, as I said earlier his passing has already improved.

And stats don''t mean everything, he has played most games this season, and came third in POTS I believe.

Each to their own, but I rate him.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So, Bradley Johnson can''t pass and we all know about his shooting, Yet he was voted 3rd best player in the club !Says a lot for the rest of the squad

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Huge endeavour but his quality of use with the ball is clearly limited and the stat only confirms what is plainly visible to anyone who watches the game. 

 

He remains a key member of the squad for other reasons than his passing.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Not saying i don''t rate him, but to be labelled the worst passing CM in the league is pretty bad. It shows the lack of quality we have in one aspect.

I do believe he''ll play a bit next season but i''d like to think we can get a more cultured Centre Mid in and start passing it about more.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote user="morty"]Seriously, any need? He is a player that has come to the Premiership and improved dramatically, a player we bought because he was what we wanted, and he was the right price. I have a great admiration for players like this that do the dirty graft in the engine room, but rarely receive the plaudits they deserve. For another example see Gary Holt. Seriously are we going to just pick, pick, pick at every player because they aren''t world class?[/quote]

I am surprised you have asked that question because you must surely know the answer. The habits of a lifetime are not going to change.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Webbo118"]

[quote user="morty"]Seriously, any need? He is a player that has come to the Premiership and improved dramatically, a player we bought because he was what we wanted, and he was the right price. I have a great admiration for players like this that do the dirty graft in the engine room, but rarely receive the plaudits they deserve. For another example see Gary Holt. Seriously are we going to just pick, pick, pick at every player because they aren''t world class?[/quote]

I am surprised you have asked that question because you must surely know the answer. The habits of a lifetime are not going to change.

[/quote]Exactly we should leave him alone. In his defence the reason his pass ratio is so poor is probably because his shooting is so woefully off target it can easily be mistaken for a misplaced pass.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...