Bradley Johnson

[GJP 79]

Good performance. Manager showed faith in him and he repaid him.

[Petriix 2,834]

You watched a different game to the one I saw. He gave the ball away at least 10 times today. Yes, he made some good tackles and covered well in the midfield but his passing is still simply not good enough. Fer made him look like a championship player. There were a few others who''s passing was worse today though.

[Tony Moore 0]

You watched a different game to the one I saw. He gave the ball away at least 10 times today. Yes, he made some good tackles and covered well in the midfield but his passing is still simply not good enough. Fer made him look like a championship player. There were a few others who''s passing was worse today though.[/quote

Out of interest I had a close look at Johnson today. In the first half he passed successfully 18 out of 20 passes, and I think the second half wasn''t a lot different. Don''t let the truth stand in the way of a good prejudice.]

[Mr Angry 1,547]

I don''t give a toss about how he played, I hate his beard.

[nutty nigel 7,513]

He had a great game today. He didn''t do a lot wrong when he had the ball and was awesome when he didn''t. Great covering job 1st half when Garrido and Redmond were both caught upfield. Gary Holtesque[Y]

 

 

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

BJ did ok yesterday. Restricted his performance to what he can do. Kept things short and worked hard. Playing next to Fer will help him and stop him trying to be the complete midfielder which he clearly is not.

However I''d still prefer to see Howson or Tettey next to Fer.

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

Fer showed us what we should be expecting from a midfielder at this level. Credit to Hughton for playing him in his correct position. He was the complete midfielder, defensively sound, dangerous in attack with a wide range of quick passing.

He makes the likes of Tettey, BJ and Howson look like Championship players.

Having Fer in the side will hopefully allow BJ to play his normal game.

[smooth 114]

Johnson is a gritty player, he does the basics is a presence however, fer is showing however utter class I that position. I think we can all agree that the strongest central midfielder with the mos impact in a game is fer.

Against top team Johnson will be isolated as a weakness and certainly not a threat with his passing, shooting ability. They will see him as a disruptive player.

Yesterday he did some simple things well, but he outshone by fer. He did make some poor choices in his passing and this has been apparent all season. So it is nothing new.we are improving year on year and therefore we will get better players in. I agree I would rather see tettey or Howson in if the proved it, so far they have not and there lies the problem.

If we could sign a creative midfielder to sit alongside fer it would be ideal. It certainly is a position we need to address either in January or next summer. I do feel we go into this season at the moment without that player and hence it is a weakness. But again only due to the quality we have brought in. Johnson would probably start for a promoted club but not for any other who plays in the prem. it just shows how we are developing.

[Petriix 2,834]

[quote user="Tony Moore"]You watched a different game to the one I saw. He gave the ball away at least 10 times today. Yes, he made some good tackles and covered well in the midfield but his passing is still simply not good enough. Fer made him look like a championship player. There were a few others who''s passing was worse today though.[/quote

Out of interest I had a close look at Johnson today. In the first half he passed successfully 18 out of 20 passes, and I think the second half wasn''t a lot different. Don''t let the truth stand in the way of a good prejudice.][/quote]Yes, you really were watching a different game:http://www.whoscored.com/Matches/719954/LiveStatistics/England-Premier-League-2013-2014-Norwich-SouthamptonBradley Johnson: 77% of 48 passes = 37/48 means 11 incomplete passes; compared toLeroy Fer: 94% of 36 passes = 34/36 means 2 incomplete passes.I agree that, when he didn''t have the ball, he played well. I just don''t think that alone justifies his place. Giving the ball away roughly 1 in every 4 passes is not good enough for a central midfielder in the Premier League in my opinion. Our passing was poor in general yesterday but this is about average for BJ.

[Joanna Grey 0]

Any player can have a decent pass completion ratio if they are short, safe and sideways. As all the players are now being encouraged to press and move further up the pitch it''s only natural that the ratio will get skewed. There is no doubt that Fer is our best midfielder (the most complete) and Tettey and Johnson are similar in their limitations but one plays right side, the other left. Perhaps CH just asks the bipedal Fer which side he wants to play before the match and then picks his partner accordingly?

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

--- Joanna Grey: Any player can have a decent pass completion ratio if they are short, safe and sideways. As all the players are now being encouraged to press and move further up the pitch it''s only natural that the ratio will get skewed.

Of course there is something in knowing your limitations as a player. BJ''s passing was so much worse last season than the one before because there was no player in midfield able to spray the ball around the park. Thus it was left to Tettey, BJ and Howson, none of which have any great range of passing.

[Gingerpele 0]

My Bradley had a great game!

Was the first time in quite a while we properly dominated he centre of the pitch. Fer and Johnson worked, Johnson seemed to have been limited to what he was to do with the ball, didn''t attempt half as many ''creative'' balls down the wing/over the top. Give it to Redmond or Fer was probably his instruction, and it works. Relying on Johnson to try and create chances is silly, but Johnson breaking up play, playing the simple ball is fantastic.

[BOO 0]

Agree with that Ginger

[Cerberus 0]

I''m with Frank on this one. Whilst BJ was better than he was against Everton, Hull and Bury, I think that judgemenst are being clouded by the result. I like BJ for his effort, but in the PL, it is not enough for a player just to be defensive. I thought that we struggled again for creativity yesterday (Redmond excepted) and this felt like a 0-0 draw for me for most of the game.  As teams become more aware of Fer, they will simply double team him to stop the supply line. The acid test for me is how many fans would keep BJ in the team if we coudl say acquire another player of teh quality of Fer - who can pass and tackle, and looks like to be a goal threat too. This is nothing personal against BJ, but just seeing what i saw with my eyes yesterday.

[morty 0]

[quote user="Gingerpele"]My Bradley had a great game!

Was the first time in quite a while we properly dominated he centre of the pitch. Fer and Johnson worked, Johnson seemed to have been limited to what he was to do with the ball, didn''t attempt half as many ''creative'' balls down the wing/over the top. Give it to Redmond or Fer was probably his instruction, and it works. Relying on Johnson to try and create chances is silly, but Johnson breaking up play, playing the simple ball is fantastic.[/quote]Exactly. I made a point of giving Bradley a good watch, as I knew his performance would be a topic of discussion, and I thought he had a very good game. The first half performance, in particular, was solid and disciplined.

[CDMullins 436]

Stats, Stats, Stats, StatsStats can be portrayed any way you want them to be.If BJ had attempted 20 through balls of which 5 lead to goals and the others went in row Z, we''d be chuffed however the stats would say 25% pass completion.If Wes received the ball 10 times from Ruddy, beat every man gone through on goal and the keeper just took it off him, We''d think he''d had a great game. Yet his stats would say gave the ball away 100% of the time.Ok these are exxargeated but they are still relevantThe times BJ loses the ball  he is in close combat with the opposition, so if he takes the ball off a players, he is probaly a yard away from another player, so has to pass it quick (assuming there is someone to pass it to) or try and beat them.You dont need to use stats to see he was at the centre of a midfield pairing that dominated the centre of the park. Yes, Fer looked better, but by no means did BJ look out of place and he certainally didnty look like a ''Championsip player'' as some have described him

[*** 0]

Bradders was a God yesterday, next.

[QHcanary 0]

A few years ago the Doc suddenly stopped playing long balls. Instead, he gave it to one of the full backs every time. He was clearly under instructions to do so.

I''d like to see Johnson do similar. Keep it very simple. Give it to Fer or one of the full backs or wingers. Retaining the ball is more important than attempting a difficult long ball that has very little chance of success. Obviously, under pressure the ball may just need to get launched, but a pro should know when that''s necessary.

He had a decent game yesterday. There''s definitely a place for him in the team alongside Leroy.

[nutty nigel 7,513]

Well of course if we acquired another Fer and put him in the team beside Fer who would be doing what Bradley Johnson did yesterday? Fer was good with the ball, Johnson was good without it. At least 50% of every game we don''t have the ball so what happens during those periods is just as important. It seems to me spectators only really watch half a game.

 

 

[Downloads 35]

Only thing I''d say nige is that Fer was as good without it as he was with it.

 

I''d be very happy if Johnson learnt to give an easy pass to a team mate, like Tettey does, but for some reason he doesn''t or is not being trained to do so. He can do it, just too many aimless long balls for my liking. 25% of passes not making their mark is too many for me.

 

But none of it matters too much as we have a great win and a great confidence builder under our belts.

 

Tottenham next and we''ve faired well against them the last couple of years.

[morty 0]

Another thing to take into consideration is how many games BJ has actually played with Fer. Its early days, they are still getting used to each others strengths and weaknesses, developing understanding.

[nutty nigel 7,513]

Fer was excellent at winning the ball back as well as excellent on the ball. But their jobs when we don''t have the ball are very different. Bradley is very good at covering for others like Gary Holt used to do. If we get caught up field, like in the first half when we lost the ball with Redmond and Garrido in very advanced positions, it was Johnson who save us in the left back position and snuffed out a dangerous counter attack. Very similar to Gary Holt covering for Hucks and Drury.

 

 

[BOO 0]

That''s one area of the game that has improved a lot, it''s not just Jonno that works hard to cover, it''s a simple but important part of our play and hopefully will give more licence for full backs getting forward, especially when Olssen comes onto the scene.

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

---- nutty nigel: Fer was excellent at winning the ball back as well as excellent on the ball. But their jobs when we don''t have the ball are very different. Bradley is very good at covering for others like Gary Holt used to do. If we get caught up field, like in the first half when we lost the ball with Redmond and Garrido in very advanced positions, it was Johnson who save us in the left back position and snuffed out a dangerous counter attack. Very similar to Gary Holt covering for Hucks and Drury.

I don''t think anyone doubts the excellent work Bradley Johnson does off the ball and winning the ball back. He is just not that great on the ball. As someone else mentioned further up, now Fer is in the side BJ can resort to the simple pass more often and let Fer dictate the play. Fer''s 94% passing accuracy including three key passes in central midfield was light years ahead of anything seen at Carrow Road in recent times.

[nutty nigel 7,513]

Complement each other perfectly Foggy. An ideal partnership and better than Fer with another Fer would be.

 

 

 

[Cerberus 0]

Foghorn - completely agree

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

We looked great with BJ and Fer, imagine how good we''d look with Fer and Howson! Seriously howson Is a much better player and can develop his game next to Fer.

[Cerberus 0]

I am sorry Lincoln, but I completely disagree. Howson was a revelation towards the end of the season when given a free role further up the pitch. He is simply not robust enough to play in the BJ role and his passing isnt that much better. I think he is one of the many names in the frame for the AM role

[nutty nigel 7,513]

[quote user="lincoln canary"]We looked great with BJ and Fer, imagine how good we''d look with Fer and Howson! Seriously howson Is a much better player and can develop his game next to Fer.[/quote]

 

Look good going forward but what if we leaked goals?

 

 

[iron_stan 0]

johnsons a better athlete and ball winneri like howson and think hes a better player technically but he was lazy and didnt really get into the game yesterday when he came onsell one of them and get gyllfi sigurrson from spurs ;)