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Bradley Johnson - A Vicious Circle

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Here is my latest article - Bradley Johnson..."A Vicious Circle" - http://olliebaines.wordpress.com/2014/03/12/a-vicious-circle/

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''I really don''t see him in the team with Tettey back from injury''
What? Tettey and Johnson have played together over the past half dozen games or so.
He doesn''t just win the ball and give it away. And also about half of the time the misplaced passes are the ones over the top. He should also have more than one assist, Hooper and Snodgrass both messed up chances from balls almost identical to the one Snodgrass scored from and i''m pretty sure he''s done that before. He''s also now scored three goals. How many goals and assists does Tettey have?
Johnson is clearly instructed to play the way he does, otherwise he wouldn''t be in the team. People have constantly said pretty much since his first appearance he isn''t good enough, clearly not a PL player etc etc some have even said he''s League One at best. Yet he''s been a regular in our side for three seasons. This season probably mainly down to injuries. But still, at least he''s consistent bar a little wobble at the start of the season. Fer disappears like Damian Francis did, Howson clearly has a lot of ability but seems scared to use it and thats partly down to tactical shackling and partly down to lack of confidence in himself I think. And if Tettey was as good as most of the Johnson outers think, he wouldn''t be here. Basically the way some talk about Tettey he''s as close to a Busquets type you can find without too much looking. That kind of player is very very rare, he''s not that kind of player or he wouldn''t be here. He does a useful job, but he is also prone to very silly mistakes and they seem to be more detrimental to the team and Johnson''s from my memory (Chelsea at home), and I watch Johnson very closely.
P.S
I am well aware of Johnson''s downfalls, but as so many are so keen to point them out as regularly as possible and treat him like he''s been bribing Hughton to get in the team I feel the need to defend him.

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great squad player to have and always shines for the last 10 games of the season, whether its here or when he was at leeds.....generally, he just can''t pass, - he has the vision, he knows where he wants it to go and occasionally does (snodgrass goal v spurs) but he can''t do a simple 10 yard pass, can''t shoot, but is big and pretty strong.....a good squad player who i really hope will be exactly that next season

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At least he''s not injured or in a strop! He''s sadly been our most consistent CM this season despite probably being the least talented. I agree that if Howson, Tettey and Fer had all been fit, Johnson would be on the bench, but the matter of fact is that they haven''t always been. Johnson has and will continue to be a very important cog in our machine. He will continue to frustrate but he''ll battle on and even score the odd goal (15% of our total in fact!)

There are players well ahead in the scapegoat queue at the moment in my book. I do hope that one day we''ll be that sustainable premiership club that doesn''t theed the honest but not technically great pros like Russ Martin, Turner or Johnson, but at the moment, they are vital.

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Been our best midfielder this season.

That might say more about the other midfielders than it does him, but nevertheless we''d be much worse off without him this season.

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[quote user="mrs miggins"]his passing was pretty damn bad last game, he did score though. Everyone seems glad that we have him, including myself[/quote]
No it wasn''t.
83%. Better than Hoolahan. Only misplaced about 3 more than Tettey.
Some people clearly just don''t see the amount of passes he does make, and make a mental note of every misplaced one.

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I''ve never got why so many appear to have a problem with Bradley Johnson, he rarely lets us down and works hard for the team and is, I feel, underated by many.................................whilst Wes is a tad over rated...........there, I said it........  

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A fair debate. Apologies I meant now that "Howson" is back, not Tettey. I would like to see Hughton play Fer, Tettey and Howson. 3 very different players who offer alot as a trio. Saying that, with Fer out...Johnson''s place is in no doubt. I commend his efforts and would love to be proved wrong; but just feel he is technically not as good as other players in the middle. Often left feel frustrated at times, but this is football. Opinions are subjective.

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No one is going to tell you he''s technically better than the other three.
Although I think Tettey is vastly overrated in that department, he''s just more sensible/level headed I think and plays it safe. Johnson rampages about, same with his passing and shooting. He doesn''t seem to think thinks through throughly, he just does them. A bit like Holt, but obviously he had a huge threat in front of goal. But he ran out of position a lot, something Johnson gets criticised for, and everyone loved Holt doing that, and now every striker we have who doesn''t gets called lazy.

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My biggest issue with all our midfielders, Tettey, Fer and Johnson is how deep they tend to defend, meaning they don''t pick up the runners and allow teams to get at us most of the game.

 

When we push up and compress the midfield we look half decent and our Defenders have time to pick up the ball played through! I hate this deep defending and we don''t do it very well.

 

Johnson Tettey and Fer have all been Ok this year, in parts with Howson we have looked really rather good in a few games, in fact when we played our best football was with Tettey, Fer & Howson on the park pre Tettey injury.

 

I like Johnson''s work rate and he''s a solid player, no vicious circle just a good honest pro doing the best he can.

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I have been one of BJs strongest critics over the years, but credit where credit is due he is actually playing very well at the moment. Had some storming games and as someone who doesnt rate him he''s been MOM in at least two of the recent games for me. Seems a strange time to criticise him

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[quote user="Gingerpele"][quote user="mrs miggins"]his passing was pretty damn bad last game, he did score though. Everyone seems glad that we have him, including myself[/quote]
No it wasn''t.
83%. Better than Hoolahan. Only misplaced about 3 more than Tettey.
Some people clearly just don''t see the amount of passes he does make, and make a mental note of every misplaced one.
[/quote]

Wes'' and Johnson''s stats should be very different. Wes has the ability to pick out a pass and his role is to probe with the risk of losing the ball. Look at players in the same position in the league, there passing stats won''t be the best.

Johnson just needs to win it and give it. Stop doing "the balls over the top". He could learn a lot from tettey.

Passing stats for Stoke match:

Johnson- 43/52 83%

Tettey- 34/39. 87%

Hoolahan- 26/32 83%.

What the stats tell me is we didn''t give Wes enough of the ball. When we did he wasn''t very wasteful.

Johnson should be our "water carrier". I''d love to see a real playmaker next to him, so he really doesn''t have to worry about passing.

Season:

Tettey 87.6%

Howson 84.4%

Fer 83.7%

Hoolahan 79%

Johnson 75.4%

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[quote user="The Great Mass Debater"]I have been one of BJs strongest critics over the years, but credit where credit is due he is actually playing very well at the moment. Had some storming games and as someone who doesnt rate him he''s been MOM in at least two of the recent games for me. Seems a strange time to criticise him[/quote]

Sort of.

 

He was terrible against Villa and wasn''t much better in the Stoke game. He had a few better minutes in the second half and scored the goal but other than that he was poor.

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Looking at the stats online BJ does have a lower completion rate, but his passing distances are higher than the other midfielders. Could this be because he has Redmond on his side who likes the ball over the top or slid through to run onto. On the other side of the pitch Snoddy likes the ball to feet and requires a shorter and easier pass. May whinge about BJ sometimes but he never hides and gives it everything every game. When allowed to maraud forward I think he looks just as capable as the other midfielders to create chances and cause defences issues. Absolute rocket of a left foot on him, just wish he hit the target a little more regularly, but then again we could say that about the whole team at the moment.

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BJ is very much like the rest of the Squad (yes, all of them!) in that on his day he is brilliant but can have off days or make the odd critical mistake in an otherwise good performance. There is not one player at our Club who is brilliant 100% of the time and who does not make mistakes. We just can''t afford that type of player.

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BJ is  a great player to have in the squad who has unfortunately more than the ideal number of starts given his capability.   

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[quote user="Gingerpele"]''I really don''t see him in the team with Tettey back from injury''
What? Tettey and Johnson have played together over the past half dozen games or so.
He doesn''t just win the ball and give it away. And also about half of the time the misplaced passes are the ones over the top. He should also have more than one assist, Hooper and Snodgrass both messed up chances from balls almost identical to the one Snodgrass scored from and i''m pretty sure he''s done that before. He''s also now scored three goals. How many goals and assists does Tettey have?
Johnson is clearly instructed to play the way he does, otherwise he wouldn''t be in the team. People have constantly said pretty much since his first appearance he isn''t good enough, clearly not a PL player etc etc some have even said he''s League One at best. Yet he''s been a regular in our side for three seasons. This season probably mainly down to injuries. But still, at least he''s consistent bar a little wobble at the start of the season. Fer disappears like Damian Francis did, Howson clearly has a lot of ability but seems scared to use it and thats partly down to tactical shackling and partly down to lack of confidence in himself I think. And if Tettey was as good as most of the Johnson outers think, he wouldn''t be here. Basically the way some talk about Tettey he''s as close to a Busquets type you can find without too much looking. That kind of player is very very rare, he''s not that kind of player or he wouldn''t be here. He does a useful job, but he is also prone to very silly mistakes and they seem to be more detrimental to the team and Johnson''s from my memory (Chelsea at home), and I watch Johnson very closely.
P.S
I am well aware of Johnson''s downfalls, but as so many are so keen to point them out as regularly as possible and treat him like he''s been bribing Hughton to get in the team I feel the need to defend him.
[/quote]Johnson has his downfalls like every player. But personally I would put both him and Snodgrass up for player of the season simply for the willingness to take on responsibility in the team. For instance I read in the Times recently Bradley Johnson has attempted more forward passes than any other Norwich player, which would directly explain his slightly lower pass completion ratio. He also wasted a lot of chances last Saturday but I''d rather have a central midfielder who has 4 shots and scores 1 in a half of football than a striker who''s afraid to shoot.I think both the ex-Leeds lads get stick from the fans because they''re man enough to actually call for the ball and try and make things happen. Just look at the penalty Snodgrass "missed" (i.e. put a hard shot on target that was well saved). I was far more disappointed that our 8.5 million shot-shy striker just gave the ball away than the fact he was willing to take on the responsibility for the team. It''s a pathetic sign of a team lacking confidence when individuals stand out because they''re actually willing to take possession of the football.

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[quote user="can u sit down please"]
Johnson just needs to win it and give it. Stop doing "the balls over the top". He could learn a lot from Tettey.[/quote]
They are 2 totally different players. BJ is actually a relatively creative-minded player, and I commend him for trying to put the ball up the pitch, when Tettey will look mostly side-ways or backwards to pass.
[quote user="can u sit down please"]
Passing stats for Stoke match:

Johnson- 43/52 83%

Tettey- 34/39. 87%

Hoolahan- 26/32 83%.

What the stats tell me is we didn''t give Wes enough of the ball. When we did he wasn''t very wasteful. [/quote]
Someone pointed out the other day from watching our game against Villa how some of the players look like they don''t want the burden of having possession of the ball. They almost don''t make the runs into space, therefore limiting the options of the player looking to pass. I think BJ stands up to be counted, and "wants it" more than some of the others. Especially seeing as he has tried to complete more passes than his fellow CM''s, although unsuccessful it goes to show at least he had the ball in the first place. Should the others not be criticised for their seeming lack of desire?
[quote user="can u sit down please"]
Johnson should be our "water carrier". I''d love to see a real playmaker next to him, so he really doesn''t have to worry about passing.[/quote]
Agreed. But I love seeing him in the first team at the moment. He is exactly the type of player that got us to the Premiership, and we need him.
I agree with everything GP has posted on this thread, especially his reference to Fer taking a leaf out of the Damien Francis attitude and application handbook. We still cannot afford luxury players, and need workers like this guy. Hugely underrated, and has scored 2 goals from his 3 which have generated 2 valuable points so far.

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My main problem with Johnson is his slowness - both in possession and general lack of pace.

 

Sometimes it''s just little things like when he''ll be able to play a routine pass he''ll carry the ball for an extra 2 or 3 touches he doesn''t need before releasing the pass.

 

Or he''ll just get caught on the ball because he''s taken too long or he''s tried to beat a player but doesn''t have the pace to get away from them.

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What I fail to understand is why the coaching staff haven''t tried to stop him from playing those speculative aerial through balls that he is clearly not technically gifted enough to deliver on a consistent basis. Or, if the coaching staff have tried to stop this, why is he still in the team when he is ignoring them? Tettey''s pass completion rate is so high because he knows his limitations; break up the play, play the way he''s facing or to a man in obvious space. Johnson''s persistent desire to play passes beyond his ability is the downfall in his game; if he played it simple like Tettey, he''d be at least as good a player as him and a regular starter IMO.

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Footnote: I know he''s a regular starter at the moment due to injury, but I mean he''d be a regular and worthy starter under any circumstances if he could sort out his passing decisions.

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Completely agree Morty. I think people expect us to have Xavi and Iniesta as a CM pairing after a couple of prem seasons.

The reality is Johnson has been the consistent figure in CM under both Lambert and Hughton. Now, whilst some may disagree with Hughton''s logic, i think you''ll be hard-pressed to find someone who thinks both were completely inept and wrong?

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[quote user="hogesar"]Completely agree Morty. I think people expect us to have Xavi and Iniesta as a CM pairing after a couple of prem seasons.

The reality is Johnson has been the consistent figure in CM under both Lambert and Hughton. Now, whilst some may disagree with Hughton''s logic, i think you''ll be hard-pressed to find someone who thinks both were completely inept and wrong?[/quote]Lol, that could completely mess with a few heads here.

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