Bradley Johnson

[Brighton Yellow 0]

Hogsear, smart response. Brighton = gay does it? Yet again the intelligence level of some on here demonstrates that of a slow developing 10 year old.

I didn''t say his performance was pretty awful, there are still times when he receives the ball, looks up and chips it aimlessly into the corner and we concede posession. I''m all for him provided he plays within his means.

With regards to MOTM, that award is selected by the match sponsors so I will never consider that to be an accurate barometer of a performance.

Johnson for all his effort is the worst passer of the ball in our team, stats quite clearly back this up! He is the classic player Norwich fans fall for, ''''never gives up'' ''wear his heart on his sleeve'' ''gives 110%'' etc. when Alex Tettey are far superior players! Tettey was immense yesterday and was the main reason Wolves never got going. It was his masterful control of the space in front of our defence, subduing Dicko, Sakko, Van Le Parra and Afobe that ensured we had such an easy day. A clear MOTM for me. But what do I know, I''m from Brighton apparently (I''m not)!!

[morty 0]

Tettey did have an excellent game yesterday. But making comparisons between Bradley and Tettey is, perhaps, a little unfair. They are two different players playing different roles, both of them vital to the team effort.I think there is a place for a "water carrier" in every team, a role that is often underestimated.Gary Holt, another favourite player of mine played the role particularly well. Grafting hard for the team week in, week out, but rarely receiving plaudits.Its no coincidence that we receive bids for Bradley from other clubs.

[lowlyfendweller 0]

If BJ had everything people think he should have he wouldn''t be our player! I think he is good and we won''t get a much better enforcer/ball winner type a this level.

[Phillip J Fry 0]

[quote user="ZippersLeftFoot"]Phillip - its interesting you find it a positive that BJ drifts in; its a positive when he does it yet not when Wes does? [/quote]

The problem with Wes''s drifting in, if you want to call it a problem, is that rather than adopting a narrower, but still left-sided, position he drifts across the entirety of the pitch horizontally, meaning his full back is incredibly isolated. Johnson, whilst narrow, still plays a left-sided role, meaning that he is able to offer assistance to his full-back when attacking and defending. 

Both have their positives and negatives. Wes''s movement is far harder to deal with for opposing teams, who have to deal with a player who may start on the left but end up playing passing combinations with Whittaker and Redmond on the right, but means that attacks down the left are far harder to build, which can lead to a lack of balance and an inability to use the full-width of the pitch.

  

[Indy 3,307]

My wife likened Johnson to Snodders last year, works hard is better than most appreciate......very much raised an eyebrow as I thought a very good obsevation. He''s done a fantastic job this season out on the left.

[nutty nigel 7,555]

The thing about judging a player too much through his stats is that stats only rate a small part of performance. What gets overlooked is that football is a team game and the match lasts for 90 minutes. Yesterday was a great team performance and we had 58% possession. But even then Wolves 42% is a huge chunk of the game. We never see stats about how our players perform when they don''t have the ball. In that regard I think Bradders is a standout like Gary Holt was before him. When Bassong marauded forward down the inside left channel Johnson had a decision to make and he made a good one. It didn''t matter because we scored but it will matter over the course of 90 mins.

[? 20]

Jonno has been almost criminally underrated by the fans since he signed for us.If every player shared his attitude, we''d have never got relegated last season.Hopefully he gets the reward he deserves and wins POTS this year. He''s been head and shoulders our best player this season.That said, i personally think Tettey was the best player on the pitch yesterday, but couldn''t have argued with any of him, Jonno, or Grabban winning it.

[Ray 111]

Morty,

I agree and another thing many fail to fully appreciate is that some of BJ''s passes are exquisite, I can think immediately of two he made in the first 15 mins against Blackpool. If you are going to attempt the more audacious then by definition you are likely to fail more often.

I do think Tettey had a good game yesterday but it was BJ or Grabban for me as MOTM.

It''ll be interesting to see what happens when (I mean if) Dorrans signs this week. He''s a shoe in for left midfield and I wouldn''t mind betting BJ plays and Tettey drops to the bench or they both play and someone else drops to he bench!

[65Vintage 5]

I don''t know about not giving credibility to the match sponsors verdict on man of the match, but this seems quite conclusive!http://www.whoscored.com/Matches/830325/LiveSorry - don''t know how to post as a link you can just click and view! Can anyone help with that?

[chicken 0]

The pass completion stats are pathetic and can''t be used as a basis for any sort of argument either way - this has been proven time and time again. Especially in isolation.Before anyone should accept them they need to compare it to how many passes were attempted by said player, over how many games, the complexity (length) of the pass, the opposition, their role in the team and finally how many assists.I underated Tettey in the past but I will stand by what I have said before. He is a fantastic defensive midfielder in many ways in the Gary Holt mold. He''s good at wining the ball and has a fair amount of pace. However, when he has the ball at his feet he is often looking to give it simple and short to someone else to play the more complicated ball. That''s perfect. Either the manager or he has identified that should be the focus of his game, he may be a more than capable at more complex balls, but we don''t often see that from him.Johnson is more able, in my opinion, to pick a through ball, to switch play when needed or to ''probe'' with his passing selection. He is not necessarily the most able passer of the ball in our squad. But he has a physical presence and as others have said an ''enforcer'' style approach. He certainly mixes it up. As Morty says, every team needs one of those, someone prepared to take a yellow for the team, or to step up to the plate if needed physically.Both players have their merits, I''ve said before and I stand by it, I think Johnson has slightly more to his game than Tettey but they are both important to our team. For me though, O''Neil is probably our best all round midfielder in that he is equally comfortable tracking back and tackling as going forward and spreading the ball around well. He''s maybe not our best tackler, but his passing ability is greater than Tettey and Johnson.

[Cantiaci Canary 558]

Johnson is one of those players you tend to underestimate when he''s playing in your team and curse if he''s in the opposition line up.

A club like us needs a vibrant character like BJ on the pitch.

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

[quote user="Cantiaci Canary"]Johnson is one of those players you tend to underestimate when he''s playing in your team and curse if he''s in the opposition line up.

A club like us needs a vibrant character like BJ on the pitch.[/quote]

I would say that analogy is suited more to Hoolahan.

[morty 0]

Lol.

[Hoola Han Solo 448]

Bradley Johnson has had a decent season, you can''t deny it.

You know why, though?

He''s found his level.

[vos 155]

I assume it was Neil Adams who changed Bradley in to a left sided attacking player. He is now seen frequently in the box and has scored far more goals than in the past even compared with lower divisions. He is clearly our most improved player. He has always given 100% and can certainly mix it in midfield. I hope he maintains current form.

[ron obvious 1,514]

It became apparent to me a while ago that BJ is not really a DM; he''s an attacking midfielder with an eye for goal - but he is powerful, & he does like a tackle, which gives the erroneous impression that his best position is at DM.

Despite what Parma says, I rate Tettey as a much more disciplined player, &, at this level, a superb DM.

Therefore to drop Tettey in favour of BJ is completely wrong. They''re really completely different types of players & should be competing with different alternative players.

[Guest]

Brighton Yellow, would you take Johnson''s 9 goals out of the team this season then?

[Nexus_Canary 1,024]

and to think people were saying we should let him leave in the transfer window!!

[Canary Jedi 579]

1. Bradley J is a great midfielder - no denying it

2. Stats do not tell the whole story - agreed 100% he does a certain job for us which is hard to reflect in the stats

3. He does indeed have an eye for goal - unfortunately quite often he believes the goal is significantly higher or wider than where it is in reality!

So homework Mr Johnson, please improve on point 3 and you will be the complete midfielder :-)

[Tim Dawson 0]

I think i owe Bradley an apology having been a bit over critical of him this season, delighted to be proved wrong....

[morty 0]

[quote user="Tim Dawson"]I think i owe Bradley an apology having been a bit over critical of him this season, delighted to be proved wrong....[/quote]Well done, as there were plenty who gave him endless grief, and are probably keeping quiet now.

[Mr Jenkins 0]

I Lurrve Jonno.

There I''ve said it?😘

[Tim Dawson 0]

If im wrong Morty i will always hold my hand up, my lad loves Johnson always has, on the back of every shirt he owns too, as you said before all teams need a water carrier like Gary Holt, his value will only rise the way he is going, i hope he is with us for the long haul :)

[lake district canary 4,540]

[quote user="ron obvious"]It became apparent to me a while ago that BJ is not really a DM; he''s an attacking midfielder with an eye for goal - but he is powerful, & he does like a tackle, which gives the erroneous impression that his best position is at DM.

Despite what Parma says, I rate Tettey as a much more disciplined player, &, at this level, a superb DM.

Therefore to drop Tettey in favour of BJ is completely wrong. They''re really completely different types of players & should be competing with different alternative players.[/quote]

I agree Ron.  Tettey is the man for the DM role. I think Parma said Tettey didn''t have enough discipline for the role, but AM seems to get his players to do what they are supposed to do and if Tettey can have the necessary discipline needed for that role, then his natural speed and ability is well up to that task.  Johnson seems to have found a good role elsewhere in the team where he can express himself without getting caught out of position, which had been happening in the last regime.

[Mr Jenkins 0]

I credit NA and Phelan for this, Many others will undoubtedly find it impossible to credit them with anything.

[Mr Jenkins 0]

LDC"

" Johnson seems to have found a good role elsewhere in the team where he can express himself without getting caught out of position, which had been happening in the last regime."

Wow, wasn''t it the "last regime" that started playing him on left mid field?

[hogesar 9,711]

[quote user="morty"][quote user="Tim Dawson"]I think i owe Bradley an apology having been a bit over critical of him this season, delighted to be proved wrong....[/quote]Well done, as there were plenty who gave him endless grief, and are probably keeping quiet now.[/quote]

Yeah, it''s nice to see and as Tim said, if you were critical of him previously any NCFC fan should be pleased to see him doing so well.

People like Brighton (the gay reference was a little bit of a joke but I understand your ability to take part in humor is about the same as your ability to judge players ability) unfortunately always appear to struggle to praise a player they''ve previously criticised. It''s always "He played well but......he has this statistic against him ner ner ner". It''s a tad pathetic.

Big mention to Chicken''s post which details better than me just how useless that pass success rate statistic is. If i just passed to the player next to me every single time I got the ball i''d like to think i''d get a 100% pass success rate. If i tried long balls out to the wing - or balls over the top, or splitting through balls - I know some of them will fail.

Whilst I have already said you can''t compare Tettey to Johnson, what''s certainly true is you can''t use the pass success % to make a decision because the two of them have completely different disciplines and ranges of passing.

[hogesar 9,711]

[quote user="Mr Jenkins"]LDC"

" Johnson seems to have found a good role elsewhere in the team where he can express himself without getting caught out of position, which had been happening in the last regime."

Wow, wasn''t it the "last regime" that started playing him on left mid field?[/quote]

In fact, i''d say the only time Johnson could really be classed as being caught out of position more than any other midfielder was last season under Hughton and was mostly down to him being quite aggressive in his forward runs and more frequent too - and that was down to us having one of the most painfully static midfields and someone had to take the responsibility of doing something.

[nutty nigel 7,555]

You only notice a player out of position if a team mate isn''talive to the situation. I bet there''s a lot of players have benefited from BJ being alive to the ssituation.

And why is there so much Tettey OR Johnson on here. They are very different players who often compliment eachother.

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

[quote user="morty"][quote user="Tim Dawson"]I think i owe Bradley an apology having been a bit over critical of him this season, delighted to be proved wrong....[/quote]Well done, as there were plenty who gave him endless grief, and are probably keeping quiet now.[/quote]

Perhaps you can repeat the feat with regard to Hoolahan. Whilst BJ has had a great season, Wes had done far more, and at a higher level, for this club.

Makes me chuckle.