Yes i think your right BJ, seems to have lost his enthusiasm for the game. Did put on Northampton forum that i thought he would do a good job for them, how wrong was i.
GJ has moved on from us but he did a lot to restore us to the Championship for which I thank him,so I personally wish him all of the best but god I'm happy we've got Delboy....
To right Wiz, he did more than get us to the Championship, he kept us there, until everything went tits up, don't think he has recovered from losing his job here, don't think he ever will.
'GJ has moved on from us but he did a lot to restore us to the Championship for which I thank him' And me. His early times with us were fantastic and it was great seeing him on Sky as a pundit representing BCFC. Although I was probably the earliest and maybe loudest critic of GJ during his Championship days with us I'm not daft enough to know that all at BCFC owe a big 'thank you' to GJ.
I think its sad to see him on such a downer lately, I still occasionally laughed at his jokes even come the end! Yeovil are struggling big time. Maybe they could reignite each other.
Spot on Redprintt......did a great job for us......I still maintain, his downfall was signing Adebola, which changed our style from good football to kick and hoof.... I can only wish him the best of luck and will always have my appriciation for what he did for the club....
Also agree, especially re Dele - despite the end, I will always remain grateful for GJ dragging the club, kicking and screaming out of League 1. I find it mildly ironic that GJ has left the very same club where our revival began when we were bottom of the table and live on Sky (I was there in the middle of the screen in the closing credits, still got on DVD). This was the game when Bradley and Lewis had the "disagreement" and Brads got set off and we saw him watching forlornly from the stand. Luckily for him, Dave Cotterill saved his bacon that night turning in a MOM performance causing Wigan to sign him for £2m immediately after. This was the start for us and GJ and we all know wher it ended 2 years later... I listened to the interview with him on 5 Live tonight in which he referred to "the natives getting restless" (sounds familiar) and that he had a conversation with the chairman when he felt that he hadn't had enough time however they agreed it was time for a fresh face despite the fact that he saved them from going out of the league last year. The trouble was that he really didn't have a lot to work with. I hope he does go back to Yeovil and revives their fortunes along side Skivo
A shame we enjoyed unparalleled media exposure under GJ but he did lose his way towards the end. It seems his career has been in a nose dive ever since he left us. Wonder if the Conference beckons now ? Very few of these L1 and L2 clubs like Northampton have funds to improve their playing squads so it's always going to be down to man management and a strong personality to help get results. Maybe he's just lost his appetite for football..?
He took City as far as he could for which i will always be grateful, but would i want him back? no chance!! will yeovil want him back? Doubtful lets not forget the dreesing room issues GJ created with his almost bullying tactics to certain players, so man managment has never been his strong point. Where will Gary go next to be honest i really coudlent care. In my opinion Gary stayed 1 season too long and contributred to the mess cop out and millen inherited, only now we are starting to see a manager play to the players strengths, a manager who appears tactically aware (something i dont think we could ever call GJ) and a manager that has the passion and determination to succeed both on a personal level but also for Bristol City. So Gary thanks for the memories but your place at Bristol City is in the record books not in my heart!
TBH he did nothing wrong at Peterborough, Northampton no offence is a non mover, he wouldn't of been able to anything with them, i think he needs to go to a mid table league 1 side like oldham, colchester etc... somewhere he can build a good side, Northampton was just a bit to much
1For - 'his downfall was signing Adebola' Prem - 'Also agree, especially re Dele' Funny how we remember that 1st year back in the Championship. I don't agree with the above. As I remember it was Byfield and Trundle who played early days, we started well but lost 3 on the bounce in the November. GJ's reaction was to play big Enoch and we went on another decent run starting at Watford where we won 2-1. Think it was 2 months or so later GJ brought in Dele who was just a much better version of Enoch so I don't think you can blame it on Dele. To be fair to GJ, Trundle disappointed and to GJ's credit changed it quickly after the 3 losses. And don't forget the umpteen times during his L1 tenure where GJ would revert to throwing on Giants for the last 10 minutes and flood their box. Was at Forest that year and he even played McCombe up top in the 2nd half. What I'm trying to say is that one of GJ's favourite ploys was to play 'biguns' during his entire stay with us and unfair to blame it on Dele. ps I haven't even mentioned the likes of McCammon, Agyemang, Baz etc etc
Arguably the only good striker he signed was Maynard - and he was 3rd choice behind Metab and the Maltese bloke from Cov Still GJ got us up to the Championship and I will always hold him in high esteem.
I wouldn't say we were a hoofball side under GJ until just before he left. We had a reputation for having a mean defence and playing an attractive passing game in our playoff final year. I also don't agree that GJ lacked man-management skills - one of his strengths was getting mediocre players to play above themselves. It was the big-name charlies he couldn't handle - maybe that's why trunds underperformed. Without wishing to start an old war I think a lot of GJs problems came about because people didn't like his son being in the side. Some of the comments aimed at Lee must have hurt and angered him and probably affected his decisions. When a son is present in a father's side it always causes discomfort and suspicion - I think that got on top of him. Good luck Gary - I'll never forget 'Johnson says bounce around the train' on our way to Wembley - I thought it would come off the rails and the Hull fans thought we were bonkers!
