Deary me, I'm judging him from his time at the football club. Calling him a grafter because he ran around a lot for the 5 games in 4 years (exaggerating, I know) that he managed to play is ridiculous.
Bit petulant and I thought you wouldn't be replying to QPR fans. That quote suggests he was made an offer by Fulham. It doesn't at all suggest he demanded a pay rise.
Why? If he played 10, 20, 50 or 100 games over four seasons and put the effort in then that's exactly what he is. Park, for example, played irregularly for United but you wouldn't say he wasn't a grafter.
No, but Park wasn't constantly injured, he put a shift in when he was called upon. We couldn't call upon AJ most of the time because he was injured. Is it really so difficult to understand? I appreciate he's your player now and you think the world of him, but don't expect us to look at him and his failings with rose-tinted specs.
I don't think the world of him at all and I don't expect you to think any more of him than what he is/was- an injury prone player that put a lot of effort in when he played. Is that really so difficult to understand?
But that wasn't the original point, was it? You said "he always put in a shift" when he didn't because he was always injured! You with me now? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, as they say.
You insulted me personally, hard to ignore something like that. The quote from him suggests he was looking for a big last contract, given that he had recently scored a hat-trick, I would presume, as would others that he was looking for an increase.
Sorry to interrupt guys but I have a horrible confession to make - I was watching the Spurs game at the weekend and when Dempsey came on my first thought was "hope he gets injured". Awful, awful, awful and I immediately recanted (well almost immediately). I was so wrong - nobody should wish that of a player. We can wish him to have a mare (like BZ did) but not that. As for AJ, he's gone, "Let it Be"
So unless the guy plays every game it's wrong to say he always puts in a shift? It clearly implies that whenever he plays, he tries very hard and you're simply being pedantic.
If you took anything in that as a personal insult then you are easily insulted. I really think you are trying to find fault with Johnson where there is none. It seems improbable that someone would use a hat-trick from several months prior, in a season where they otherwise did very little, as leverage to get an improved contract at the age of 31 and there's really nothing in any of what you've put to suggest he was demanding an improved deal. A good deal, of course, but for a bloke earning £2m or so a year that hardly implies wanting more.
I think you make an excellent point, Watford_R. I had a bit of a double take when I saw some of my friends on here saying they were glad someone else got a serious injury. I agree with your take on AJ - injuries aren't his fault, and when he was picked he always gave 100%. Bandit has a valid argument about his attitude last season (I don't necessarily agree with it all, but it's a valid point of view), but I don't see how anyone can justify being glad about anyone getting a serious injury. I was going to keep out of that one, but seeing the hostility that your post stirred up, thought I should add my voice on your side.
Have to say I agree with Watford too. AJ was injury prone and did miss a lot of games for us but when he was on the pitch he was a grafter and always gave 100%. I don’t think you can say he wasn’t a grafter based on his appearances. I don’t think he said anything wrong over the summer either… He didn’t slag the club off he simply said he thought he warranted a place and that he didn’t see eye to eye with Big Maart. The club offered him a new contract and he asked for more money... I think most of us would agree he wasn’t worth it but I think any of us in his position would have probably done the same. Whenever you get offered a job, or a new contract if you’re a contractor, you always try to get the best deal for you and your family I don’t think you can blame him for that. To say your happy he has done his cruciate is harsh…it’s a horrid injury to have and at his age there is a fair chance he won’t come back from it.
It seemed improbable to us too, which is why you will find a lot of us don't like AJ. He wasn't banging on about wanting an extension when he was on the physio table, because he knew he was lucky to still have a club to stick by him. As the article says, AJ was in the best form of his life with 8 goals in 8 games (forgetting the fact that most of those were against tin-pot teams) and as soon as he got a few goals he got too big for his boots and wanted more money, despite the fact we had severely lost out on his transfer in regards to the fee and inflated wages. You can say that the transfer fee was not his fault and I agree, but the inflated wages certainly were. The only way his wages should have been going after spending all that time out injured is down, not up.
The biggest problem we had with AJ being injured a lot, was we also had other forwards injured, like Zamora, and had very few alternatives, so had to put Dempsey in as a Forward when he was better as an attacking midfielder.
The point is that for less than AJ's weekly wages we have signed Berba!! Enough said on this matter. Wish him a speedy recovery though!
Agreed. I was never anti-AJ simply because he made the effort. Somehow he was just not as effective as he should have been. He has been prone to injuries, and I still wish him a speedy recovery.
Can't believe that some of my fellow 606ers are glad that a player has pickedup a serious injury. Trying to find words to express my disappointment with the comments. From my own perspective AJ always ran his socks off for the team and gave 100%, when he played, albeit not often. I seem to remember everyone saying this too as it was all about the team. This 'you've disrespected my club so I hope you get a career threatening injury' point is all wrong and not fulhamish guys. IMO.
I'm with you Craving'. I hope to God in my job I'm not held to the standard of perfection to which some members of this board have held AJ. Apparently giving his all on the pitch was not enough; he also had to be injury free and publically disembowel himself upon leaving the club. And for those who complained about his transfer fee or the salary Fulham offered to paid, isn't that the fault of Fulham's management?
I know if I was off sick from work for the length of time AJ was I certainly wouldn't be looked upon fondly as a grafter. And I also never said I wanted AJ to get injured or that it pleased me - I did turn a wry smile when I heard he'd been injured again, karma has it's way and all that. But I still stand by what I say. If you guys think he's a Fulham legend because he ran around a lot, that's fine. But I'll remember him always being injured and then badmouthing the club after he left.
But there's a world of difference between being off work sick and being injured in the process of doing your job. Injury is an occupational hazard of professional sportsmen and women. The tools of their trade are their bodies; they hone them to a peak and as a result of operating at the edge of fitness, they are more likely to get injured than the average person. And even if we just think about non-footballing maladies, do Villa fans complain that Petric is a shirker because he contracted Leukemia? Of course not. I think it's a poor argument, to be honest, Bidley. You're not comparing like for like. You can judge a players work rate on what they do on the pitch and what they do in training. If he isn't bothered about getting fit, that's different, but nobody has suggested that's the case with AJ. And who mentioned him being a Fulham legend? Clearly he isn't, but he deserves a bit better than he got from some of us, and he deserves better than he's getting now.
