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LJ - The Full Transcript, Ahead of Bees Trip.

Discussion in 'Bristol City' started by wizered, Oct 17, 2018.

  1. wizered

    wizered Ol' Mucker
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    The full transcript on Bristol City goalkeeper crisis, Lloyd Kelly with England and possible signing
    Every word from head coach Lee Johnson ahead of Bees trip

    Bristol City have major injury problems as they prepare to face Brentford on Saturday.

    Head coach Lee Johnson used his pre-match press conference to announce that academy graduate Max O'Leary would be given a start against the Bees at the weekend.

    That's because Niki Maenpaa is out for 4-5 weeks with an adductor strain while Frank Fielding has viral meningitis.

    Here's every word the Bristol City boss said as he spoke to the assorted media.

    What's the injury news for this weekend and how is Callum O'Dowda looking?

    How long have you got? It’s been a tough little spell for us injury wise.

    We’ve got some good players out and that does get frustrating as you try and build a team at the start of the summer and you pick what you think is your best team and unfortunately like most Championship clubs a lot of us have got quite lengthy injury lists.

    It's not ideal. It’s a byproduct of the intensity of the games. And then you've got international games off the back of that.

    But to answer your question on Callum: he is better, which is good. He has to go through the fit and proper assessments for concussion - and rightly so because that's important - but the signs are good so far. He does feel better and he has passed one of the tests in front of the doctor today.

    We’ll assess him tomorrow - how he runs, how he feels and how he reacts from that - with a view to him training on Friday.

    Is there a mandatory time out for concussion?

    Yes. You have to pass certain tests. Physically, psychologically and with the eye in front of the doctor and only then must it be a period.

    If indeed it has been a concussion, because sometimes it might not be as bad as concussion. It might be a bruise that turns into a headache, or a sickness bug or somebody's feeling a bit dizzy.

    Yes, there's a real strict return to play policy on concussion.

    How are your goalkeepers?

    Depending on how you look at it, we haven't had much luck or it's a great opportunity for one of our academy products to play.

    Max [O'Leary] will start at the weekend. Niki is out and is going to be out for 4-5 weeks with an adductor strain.

    Frankie Fielding has unfortunately got viral meningitis and has been in hospital for the last three or four days having just got back home yesterday and is feeling quite rough and in a bad way.

    Luckily it wasn't bacterial meningitis but it was viral meningitis so we don't know with that one.

    But we should celebrate that another academy player is going to have their league debut. He's an excellent poster boy for the academy and his personality and how he trains.

    Everybody deserves the opportunity and a chance and he'll get that this weekend.

    We can sign an emergency goalkeeper because the rules state that if you haven’t played five or more league starts then you’re not deemed a professional so therefore it is a possibility for us to do that.

    And we may do that to fill the bench, but at this point in time let’s celebrate the fact that we've got another academy product that we feel has a big future is getting a chance.

    Just to clarify: you are considering bringing another player in?
    We have to consider that option. Max could get injured. You have to apply for an emergency loan and you have to prove that you haven't got fit goalkeepers that haven't played more than five games and it’s something where we wouldn’t be doing the right thing if we didn’t explore it.

    Obviously it's not always easy to get one in.

    It can’t be someone from the Premier League - it has to be someone from the Championship, League One or League Two or someone out of contract. That's where we're at.

    And Max played on Tuesday night against Crystal Palace U23s... Did you watch that?
    Yes, I did. I was here. Max played, Hegeler played, Watkins played and Walshy played. It was a good game. Max played very well but he needed a game anyway.

    Originally Frankie was down to play in that one but with Frankie attracting the meningitis it wasn't ideal, but it was good although we had the risk of Max getting injured.

    But he needed the match sharpness and anyway he came through it fine and that will serve his confidence well going into the Brentford game.

    And it was a chance to watch Freddie Hinds and Shawn McCoulsky?
    Yeah, it was the time to pull a couple back. Shawn hasn't played as many games as we would have liked, Freddie's hardly played any games due to an injury and then not getting back into the squad.

    Cam Pring came back to have a few minutes as well. Harvey came back, James Morton so that's one thing we do ask the loan clubs: if they're not getting the minutes that we can utilise that and play them in the U23s if we need to.

    Joe Morrell and Connor Evans scored in midweek. Are they - and Liam Walsh - in your thinking for playing in the middle for Bristol City this season?
    At the moment, honestly: Pack and Brownhill are my number one pairing, obviously Korey is out and Walshy is knocking on the door.

    He's suited to a three - so if we did change to a three or did decide to play a 3-5-2 like we did in the last game without a '10' then Walshy is the next one in.

    But behind him Connor is obviously out getting football at Torquay though there's a recall on him after the 28 days and Joe Morrell is regularly training with the first-team squad and I could happily trust him if I needed to sling him in.

    How about the last two weeks for Lloyd Kelly?
    First and foremost, I'm very proud of him and the nurturing the club has offered Lloyd over the last years. It reflects well on everybody.

    They think that Lloyd's fit to be captain, it's a massive honour, the manager of the U20s believes that he will go into the seniors and add value, it's brilliant for him on a personal level to give him that gravitas or boost, and it's now my job to give him that shot of anxiety or confidence depending on if I see complacency or him believe in his own hype and he steps over that line.

    Today was a good example: he came back to Bristol City and everybody was pleased to see him but he had a snood on and it was about 15 degrees.

    And I said you're captain of England, with Three Lions on your shirt and an absolute warrior and you're jogging down to training with a snood on!

    And that's just my way of saying 'we love you' and 'well done' but 'stay on it' because football can knock you down very quickly.

    Were you surprised like us that Jay Dasilva was called up out of the pair of him and Lloyd for the England U21s?

    Not really, no. Jay's been in the system a lot longer than Lloyd. Lloyd's played every game at centre-back for England but it was a left-back that they needed and Jay had played every game for the U20s so it was a natural progression.

    Jay has played with a lot of those players across the years.

    We see Lloyd Kelly as a left-back because he's played so many games here but England use him as a centre-half. I think that Lloyd will end up as a centre-half at Championship or Premier League level as he grows and as he gets older and as he matures and gets physically stronger.

    But at the moment he does an amazing job in both positions and with what we've got it's good to give us that extra bit of height sometimes and athleticism at left-back.

    Do you know much about Thomas Frank, the new Brentford coach?
    I know that he's been integrated into the system. I know that he's part of the furniture and a key part.

    And he'll have brought key ideas to the party that Dean Smith will have used, which have helped to get Brentford the plaudits and naturally he'll want to articulate his own artistic licence into the group but I'm sure that he'll continue to do a lot of the good work that his predecessor created under him and when he was working for him.

    We know what they're about. Yes, there might be a couple of surprises but we respect Brentford, it'll be a good test but we also believe that if we get the win then we go above them in the league table and that's what we'll be striving to do.

    We'll do everything we can to go there and get a win buoyed by a couple of thousand fans going and it'll be a great atmosphere on the day.

    I'm looking forward to seeing my players be bright and enthusiastic in what I think will be a good football game.

    Did that appointment surprise you at all?

    No. I think it was a stonewall banker given the ethos of the football club.

    https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport...ll-transcript-bristol-city-goalkeeper-2120421
     
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  2. wizered

    wizered Ol' Mucker
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    Niki Maenpaa is out for 4-5 weeks with an adductor strain while Frank Fielding has viral meningitis, Max O'Leary is a good young replacement but what cover have we got if he is injured?

    Don't worry LJ has got it covered - ' It can’t be someone from the Premier League - it has to be someone from the Championship, League One or League Two or someone out of contract. That's where we're at.'
     
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    Last edited: Oct 18, 2018
  3. NickH

    NickH Well-Known Member

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    What's the alternative?
     
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  4. wizered

    wizered Ol' Mucker
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    That is a good question.
     
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  5. NickH

    NickH Well-Known Member

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    What I mean is, would it have been more prudent for us to have another senior goalkeeper on the books, so in a couple of months time we have three men vying for one spot, all collecting their wages? To me, it seems the club is doing the sensible thing in looking for an emergency option if it comes to it.
     
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    Reliant Robin TC2 and AshtonRed like this.
  6. bcfcredandwhite

    bcfcredandwhite Well-Known Member

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    ‘It can’t be from the premier league....’

    Is that FA rules, or our wage cap?
     
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