Does He Really Deserve Another Transfer Window?'

'Lee Johnson failings cost Bristol City vs Millwall - does he really deserve another transfer window?'
Robins fan Math Withers gives the view from the stands

I can’t help but be disappointed after we let a lead slip against an injury ravaged Millwall who were absolutely there for the taking.

After taking the lead Bristol City should have gone on to make the points safe and I blame Lee Johnson and his assistants for not making the substitutions earlier than they did and injecting some more pace into the side.

Callum O’Dowda and Marley Watkins were stripped off and ready on the side-lines for a good few minutes before the changes were made. We had Millwall pinned in the corner and should have made the changes when we were in the attacking third.

Instead we delayed and Millwall scored from the resulting play. Johnson wanted to make the changes but delayed them and it went on to cost us.

Okay, so the defending that led to the Millwall equaliser was poor but had the subs been made, perhaps O’Dowda or Watkins would have closed the ball down and not allowed the Lions defender to play the long diagonal that allowed the experienced stalwart Steve Morison to outmuscle Lloyd Kelly and knock the ball down for the on rushing Shaun Williams to volley in the goal.

Johnson said that Lloyd will learn from it but made no mention of Famara Diédhiou not busting a gut to stop the long diagonal or no mention of either Marlon Pack or Josh Brownhill picking following Williams run and no mention of Tomas Kalas or Adam Webster anticipating the knock down. It’s far easier to pick out the youngster.

Lloyd Kelly along With Niclas Eliasson were the two bright lights in an otherwise uninspiring home game.

Josh Brownhill was recalled after his one match ban following his sending off away at Leeds United last weekend which was always going to happen especially with Liam Walsh going off injured against Ipswich Town on Wednesday and now likely to be out for a number of weeks with knee ligament damage. Josh had a decent return.

There was no surprise to see Famara Diédhiou recalled to the starting line-up after a good second half showing and major contribution in the win at Portman Road.

Playing only one up front at home in Diédhiou was a talking point, I would prefer to see us play two up front but the quandary is which two to play? Matty Taylor is out injured, the inexperienced Mo Eisa is coming back from injury and Andreas Weimann is out of form. I actually think that LJ got the starting line up right.

Niclas Eliasson showed that he offers more of a threat when played wide left. There is no doubt that switching flanks during a game can give the opposition something different to think about but if a left footed player plays on the right he has to come inside and that slows the play down and is often easier to defend.

It was good to see Eliasson and also Lloyd Kelly go outside their man and whip crosses in and it was no coincidence that like Wednesday this led to the Bristol City goal.

Famara took a bit of stick from the stands again but he is the only real physical presence that we have up front and I would have kept him on. Once again today showed that the decision to release Milan Djuric and not replace him was a poor one.

I genuinely couldn’t see Millwall getting anything out of the game, they had offered very little and I honestly felt that if City moved the ball quicker and got it out wide we would score a second.

I’m still struggling to see the tempo that we had this time last year, of course Bobby Reid was a major reason why we played at the level we did but that doesn’t explain why we play the number of passes that we do across the back and why we don’t move it quicker.

At times today you had Marlon Pack, Josh Brownhill and Jamie Paterson all in our defensive third looking to pick the ball up from the defenders. Paterson who has been very good in the last two games needed to be closer to Famara, too often the Big Number 9 was left isolated.

In the post-match interview Lee Johnson said that we are building a new side for the third or fourth time since he has been here, well who is that down to?

It’s Johnson that has signed over 40 players. I am getting fed up of hearing that this is a new team, when will they no longer be a new team Lee?

Johnson was also asked about the January transfer window and said that “we’re looking for a nine and a half and somebody to get across the box and finish the chances. We need a spark - whether that comes from outside the club or maybe within.”

Crikey! If it’s someone within the club you have to ask why they aren’t in the side now.

The Bristol City head coach has said that if we need to trade we will trade and so I fully expect Lloyd Kelly to be sold. I just hope that when the New Year’s Eve bells have finished tolling, we have someone signing on the dotted line but I somehow doubt it.

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/lee-johnson-failings-cost-bristol-2287104

 

I think his latest buzz word is ' Trade', so we are not a selling club we have become a 'Trading' club in transfer windows under Mr Johnson.
https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/debrief-millwall-h/

 

What Johnson wants in January
We’re looking at that sort of creativity element of the nine and a half - the one who can do a bit of both, and you’re looking for someone to get across people in the box and finish chances.

Last year we had some good movement in the box with the two strikers. Today we played one or three depending on how you look at - strikers - but it shouldn’t change your attacking intent because it’s bodies in the box is the question, whether it’s a one or a two or a three - it depends how many bodies you’ve got in the box when a particular cross comes in.