Does He Really Deserve Another Transfer Window?'

Rp you are talking league one, how well did SC do in the Championship, I think he got the sack, how well did he do with Birmingham, I think he got the sack, Championship, different ball game pal.
How well is LJ doing, I would say just about holding his own, teams spend millions to get to the Premiership, and not all succeed, some big names fall by the wayside so as you know modern football is a tough tough business and spending millions don't always bring you what you want.
As we all know, in time Lj will be sacked, you and your your old mucker Wiz will be elated, sometimes reading your posts you both bore the ass of me, i'm hoping SL will give you both the ultimate Christmas present, then we can wait for your next batch of negative posts on the new manager,

 

I agree with you about SC, I'm not advocating SC at all, just the players we had then as opposed to now.

I'm pretty sure it won't be this Christmas that you,(judging by your recent comments), and I will get our wish.

Your posts invariably do my head in, not just the content but also grammatically.
Try not to use so many commas 'pal'.

 

YEP

 

Yeah and that season in the championship went well didn't it?

 

For some Al Johnson would be preferred tp LJ, just because who he is!!!

 

Is the team well coached, motivated and displaying a clear identity v money spent an answer is no.

Its a poor return for the resource put in.

 

To deny him funds would cut our nose of to spite our face.
‘Right, Lee - to punish you for your underachieving so far this season, I’m going to withhold your funding and watch you struggle - and join in with the critics, but not sack you.
The resultant basement battle followed by a drop to L1 should teach you a lesson....’

...... oh, but wait........!!!!

 

Sorry my posts do your head in 'pal' as regards my grammar I have never been the brightest spark and at 75 I never will be, by the way it's nice to know a man of your undoubted knowledge has the time to read my recent comments, I feel elated.

 

Most threads descend into an LJ debate - apart from the Brexit ones that end up being terminated.

The thing is, as with Brexit, the facts are not clear and there are so many different hypothesis which MIGHT have given/may give different outcomes.

The only true facts are the league table and the ledger books.
People could argue that the recent performances have been poor and from what I have seen I agree, but we have still picked up 4 points in 2 games (fact) but also 4 points in 6 games (also fact) and 7 points in 7 games and 10 points in 8. You could go on mixing and matching the stats to paint any picture you want, but for the REAL picture look at the league table.
For me, despite the recent poor performances, we are mid-table and that’s acceptable - not good - just acceptable. At some point we will have to ‘go for it’ and maybe that means changing the manager(?) or maybe LJ will find the magic formula that we almost found before Christmas last year? - before the much revered Reid, Flint, Magnusson and Bryan - among others, conspired to give us our powderpuff end to last season.
I will call for a change of manager when/if we enter the relegation zone - or start plummeting towards it.
For now either SL has to back Lee or sack him. There is no ‘middle’ way.

 

I believe that that is the most succinct evaluation of our present situation I've seen in a long while!!

People keep on talking about the money spent and the fact that other managers have not had the backing LJ has had, but these days, you either stump up what you can afford or you might as well say "Good night Irene" - pun intended by the way!!

No matter what the doubters say, we are still competitive in an extremely strong league, but I sometimes think that LJ is as inconsistent as the team . From a managerial point of view he sometimes gets it spot on, but far too often he seems to tinker un-necessarily when things are starting to go right. I sure someone recently said that he "overthinks" things and tries to be clever; that may be down to relative inexperience, but I would like to think that, by now, he would be able to see the wood for the trees!

 

How do you know if the team is not well coached or motivated?

 

The one thing I will say about LJ is that we are now a fairly well established 2nd division team, although if results go with form and expectations over the next few games we could be dallying with a relegation scrap, and that could be dangerous.

I just don't believe he has the ability to take us up the few notches needed to be challenging for a top 6 position or better.

 

A view informed by inconsistent performance level, and Mr Johnsons own words regarding over complication, character and confidence.

Bristol City's football this season has various ways of playing x player changes. This flies in the face of normal means of non episodic long term coaching and feeding players confidence.

 

Are you saying a team in form are well coached and motivated but a team out of form are not?

 

No. Its conceivable that a well coached and motivated team could be out of form if the context is merely viewed by points amassed.

A team that believes (motivated) in a strong tactical identity is more likely to progress, and succeed. Bristol City do not have a strong tactical identity. That is a coaching issue. For all the resource dedicated to Mr Johnsons team it is disappointing.​

 

Does that also relate to all teams outside the top 4?
Unless you have the unlimited resources required for players to have a strong tactical identity then you have to make do with what you've got. You like the high pressing game and maybe so does LJ...but you need quality players throughout to make it work...Academy is key for this, so long as you don't sell your best players to achieve it.............I have said this before!!!

 

Is there a handy source for this £50m spend that's being bandied about? I guess the undisclosed fees makes things tricky. It sounds a lot, but can someone cite how does it stacks up to the rest of the league? I would be genuinely very interested to see how our spend compared.

At the end of last season, I was of the mind-set that failing to at least mount a strong challenge for the playoffs this season should be considered a failure, but amended that a bit on the back of what was the essentially forced sales of Flint, Bryan and Reid (how much are we missing Reid in particular this season by the way?!).

This season isn't dead yet though - there's still the possibility we could go on a run and gate-crash the playoffs, in which case this current slump would largely be forgotten (I know, it's a 'if my auntie had balls' situation). A quality striker in January could possibly be a catalyst. Of course, last year we took a punt on Diony which turned out a failure, but in a case of 'all or nothing', it was an understandable gamble.

I know people are frustrated because, as supporters, we're starving for success and calling for changes seems more proactive than sticking it out, but it's not necessarily conducive to it. There's a valid argument that LJ has resources unlike any City manager before him, even taking into account the resources of our League rivals, but then, what managers before him have done better over a sustained period? It's hardly like City has a history of knocking on the door of the Premiership.

To use an exaggerated example, if I were a Rochdale fan, would I be within my right to complain every so often that if my club was run properly that it would be a Premiership club? What about Yeovil? Or Weston-Super-Mare? The point I'm making is: when is expectation and/or ambition appropriate and when does it become unrealistic? I think we all agree that City does have justifiable ambition to reach the Premiership at some point, but I also don't think we're currently falling so far short to say we're fundamentally failing to match our expectations, however dour that may sound.

I do understand those that are questioning whether LJ is the man that maximises our chances to get promoted, as that was a concern of mine from as far back as when he was appointed, but it's purely speculative who would do, and I'm talking beyond the question of 'who else could we get in'. It seems to me as though managers of all sorts of backgrounds have won promotion, both domestic and foreign manager, some with lots of experience and some with none, be it in this country or much at all. Some that have won it have then tumbled down the league – I’m thinking in particular of our old friend Phil Brown and Aidy Boothroyd, though the latter has gained back some credit by being in charge of the U21s. Even someone like Neil Warnock, renowned for his promotions, has his share of failures, perhaps no more so than his time with Leeds, though they were something of a basket case club at the time.

I must admit that the prospect of appointing someone like Slavisa Jokanovic is appealing on the back of his promotions with Watford and Fulham, but perhaps his ability is overstated by achieving those successes when the sides were quite well-fancied and he failed with them both in the Premiership as they went from big fish to smaller ones and the skill-set required changed.

Sorry, this turned waffle-y – I’m just spewing some of my thoughts out there.

 

Does that also relate to all teams outside the top 4? Yes. A strong tactical identity can be formed at any club regardless of wealth. It can be looked upon as more important for clubs with limited resources.

In regards to pressing if you want that as a principle of then football you the develop/purchase players with high defensive tactical intensity across the pitch. Maybe so .. Mr Johnson does not want this in his football because he has purchased players who don't have the athleticism to do so and uses patterns of play that make high lines and pressing problematic to ineffectual. This principle does not require unlimited wealth, it is a case of identifying what are the teams key needs and qualities for the long term.

Bristol City have a transfer strategy and emphasis on the academy. A modern approach is also to have a transfer strategy and philosophy linking this to the academy and the first team via a model of play, system of system, strong tactical identity = The project Mr Johnson mentions and at previous clubs has articulated a framework of how the XI will play, develop and recruit.

 

Whilst there are undoubted merits in having a style/philosophy, there's also the need to avoid being too predictable/not being able to adapt to different teams/challenges. I think we tend to play a technical, short passing game, but when stymied becomes ineffectual with too much sideways passing, then sometimes we resort to pretty bland long-ball to a target man (i.e. Diedhiou).