Feature: Is Lee Johnson the right man to take Bristol City forward? Bristol City and Lee Johnson are currently sat in seventh place in the Championship table, but that doesn’t tell the full story of what has been a turbulent campaign. The Robins are consistently inconsistent and one minute, they can be flying and then the next, they can lose four or five in a row, hence the nickname given to the manager, ‘Streaky Johnson’. It’s a conundrum that needs to be sorted out if they’re ever going to make it to the Premier League, let alone the top six in the Championship table. Last season, Bristol City came eighth in the Championship and missed out on a spot in the top six, but the Robins are now on a run of just one win in their last six matches which is halting their chances of finishing in the play-offs, saying this, they are still just two points behind Preston North End, who have themselves been on a poor run of form. Is Johnson the right man going forward, not just now but for the next couple of years? This is the key question. Plenty of Bristol City fans have aired their displeasure in the manager on social media despite sitting in seventh place in the Championship table, and there seems to be an overall frustration at some of the performances and matches that have occurred in the last few months. The job of getting into the Premier League is one of the toughest in the business and it takes consistency to get there, it’s Johnson’s ongoing tactical naivety that has meant Bristol City haven’t been able to take the game to some of the sides they may have expected three points from. The trip to Huddersfield Town was the perfect example of a side that looked as though they could walk up to the game and come away with something, instead, the Robins were dominated throughout the 90 minutes, and were lucky to only come away with 2-1 defeat. In December, Bristol City lost four games in a row, before backing that run up with five wins out of six heading into January. The frustration that these streaks start to cause around the club cannot be under-estimated and there is an underlying feeling that the squad is still under-achieving, especially after bringing in striker Nahki Wells in the January transfer window. If the Robins don’t make the top six this season then Johnson’s job has to be on the line and a new man should be lined if Bristol City have intentions of making it to the top division in the coming years. It’s a serious dilemma, and one that has valid points from both sides of the argument, a key point raised though is how much the manager is actually building at the club as there doesn’t appear to be a long-term increase in performance, and more the odd short-time spikes. At just 38-years-old, there is also still a lot of time for Johnson to show an improvement in the future and build in order to be at the club for the long-haul and having signed a contract until 2023 there are other implications involved if he was to be sacked by Bristol City. The next and final months of the season will have big implications on Johnson’s future at Bristol City, if they fail to make the top six then there could well be a new man at the helm come the start of the 2020/21 campaign. If they don’t find an end to the winless run that they’re currently on, then it could be even sooner, but one thing is for sure and that’s Johnson and his job at Bristol City is under pressure, despite him being at the club for over four years. https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/feature-is-lee-johnson-the-right-man-to-take-bristol-city-forward/
That is somthing I've just learned , LJ has signed a contract until 2023, like him or not that means we are stuck with him for a further 3 glorious years, looks like my chances of seeing Premier league football at the gate are growing very thin. SL could run out of patience but highly unlikely.
I feel sorry for the writers of football league world so little interesting news... a comment made this am was " I wonder if RP is their ghost writer!"
The problem LJ has he try's to build a team has his best players each season sold on for a profit, seems only to bring young players in so the process starts all over again, we will never know how good he could be because of that situation, he has a contract till 2023 that doesn't stop him from getting the sack, if he's not left alone to build a side without selling our best players we will never know if he's capable of taking us to the next level, just my opinion.
Frustrating though it has been so far this season...we are in a decent position in the league, no relegation worries all season and holding our own in a challenging league....apart from the top 2 (and not always) no team have found it easy from one game to the next......every week there's a surprise.. I believe that SL as well as anyone would know if LJ's the right man to take us forward and unless he has anyone better in mind ready to fill LJ's shoes then IMO we stick with and by him...
Not the first time Junior has had his contract extended. SL/GJ gave Junior a 3 year extension 2 months before GJ left. Make of that what you will. Junior hardly kicked a ball for City after his father went. Should the end come in the summer for our Junior, which won't happen, he will be quids in. Strange hold the Johnsons have on Lansdown.
All teams of our size have the same issues and he's certainly been well indulged financially by the owner compared to a lot of teams. If you're an ex Premiership team with Parachute payments you can sometimes buy your way back up quite quickly, or if you're a Leeds getting close to 40,000 people for a home game then FFP will allow you to pay more in transfers and wages, and to keep your best players. It's the Managers that can take a bunch of cheap misfits with the right attitude and make them into a promotion or trophy winning team that's the Holy Grail. Brian Clough (and Peter Taylor) at Forest being the shining example
Try as hard as I might it is marriage for me that was always going to be on shaky ground. I think the credentials he brought to the table were questionable at best and currently I seriously believe the players could be of the same opinion and have little respect for him as their mentor. If that is what floats your boat then carry on with Lee at the helm and find out where he will take you but sadly I think we are already there
absolutely agree , WE are top third of the table [ 8 positions ] have a much better squad, financially more stable, taken the next stage up [ paying a bit more a week ] and consolidating a squad to maintain all we have achieved in the past 4 years. Why do "I agree with you?" then the answer is in ..... but sadly I think we are already there
Is LJ the right man? For what? LJ is a safe bet to keep us in the top half of the Championship and maybe, one day, challenge for the playoffs. For a quick promotion, no
what we do not know is the internal philosophy of the management / owners etc regarding actually building a team ….should we go up with what we have then is it good enough for the prem? …. I think NO … we would need to buy about 6 players and likely spend about £60m ...........wages would go up by 20 - 30% .. and those bought in may be on higher still
