Every January signing made by Lee Johnson at Bristol City rated - were these hits or misses? We run the rule over the Robins boss' previous mid-season signings With another crucial January transfer window approaching for Bristol City, Lee Johnson faces another series of sleepless nights and long phone calls as he looks to bolster his play-off chasing squad. This coming January widow will be his fourth in charge of the Robins, with the boss having already made 10 mid-season acquisitions in his time at Ashton Gate. Lee Johnson squads are fluid and evolve quickly, with players coming and going regularly if Johnson doesn’t think they've made the cut - he’s not afraid to make the big decisions. Growth and progression at City have been undeniable in Johnson's tenure, turning the Championship strugglers that he took over in February 2016 into regular top half challengers, but he has come under fire from fans in previous January windows due to some hit and miss signings. Whilst it’s not as simple as a manager just picking and choosing the players he wants to bring into his squad, especially not in the January window when clubs are reluctant to sell and negotiated fees are inflated in equal measure, we assess Johnson’s performance in his three winter windows. 2017 Despite Tammy Abraham & co driving the Robins to a good start in the 2016/17 season, sitting pretty in sixth place by matchday 15, a ghastly run of results saw them slip to 18th position by the end of matchday 25 on January 2. please log in to view this image Milan Djuric of Bristol City looks on. Six-foot-six centre-forward Milan Djuric arrived from Italian Serie B side Cesena on the 4 th January for a relatively large sum with a real sense of intrigue, at 26 years old he had the potential to front the City line for several years. He scored his first goal for the club in a win over Rotherham exactly a month later but hernia surgery in March ruled him out for the rest of the season, and the injury problems persisted throughout his 18-month City career. Despite capturing some City fans hearts and cutting himself a popular figure, the Bosnia-Herzegovinian eventually left and returned to Italy in August 2018, after scoring five Championship goals in 27 appearances. Matty Taylor – £300k - HIT please log in to view this image Matty Taylor in action against Leeds United You didn’t forget about this one, did you? Matty Taylor’s switch across the Bristol divide was announced on transfer deadline day and, obviously, caused a lot of controversy. Taylor was prolific with the Gas in all three divisions he played with them and was a popular announcement with City fans - he was even paraded on the pitch at half-time during City’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest. It’s not for lack of effort but it hasn’t quite worked so far for the forward at City, he’s now currently plying his trade out on loan at hometown club Oxford United, where he has netted six in ten in League One, he could return in January but his long-term future is shrouded with doubt. His City figures pale in comparison to the rest of his career, netting just seven in 67 Championship appearances (although, mostly as sub) - he did assist that Korey Smith winner against Manchester United though, so for £300k it was still a bargain. Jens Hegeler - £270k - MISS please log in to view this image Peter Crouch of Stoke City is challenged by Jens Hegeler of Bristol City It’s not often a man with Champions League goal-scoring experience comes through the doors at Ashton Gate, but that’s exactly what Jens Hegeler brought with him, amongst a wealth of Bundesliga appearances. Joining on the same day as Djuric, he went on to make 12 league appearances that season and looked a decent addition to the stretched central midfield. He scored his only goal for City in a 5-0 EFL Cup win over Plymouth in August but only made seven total appearances that term in an injury-stricken spell, before leaving by mutual consent in December to “concentrate on his football analytics business”. Fabian Giefer – Loan – MISS please log in to view this image This is one you probably did forget about, Fabian Giefer arrived on loan from German giants Schalke marking his first move to a non-German club, replacing ‘keeper Richard O’Donnell who returned to Rotherham a couple days before. He went straight into the first team for the first nine games but then an eye injury ruled him out and subsequently Frank Fielding retook the starting jersey, benching Giefer until the final game of the season where he did feature in a 1-0 loss to Birmingham. Giefer returned to his parent club after an unoffensive but unremarkable spell in England, and he hasn’t dared venture to a club outside of his home country since. Bailey Wright – Undisclosed – HIT please log in to view this image Current club captain and Socceroo Bailey Wright joined from Championship rivals Preston North End at 24-years-old on January 6 th , for an undisclosed fee. Wright has come under fire from City fans and received his fair share of stick but having been deployed both through the middle in a back three, and as a centre-half and right back in back fours as Johnson tinkers with his defence, he has proven himself a more-than-useful asset. As seems to be a common theme with these signings, his City career has been blighted with injuries as he makes less and less appearances each season, but his dressing room leadership and experience is essential. He featured in the 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest on Saturday, although his current contract expires at the end of this season and his long-term future remains unknown. David Cotterill – Loan – HIT please log in to view this image Cardiff-born David Cotterill began his career at City and was the 2004/05 Young player of the season before he moved to Premier League Wigan for £2m. The right-midfielder returned on loan from Birmingham City over 10 years later to provide a bit more set-piece quality and made 13 Championship appearances, scoring twice in the process. The City squad was large at the time so opportunities for a further deal were limited, but his loan stay helped fulfil the goal of remaining in the division and he subsequently returned to his parent club. 2018 The scenario for the 2018 January window was a world apart from what was going on 12 months ago – City were infamously second on Boxing Day and had an EFL Cup Semi-Final against Man City to look forward to. This window wasn’t about stopping a slide down the table, but re-loading and re-fuelling for a push up it to secure automatic promotion to the top-flight. City fans will be all too familiar with what happened next though, as City slumped to an 11th-placed finish in the Championship, missing out on a play-off battle altogether. Lois Diony – Loan – MISS please log in to view this image Arriving after a barren spell in St. Étienne, the French striker arrived at BS3 with both extravagant hair and bags of promise, joining on loan towards the end of the window with an option to make a permanent deal for a reported £10m. However, he flopped massively, and his goal-scoring fortunes didn’t change as he featured in seven league games and scored no goals. At a time when a big reinforcement could have helped take the club to the promised land of the top-flight, we think every City fan will be in agreement with the verdict on this one. The less said the better. Ryan Kent – Loan – MISS please log in to view this image Ryan Kent of Bristol City cuts a dejected figure Currently making headlines under Steven Gerrard at Rangers, dynamic winger Ryan Kent’s time at City looked a far-cry from the football he’s producing now. Spending the first half of the season on loan at Freiburg, he was recalled by parent club Liverpool and sent to Ashton Gate with promise, but only went on to make 10 appearances and made little-to-no impact. With Johnson usually opting against picking two wingers for the bench, Kent found himself left out of the matchday squad more often than not and, eventually, City were fined £300,000 by the Merseyside giants for not giving the youngster enough game time, as had been previously agreed between the two clubs. Liam Walsh - £1m - HIT please log in to view this image If this was written a few months back, it would have been a hard vIf erdict to deliver, it still is in many ways and the jury is still out as Walsh develops on loan at Coventry. Joining from Premier League academy Everton, his talent on the ball and his ability to pick a pass is undeniable but it looked as though the 5”9 central midfielder would struggle with the physicality of the men’s game, and he failed to make an immediate impact. However, he has kicked on in his first 11 appearances at Coventry, scoring two goals including that viral wonder goal where he dribbled through helpless defenders from the half-way line before driving it home, and at just 22 years old his future looks bright. His current City contract expires at the end of this season, but they’ll be hopeful of tying down the exciting prospect to an extended contract. 2019 This was City’s fourth consecutive season in the Championship and Johnson's third go at a January window, with the team chugging along in 11th place and unbeaten in eight by New Year’s Day. Four of those eight were draws though, perhaps a warning of what was to come without the right reinforcements, as draws in must-win games like Wigan, Reading and Ipswich towards the end of the season proved fatal for the Robins play-off hopes. Kasey Palmer – Loan – HIT please log in to view this image Johnson only made one signing this time around, coming down from six in 2017 and three in 2018, as Kasey Palmer linked up with his Chelsea team-mates Tomas Kalas and Jay Dasilva on loan at Ashton Gate. Although not completely match fit and integrated with the squad, which Johnson put down to not having had a full pre-season, Palmer showed moments of promise and made some good cameo roles off the bench including scoring the winner against Bolton on his debut. He made 15 appearances in his loan spell scoring twice, and his incredible eye for a defence-splitting pass clearly impressed Johnson enough to make a permanent move worth £3.5m for the 23-year-old the following summer. It’s difficult to set the world alight as a winter signing but Palmer represented good value in his loan move last January, and Johnson could be tempted to delve into the loan market again as he prepares for his fourth January window, hoping to have a little more success this time, perhaps. https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/every-january-signing-made-lee-3597280
Matty Taylor - missed most times he got in front of goal. Liam Walsh - hardly played and not great value at £1m. Shows why January is not a good time to splash out.
Matty Taylor being away for 6 months may just re ignite the spark? Come last day of the transfer window I can see him maybe being recalled if we have not secured a PROVEN goalscorer. Leeds took on NKETIAH because at the time they didn't look to have a player capable of leading the line... but seem to be more than willing to play Bamford there [ 2 goals more than Nketiah ] but having played over a 1000 mins more. At the equivalent of a goal a game Nketiah [ 1 every 89 mins ] Leeds may be forced into playing him more ...don't think they would risk losing him to another championship club?
LJ's January Hits and Misses ~ Milan Djuric - £1.6m - Miss..............................Matt Taylor - £300K - Hit Jens Hegler - £270k - Miss...............................Bailey - Wright - Undisclosed - Hit Fabian Giefer - Loan - Miss...............................Dave Cotterill - Loan - Hit Lois Diony - Loan - Miss....................................Liam Walsh - £1m - Hit Ryan Kent - Loan - Miss.....................................Kasy Palmer - Loan - Hit
