LJ proving the doubters wrong.

I always thought he would prove to be an excellant coach...I took as much stick has he did last season for believing in him, so much so that I nearly stopped going to watch my beloved team...LJ probably felt a little like I did but he is a stronger charector than me & never let the boo boys get to him. #JohnsonIn

 

No replies...umm...the Johnson out brigade have all gone quiet...and that is typical, when things go tits up there full of talk, when things go well, there silent...you could say "silence is golden" but it does annoy me.

 

I have nothing against Johnson but he was a very lucky man to Keep his job after the horrendous run we had last year, I have to admit I wanted him out, he has since pulled things around and I am beginning to think we potentially have a good manager on our hands, I must admit though I'm not yet fully convinced. I think it's a bit harsh to criticise people for wanting rid after such a bad run . Just out of interest on what evidence did you base your opinion that he would be an excellent coach? I can't see he'd done anything previously to warrant that conclusion.

 

Just out of interest how many games will it take you to be fully convinced? Lots of people are compareing this season to last and forgetting one fact. It was after the poor run that he did turn it round not the beginning of this season.
I wanted him out, but started to see that maybe that poor run taught him a bit. He stopped changing things all the time and played a settled team.
Not digging just interested to know, and no I'm not going to do stats or a poll

 

I knew from the moment he walked through the gates, the way he spoke about the modern game & how he earned his stripes at Oldham & Barnsley, he is a fast learner is our Lee & he has learned fast from his undoubted mistakes he made last season. He knew it would take 3 windows to build a squad & a great squad he has built (with the help of MA & Sir Steve). He loves young hungry players & certainly improves them, reason why he is a top coach who knows the modern game, will definately take us to the prem. He is also highly regarded in the game & has plenty of contacts.

 

Is it not possible that SL had more faith in him than many of us did?!! In these days of "must have success at all costs NOW", did he have a vision of what could be? Despite everything that has been said before, he's a very successful businessman who weighs up the pros and cons and then makes a reasoned judgement. Some times those judgements will be wrong, but, in many, many cases they will be right. Hopefully, that is the case here!!

 

I can't put a figure on the number of games it will take, not because I'm being awkward, I honestly don't know, as I've said in previous posts it's not just the results but the way we are playing and the attitude of the players I've been impressed with. When we beat Derby there were times when they hit us on the break the way we chased back and threw bodies in the way to block shots impressed me as much as the result. I just can't get out of my head last season and how quickly things fell apart. So maybe as others have said being able to bounce back once we've had a couple of back to back losses.

 

SL can also see things normal fans cannot, so has more to base his judgement on, the rest of us make judgements only knowing part of the story, that's never going to change , and apart from blindly following him is not going to stop the rest of us forming our own opinions based on the information we are privvy to .

 

That's a very bold statement, that may come back to bite you on the bum. I hope you are right . I wish I had your faith but apart from anything else have seen too many attempts over the years fail. I'm still somewhat confused what evidence you based your conclusion on when he first arrived, you have been watching city for many years , what do you see different in LJ to many of the other managers we've had over the years ? I'm not criticising just curious

 

I fear it's too early for a post like this BJA.
The proof of this will be our end position - but even then fan faith is temporary.
That's not because it's Lee - it's the same for every football manager. When their team is doing well everyone is happy. A losing streak and they call for him to be replaced. That's football.
Apart from getting us promoted that is - then he would destroy the critics and join Alan Dicks as a legend. Still a lot of season to go...........

 

Whats there to say? Stop fannying about with silly tactics and bingo formations and they will be half decent. And at the moment without silly tactics and bingo formations and they are half decent.

 

SL has a history of giving his managers enough rope and more to hang themselves and to be fair LJ had a bit more again than most. That said I'm actually very proud that our chairman didn't become another Leeds, Cardiff chairman that everyone has criticised on here and fire LJ. He gave him time as he believed in him and clearly realised he needed some time and to learn a few lessons. The back end of last season and the start of this season shows me and anyone who knows football that he has learnt. Yes there will be bad runs at some point, almost any team does. I think LJ will turn out to be a very very good manager, I just hope it's with us.

 

I backed him, even through the bad times!! But I'm wise enough to know that things can change very quickly in this game......couple of loses and the slagging off will show it's ugly head once again..
He showed from the beginning that he was hungry, tactically aware and has a good footballing brain, like he did as a player but lacked the physicality required to be better than he was......I believe he has the "little man syndrome" to make up for his body presence as a manager and won't take any stick from those that don't want to put the effort in to his demands on the pitch....Knows what he wants, will change things if required and will try different systems, when and when he sees fit..
Yes, we had a difficult run last season and some say he was lucky to keep his job...but I believe he's a better manager for it...and blimey he can take some stick......first as a player and now as a manager.......hats off to him, hope he proves most people wrong with success at our club..

 

My medal supplier cant keep up with this demand?

Good on you loyal servants, you didn't criticise once through the worse run in our clubs history and could always see the light at the end of the tunnel!!

Yeah right.....

 

Let's be fair guys,that losing run, and season was very poor 95% of managers would have been sacked.
Not even SL would have predicted the start we have had this year.

But i did see early doors that something had changed on the pitch,hence my points prediction was changed very quickly.

I just hope we can keep it going,and start showing the football world we are finally going in the correct direction after 20+ years doing nothing.

 

He's still one lucky man.

I reserve the right to give a revised opinion of him next March if he's still here and hasn't been poached by Real Madrid or Man Utd..

 

Sarcastic as that comment is...I do have to say that you won't find a post of mine demanding LJ's departure!! I was fairly confident that he would turn our season around last year...and as I kept repeating and most struggled to answer.....there was no other manager around available that would have done any better..

As to those saying last season was a disaster.....no a disaster would have been through relegation....we didn't get relegated and actually finished the season well..

Hats off to SL for sticking by his decision.....he could well have brought in a new manager via a knee jerk reaction and we could be playing in League one as we speak!!

 

How do you know that?? You should be pleased that he stuck by his guns......It would have been easier to have sacked him and we could have still got relegated.....As it stands, we could have quite a decent manager!!

 

Hey i was a big fan of LJ as a player,at present as a manager he did have big problems, underachieving with the squad,however so far so good.
Long may it continue.

There are many different views on here,however we all have one thing in common,we want city to do well.