LJ proving the doubters wrong.

The obvious logical improvement made this this season highlights how poorly what is an inexperienced Manager performed last season.

Judging by what was acceptable from the Manager last season, the bar for Mr Johnson has been set very low. Mr Lansdown stated on Radio Bristol on the opening day that he expected progress from last seasons relegation fight - "anything higher would be a bonus".

I think Mr Johnson will successfully achieve that aim.

 

What makes a good manager is learning by his mistakes & turning it around......If he can continue to do that he will become a decent manager....at what level..who knows!!

 

SL stated on numerous occasions in the past that BCFC had to change, he did try other "things" 5 pillars being the basis of a good foundation. Lucky to keep his job? NO even if relegated he is likely to have still been manager.

He certainly did, and to prove a point against all odds extended his contract as a show of faith

I have said this on many occasions, always look at the wider picture

To be totally honest I did not see a future as rosy as it might have seemed had we had someone else other than LJ

there is in football 3 fractions .. them that out bawl everyone else .. them[ and the biggest slice of the pie] that succumb to the bawlers and the few who look at the wider picture and are prepared to be patient and not sucked along

Often in the red mists, no pun intended, peeps do not take a breath and carry on spouting out their beliefs, which is their right. They do not look at the root cause as to why something is amiss, you can see every week some teams perform less when a certain or certain players are not available. This is quite common with the Africa Cup when even some Prem clubs struggle! Strange how we didn't well over a few weeks when Tammy was injured

SL aside with predictions, I bet he was quietly confident, I myself was more confident in LJ than last season and was happy we if gained <>1.4 pts a game, the reason you changed your total was we started off we good results! whilst the majority made their prediction and stuck, you chose to guage a better return! Before the close I had us down for 18 points, but I make a prediction and tend to stick by it.

There was I believe no chance of any knee jerks, he made it clear, if you read/listen to his comments pre season and up into the bad run there was a plan, we would stick to it and work it out.
a knee jerk or calculated change mid stream would just mean go back to square one .. something a lot of teams do and City have over the past few years. SC in div 1 was amazing, but he could not find it within himself to adapt, and lost out in the championship...

it is true that on our board 95% or more than joined the cries for LEE's head.. we live in a time of freedom of speech, and they had their opinions as they could see it.
On my visits to Scotland even at my ripe old age, I am still, thank the lord, able to walk carrying a 25kg rucksack up a mountain for 6-7km, crawl around and shift a few tonnes of mud and gravel in a site that the majority of the club thought was a waste of time.
In July we found a series of amazing underground chambers, and there was immense excitement amongst the younger members of our party. One said to me " whats the matter with you? you do not seem ecstatic like we are with the find?"
answer " after 8 years I am happy, but this is just the beginning, we have a lot more to do and a lot more to find"
not really football, but in keeping with the adage patience and belief are virtues then the reward will come.

 

As much as I didn't think we should have got carried away and sacked LJ last season as disappointing and frustrating as the shocking losing run was I equally don't think we can judge yet the current position at the edge of the payoffs and climbing the table means all our problems are over. Having said that we seem to have more about us and a more cohesive squad and execution of the gameplan

 

At least we can all agree on one thing

 

Does LJ speak German?

Bayern Munich doesn't often make long-term plans about who will be their coach, but I think they will choose a young coach who can speak the language of the players and who wants to play very intensive football

 

This debate will run forever.

Would those who wanted LJ sacked during our bad run (me included) want to change him now?

I'll put my hand up and say NO. Not now. YES back then, but now, no. Not for now, anyway.

I would hazard a guess that nobody would say that he should go right now.

The 'haters' will simply not respond to this post, thus maintaining their right to get the knives out if we start losing games, or equally to appear neutral if we get promoted. If one of them does respond 'yes' then I would be interested to know who would be their replacement - Arry?

I admit that I will look for a 'fix' if we go on another losing streak and, yes, Lee will not be immune to scrutiny - and rightly so, but for now I'm happy.

A wise man once said 'Neither a lover, nor a hater be....'

Or perhaps that was me after a skinful!!!!!

 

Amazed that he survived last season and wouldn't have been given anything like as long at 90%+ clubs elsewhere- That said, since that time, no one else would have done better in performance terms and the turn around has been remarkable- I am guessing that there were other factors at play as talk of losing the dressing room etc, certainly dont appear to be there now-
We are in much the same position now as we were the start of last season so lets hope lightning doesn't strike twice and we avoid a repeat of that appalling run last year-
SL deserves a lot of credit for sticking with LJ as there were a majority of fans that wanted change. Me being one at that time and I am glad things are turning out the way they are as had we had changed we would have had a period of change and uncertainty to go through again as the new manager did things his way

 

I think he's holding out for either Real Madrid or Barcelona.

 

Which is what did for Steve Cotterill who stubbornly stuck to the same side and formation and refused to change, even when we were getting thrashed week after week. Even SC was given quite a while to turn it around by SL, but I guess his inablitity to at least try and change is what did for him (although I see he has been appointed at Brum this morning). At least LJ was seen to be trying things and I guess that was enough for SL, had SC done the same then he might well still be in charge!!

 

I was one of the "Happy Clappers" I think we were called. My belief is chopping and changing the manager does not work in the long run.

SL kept going with LJ despite the abysmal run - that's now looking like an inspired decision.

I've heard managers say that you learn more from failing - I guess the important thing is to learn and do things differently - LJ appears to have done that??

 

Last season everyone was saying he don't know his best 11. But no one has mentioned that he changes things around this season.
I know it was only Pack and Brownhill yesterday but regardless of the suspension I would of thought Brownhill was going to start against Ipswich. LJ seems to rotate them dependant on who we play.

 

that's now looking like an inspired decision. do you mean from the point he was employed or the point where he had peeps on the ends of their tethers? your second comment is pertinent to the first in so much as SL has been on a learning curve. After SC DM and those going back to GJ he made a decision "enough was enough" and after failed plans like the 5 pillars, which is still apart of the set up, he did what he has been doing all his life .... for 3 short years I was in his industry .... and any new product takes time to be developed ... he has applied that to NOW.
as kids those of us older ones probably all learned the same lesson "open fire" they burn coal and they burn wood, and when you don't do as you are told picking up a piece of the glowing stuff hurts! few ever did it twice! SL did make it clear at the beginning, we are in it for the long ride, some of the contracts, especially Lee's "stating [ metaphorically] we have end date to sort things to a point of stability. After the first window Lee did not say should be ok after the next one, he stated we NEED 3 windows to get this right to fit the plan, to boot SL after less than a year revamped Lee's contract!
I believe??? he also hinted if we went down so be it! but I think going down hinged on the manner we went down, Maybe had we gone to 10 or 11 defeats there may have been a bit more panic! from the board, the fans went into meltdown after 3 or 4 losses!

I WOULD LOVE TO MEET THOSE MORONIC IDIOTS who put up those tatty banners now. I don't suppose that will be possible for a while, as opposed to egg all over their faces it is a whole poultry farm THEY ARE TRYING TO WIPE OFF.
Out of the wood? no not by a long way, my philosophy has always been after 10 games 13 points, 20 games 28 pts 30 games 43 points, 40 games 59 points and the rest happens.
the game is not about winning 4 or 5 on the bounce, or losing 3 or 4 on the bounce it is about the points on the board after game 46.

 

Keeping him during the 11 straight defeats

 

11? it was nearly a straight 12! but thanks to IPSWICH it was only 8!

 

As the saying goes, even a blind pig will eventually find a truffle

Or something along those lines.....

 

There was never 8 straight defeats last season. Check the facts people, it's more of the LJ haters reinventing the truth of last season and it pi$$e$ me off!

 

Just to remind you 'happy clappers' who never muttered a negative word last year!

This is last years and this year tables 1 year apart! I would remind you that everyone thought LJ was Mr Wonderful then too!

 

If by not muttering a negative to the tune of personal insults ranging from his height to many other insults, which I did not then I'm happy to be considered a happy clapper rather than an idiot bigot!!