Whatever has happened to Johnson He seems to be very endowed, Suddenly, with an array of passÃng Of which Ian Crook would be proud He set up the winner in this game And did his part at West Ham too, He´s adding both skill and some vision To the ruggedness of which we knew His blockbuster free-kick deserved more The hardest I think I have seen, Since Nedergaard S. and Y. Safri Hit the net with their strikes so clean But the luck that there went so missing Did not cost us as it has done, So frequently, and all our efforts Deservedly meant that we won The more I see of Mr. Yobo The more I like in every way, There is nothing to beat experience In the maximum heat of the fray But to pick just two out on a day When everyone put in a shift, Would be unfair, but how it lightens The mood, and gives us all a lift. OTBC
I'm not totally surprised by his performances, I thought he was good last season. Very unlucky to score today, it was a great freekick.
Well said RBF, though I said I fancied us to win today, it was more in hope than anything, I'd almost forgotten the euphoria of hearing the final whistle! True music to the ears! Regards to Rex with an extra belly rub please sir!
Based on today, Howson might have his work cut out to get back into the starting side, and competition is always good. As Rob said elsewhere, Johnson's got the vision, but until recently the execution has been lacking. Really good to see him becoming a bit more rounded as a midfielder.
He certainly surprised me today, and at W. Ham recently, perhaps the return of Tettey has had something to do with it, looking very influential at the moment.
Must admit dave, I had them to win today, but then again I do nearly every week - fortunately I do sometimes get rewarded.
Hi RBF bor, yep, Johnson has plenty of polish if you get my drift ! Nice team effort with no slacking ! Now to get those points back owed to us by Villa ! Sparky tried to park the bus against Man City. Like Lambert before him when in charge of us thought putting a defensive screen would save a point. Both of them were not successful. Give Muttley and extra pat.
Personally I'm a big fan of Howson and have been pretty negative about Johnson he did have a good game today (wonder if that is related to him being an Arsenal fan). I sometimes think his problem is that he has good vision, he will see a pass he wants to play but it will be outside of his ability and so he fails to make it happen. I would say today he still slowed us down a touch whilst attacking and his passing was still not great. He has notched up two good assists recently and is quite hard to criticise in what he has done however I still think our best midfield is Tettey, Fer and Howson and were heading into a series of games where having our best players on the pitch is really important. we need more goals and more attacking presence, that was our first home goal in 312 minutes and playing Howson is moat likely to get us a goal. Its a shame really that Johnson's performances pick up as Howson returns to fitness 3/4 weeks ago he would have been the easiest player to drop in the team.
If a pro footballer can only play at his best against a rival club, then we've got an issue there! If we stay up, our central midfield going into next season is going to be very interesting! Hopefully we can sign some players to create real competition there, and allow the manager to tailor the personnel to the game. Howson, Fer, Tettey and Johnson will no doubt play a part next season, but I'd love to see two well-rounded midfielders come in, who can offer a bit more in terms of creativity. For now I agree Howson-Fer-Tettey is our best combination, and that's how I'd like to see us play next weekend. Johnson was probably the right choice today though on balance, as we had to do a lot of defending late on.
Agreed, with the defending we had to do it was the right line-up, especially as Howson hasn't played for a while. as you say we really need a coupled more midfielders, the injuries this season have shown up that our depth there is very low. I'd fancy a new AM and a new CM. I think we'd look more well rounded.
He certainly showed against Man City that he's ready to put his body on the line. There were some great blocks in that game. His performance today is what I assume Johnson is usually trying to pull off but usually fails in the execution. I've said before that I think he has a really good creative brain just not the ability to quite pull off the things he tries. If he can pull it off more often then he'll be real competition for Howson or Tettey.
It absolutely is not a shame! We now actually have a bench where I look at it and think used wisely it could be dangerous - there are a real variety of options! I bet Hughton was delighted not to rush Howson back in early because we were chasing a point. If Johnson's playing well, we have multiple possible formations to suit the relevant opposition, and it will help ensure Howson has to really step up to win his place back! It also means that Tettey or Fer can be taken off for a rest if necessary.
Just an ACM would suit me - one who can pass and retain possession. If Wes is kept sweet for next season too, I'd say we would have decent depth - you won't always have two/three central midfielders out injured. The priority for me after that would be a CB. Yobo has been class though, I have to say
