Boss Johnson fires warning to Bristol City players
Gary Johnson has issued Bristol City's under-achieving players an ultimatum days before the January transfer window opens.
Frustrated by his team's slide down the Coca-Cola Championship table, the manager is warning City's stars to perform or be replaced.
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Bristol City manager Gary Johnson
Speaking in the aftermath of the 2-1 Boxing Day defeat at Queens Park Rangers, Johnson gave a clear indication that he is running out of patience and will bring in new faces next month unless results improve.
A confidence-sapping return of one win in eight games has seen City drop out of play-off contention.
City take on Watford at Ashton Gate today in a fixture which now assumes added significance, and failure to take three points will almost certainly force the manager to act when the transfer market opens for business later this week.
Johnson warned: "The boys know they have to do more and some of them need to step up to the plate. If they don't, they'll be deemed as not being quite good enough for this level.
"With January coming up, this is a good time to remind people that they are still being assessed. Some of them are not reaching their 100 per cent and some are not showing the quality needed to keep up with the top six in this league.
"Every transfer window offers a timely reminder and this one is no different. I'm reminding them that it takes a little bit more to stay in touch with the top six in the Championship.
"We've played well at times and we've kept ourselves in there with our organisation, but we're not doing enough, we haven't won enough games and we haven't created enough opportunities.
"As a manager, you don't like to move on people you have brought to the club yourself, but every time you suffer a defeat it gives you a reason to bring in other players to help improve things. This group has been around a long time and knows what we want, but if they don't produce on the pitch then they won't play."
Johnson kept his players locked in the dressing room for 45 minutes after the final whistle before emerging to meet the media. He explained: "Sometimes you need to have a home truths session with people, because they have to know how you feel. It's not an act and it's not a pantomime – it's because I'm passionate about certain things and when I don't see passion and determination to win a game on the park, I'm disappointed.
"I'm not happy with the way we're playing and, if things don't improve, we could find ourselves competing with those teams in the bottom half of the table.
"We're playing some good football at times, but we have to be more clinical.
"I want to see centre-halves getting a cut eye trying to get on the end of crosses and corners, I want to see crosses in the final third hitting our centre-forwards, I want us to be shooting from outside the penalty area, I want to see midfielders sliding balls in behind the defence, I want wingers to be playing balls into the box and I want to see strikers getting in and scoring from close range.
"Those are all things you need to be doing to win games in the Championship and, at the moment, we're not seeing them. We're OK between the two penalty boxes, but our play at both ends is costing us."
City have not won at home in two months and Johnson insists his players owe the Ashton Gate crowd a performance when they meet Watford today. He added: "I want to see them really fired up. Our crowd has not seen a great game for quite a while at Ashton Gate and I've told the lads that. Our crowds are still above 14,000, they come week in and week out and it's to their credit. We owe them a proper, determined, committed football match and we have to excite the fans."
City will be without Dutch midfielder Evander Sno, who has returned to Holland to attend his grandmother's funeral, while Lee Johnson is rated extremely doubtful after coming down with a 'flu bug.
7 Comments
by Phil, Bristol
Monday, December 28 2009, 12:29PM
“Ron, Bath
So GJ has taken the club as far as it can go? REALLY?
if that's the case you better call Steve Lansdown he's wasting his money investing in the new stadium.
Yes, there are bigger clubs below us, but there are also smaller clubs above us, and clubs of a equal size in the prem.
The Chairman has said that he wants promotion to the Premiership and quickly and has backed the manager accordingly and yet despite that backing, things are now improving.
Perhaps certain people such as yourself are the ones being negative without having any ambtion.
Steve Lansdown has not invested over £8m on transfer fee's since promotion just to tread water in this division.
He demands results and after a terrible 2009 in terms of results SO DO THE FANS”
by Tractor Boy, Ipswich
Monday, December 28 2009, 12:17PM
“Johno this is getting boring same old comments same old results.Until you play two wingers and a natural centreforward we will continue to struggle. 1 in 9 wins ain't good enough, drawing home and losing away is relegation form.It's not rocket science it's a fact.”
by Groundhog Day, U S A
Monday, December 28 2009, 11:54AM
“"I want to see centre-halves getting a cut eye trying to get on the end of crosses and corners, I want to see crosses in the final third hitting our centre-forwards, I want us to be shooting from outside the penalty area, I want to see midfielders sliding balls in behind the defence, I want wingers to be playing balls into the box and I want to see strikers getting in and scoring from close range.
"Those are all things you need to be doing to win games in the Championship and, at the moment, we're not seeing them. We're OK between the two penalty boxes, but our play at both ends is costing us."
Its amusing to say in the least that Gary cannot accept the advice so frequently given by fans.
He clearly has to speak the words himself before he alone can believe them pathetic.
Must dash I can smell a Gas Leak all the way over here in the States it must be something humming in Bath or the cheese in Wexford.”
by Chris, Bristol
Monday, December 28 2009, 11:46AM
“Ron, as a City fan it pains me to say that i agree with you! The general attitude of City fans is deplorable! I always wondered why this club has never achieved much, but now it appears painfully obvious! Yet, the club does have alot of good honourable fans like Mike here who are prepared to get behind GJ and the players and roar them on, its just a shame they dont shout louder than the boo boys, who will probably disappear faster than our play off hopes until we start winning again, such is their fickle nature! Predicting a win today, in front of a smaller much more passionate City support! Up the Reds!”
by Ron, Bath
Monday, December 28 2009, 11:16AM
“City fans need a reality check. GJ has taken the club as far as it can go, not how far he is able to. The club does not have the potential to achieve more, despite the fans' ambitions.To turn on GJ after all he has achieved shows the spiteful nature of City fans, who are generally despised across the nation. Welcome to modern day football where your fan base and your financial backing dictate what you achieve. GJ has actually overachieved getting City into the top 10 of the Championship. There are many bigger clubs in real terms below City in the table. Regression beckons, and the fans will have brought it upon the club by their ridiculous tantrums.”
by Phil, Bristol
Monday, December 28 2009, 10:11AM
“What a shock.
It's the stereotypical the players need to sort their acts out, from Gary yet again just before a transfer window opens, that will no doubt get 2/3 games out of them at which point he'll declare he wants to stay loyal to the players who have got us this far and doesn't want to rock the boat.
Seen it before gary, talk is cheap, unlike the wage bill you have built.
Here's a thought Gary, if the players who aren't in the starting aren't doing the business, then surely the ones who can't get in it, need replacing too, you know the barely ever playing squad players like Williams, McCombe, LJ and Wilson.
or how about Gary, the problem is facing you when you look in the mirror.
Johnson Out.”
by mike, wexford
Monday, December 28 2009, 9:14AM
“good for you gj , if the rollicking you gave maynard worked then hopefully the rest of the team will produce, i also hope that are moaning groaning supporters get behind team, good luck for 2nd half of season”