Players will face a hard week's work, warns Bristol City boss Johnson
Frustrated Bristol City boss Gary Johnson is promising to turn up the heat on his players in training this week after seeing them drop two points at home to Sheffield Wednesday.
A third consecutive victory would have moved City into a share of second place in the Coca-Cola Championship and Nicky Maynard's 59th-minute opener looked to have put them on course for another three points.
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Wanting more - Bristol City boss Gary Johnson
But the Robins paid the price for a disjointed display when Luke Varney grabbed a 75th-minute equaliser, and Johnson afterwards admitted his misfiring team had been fortunate to escape with a draw.
Still unbeaten at home this season, Bristol City remain in the play-off zone. But the manager knows his players will have to show a significant improvement when they visit Nottingham Forest on Saturday, and he is promising them a hard time on the training ground this week.
He fumed: "We didn't get our game going from start to finish. It's been a long time since we've been that disorganised as a group and I was disappointed with that.
"If I hadn't been at the game and seen it with my own eyes, I would not have recognised my team.
"As far as I'm concerned, we've nicked a point, and we've had a strong talk about that back in the dressing room after the game. We were all over the shop and, in the end, I was grateful for the point.
"Nothing should surprise you in the Championship, because all teams have players who can cause you problems. But I was surprised by our performance.
"We didn't do our job as a team or as individuals and we're under no illusions – we know we need to do better if we want to compete with the top two."
Johnson has five days in which to put things right, and he admitted: "There is a lot of work to do.
"We have a big month ahead of us and we have to put things right quickly because we're in a right old state at the moment.
"They can expect a tough week because I have to remind them that this league is not a stroll in the park.
"I need to get things back to normal and get the lads playing like a team which is in the play-off positions. We didn't look like a team which is fifth in the league.
"We have a week to put it right and the games at Nottingham Forest and West Brom will tell us where we are.
"I want us to start competing for the top two and I'm raising the bar. We didn't clear that bar on this occasion."
Bristol City's performance was especially disappointing given the problems Wednesday faced before kick-off.
The viral infection which hit the Hillsborough dressing room last week meant Owls boss Brian Laws was without five first-team squad players, while three others played despite not feeling 100 per cent fit.
Johnson reasoned: "Sometimes when teams experience adversity and everything seems to be going wrong it helps bring them together. That's what Sheffield Wednesday did.
"They kept things tight within a 4-5-1 system, broke quickly to support the lone striker and caused us problems. We were at sixes and sevens and our goalkeeper has kept us in it."
Johnson made two substitutions at half-time in a bid to force victory, replacing Lee Johnson and Louis Carey with Paul Hartley and Alvaro Saborio and switching from 3-5-2 to 4-4-2.
The changes appeared to have worked when Maynard put the home side ahead with his 10th goal of the season.
City's manager explained: "One substitution was tactical, the other because of injury. Louis had a bit of a knock and, in my opinion, Lee was having a poor game.
"I wanted to switch system and put someone on who could stay out of the midfield ruck and spray the ball around. But we still couldn't keep our shape and things didn't really get any better."
Johnson sought to put things into perspective when he said: "Thank goodness we're up there in fifth and moaning and not near the bottom.
"Ipswich won for the first time in 15 games and are happy – we're in the play-off positions and unhappy with a poor performance.
"We have to remember there are a lot of teams worse off than we are."
23 Comments
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by Marcus, Wilts
Tuesday, November 03 2009, 9:20AM
“@Jamie
Gary would of been proud of verbal spin like that himself.
Your comment are old and quite frankly daft. To suggest for every person to criticise Johnson there are 15000 who don't would suggest there is only 1 person losing the faith.
You are way out of touch and obviously are not living in the real world and seemingly have own agenda.
Whilst you stroke Johnson's already over inflated ego I assume you have seen the accounts for City this morning?
It just shows that going on has we currently are is unsustainable in the bigger picture and it's more important than ever we reach the Prem ASAP and play a brand of football to keep the punters coming back.
I personally couldn't give a toss about Gary Johnson but I do care about my football club, Im of the opinion he does not have the required ability to take us any further.
We have the best squad of players since Johnson arrived yet the football doesn't support this fact.
If you wish to keep breathing life in to the myth that Johnson is some kind of special manager than thats your look out but believe me the tide is turning and many are getting fed up with the football on offer and Johnson patronising and egotistical comments when things are not going his way.
You always believe=blind faith.
We ar aboput to have a new spanking stadium approved what the point if we are only attracting 13000 as a also ran side in the Championship.”
by jamie, oldcity
Monday, November 02 2009, 10:41PM
“COME ON YOU REDS.
Its probably too late to join the debate if that's what it is on here these days, but as always, debated by a few who apparently speak for so many. I just wonder how many of you have actually played the great game?? and if so were you ever winners?? I say this because so many of your comments are from those who sound like losers or gaz- heads.
Remember It aint over till the fat lady sings, all for one, one for all. The trophy for the championship is a sexy looking trophy and i want to have it at Bristol City FC. Look at it and tell me you dont want it too!.
Almost every team in the Championship has a history that explains just why they are here. They want to win, they are winners.We want to be winners too. And why not???
We have to respect the comments of true city supporters as well as understand the comments from people who quite clearly have no idea of football and the mechanics of the game. You dont peak before your time. Looking ahead at the fixtures, checking the results, scrutinising the team selections ahead of the fixtures......Who would be a football manager??
Gary Johnson is without any doubt the best prepared, the most approachable, one of the best equipped modern day managers in the championship.
The media love him for that and so do we. Gary Johnson is one of the best modern day managers in the English game. He is Our manager he is the manager of the Bristol City Team. For every negg on here who for whatever reason writes him down, remember there are at least fifteen thousand who disagree.
WE ALWAYS BELIEVE WE`ER BRISTOL CITY WE ALWAYS BELIEVE.”
by Marcus, Wilts.
Monday, November 02 2009, 6:40PM
“@Mike
Who's moaning we didn't win 5-0? I'd settle for 2-0! We've play well for two 45 minute periods at home this season. The first half against QPR and the second half against Plymouth, 7 draws from 15 is midtable form not promotion.
I assume you were there on Saturday? What did you make of the performance?
As for Hartley I can only assume you don't listen to local radio or read any of the local football forums.
Mind you if I was a Scottish international with years of playing for Hearts and Glasgow Celtic behind me and was kept out the side by an abysmal Lee Johnson Id have to question what the hell is going on.
Let be honest Lee Johnson isn't half the player Paul Hartley is and never will be but regardless plays.
I genuinely thought when the new midfielders were brought in to the club we had seen the back of LJ, how naive of me, Sno plays out of position and Hartley as to play second fiddle to a League 1 player.”
by Mike, Staple Hill, Bristol
Monday, November 02 2009, 5:03PM
“As usual the clowns are on here complaining that we didn't win 5-0 on Saturday.
Also, where have these rumours come from about Hartley wanting out? The only place I have read this is on this website... from 'fans' that dont know they are born.”
by Bob, Cotham
Monday, November 02 2009, 5:00PM
“Marcus - harking back to the dark days of before is a reminder about how far we have come. There is no guarantee that if we sacked GJ and replaced him with someone else we would not sink line a stone, like Ipswich for example. I went to every home game and several away games last year and the only thing that held us back last year was our lack of having a finisher. This year Maynard has gained the necessary experience to step up and be our best scorer arguably since Andy Cole. I agree that our brand of football is disappointing and that playing more offensively would be more attractive but we are fifth in the league, 3 points off top. Of the teams around us three have just been relegated and have budgets far bigger than ours.
Have a little faith. If we were three points off the bottom you may have justifiable grounds to gripe.
If we win against Forest and play well perhaps Glenn will take all the credit for telling Gary where he is going wrong? After all, it was my backing him that made us play so badly Saturday, apparently.”