Cardiff's Johnson

Herbivore · Post by **Herbivore** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 6:59 pm

hallamblue wrote:I was talking to someone who is closely connetd to the Club today - and this individual seems think Jim is definately trying to get Cardiff's Johnson here ........wait and see again then I guess !

But the prospect of McAuley & Johnson at CB is a solid looking defence IMHO !

we shall have to wait and see - we all know how rumours tend to run riot this time of year !

......I mean I expect we shall be told very soon that he's about to sign for Norwich !

If true then we are spending too much on strengthening one area without addressing the areas which really need looking at (again!). Much as i rate Johnson we don't really need him now, and i'd rather we had gone for him over McAuley instead of getting both.

Lewis · Post by **Lewis** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 7:44 pm

Unless Jim seems to think that Bruce isn't capable of being a first choice starter in a promotion winning side?

I do have my doubts about Bruce on that score myself...

Herbivore · Post by **Herbivore** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 7:50 pm

Lewis wrote:Unless Jim seems to think that Bruce isn't capable of being a first choice starter in a promotion winning side?

I do have my doubts about Bruce on that score myself...

So do i, but the fact is that Johnson would cost at least Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£2m and how much would that leave us for a keeper, a left back, and a striker? We need players of real quality to fill those positions (as well as a couple more for cover IMO) and we don't have limitless funds so i'd rather we stick with what we've got at centre back and make the best of it.

ash · Post by **ash** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 7:55 pm

To be fair though, we dont know just how much we have to spend this summer, whereas Magilton does. He has said he knows he needs a new striker and midfielder, and obviously a goalkeeper, so im sure he knows he can still pay for johnson after all of those, so I say if he wants him, then get him in IMO.

Lewis · Post by **Lewis** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 8:51 pm

Herbivore wrote:
Lewis wrote:Unless Jim seems to think that Bruce isn't capable of being a first choice starter in a promotion winning side?

I do have my doubts about Bruce on that score myself...
So do i, but the fact is that Johnson would cost at least Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£2m and how much would that leave us for a keeper, a left back, and a striker? We need players of real quality to fill those positions (as well as a couple more for cover IMO) and we don't have limitless funds so i'd rather we stick with what we've got at centre back and make the best of it.

I'd imagine we have 5-6M left from the initial kitty given by Evans.

And I'm sure he would have no problem handing over 2-3M more if it meant we had a side that could dominate the division this coming season or the year after.

khurst_848 · Post by **khurst_848** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 9:15 pm

Lewis wrote:
Herbivore wrote:
Lewis wrote:Unless Jim seems to think that Bruce isn't capable of being a first choice starter in a promotion winning side?

I do have my doubts about Bruce on that score myself...
So do i, but the fact is that Johnson would cost at least Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£2m and how much would that leave us for a keeper, a left back, and a striker? We need players of real quality to fill those positions (as well as a couple more for cover IMO) and we don't have limitless funds so i'd rather we stick with what we've got at centre back and make the best of it.
I'd imagine we have 5-6M left from the initial kitty given by Evans.

And I'm sure he would have no problem handing over 2-3M more if it meant we had a side that could dominate the division this coming season or the year after.

dont forget the sponsorship money plus whatever extra he gave jim this summer as ds confirmed at the end of last year.

-Mikey- · Post by **-Mikey-** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 10:00 pm

I'd welcome him with open arms without doubt. Bruce is a qaulity defender but i don't think he has that cutting edge which you need in a side challenging for promtion. He will be an excellent back up defender, and can even fill in at right back. I hope Pim can play at Left Back otherwise its gonna have to be Bruce at Right Back and Wright at left back.

deenomite · Post by **deenomite** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 10:07 pm

If we have got more money to spend than we think then Johnson would be a welcome and quality arrival,strength in depth is a luxury we havnt had for a while. However if we dont have the money to spread to other positions....leave well alone.

hallamblue · Post by **hallamblue** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 8:58 am

Lewis wrote:
Herbivore wrote:
Lewis wrote:Unless Jim seems to think that Bruce isn't capable of being a first choice starter in a promotion winning side?

I do have my doubts about Bruce on that score myself...
So do i, but the fact is that Johnson would cost at least Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£2m and how much would that leave us for a keeper, a left back, and a striker? We need players of real quality to fill those positions (as well as a couple more for cover IMO) and we don't have limitless funds so i'd rather we stick with what we've got at centre back and make the best of it.
I'd imagine we have 5-6M left from the initial kitty given by Evans.

And I'm sure he would have no problem handing over 2-3M more if it meant we had a side that could dominate the division this coming season or the year after.

that Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£12m was an initial amount given by Evans for last season Lewis . Magilton was definately getting more money for this close season, thw difference is Town are not spouting off about it !

airliner · Post by **airliner** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 9:03 am

Hallamblue youare quite right, the board and Jim are keeping quiet over the amount we have to spend so as to stop these money grabbing prices being quoted.just look at Qpr they are being taken to the cleaners as every one knows they are rich now.

khurst_848 · Post by **khurst_848** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 9:37 pm

listening to his interview on bbc suffolk it sounds like jim is after johnson as well what would people think if this was a 2-3m price?

ash · Post by **ash** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 9:56 pm

if he added something extra to the squad,which i believe he would do because like mcauley he is strong in the air, but isn not slow either, and the price didnt compromise strengthening other positions, i would try to him here. dont know how much i would pay, maybe just over 2 million.

hallamblue · Post by **hallamblue** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 10:41 am

khurst_848 wrote:listening to his interview on bbc suffolk it sounds like jim is after johnson as well what would people think if this was a 2-3m price?

if it meant we were a very tight defence, hardly ever giving a goal away and winning games by 1-0 that leads to our promotion this season Id say he's cheap !

Herbivore · Post by **Herbivore** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 11:16 am

hallamblue wrote:
khurst_848 wrote:listening to his interview on bbc suffolk it sounds like jim is after johnson as well what would people think if this was a 2-3m price?
if it meant we were a very tight defence, hardly ever giving a goal away and winning games by 1-0 that leads to our promotion this season Id say he's cheap !

That won't happen though; winning games 1-0 takes a whole team mentality to achieve on a consistent basis and this never has been and never will be the Ipswich way.

squiz18 · Post by **squiz18** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 11:36 am

Herbivore wrote:
hallamblue wrote:
khurst_848 wrote:listening to his interview on bbc suffolk it sounds like jim is after johnson as well what would people think if this was a 2-3m price?
if it meant we were a very tight defence, hardly ever giving a goal away and winning games by 1-0 that leads to our promotion this season Id say he's cheap !
That won't happen though; winning games 1-0 takes a whole team mentality to achieve on a consistent basis and this never has been and never will be the Ipswich way.

and thats the way we all want it !!

helen83 · Post by **helen83** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 11:46 am

Herbivore wrote:
hallamblue wrote:
khurst_848 wrote:listening to his interview on bbc suffolk it sounds like jim is after johnson as well what would people think if this was a 2-3m price?
if it meant we were a very tight defence, hardly ever giving a goal away and winning games by 1-0 that leads to our promotion this season Id say he's cheap !
That won't happen though; winning games 1-0 takes a whole team mentality to achieve on a consistent basis and this never has been and never will be the Ipswich way.

Oh, shall we just not bother trying to defend properly then if it isn't "the Ipswich way".

I thought the idea of having all this money to spend was that we tried to improve our weaker areas. I hope we do get Johnson.

khurst_848 · Post by **khurst_848** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 1:36 pm

helen83 wrote:
Herbivore wrote:
hallamblue wrote: if it meant we were a very tight defence, hardly ever giving a goal away and winning games by 1-0 that leads to our promotion this season Id say he's cheap !
That won't happen though; winning games 1-0 takes a whole team mentality to achieve on a consistent basis and this never has been and never will be the Ipswich way.
Oh, shall we just not bother trying to defend properly then if it isn't "the Ipswich way". I thought the idea of having all this money to spend was that we tried to improve our weaker areas. I hope we do get Johnson.

this ipswich way bull has to stop, we had a very good reputation under sir bobby and somehow that has stuck some 20-30 yrs later i remember mogga last year saying the same thing and i agree.

kowalski · Post by **kowalski** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 2:00 pm

khurst_848 wrote:
helen83 wrote:
Herbivore wrote: That won't happen though; winning games 1-0 takes a whole team mentality to achieve on a consistent basis and this never has been and never will be the Ipswich way.
Oh, shall we just not bother trying to defend properly then if it isn't "the Ipswich way". I thought the idea of having all this money to spend was that we tried to improve our weaker areas. I hope we do get Johnson.
this ipswich way bull has to stop, we had a very good reputation under sir bobby and somehow that has stuck some 20-30 yrs later i remember mogga last year saying the same thing and i agree.

The "Ipswich way" refers to the more predominantly passing game we play. And aside from the Duncan (eurgh) and BFJ years (when we needed to get out of this division, and even then we were capable of making pretty patterns) we've maintained that same passing principle. Just about everyone in the league said us and West Brom were the best two passing sides in the division last year. Were they all wrong?

Under George Burley we finished fifth in the premiership playing passing football, and were regarded as one of the best teams to watch that year.

The Ipswich way means more than just that though, admittedly the off the field side of it has slipped (one would think that the wine has not been a particular concern for the board in recent years)

As for why we've conceded so many goals? If you have 3 midfield players making a triangle, then they're not offering their back four any protection. Especially when you've got Magic and Currie in there. The trick is to have a lot of high energy players that are capable of passing, and if a move breaks down are able to get back and aid the defence.

Norris. Quinn. Sumi, even Miller's been making the occasional tackle recently.

Herbivore · Post by **Herbivore** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 2:12 pm

helen83 wrote:
Herbivore wrote:
hallamblue wrote: if it meant we were a very tight defence, hardly ever giving a goal away and winning games by 1-0 that leads to our promotion this season Id say he's cheap !
That won't happen though; winning games 1-0 takes a whole team mentality to achieve on a consistent basis and this never has been and never will be the Ipswich way.
Oh, shall we just not bother trying to defend properly then if it isn't "the Ipswich way". I thought the idea of having all this money to spend was that we tried to improve our weaker areas. I hope we do get Johnson.

That's a great way to completely misinterpret what i said. To play to win games 1-0 - as Derby did when they went one up - requires a certain mindset from the whole team, and that is to defend first and foremost and not commit too many men forward when counter-attacking. Ipswich do not play that way and as far as i can see we will not be looking to play that way this coming season. We try to play a positive style of football and we will continue to do so. One of the upshots of this is that we won't grind out too many 1-0 wins. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't strengthen the defence, of course we should, but we will never be a side that wins 1-0 consistently without a radical change of the playing personnel and the mentality of the team.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 2:17 pm

Herbivore wrote:
helen83 wrote:
Herbivore wrote: That won't happen though; winning games 1-0 takes a whole team mentality to achieve on a consistent basis and this never has been and never will be the Ipswich way.
Oh, shall we just not bother trying to defend properly then if it isn't "the Ipswich way". I thought the idea of having all this money to spend was that we tried to improve our weaker areas. I hope we do get Johnson.
That's a great way to completely misinterpret what i said. To play to win games 1-0 - as Derby did when they went one up - requires a certain mindset from the whole team, and that is to defend first and foremost and not commit too many men forward when counter-attacking. Ipswich do not play that way and as far as i can see we will not be looking to play that way this coming season. We try to play a positive style of football and we will continue to do so. One of the upshots of this is that we won't grind out too many 1-0 wins. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't strengthen the defence, of course we should, but we will never be a side that wins 1-0 consistently without a radical change of the playing personnel and the mentality of the team.

Not to mention the coaching staff and manager.

hallamblue · Post by **hallamblue** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 2:55 pm

Herbivore wrote:
helen83 wrote:
Herbivore wrote: That won't happen though; winning games 1-0 takes a whole team mentality to achieve on a consistent basis and this never has been and never will be the Ipswich way.
Oh, shall we just not bother trying to defend properly then if it isn't "the Ipswich way". I thought the idea of having all this money to spend was that we tried to improve our weaker areas. I hope we do get Johnson.
That's a great way to completely misinterpret what i said. To play to win games 1-0 - as Derby did when they went one up - requires a certain mindset from the whole team, and that is to defend first and foremost and not commit too many men forward when counter-attacking. Ipswich do not play that way and as far as i can see we will not be looking to play that way this coming season. We try to play a positive style of football and we will continue to do so. One of the upshots of this is that we won't grind out too many 1-0 wins. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't strengthen the defence, of course we should, but we will never be a side that wins 1-0 consistently without a radical change of the playing personnel and the mentality of the team.

I would add that a very ordinary norwich city side got promoted on the back of good defence and countless 1-0 wins. But they were a hard working side - no special superstars, just grinding out 1-0 wins with (if I recall) several last min winners !

But with reference to Town, I find it laughable that people are now critising Magilton for spending money on AT LAST sorting out a long established crap defence . We havent hada decent defence since the days of Terry Butcher and Russell Osman.

If we had to spend Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£2m+ on Johnson (assuming we could even get him here), I would be thinking seriously of a top two finish this season and promotion, as I doubt there would be a better CB pairing than McAualey & Johnson in this division, and as has been shown time and again , any decent side is based on a sound defence !

helen83 · Post by **helen83** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 3:01 pm

The better our defenders are, the less we have to compromise our style of play to get a result.

hallamblue · Post by **hallamblue** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 3:09 pm

helen83 wrote:The better our defenders are, the less we have to compromise our style of play to get a result.

very true helen !

Herbivore · Post by **Herbivore** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 3:29 pm

If it's a choice between Johnson and a decent striker then i think a decent striker is more important. There were several games last year we would have won if we had someone who could stick the ball in the back of the net and that could be the difference. As much as Johnson would be a good signing i don't think CB needs to be a main priority now, especially as we don't have a single decent left back. A good defence needs balance, and without a decent left back i don't think signing Johnson is necessarily a great idea.

hallamblue · Post by **hallamblue** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 7:20 pm

who would you have in mind as a decent LB, Herb ?

Herbivore · Post by **Herbivore** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 10:21 am

hallamblue wrote:who would you have in mind as a decent LB, Herb ?

I like the sound of the Macedonian fella we've been linked with. I also like the look of Spurr at Sheff Wed and Mattock at Leicester. I'm sure there are others, but to be honest i'm not usually specifically watching the left back when i watch other teams play!

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Cardiff's Johnson

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