Bradley Johnson….U21s Player/coach

[whiteroseram]

2 hours ago, Reggie Greenwood said:

Bradley has a FIFA A licence for coaching , has been coaching our youngsters part time since and after his playing time at DCFC. He has ambitions to be a coach so seems a great fit. 
Not sure if Fozzy has any coaching badges or wants to be one ? I’m sure if Fozzy wants to be there will be room for both.  
Hourihane is also doing part time coaching at Villa .

Don't be coming here with facts and knowledge, you know someone's coaching ability should be judged on whether he was too expensive nearly a decade ago

[Caerphilly Ram]

1 hour ago, bimmerman said:

Yeah that's a fair point of view

Just find it a bit odd to remove wassall and this be the route we take

He’s not a like for like replacement for Wassall, that’s more the role Matt Hale has now isn’t it? Overseeing and running the academy. Johnson is part of the set up and a player for the u21s so still doing a bit on the pitch and helping with training drills, whilst also supporting them as they transition into the senior setup 

[Steve How Hard?]

Always struck me as a player that never hid on the pitch and left everything out there. A player who in his pomp would be an ideal candidate for a Paul Warne side.

If he can transfer his never say die skills into his coaching career then he should fit into PW set up seamlessly. Could be a shrewd appointment. 

[Bris Vegas]

Bradley Johnson, like a fair few of our players, was a victim of the ridiculous spending under Mel Morris.

If he was a £1.5m signing on £10k a week then he would be seen as a decent addition and contributed greatly during his time at the club.

Instead he was a record £6m+signing on big wages and was brought in to get us promoted, yet we actually got worse.

[Millenniumram]

Very unexpected appointment. Can’t say I’m a huge fan of the whole player/coach thing as a whole - think you should focus on one or the other (remember Rooney….). Also takes up a place in the U21 team that an actual young prospect could fill.

That said, I do like Bradley Johnson. Thought he was harshly treated by our fans because of his vastly inflated price tag. He actually did a lot for the club in his 4 years here - always gave his all on the pitch and seemed to genuinely love the club. If he can translate that passion and work rate to the young players then it can only be a good thing. Welcome home Bradley!

[sage]

2 minutes ago, Millenniumram said:

Very unexpected appointment. Can’t say I’m a huge fan of the whole player/coach thing as a whole - think you should focus on one or the other (remember Rooney….). Also takes up a place in the U21 team that an actual young prospect could fill.

That said, I do like Bradley Johnson. Thought he was harshly treated by our fans because of his vastly inflated price tag. He actually did a lot for the club in his 4 years here - always gave his all on the pitch and seemed to genuinely love the club. If he can translate that passion and work rate to the young players then it can only be a good thing. Welcome home Bradley!

Its actually really helpful with young players to have a coach on the pitch with them. 

[Zag zig]

Some comments seem harsh to me.

Johnson was never quite given the credit he deserved because of the inflated price tag Mel bestowed on him. Sure he had a ropey start but there were runs where he was absolutely bossing midfield.

He’s a decent guy, did a fair bit of charity stuff to demonstrate his character. He absolutely could be a coach to young players, who largely are not ready for league 1 standard; a level he was capable at last season.

Looks a good fit to me.

[Millenniumram]

25 minutes ago, sage said:

Its actually really helpful with young players to have a coach on the pitch with them. 

Perhaps, but it does still take someone’s place. Depends how much he plays I guess.

[Ghost of Clough]

9 minutes ago, Millenniumram said:

Perhaps, but it does still take someone’s place. Depends how much he plays I guess.

Man Utd and Brighton have gone with this approach for a number of years.

Whilst he is primarily a CM, he's also very versatile and will cover pretty much every position on the pitch - CB tonight and no doubt CF throughout the season.

Considering the age of our U21 squad, it'll be good to have leadership, experience, and a bit of muscle to the team.

[sage]

17 minutes ago, Millenniumram said:

Perhaps, but it does still take someone’s place. Depends how much he plays I guess.

Reduces the squad size by 7%

 His experience will outweigh that cost

[Gee SCREAMER !!]

41 minutes ago, Zag zig said:

Some comments seem harsh to me.

Johnson was never quite given the credit he deserved because of the inflated price tag Mel bestowed on him. Sure he had a ropey start but there were runs where he was absolutely bossing midfield.

He’s a decent guy, did a fair bit of charity stuff to demonstrate his character. He absolutely could be a coach to young players, who largely are not ready for league 1 standard; a level he was capable at last season.

Looks a good fit to me.

He actually had a superb first 5 games, then went very ropey.  He was then great with Ledley under Rowett.  Then went ropey again, then left as average having signed a new contract, telling Radio Derby he was delighted to back in for training and getting in his car and heading to Blackburn.  Then kept living in Derby.  Quite a mixed and odd 4 years.

[Millenniumram]

40 minutes ago, Ghost of Clough said:

Man Utd and Brighton have gone with this approach for a number of years.

Whilst he is primarily a CM, he's also very versatile and will cover pretty much every position on the pitch - CB tonight and no doubt CF throughout the season.

Considering the age of our U21 squad, it'll be good to have leadership, experience, and a bit of muscle to the team.

Doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right. 

Bradley Johnson at CB or up front sounds like a recipe for disaster. Do agree about the U21 squad needing serious improvement though after last year, and that has to come from external signings. So I can see the logic.

[Millenniumram]

45 minutes ago, sage said:

Reduces the squad size by 7%

 His experience will outweigh that cost

Trying to do some maths, 7% would suggest a very small squad.

Maybe, but I’d rather have him just coaching from the sidelines to be honest.

[sage]

13 minutes ago, Millenniumram said:

Trying to do some maths, 7% would suggest a very small squad.

Maybe, but I’d rather have him just coaching from the sidelines to be honest.

11 starters, 3 subs on average used.

7%

 

Could you explain why, rather than just repeating yourself. 

Edited July 18, 2023 by sage

[i-Ram]

It’s a growing trend that my daily news feed includes a revelation about young men and BJ’s. 

[jono]

14 hours ago, Kokosnuss said:

Nothing to do with how he arrived, he was just genuinely bloody awful in his first season.

While it wasn't his fault he was brought into a club who'd clearly not watched him play the season before and proceeded to throw him into a completely different role, it absolutely was his fault that he constantly made stupid decisions by not understanding his own limitations as a footballer, which saw him lose possession and put his own team in danger an ungodly amount of times, whilst repeatedly failing to track his man defensively to the point that whenever he was on the pitch he posed more danger to his own team than the opposition (sometimes literally, with a few of the hospital passes!)

McLaren came in and managed to simplify things for him, and when we had that good run he played his part well... then the bad run came and started to go back toward being the frustrating player who'd earlier stank up the place. Thankfully, he never got there and in came Rowett.

He was decent enough from then-on, once he'd come to understand the things he couldn't do; never brilliant but a good squad player who'd recovered from a terrible start and repaired his reputation.

Very happy to see him back in his new role.

He was a man possessed in the away game at United. Won’t forget that performance in a hurry. Welcome back Bradley.

not his fault we paid daft money for him in a panic after Hughes and Bryson were injured in the same game at the start of the season. That was raw bad luck of the worst kind. For me it was the start of the rot. 10 million spent ! (Or borrowed against the club - in one breath ) 

[DenmarkRam]

Welcome to Derby Rovers, Brad. 

[Sufferingfool]

Probably make a lot of sense on a personal level as he appears to have settled in the area, I have seen him out walking the dog a couple of times and I understand was at a local junior football tournament a couple of weeks ago.

A good move brings experience and could be called upon to do a job in the first team if needed.

[sage]

1 hour ago, jono said:

He was a man possessed in the away game at United. Won’t forget that performance in a hurry. Welcome back Bradley.

not his fault we paid daft money for him in a panic after Hughes and Bryson were injured in the same game at the start of the season. That was raw bad luck of the worst kind. For me it was the start of the rot. 10 million spent ! (Or borrowed against the club - in one breath ) 

Maybe the rot started off the pitch there.

It started in the pitch with the arrival of Bent and Ince.

[SK47]

Always rated Bradley Johnson. Not the most technically gifted but he's everything we lack in our midfield set up atm. Someone who is physical, passionate and does the dirty stuff. He's also got a decent left foot on him. I definitely think the youngsters will look up to him, definitely got a leader element to him which will stand him in good Stead.

 

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