Tricky Dickys Right Foot Shot
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 1 Dec 2008
- Messages
- 10,553
Adam Johnson is thoughtfully picking over his title-winning, medal-laden spell at Manchester City and comes up with some devastating conclusions.
And asked if young English players should do what he did, and jump at the chance to sign for the champions, his advice would probably be not to bother.
“Now, if I was a young lad, I wouldn’t go to City,” he said.
“It is excellent when a club like City come for you. Hard to turn down. But you don’t actually play for the champions - you’re a squad member, which is totally different.
"It’s not that you’re not good enough, it’s just that the likes of Yaya Toure are going to play ahead of you, no matter what you do.”
Next, the England winger questions how manager Roberto Mancini can keep a collection of highly paid, top quality internationals content following City's fantasy-football spending spree.
“I think it would only be a matter of time before senior players become unhappy,” he revealed. “You can probably have too many world class players at once - everyone wants to play and they’re not happy to be squad players.
“You’re going to have trouble picking a team, and leaving people in the stands. I was one of them last season.
"He (Mancini) wanted that many players in the squad. He’s got to deal with it, hasn’t he?”
After leaving City because he had become “a forgotten player” under Mancini, Johnson is well placed to highlight the ups and downs of the journey the club is on.
He achieved boyhood dreams during his spell at Eastlands, highs that he will never forget, and will for ever be grateful for experiencing.
The title celebrations that “lasted for day” were “special”.
So was “playing in an FA Cup Final.”
But, ultimately, he couldn’t stomach his career, and England call-ups, being held back any longer.
Rather than sit tight in Manchester, play a bit-part role and pick up more medals, Johnson got out.
He chose regular games, a starring role on Wearside and self-respect over medals and selection angst.
He admits that watching City’s recent Champions League games against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu (“I always wanted to play there”) and Borussia Dortmund at his home in the North-East was “difficult”, but the dilemma was solved months ago in his head.
After joining Sunderland for £10million in August, he has quickly discovered what it is like to be loved again under Martin O’Neill.
He added: “I was forgotten about as a player. I want to get playing again and have people talk about me again for being a good player.
“Martin O’Neill makes you know he wants you, and he makes you feel ten feet tall. If that’s how a player feels, that’s when you play your best football.”
Saturday will see a return to City with his new club, and he's fit again after a thigh injury.
Will he celebrate if he scored for Sunderland at Eastlands?
“Part of me would like to, in front of certain parts. But I wouldn’t do it to the fans and I wouldn’t do it to my team-mates, so probably not,” said Johnson.
A barb towards Mancini perhaps, but one gently made.
He adds: “There was no point just being part of it and not playing in it.
"You ask any player if they mind sitting on the bench. If they say they don’t mind, they’d be lying. They’d also be lying if they say they don’t mind playing every couple of games. But it was still good to be part of it.
“When you’re not playing, you get frustrated, but you learn not to get frustrated. If I was a bit younger, I might have sulked. [But] even if you’re not playing you can learn so much from training with those players every day. I like to think I’ve added a lot more to my game.
“Even if you’re a young lad who goes to City and doesn’t play, you’d still become a better player. I’d like to think I’m better - I was still developing, even though I wasn’t playing.
“The novelty wears off, though. At first, when you haven’t played Champions League games before, it’s great to be involved with the atmosphere, going to the different grounds and things, but it’s about playing.
"Not playing motivates you to want to play and that’s why I left to join Sunderland.
“There were conversations between me and (Mancini).
"You can’t be expected to play every game unless you’re one or two individuals.
"I sort of got my head down and I wasn’t one to go speaking and things. I trained and hoped I would be in the next game. Then it got a little bit too much.”
Maybe the frustrations ended up contributing to rumours that Johnson likes a night out, and that Mancini wasn’t happy with his lifestyle.
His answer to that charge?
“I would just say that I was no different to half the team. I always seemed to be the one who was seen, who got caught. There wasn’t me by myself," said Johnson, promoting the new Medal Of Honor: Warfighter video game.
“I think it was ups and downs at City. The ups are probably the best you will have in your career. If I look back to two and a half years ago, when I signed, I would do the same again. I would still have the medals. That is the main thing as a kid when you’re growing up.
“What drives me on now? To play - to be appreciated.”
And asked if young English players should do what he did, and jump at the chance to sign for the champions, his advice would probably be not to bother.
“Now, if I was a young lad, I wouldn’t go to City,” he said.
“It is excellent when a club like City come for you. Hard to turn down. But you don’t actually play for the champions - you’re a squad member, which is totally different.
"It’s not that you’re not good enough, it’s just that the likes of Yaya Toure are going to play ahead of you, no matter what you do.”
Next, the England winger questions how manager Roberto Mancini can keep a collection of highly paid, top quality internationals content following City's fantasy-football spending spree.
“I think it would only be a matter of time before senior players become unhappy,” he revealed. “You can probably have too many world class players at once - everyone wants to play and they’re not happy to be squad players.
“You’re going to have trouble picking a team, and leaving people in the stands. I was one of them last season.
"He (Mancini) wanted that many players in the squad. He’s got to deal with it, hasn’t he?”
After leaving City because he had become “a forgotten player” under Mancini, Johnson is well placed to highlight the ups and downs of the journey the club is on.
He achieved boyhood dreams during his spell at Eastlands, highs that he will never forget, and will for ever be grateful for experiencing.
The title celebrations that “lasted for day” were “special”.
So was “playing in an FA Cup Final.”
But, ultimately, he couldn’t stomach his career, and England call-ups, being held back any longer.
Rather than sit tight in Manchester, play a bit-part role and pick up more medals, Johnson got out.
He chose regular games, a starring role on Wearside and self-respect over medals and selection angst.
He admits that watching City’s recent Champions League games against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu (“I always wanted to play there”) and Borussia Dortmund at his home in the North-East was “difficult”, but the dilemma was solved months ago in his head.
After joining Sunderland for £10million in August, he has quickly discovered what it is like to be loved again under Martin O’Neill.
He added: “I was forgotten about as a player. I want to get playing again and have people talk about me again for being a good player.
“Martin O’Neill makes you know he wants you, and he makes you feel ten feet tall. If that’s how a player feels, that’s when you play your best football.”
Saturday will see a return to City with his new club, and he's fit again after a thigh injury.
Will he celebrate if he scored for Sunderland at Eastlands?
“Part of me would like to, in front of certain parts. But I wouldn’t do it to the fans and I wouldn’t do it to my team-mates, so probably not,” said Johnson.
A barb towards Mancini perhaps, but one gently made.
He adds: “There was no point just being part of it and not playing in it.
"You ask any player if they mind sitting on the bench. If they say they don’t mind, they’d be lying. They’d also be lying if they say they don’t mind playing every couple of games. But it was still good to be part of it.
“When you’re not playing, you get frustrated, but you learn not to get frustrated. If I was a bit younger, I might have sulked. [But] even if you’re not playing you can learn so much from training with those players every day. I like to think I’ve added a lot more to my game.
“Even if you’re a young lad who goes to City and doesn’t play, you’d still become a better player. I’d like to think I’m better - I was still developing, even though I wasn’t playing.
“The novelty wears off, though. At first, when you haven’t played Champions League games before, it’s great to be involved with the atmosphere, going to the different grounds and things, but it’s about playing.
"Not playing motivates you to want to play and that’s why I left to join Sunderland.
“There were conversations between me and (Mancini).
"You can’t be expected to play every game unless you’re one or two individuals.
"I sort of got my head down and I wasn’t one to go speaking and things. I trained and hoped I would be in the next game. Then it got a little bit too much.”
Maybe the frustrations ended up contributing to rumours that Johnson likes a night out, and that Mancini wasn’t happy with his lifestyle.
His answer to that charge?
“I would just say that I was no different to half the team. I always seemed to be the one who was seen, who got caught. There wasn’t me by myself," said Johnson, promoting the new Medal Of Honor: Warfighter video game.
“I think it was ups and downs at City. The ups are probably the best you will have in your career. If I look back to two and a half years ago, when I signed, I would do the same again. I would still have the medals. That is the main thing as a kid when you’re growing up.
“What drives me on now? To play - to be appreciated.”