We would see much more from AJ if he was played on the LEFT. Playing wide right he becomes too predictable and relatively easy to defend against. You can mark him out of the game by showing him down the line every time unless he manages to go on one of those runs he makes successfully 1/10 times. On the left he can be dangerous, we have all seen what a good passer he is and having his delivery from the left would be a huge benefit for us. If he was switched to the left I would rather sign a RW than go for someone like Bale.
AJ
- Thread starter allblackcitizen
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greasedupdeafguy
Well-Known Member
Where did I say that, imo bale would fit in to our current system but also give us other ways of playing which would benefit johnson and dzeko.Roll On City said:Right, lets go out spent 40m (according to the deluded Levy) to sign a player so that he help Adam Johnson.... Brilliantgreasedupdeafguy said:If we sign bale in certain matches we could play with a formation like this, I can see this really helping johnson as all the wide play wouldn't have to come from him meaning he wouldn't get marked out as much he does at the moment.
If he starts every game at a mid-table club he'll be good for 15 goals a season and comfortably get into future England squads. If he was happy to continue playing his current fringe role with us I'd be happy to keep him, but for the good of his career he needs to move on.
I hope we can get a decent fee for him, around £15m+, and wish him all the best.
I hope we can get a decent fee for him, around £15m+, and wish him all the best.
Marvin said:
But he's not more than a winger, he plays only as a winger. If Mancini felt he was good enough elsewhere he'd have used him as a playmaker when Silva was limping through games. Johnson does have strengths (his finishing especially) but has far too many weaknesses to be a high level player. He's not eager enough to get involved in the game which is why he is anonymous so often and bombed when Mancini gave him a run of about 4 starts in a row.
For a tricky player he has no pace at all and his party trick has been found out so he only seems to get past a player 1 in every 10 tries. That's the difference between a Robben and a Johnson, Robben has the same trick too but is so fast and skillful that players still struggle against him even when knowing what he is going to do. Johnson is supposed to be a winger but offers very little from the wings, his stats are not bad but many of his contributions came against teams already beaten.
I can name a fair few wingers out there with more pace, more skill, and who will contribute more over 90 minutes - what you want from a winger. Bale and Di Maria to name a couple and I'd rank all three of United's wingers (Valencia, Nani, Young) as better players who have a greater impact over a season.
You have to ask yourself why it's Sunderland and Everton interested in him now, whereas once upon a time it was Chelsea and Liverpool. It's because Johnson has not kicked on even with Mancini urging him to work harder, and that's also why we're looking at £10million from him when we could have pocketed double that once.
The last straw for me was against Sunderland when we needed ingenuity against a team parking the bus with a narrow formation. Johnson played the entire game and injury ravaged Sunderland played Colback, a midfielder, as the full-back against Johnson. He had Johnson in his back pocket for the entire game - a young midfielder filling in as a full-back. As such Johnson didn't produce the variety we badly needed (width to counter their narrow formation) and we couldn't break them down. Johnson was switched to the left in that same game and still managed to produce nothing. A high-end winger would have at least created something that game, he didn't.
We need a squad. He scored 7 this season which is a good return for a winger, especially given that he hasn't played much. Nani got 9 and he thinks he's can be the best player in the worldBlueBilly said:
Maybe you lot just object to wingers full stop.
Marvin said:
What are you talking about !!! This is a place for opinions is it not ? Did I say he wasn't direct? Yes he often has a go, yes he is probably one of our more direct players but how often does he end up losing the ball in a tussle by the touchline ? Or shooting because he has had to cut inside on his left? Yes he scored a few goals but for me he has so much more potential to be making a lot more assists than he does. In reference to your no one can stop him , well AJ isnt exactly Usain Bolt is he and for me on the right he has to rely on cutting back rather than getting to the byeline and whipping the ball in far too often.
Marvin said:
Yet again did I say they were better than him ? Walcott in my eyes is an athlete not a footballer.You said no one can stop him and I was just disagreeing. In fact for a winger AJ is pretty slow and because of this he needs to rely on his skill. Which he has in abundance but in my opinion is wasted on the right. Im pretty sure a previous post (3/4 back) pretty much said the same as me that he very rarely beats his man because he always has to cut back on his left foot, which can be easily dealt with by good defenders.
Why do people need to go on the attack when someone gives their opinion? All I said was I feel he would be better on the left !!
BlueCityfan
Well-Known Member
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- 5,525
Marvin said:
7 goals? If i remember correct, most of those were pretty meaningless like the 6th against Norwich. How many important goals did he score?
I agree with the Bolt thing. You don't have to be super fast, but it's certainly good. And AJ isn't that good overall or otherwise he would have atleast made the bench for our most important game of the season that was QPR.