Confusion about Adam Johnson

[LoveCity]

So to me AJ is one of our more confusing players. Some games he looks like "The Next Big Thing" and others he looks like he is auditioning for The Invisible Man.

His last three games for us have been really mediocre: Liverpool (though, to be fair, the entire team was wank that day), United (I know we say everyone was great but how much do you remember from Johnson in this game?), and Blackburn

In each, he had one or two of his dangerous moments but I don't remember them leading to anything. More often than not, he was invisible and contributed nothing. Against Blackburn he then had the audacity to have a mini-hissy fit like Milner when being taken off.

(Milner hasn't appeared since)

But what I noticed is that in the first half against Blackburn he was switched to the left with Kolarov for a few minutes and instantly had more of the ball, looked more dangerous, and more natural. Then in the second half he was back on the right and invisible again. That made me wonder if his tantrum was down to knowing he had more impact in a few minutes on the left than he'd had on the right.

Milner, the other tantrum thrower, is also played in a position that is not his best. So is this the player(s) underperforming or are they suffering from Bobby's love of playing several personnel (Johnson, Milner, Boateng) out of their best position? I want Johnson to succeed because at his best he is amazing (and chips in quite a few goals) but am seeing alarming signs of stagnation and would not be surprised if he is benched for West Ham.

 

[Nelly's Left Foot]

Don't forget AJ himself has said he prefers to play on the right.

 

[redmizzle]

He's just one of the untouchables in fans' eyes.

 

[BoyBlue_1985]

So to me AJ is one of our more confusing players. Some games he looks like "The Next Big Thing" and others he looks like he is auditioning for The Invisible Man.

His last three games for us have been really mediocre: Liverpool (though, to be fair, the entire team was wank that day), United (I know we say everyone was great but how much do you remember from Johnson in this game?), and Blackburn

In each, he had one or two of his dangerous moments but I don't remember them leading to anything. More often than not, he was invisible and contributed nothing. Against Blackburn he then had the audacity to have a mini-hissy fit like Milner when being taken off.

(Milner hasn't appeared since)

But what I noticed is that in the first half against Blackburn he was switched to the left with Kolarov for a few minutes and instantly had more of the ball, looked more dangerous, and more natural. Then in the second half he was back on the right and invisible again. That made me wonder if his tantrum was down to knowing he had more impact in a few minutes on the left than he'd had on the right.

Milner, the other tantrum thrower, is also played in a position that is not his best. So is this the player(s) underperforming or are they suffering from Bobby's love of playing several personnel (Johnson, Milner, Boateng) out of their best position? I want Johnson to succeed because at his best he is amazing (and chips in quite a few goals) but am seeing alarming signs of stagnation and would not be surprised if he is benched for West Ham.

Thats because Silva starts on the left and roams pulling the left side out of posistion leaving Kolarov who most teams dont see as very dangerous to go down the left side while AJ is on the right. This space mean we are more likely to go down the left hand side than the right as its more open. He is tasked to operate on the right wing so wont leave his posistion too much but the team contiually goes left meaning he hardly sees the ball

 

[Skashion]

Johnson needs both Tevez and Silva to perform at his best, those three have a decent understanding of either other (on each other's wavelength, cliche I know) and as a trio know how to cut open a defence with passing and movement. This is particularly effective when Silva is played in the hole or in a free-role instead of on the opposite wing.

 

[SamTheGuru]

So to me AJ is one of our more confusing players. Some games he looks like "The Next Big Thing" and others he looks like he is auditioning for The Invisible Man.

His last three games for us have been really mediocre: Liverpool (though, to be fair, the entire team was wank that day), United (I know we say everyone was great but how much do you remember from Johnson in this game?), and Blackburn

In each, he had one or two of his dangerous moments but I don't remember them leading to anything. More often than not, he was invisible and contributed nothing. Against Blackburn he then had the audacity to have a mini-hissy fit like Milner when being taken off.

(Milner hasn't appeared since)

But what I noticed is that in the first half against Blackburn he was switched to the left with Kolarov for a few minutes and instantly had more of the ball, looked more dangerous, and more natural. Then in the second half he was back on the right and invisible again. That made me wonder if his tantrum was down to knowing he had more impact in a few minutes on the left than he'd had on the right.

Milner, the other tantrum thrower, is also played in a position that is not his best. So is this the player(s) underperforming or are they suffering from Bobby's love of playing several personnel (Johnson, Milner, Boateng) out of their best position? I want Johnson to succeed because at his best he is amazing (and chips in quite a few goals) but am seeing alarming signs of stagnation and would not be surprised if he is benched for West Ham.

He needs to mature as a player. He never wants to get involved in the game and never goes looking for the ball. He hugs that touchline hidden behind 1-2 players most of the time. Completely ineffective during large portions of the game. I am not sure what the switching sides was all about before the break for 2-3 minutes. I don't understand why we didn't try this again for the rest of the game. As for the hissy fit, he was possibly the worst performer on the pitch so he had no right to throw a tantrum.

 

[LoveCity]

Don't forget AJ himself has said he prefers to play on the right.

If that's true then it renders my theory dead but to me he looks more dangerous on the left because on the right he's always cutting in and almost never puts in a decent cross as a result. On the left he could whip more balls in to Dzeko and/or Balotelli and whoever else is in there.

 

[Anonymous]

I thought he was poor the other night ...

even during the first 20 minutes , when we 'bossed' the game , he didn't really create anything positive for us , and his final ball failed to reach it's target all too often ...

he's got to be making more of an impression from here on.

 

[WNRH]

You saw on Monday why Johnson doesn't play on the left, he tried to beat his man twice but couldn't get passed him. He plays on the right because his quick feet allow him to beat the defender either way.

He really should be spending at least an hour every day on his right foot.

 

[jay_mcfc]

I don't think there's much more to it than he simply isn't playing well. Kudos to Mancini for taking him off the other night instead of Balotelli because the vultures on here and in the press would have been circulating had we not won after Johnson's little hissy fit.

He's started games regularly recently and not contributed too much so he has no real right to throw a strop when he's subbed. That said he is young and I already think Mancini is having a positive effect on him so he will come again. I wouldn't be surprised if he's on the bench on Sunday though with Balo on the left and Dzeko up top.