Patience

I'm a big fan of patience.

I gave Hill lots of it, I was fully behind Flitcroft until he spent a month playing Dawson & Mellis as wingers & I was willing to give Wilson time because he was bringing through lots of academy players & dealing with the fall out of relegation.

But I don't have much patience when the manager builds an unbalanced squad & signs players because they're 'too good to turn down' even though we don't need them.

When he persists in playing a centre back at full back who's struggling in the role even though 'he doesn't like playing centre backs at full back'.

When he plays 5 in midfield & none of the midfielders support the lone striker

When he plays a lone striker who's not suited to the role.

When he stops playing our academy lads.

When he has 6 loanees signed in August

If I saw signs of genuine progress I'd be fully in favour of patience but he keeps making (in my opinion) bad decisions.

I'm not calling for the axe or anything daft like that, I'll still support him at the games but I don't rate him & don't think he'll prove to be a good manager.

I really hope I'm wrong.

 

You've nailed it - said exactly what I wanted to say.

I too *hope* he'll be a good manager, but I don't think so.

Don't like playing a central defender at left-back? Sign a left-back instead of cramming the squad with midfielders.

Want to play one up top? Make sure the guy you choose can hold the ball up until the midfield runners can support him.

And so on. Johnson knows how he wants to play, but doesn't have the personnel to do it, and he lacks a plan B.

 

Patience is recognising that team building is not at an end, and that it may take three or four windows to be completed and that the team should not be judged with the job half done.

When has Lee Johnson pronounced himself satisfied that his team building is over. He knows as well as every one of us that it is not. In fact he knows that he is at least 3 players short. He has also complained that this early season fixture pile up has not given him sufficient time to work with the players. No-one is trying to pretend that the building is at an end or that the team is perfect.

However, I am saying that in the past mistakes were made because the board and the manager reacted to pressure exerted by the fans. The fans will always attempt to exert this pressure. They will always want success in the shortest time possible, even if that is not a sensible or efficient way to go about it. My request for patience is bound to go unheeded by most, so I have changed the thrust of my appeal.

My appeal has now become a request to the decision-makers that they resist the inevitable pressure from fans and continue taking their decisions in a way that is financially efficient and right for the club. It has become an earnest request that they resist the pressure and resist the temptation to panic.