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FACT: City can't attack.

our goal difference mirrors our points taken. that is frigging awesome.

grauniad's take on johnson -
Roberto Mancini stands by criticism of Manchester City's Adam Johnson• Adam Johnson 'refused to board bus' home from Wolves
• Roberto Mancini says comments will improve winger's game



reddit this Tim Rich at Etihad Stadium guardian.co.uk, Sunday 30 October 2011 22.30 GMT Article history
Adam Johnson is congratulated by Edin Dzeko after scoring at Wolves but he was criticised by his manager afterwards. Photograph: Michael Steele/Getty Images
Roberto Mancini faces yet more player unrest after it was reported that Adam Johnson initially refused to board the team bus after the Carling Cup victory at Molineux last Wednesday night. The winger was said to be angered by the Italian's public criticism, especially after a game in which he scored one goal and created another for Samir Nasri.

The 24-year-old was eventually persuaded on to the coach but, following the Carlos Tevez affair, the incident has further highlighted the problems Mancini faces in keeping his expensively assembled squad happy.

The City manager, however, said that he will not hold back from criticising the winger because he thinks the comments will make him a better player in the long run. In a post-match interview on Wednesday Mancini said that, even though City were leading Wolves 5-1, Johnson should have tracked back to stop Stephen Ward providing the assist for Jamie O'Hara. Mancini said he was "disappointed he doesn't put everything on to the pitch".

After Johnson had scored again against Wolves on Saturday Mancini defended his stance, saying it was a deliberate policy to provoke the player to greater heights. He added that the England manager, Fabio Capello, was of the same opinion and that Johnson could and should reach the same levels of performance as his team-mate David Silva.

"I am happy he is upset," said Mancini. "I love Adam. It is like with the children in your family. If you love your children, then sometimes you should be hard with them and Adam understands this. I say what I want because, if he were not a good player, then I wouldn't waste my time on him. But because he has everything, I don't want him stopping at this level. I want him up a level and then a level more.

"He has some characteristics that are different from other players and because of this he could become one of the top wingers in the game. If you have a top winger, you are going to win a lot of games. One versus one, he is incredible, every time he takes the ball out wide near the box, we can score a goal or at least have a chance."

Mancini's treatment of Johnson, whom he bought from Middlesbrough in his first transfer window as manager of City, called to mind comments from his predecessor, Mark Hughes, that the Italian was "autocratic". Hughes said of Mancini before the Manchester derby: "I am not sure if he indulges players, tries to get to know them or understand them. He never can put his arm around a player – he is not that sort of manager."

In bloodlessly removing Emmanuel Adebayor and Craig Bellamy, two of the most combustible footballers he inherited from Hughes, Mancini demonstrated his control of the dressing room at Eastlands even before the conflagration with Tevez that has dominated the start to City's season.

Mancini argued that his attitude towards Johnson came from a determination that the player should not fail. "I have seen so many players like Adam in my life, both when I played and since I have been a manager," he said, adding that Johnson had played with more discipline against Wolves at the Etihad Stadium than he had shown at Molineux.

"Sometimes players like Adam play very well in one game but only so-so the next. He should not think: 'I have scored a goal, this is enough.'

"He has played in the Premier League for two and a half seasons now and he has played for the national team. Fabio Capello and I are of the same opinion. A player like him should play well every game, like David Silva."

On Monday afternoon the City defender Kolo Touré will face an internal inquiry into the failed drugs test that brought him a six-month ban.

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"It felt like a really pointless version of ketamine: no psychedelic effects, no pleasant slide into rubbery nonsense, just a sudden drop off the cliff of wrongness."
"i'm gonna wreck you so bad we're going to have to change church"

Seems he has signed a new 5 Year contract but theres nothing on the OS about it.


England winger Adam Johnson has signed a new five-year contract with Manchester City to underline his status as a key member of Roberto Mancini's squad.

Johnson, signed from Middlesbrough as a relative unknown in 2010, will no longer be the lowest-paid player in City's first-team squad with his wages doubled to an estimated £80,000 a week.

The deal means Johnson, who is desperate to play enough games to make Fabio Capello's England squad for Euro 2012, looks certain to stay at the Etihad Stadium despite interest from Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs.
New deal: Adam Johnson (left) has committed himself to Man City for five years

New deal: Adam Johnson (left) has committed himself to Man City for five years

The £7million winger has a testing relationship with Mancini, who has admitted to being extra hard on the 24-year-old.

Johnson was angry at being left out of the 6-1 win at Old Trafford and was upset after Mancini criticised him following a match-winning performance in the Carling Cup at Wolves a few days later.

But the Italian manager said: 'If he were not a good player, I wouldn't waste my time on him. But, because he has everything, I don't want him stopping at this level.'
England ambition: Johnson wants to play at Euro 2012

England ambition: Johnson wants to play at Euro 2012

Johnson is enjoying his best spell at the club with four goals in his last six games before Saturday night's game at QPR.

He admitted in an interview with the Sportsmail that Euro 2012 is already entering his thoughts. 'Missing out on the World Cup was devastating for me. I can't not go to Euro 2012 as well,' he said.

Johnson's new contract completes a remarkable rise. He came to prominence in Middlesbrough's 2004 FA Youth Cup-winning team but his progress at Boro was blocked by Stewart Downing. However, Boro's relegation allowed him to join City

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2058073/Adam-Johnson-signs-new-year-deal-Manchester-City.html#ixzz1cyqEyO1K

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Keep Calm and follow Jesus Navas

Fantastic.

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KYPU

Very good. I guess it's true about Mancini's attitude also. The guys he doesn't like are obvious, they don't get a look in. They're either in the reserves or out on loan/sold. The fact Johnson gets a look in and Mancini bothers with him shows he cares. Just like I said.

Two bits of very good news;

Sk... ah, wrong one.

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"It felt like a really pointless version of ketamine: no psychedelic effects, no pleasant slide into rubbery nonsense, just a sudden drop off the cliff of wrongness."
"i'm gonna wreck you so bad we're going to have to change church"

I'd raise an eyebrow if we started offering Skol contracts till 2016...

I love Zabs.....unconditionally.

Takes up Half the back page of the Mirror today with a Big headline.......

[SIZE="6"]DISASTER[/SIZE]


Adam Johnson has admitted it will be a “disaster” if Manchester City blow their shot at the title.

Roberto Mancini’s side hold a three-point lead over Manchester United at the top of the table and are in pole position to win the league for the first time in 44 years.

Billionaire City owner Sheikh Mansour has lavished around £425million on players in three-and-a-half years, in a bid to turn the perennial underachievers into champions.

And winger Johnson says only top spot will do for City. “I’d be devastated if we didn’t win it now,” he said. “Everyone knows we deserve to be where we are and to throw it away would definitely be a disaster.

“Obviously, with the position we’ve got ourselves in now, it’s for us to give it away.

“We’re top of the league by three points and it’s up to us not to make mistakes. But none of the lads want to think about that, nor does anyone else at the club.”

City face Tottenham on Sunday and victory would give them an eight-point lead over Harry Redknapp’s side, effectively turning the title battle into a two-horse race between them and United.

Johnson added: “Tottenham are the team who have nothing to lose and all the pressure is supposedly on us and United.

“But the pressure is on whoever is up there to sustain it. If Tottenham do that, there will be massive pressure on them. In the last four or five games, when things are still tight, that is when we can see who will hold their nerve.

“If we win the title, we will have deserved it. We have top-class players but we have to play 38 games.

“We have to try and win every one. Hopefully in May I will be saying that we did it.”

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Keep Calm and follow Jesus Navas

Can somebody please explain to me why Mancini perpetually refuses to play Adam Johnson. Mancini used to blast Johnson last season that he was inconsistent which I give him the benefit of doubt, however this season he has been amazing every game he's played especially since the turn of the new year actually becoming one of our best players, he scores, terrorizes defenses to open them up and provides a lot of assists. So why not play him. Nasri on the other hand hasn't been play too well since the tottenham game he scored, doesn't make a huge impact in the last third and is too central to be a good winger( i.e every ball he gets he wants to move in the center instead of moving out like a winger)

When we play away teams we need a winger that will not only cross in and stretch but also a winger that can open up spaces for the strikers to benefit, however Mancini constantly uses barry, milner, yaya / barry, de jong, yaya and then shove silva, aguero, balotelli/dzeko up front to lineup a very central forward team. This team has no true wingers and on away games have a tendency to try to force through the middle. We definitely cannot rely on this on away games even though our players are top class because 80% of the teams we play away screw it up in the defense. So we need the only true winger we have to open up the game from the sides and stretch the opposing team defense so we give more opportunity to the strikers to score.

It really pisses me off everytime I see him on the bench while Nasri is really not helping out on the field( don't get me wrong, i love Nasri) I feel like Mancini actually doesn't like Johnson and since Mancini is a great disciplinarian and the tevez thing, Johnson can't open his mouth anymore and also the fact he doesn't want to fall out with the fans.

The guy is grossly underused and seriously I feel that at this rate he is wasting his talent here, he will be turning 25 soon, maybe it's time he moves on to a team that will actually use him for what he's worth because players like him, it saddens me when they are unappreciated. Mancini is seriously grossly under using him and he might miss out the Euros just because of this.

Totally agree.

Mancini underates wingers yet his method of using attacking midfielders who cut inside doesnt work.

I too would like to see more of AJ. But you have to really trust what Mancini decides, he sees AJ more than any of us, if he doesn't think he makes the team it's for a reason.

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KYPU

he does seem to contriboot more than nasri whenever he's on the pitch though...

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"It felt like a really pointless version of ketamine: no psychedelic effects, no pleasant slide into rubbery nonsense, just a sudden drop off the cliff of wrongness."
"i'm gonna wreck you so bad we're going to have to change church"

Still early days for Nasri, and it could also be said that last few times we've seen AJ he has done little. Just saying.

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KYPU

Said this a hundred times, Nasri is more than fine. Just because he doesn't run around like a goose doesn't make him shit.

i think running around like a goose would make him shit? it'd surely impair his ability to play football.

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"It felt like a really pointless version of ketamine: no psychedelic effects, no pleasant slide into rubbery nonsense, just a sudden drop off the cliff of wrongness."
"i'm gonna wreck you so bad we're going to have to change church"

I just get the impression some people admire players simply for 'putting in the effort'. I would argue being calm, capable and clinical is just as admirable. A good example would be Berbatov, the most misunderstood player in the Premier League by a mile. A player I admire greatly, despite him being a red.

Oh dear...

Time to start climbing out of that deep hole now fella.

This should get you about half way up.

berbertoss...id rather have bob taylor..

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I Belong To City
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BJWB.1920-31/12/2010.