Will AJ Walk Straight Back Into The First Team?

[White Noise]

There has been one solitary report on Andy Johnson's progress in the last few months. A few weeks ago we carried something on here saying he had been out to the States to see Doctor Richard Steadman again for a check-up. Though it is very strange that it has been so quiet from the club about him I am still expecting to see him at pre-season games.
Roy always speaks very highly of him and seems to envisage his return. I think we are probably more likely to get a £6 or £7 million striker this summer than a £10 or £12 million one and so could see AJ still having seniority at the outset of the new season.
Do you think Roy's attitude to AJ will have changed much after the exploits of Zamora and Gera or do you think AJ is still likely to start, even if it is playing behind Bobby rather than the other way round?

[Lighthouse]

Playing the way we did last year will not work in the Prem this season. We cannot expect to get away with picking up nothing on the road and hoping our home form will see us through. While defending with eleven behind the ball works in Europe it works less well in the Prem. So another striker in a must with or without AJ. But AJ is a must because, if fit he is still a better finisher than anybody else we have.

But will he walk back in to the side? No he will not. He will be a bench warmer for a few months and then in January he will move on. AJ was a good player for us and if we changed the way we played to accomodate injury and BZ then we may do the same for AJ. But asking him to play out of the danger area and in the channals simply will not work.

[finnster01]

Mr Beamer,

I don't really know if I can say AJ was a good player for us (if he left us tomorrow) if I am honest. Ignoring his injury issues (which is also a big ask), I would have expected more from a player we paid that kind of money for.

He was no Steve Marlet, but he wasn't Louis Saha either.

[jarv]

If he is fit, I would like to see him stay, he knows the system and others know him. Fulham do not have too many other options at the moment and under Roy, new players seem to take a long time to blend in. Probably a lot to do with his thoroughness and high standards.

I am still confused though.....with such limited resources just how did Fulham manage to beat so many good teams this season?? Earlier comment about predictability next season, I thought that at the end of last season after finishing 7th. "Can't do that again" I said. We didn't, went one better!

[Tom]

No, he is walking china doll and can't put the ball the back of the onion bag! I really hope that we can sell him.

[LRCN]

yep.

[LBNo11]

...nope...

[alfie]

When BZ & AJ joined us they both had awful first season and got sleighted big time. BZ showed us this season of what he is capable of, but AJ because of injury did not get that chance, i for one would love to see if he can do the same as BZ, you just never know.....

[Scrumpy]

If Roy has a weakness it is his reluctance to change what he considers to be his best eleven. I am pretty sure that he stumbled across the Gera/Bobby partnership and I think he will stick AJ straight back in if he's fit.

But AJ has lost his pace, perhaps even more so now that he's had this further operation. :016: What Roy really wants is a speed merchant who will help us get the goals we need, mostly on the break, away from home. I think he still sees AJ as that man. But I would like us to sign a really quick, young striker. Maybe that way, we would pick up a few more points away from home.

[ScalleysDad]

Its taken a long time to get the best out of BZ and he has had goals served up to him by Gera and the Davies/Duff/Dempsey combo. To change that and have the two front players getting in each others way again or have AJ knocked off the ball all the time will be a huge step backwards. Two goals against a ragged Wigan was about all we got was'nt it ?
Okaka,post attitude beaten out of him, looked like work in progress in a BZ stylii and Elm might be a plan B. Therefore I hope we get something back for him...................... 

[Mr Fulham]

AJ was last year's topscorer with just one goal less than BZ scored this year in the Premiership. Plus 3 FA Cup goals.

http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/andrew-johnson/leistungsdaten/spieler_14031.html

[LBNo11]

If Roy has a weakness it is his reluctance to change what he considers to be his best eleven. I am pretty sure that he stumbled across the Gera/Bobby partnership and I think he will stick AJ straight back in if he's fit.

But AJ has lost his pace, perhaps even more so now that he's had this further operation. :016: What Roy really wants is a speed merchant who will help us get the goals we need, mostly on the break, away from home. I think he still sees AJ as that man. But I would like us to sign a really quick, young striker. Maybe that way, we would pick up a few more points away from home.

...totally agree, word for word.. :045:

[finnster01]

If Roy has a weakness it is his reluctance to change what he considers to be his best eleven. I am pretty sure that he stumbled across the Gera/Bobby partnership and I think he will stick AJ straight back in if he's fit.

But AJ has lost his pace, perhaps even more so now that he's had this further operation. :016: What Roy really wants is a speed merchant who will help us get the goals we need, mostly on the break, away from home. I think he still sees AJ as that man. But I would like us to sign a really quick, young striker. Maybe that way, we would pick up a few more points away from home.

...totally agree, word for word.. :045:

I agree too.

What we need is a bit of David Odonkor. Would be a great signing. He is only 26 as well. He should also be within our price range.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Odonkor

[ScalleysDad]

AJ was last year's topscorer with just one goal less than BZ scored this year in the Premiership. Plus 3 FA Cup goals.

http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/andrew-johnson/leistungsdaten/spieler_14031.html

Yeah I missed a line. I mean't as a performance. He had the Wigan defence turning inside out and even though his shin came in handy it was, IMHO, the only game he played for us where he looked like the player we invested in. It might of course have been linked to some sort of landmark he was striving for ............ wasit 100 goals or something similar.

[Scrumpy]

If Roy has a weakness it is his reluctance to change what he considers to be his best eleven. I am pretty sure that he stumbled across the Gera/Bobby partnership and I think he will stick AJ straight back in if he's fit.

But AJ has lost his pace, perhaps even more so now that he's had this further operation. :016: What Roy really wants is a speed merchant who will help us get the goals we need, mostly on the break, away from home. I think he still sees AJ as that man. But I would like us to sign a really quick, young striker. Maybe that way, we would pick up a few more points away from home.

...totally agree, word for word.. :045:

I agree too.

What we need is a bit of David Odonkor. Would be a great signing. He is only 26 as well. He should also be within our price range.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Odonkor

Yep, a good shout Finnster - someone who is maybe off the radar of the really big clubs. But I would worry about his knees!

[ron]

With the benefit of 20:20 hindsight, alarm bells should have been ringing when the drawn-out process of signing AJ was lengthened by the humming and hawing about the condition of his knees. For a player whose main appeal was his supposed turn of pace ....well, it didn't bode well that there was doubt of any type, particularly for FFC in the cash bracket that was being discussed........

...but then again, 20:20 hindsight is always crystal clear.

[Mr Fulham]

If Roy has a weakness it is his reluctance to change what he considers to be his best eleven. I am pretty sure that he stumbled across the Gera/Bobby partnership and I think he will stick AJ straight back in if he's fit.

But AJ has lost his pace, perhaps even more so now that he's had this further operation. :016: What Roy really wants is a speed merchant who will help us get the goals we need, mostly on the break, away from home. I think he still sees AJ as that man. But I would like us to sign a really quick, young striker. Maybe that way, we would pick up a few more points away from home.

...totally agree, word for word.. :045:

I agree too.

What we need is a bit of David Odonkor. Would be a great signing. He is only 26 as well. He should also be within our price range.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Odonkor

Wow, the guy is probably the worst player in the world, and this is an euphemism!

[CorkedHat]

Mr Fulham said of Odonkor..
Wow, the guy is probably the worst player in the world, and this is an euphemism!

Not while Emile Heskey is playing, he's not.

[HatterDon]

Twelve months ago, the two players MOST moaned about on this site and pretty much all Fulham sites were the two players just rated #s 1 & 2 in the Fulham Player of the 2009-2010 Season balloting. It took us the better part of two seasons to fully appreciate the wisdom of Roy Hodgson in purchasing Gera and Zamora. It also meant that the two "new" goalscoring mavens for Fulham in the season just past didn't cost us a penny in transfer fees last summer.

There's a lesson here -- I would hope -- and two fairly clear observations to make.

1. Trust Roy's initial opinion of AJ's suitablility to execute his strategy
2. If he is fully healed and is capable of playing say 30-35 league and cup matches, then AJ will be a "new" goalscoring maven who won't cost us a penny in transfer fees THIS summer.

If AJ isn't where Roy wants him to be by August, and if Roy doesn't think that AJ will be back to a semblence of his best, Roy will get rid of him. Personally, I thought AJ was on his way to a good season with us when we lost him to that cross-body block against the Russians. We'll never know, but if most supporters had gotten their wishes 12 months ago, we'd have not seen Gera nor Zamora in black and white after May 2009.

Jus sayin'

[ScalleysDad]

Interesting angle Mr Hatter but the Gera/BZ option up front has had time to settle, by accident really, and with Duff, Demps and Davies providing the support it works ............. for the most part. Where it did'nt I doubt AJ would have made much of a difference at the likes of Stoke and Blackburn. I just don't see where AJ would fit in now or who would need to be dropped to accomodate him. BZ as the spearhead has done him the world of good and I doubt the two out and out forwards plan will work again. How many times did we groan when they got in each others way ? Less talented but in many respects AJ is our Michael Owen. The name lingers but the threat has gone.
Of course the summer will be a time of angst as post World Cup the papers will have nothing to talk about other than transfers and replacements. I suspect we will feature heavily in both columns.