Some thoughts on Stefan Johansen

[MJG]

Personally I didn't think he did anything wrong in that 30 minutes. That's not to say he did much right but if anything McDonald was the culprit with his poor passing and hesitant attitude that night.

30 minutes is no time to judge a player, at least give him a full 45 before we throw him in the reject bin.

[Horsfield_No9]

Hoping he will get a start today as needs games. If he can get back to the form he showed at Celtic then he'll be a great asset to us.

[Chutney]

Ha! Damn, I suppose I ought to have looked up the timing! I was just pleased to have some tidbit of vaguely "itk" information third hand through my friend who'd been told there was bad feelings between them & that's why Johansen refused all contract offers.
At least I got it right that he's from Vardo, which is a tiny island in the Arctic.
Oh, well...
He still must be looking to make a fresh start, and if he can find the form that made him player of the year in his last 2 leagues (he's still only 25, I think), we'll have gotten a great player for a good price.
COYW!

The Norwegian and Scottish leagues are both well below the standard we play at, Johansen hasn't ever played at a level this high, if he can perform as he did at a lower standard then yes we have a good player, if not then its no surprise and as he was cheap, no great loss.

I severely doubt he'll get much game time however as both Parker and McDonald are better than him at DM. That and the fact Jokanovic dragged him off 30 mins in to his debut. If we want more attacking midfielders in there we have LVC and Jozabed and as a box to box player he's competing with Tunnicliffe who has much more experience at this level.

When you look at the squad he seems a bit of a strange signing, almost unnecessary, but he provides extra depth which is never a bad thing, unless it blocks the progression of youngsters like Adeniran, which I really hope it doesn't.

Again very judgmental. how many games have you seen him play? i know i give martin and others some stick and can be cynical at times but this is very harsh. jokanovic actually came out and said the substitution was tactical, not because johansen was playing poorly, and he was reluctant to do it. i'd say give him a bit more than 30 minutes. most of our signings this summer have come from weaker leagues so if that means they're poor then we really are in trouble

Didn't say he was poor, I suggested that he has a lot to prove at this level, which is fair given he's never played here before, and that if he reaches the form he showed previously that he could be a very good player. But like I said we have plenty of options in this area so if he struggles to make the step up its no real loss.

I'd also argue that a lot of the players we've brought in from weaker leagues are yet to prove themselves for us, some are even struggling, well the attacking players anyway. The defenders like Odoi and Madl have adjusted beautifully, lets hope the others do the same eventually!

Having read my post back it is a tad harsh but the fact is we have better players than Johansen as options in central midfield, however I'm sure he is a useful squad player, much like Matilla was, can be called on when needed and cover the starters in cup games to keep us fresh for the league. Central Midfield is one position where we are fully covered in terms of injuries and suspensions.