When Adam Johnson joined the ever-growing force of Manchester City in the January transfer window of 2010, he was considered one of the brightest new talents of English football. However, at the time it was debated whether he would see regular first team football and if this was the best move for his long-term career. Even so, Johnson made 16 league appearances in his first season and 31 in his second. He appeared to be becoming a part of the club’s future and an integrated member of the first team.
However, with Roberto Mancini’s words to the media this week he is “disappointed when he doesn’t put everything on the pitch.”, it appears that Johnson still has something to prove. For the manager to openly question a player’s effort on the pitch after scoring and assisting another, it’s a pretty strong statement to make. Whether or not the player’s efforts on the pitch are unsatisfactory, the fact that Mancini made a point of it after a 5-2 win shows some amount of tension. He obviously expects more from Johnson and a more professional attitude during the 90 minutes.
Mancini went on to say “But he needs to think, ‘I scored one goal, I did one assist, I should continue because I want to score another goal and another assist, and run back to defend’.” This could mean that he wants Johnson to step up to a more responsible role in the team and fulfil all his duties on the pitch more consistently. Although to the people watching, it does seem that the manager is trying to pick holes in a good performance. Whether or not he is looking for excuses to bring Johnson’s role in the first team into question is unknown, but the fact that City’s squad is so strong may now mean that Adam has to work on areas of his game and become more of a complete player to hold down his place.
The rest of this season may well be a crucial one for Johnson as he tries to shape his career and win his place in the Man City team. If the manager doesn’t show the faith in him needed to help him improve his game and give him the chance to fulfil his ambitions, then it may be time for him to move on. As a member of the England international team, it is in his best interests to be playing first team football and reaching the top of his game to become an asset to the national side.
The best place for Johnson to be is a club which can give him guidance and time to develop, without having the pressures of so many world class players lining up in his position. Healthy competition is good and keeps players on their toes and makes them work for their first team place, but Johnson knows at City that if he doesn’t perform, Mancini can just buy someone better, it’s as simple as that, and that’s a lot of pressure. City have short term ambitions and the ‘new’ owners have made it clear that they want to push for supremacy now, no matter what the cost.
At the same time, Johnson needs to be around quality players to facilitate his level of play and give him challenges in his football. There are plenty of ambitious and competitive teams in the Premier League now, who offer European football and would greatly value a talented 24 year old English winger. But it may be beneficial to him to get a more prominent role in a first team and become a driving force and a consistently influential player, without having spells on the bench and uncertainty over his place. At Middlesbrough he emerged as an exciting young player who could stand out in a team and bring a new dimension and inspiration to the club. Even looking back to his first start for Man City against Bolton, where he was man of the match, they seem like times where he enjoyed football more than ever and had momentum behind his career. It would be great to see Adam Johnson with that sort of mentality and impact again, whether it be this season at City or after the summer with a fresh start, because he’s a player that we all want to see on the pitch at his best.
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Pointless article.
He’s a talented player and had an excellent game, but part he is of a squad and a team.
If he needs to work on areas of his game the manager is correct to advise him.