The hype that is England

[Kevin Carr's Gloves 3277]

Fergie said recently that ManU is a family club and that players get an arm wrapped around them. I don't think he went as far as to say that England tend to hang their own players out to dry, but suggested that may be why a lot of players don't perform.

 

Oh the poor fucking baby. What an arse he is.

[Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0]

As I said, the team ethic ie playing them in the positions they play for their clubs and getting the balance right is what ought to be done, but you are overhyping Englands players. We know Lampard is a top club player, but you can't be called world class when you fail to perform on the world stage as often as he and others have

 

This is true. Time for the media to stop blowing smoke up these lads' arseholes with all the "world class" chat. And sadly Mr. Shearer is one of the very worst offenders.

It turned out that our golden generation were a bunch of gutless pussies without the temperament required for major tournaments. They are well past their peak now and should really have won Euro 2004.

 

Shearer made a good point tonight that Fabio said he wouldn't pick players who were out of form, he wouldn't pick players who weren't fully fit, he wouldn't pick players who weren't playing regularly for their clubs and he wouldn't play people out of position; He ended up doing them all.

[Rob W 0]

its not just temperament - it has to be technique

 

very few England players can control the ball first touch, too much Energizer Bunny play

 

forwards track back - why - all you do is to allow the opposition defence to roll forward

 

there must be a few left footed players out there

[Guest alex]

Don't know if anyone caught Waddle on the radio post-match but he was spot on.

[Sonatine 10136]

Read what the Waddler had to say on the Beeb site, also Graham Taylor made some pretty good points.

 

Chris Waddle

Former England winger on BBC Radio 5 live

 

The FA sit on their backsides and do nothing tournament after tournament after tournament. Why don't they listen? Why don't they look at other countries and ask 'how do they keep producing talent?'

 

We coach talent out of players. We're looking to Gerrard and Rooney to turn up at this tournament but they haven't. So where do we go, where is plan B? We haven't got one. We say we've got pacey wingers, we haven't.

 

The back four can't control it, can't pass it. We lack so many ideas and it is so frustrating. The amount of money in our league is frightening and all we do is waste it on rubbish ideas.

 

Premier League football is a hundred miles an hour, its like basketball. When you play in the Premier League you can go: you attack, we attack, you attack, we attack.

 

Germany play exactly like Bayern Munich, or Shalke or Werder Bremen so they take the football from club level onto the international pitch. We try to take the Premier League onto the pitch and were not technically good enough.

 

We come up against a team that can play little triangles around us. Germany, Spain, all the good sides play around it and we can't adapt to any other system.

 

We kid ourselves thinking we have a chance if we keep the tempo up. We can only play one way and it is poor. You can't go on playing football and hoping to win trophies playing a hundred miles an hour and putting teams under pressure for 90 minutes. You've got to be able to play slow, slow, quick and we can't do it.

 

We should have played 4-5-1 in this tournament. We want Gerrard on the ball more. Gerrard plays in 4-5-1 for Liverpool off Torres and Lampard plays further forward for Chelsea. Rooney's played up front alone all season and scored 30 goals so stick him up front on his own.

 

 

 

Graham Taylor

Former England manager on BBC Radio 5 live

 

Lampard's was a goal, it would have made it 2-2 and who knows how the game would have transpired but that is not the point. We have lost 4-1 and been easily beaten.

 

We won the World Cup in 1966 but since then we have learned nothing from victory. All of the other countries we see them coming on and see how they play and they are miles ahead of us at international level.

 

I look at the centre at Burton and the things we should put in place to ensure the international team is a priority and to develop players and these are so, so important. I would say we have lost our way, but it's not as though we have ever had it.

 

 

The authority of the Football Association has almost totally gone and it is a club situation we are looking at now. I learned from the failure I had as England manager that if we keep trying to play 4-4-2 we are never going to win the World Cup.

 

You need the FA to reassert its authority because they are in charge of the international team. As we have gone on since the formation of the Premier League the power of the FA has gone away more and more. The club power within our game is much higher. [FA Director of Football Development] Trevor Brooking has come up with some good ideas but he has no chance.

[Guest alex]

I like Taylor. He talks sense and he seems like a genuinely decent bloke.

[NJS 4002]

I think there two factors from the Premier league - the players at the top 5 or 6 as it is now are too used to "easy" games against the relegation fodder/ up to the level of Birmingham/Stoke and believe their hype.

 

Also they are used to the majority of decisions going their way which affects results. Gerrard got booked against the US for dissent and he had a look on his face whioh screamed "but I say worse than that every week in England".

 

I would also point out that twice in the last 5 years we have had goal line incidents which were infinitely iffier than yesterdays - the one at Anfield about 4 years ago which I think was probably in but where it was physically impossible for the linesman to be able to see to give it and the one for Tevez at old trafford in the 6-0.

 

Both were given without a nanosecond of hesitation or investigation and I think these players come to expect it.

[ewerk 26790]

While Waddle's comments do make sense, that wasn't the problem at this tournament. The Algerians and Slovenians weren't creating pretty passing triangles. England are a better side than the one that we've seen, any investigation needs to look specifically at what went on in Austria and South Africa and the buck should (probably) stop with the manager.

Edited June 28, 2010 by ewerk

[Guest alex]

Or maybe the players are fannies who spat their dummies out because of a bit of discipline. I see what you're saying but I think they have to take responsibility too. Can you blame Capello for Rooney looking like he couldn't trap a bag of cement against Algeria?

[Christmas Tree 4003]

There will be lots of hand wringing and investigations but at the end of the day we had a manager who froze at tournament level and as Alex says, a bunch of fannies on the field.

 

Basically, the manager has to carry the can......Its time for Harry.

[Guest alex]

There will be lots of hand wringing and investigations but at the end of the day we had a manager who froze at tournament level and as Alex says, a bunch of fannies on the field.

 

Basically, the manager has to carry the can......Its time for Harry.

What do you reckon Capello did wrong though? He had very limited options in too many areas. Getting rid of the manager is just papering over the cracks imo. I think he might walk anyway like.

[Holden McGroin 5055]

At the end of the day its the Managers job to get the best out of the players. We were easy to beat yesterday. They gave us a footballing lesson.

 

I do perhaps think the injury situation has gone against us. Rooney cant be fit. Barry looked out of shape. etc

[Park Life 71]

German football clubs benefit from nurturing young talent

 

January 07, 2010

 

As football transfer fees continue to go through the roof, German football league Bundesliga could find itself ahead of the pack, should the player market grind to a halt. Soccer could then become reliant on young, homegrown talent.

 

Few soccer clubs in 2010 will be able to splash out as much as in previous years. With top players, such as Liverpool striker Fernando Torres valued at a whopping 158 million euros, costing so much to sign and to sustain, most clubs are increasingly reluctant or unable to shell out the money for the world's best.

 

This means that if the player price hike continues as predicted, fewer and fewer world class stars will be on the move. Eventually, the transfer market will grind to a halt, with the top players all huddled together in London, Madrid or Manchester – or forced to accept their lot at their current clubs.

 

As the value of players continues to rise, many teams have adopted the philosophy of 'speculate to accumulate'; they're developing their youth systems, nurturing young local talent and buying the potential stars of the future on the cheap.

 

German clubs under orders to nurture youth

 

In Germany, the emphasis on youth development has been the cornerstone of the national team's continued success and the slow but steady rise of the Bundesliga through the ranks of the European leagues.

 

While English, Italian and Spanish teams were spending millions on snapping up youngsters from Africa to Asia in the 2006/07 season, Bundesliga clubs were inwardly investing a total of 44 million euros in youth academies.

 

Bundesliga clubs are obliged under the German Soccer Association's (DFB) regulations to manage and maintain youth academies in order to be eligible for the licenses they need to operate in the league. The DFB regularly does spot-checks on Bundesliga clubs to assess their youth programmes and make sure they meet its criteria. This includes fielding a sufficient number of youth teams in a variety of age groups, maintaining adequate training pitches and providing good-quality standards in terms of sporting, medical and educational care for the youngsters.

 

International success ingrained at an early age

 

National coach Joachim Loew is particularly happy with this approach, especially after Germany's youngsters won the UEFA Under-17 and UEFA Under-21 European titles in 2009. "The youth academies of the Bundesliga are a kind of elite school for the best, and an excellent institution which is bearing fruits," he said recently. "Numerous excellent players from these academies have managed to go professional already."

 

Turning to youth out of necessity

 

The Bundesliga clubs are well aware of the value of the German youth system – for example, current league leaders Bayer Leverkusen have an average age of just 23. While the youth system undoubtedly provides teams with capable players, most German clubs are relying on youth out of necessity because most world-class stars ignore the advances of Bundesliga.

 

Despite being able to attract the likes of Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and Luca Toni in recent years, even Bayern Munich are talking about looking closer to home for the stars of the future.

 

Bayern could turn to homegrown talent

 

A training session at Bayern MunichBayern did invest heavily in new, established talent during the summer transfer window. But following a disappointing start to the season under new coach Louis van Gaal, Sporting Director Christian Nerlinger announced that a new emphasis on youth will be at the centre of Bayern's transfer policy.

 

"We're keeping a close eye on a few of our youngsters who we believe may have the quality to play for Bayern Munich," Nerlinger told reporters. "They will soon be invited to train with the senior squad, allowing the coaching staff to gain a first-hand impression for themselves.

 

"On the one hand you have the Riberys and Tonis, who we need for consistent success," he added. "On the other hand, you have players coming out of our superb development system and the squad has plenty of those."

 

So, in the event that the world soccer transfer market becomes gridlocked by massive fees, the Bundesliga clubs may find themselves ahead of the pack when it comes to sending out their boys to do a man's job.

[Holden McGroin 5055]

There will be lots of hand wringing and investigations but at the end of the day we had a manager who froze at tournament level and as Alex says, a bunch of fannies on the field.

 

Basically, the manager has to carry the can......Its time for Harry.

What do you reckon Capello did wrong though? He had very limited options in too many areas. Getting rid of the manager is just papering over the cracks imo. I think he might walk anyway like.

 

The only thing he could have done differently was to perhaps play 4-5-1 or just set us up to be harder to beat. We didnt press them as a team and left massive gaps everywhere. The personnel was very limited. Apart from Adam Johnson I cant really think of any players he left at home that were good enough. Apart from Andy Carroll.

[Guest alex]

There will be lots of hand wringing and investigations but at the end of the day we had a manager who froze at tournament level and as Alex says, a bunch of fannies on the field.

 

Basically, the manager has to carry the can......Its time for Harry.

What do you reckon Capello did wrong though? He had very limited options in too many areas. Getting rid of the manager is just papering over the cracks imo. I think he might walk anyway like.

 

The only thing he could have done differently was to perhaps play 4-5-1 or just set us up to be harder to beat. We didnt press them as a team and left massive gaps everywhere. The personnel was very limited. Apart from Adam Johnson I cant really think of any players he left at home that were good enough. Apart from Andy Carroll.

I'd have taken Johnson but he wouldn't have made much difference (seriously doubt he'd have made a single appearance anyway). Agree about the 4-5-1 but like we said earlier in the competition it's a bit late to be experimenting with stuff like that.

[angrysteve 0]

There will be lots of hand wringing and investigations but at the end of the day we had a manager who froze at tournament level and as Alex says, a bunch of fannies on the field.

 

Basically, the manager has to carry the can......Its time for Harry.

What do you reckon Capello did wrong though? He had very limited options in too many areas. Getting rid of the manager is just papering over the cracks imo. I think he might walk anyway like.

 

Exactly. Is a different manager not just going to pick the same old underachievers a Fabio did, as Mclaren did, as Sven did. Surely now it's time for a rethink...

 

Was talking to my friend last night about this and we both think now is a good time to bring in new blood. Personally I cannot stand Gerard, he is far too greedy, playing the whole solo man on a mission role & trying to be a hero and as mentioned earlier does not produce his club form at this level (be that as a result of positioning or the players around him, or he simply isn't good enough) but realistically who have we got coming through in central midfield (that has either the ability or the potential to play at this level)???

[Park Life 71]

There will be lots of hand wringing and investigations but at the end of the day we had a manager who froze at tournament level and as Alex says, a bunch of fannies on the field.

 

Basically, the manager has to carry the can......Its time for Harry.

What do you reckon Capello did wrong though? He had very limited options in too many areas. Getting rid of the manager is just papering over the cracks imo. I think he might walk anyway like.

 

Exactly. Is a different manager not just going to pick the same old underachievers a Fabio did, as Mclaren did, as Sven did. Surely now it's time for a rethink...

 

Was talking to my friend last night about this and we both think now is a good time to bring in new blood. Personally I cannot stand Gerard, he is far too greedy, playing the whole solo man on a mission role & trying to be a hero and as mentioned earlier does not produce his club form at this level (be that as a result of positioning or the players around him, or he simply isn't good enough) but realistically who have we got coming through in central midfield (that has either the ability or the potential to play at this level)???

 

It is impossible to create english footballers with a good pitch brain and technical ability (time on the ball) in the PL. End of story. At international level where there is more space and variations of tempo our players look panicked and confused.

[Dr Gloom 20134]

There will be lots of hand wringing and investigations but at the end of the day we had a manager who froze at tournament level and as Alex says, a bunch of fannies on the field.

 

Basically, the manager has to carry the can......Its time for Harry.

What do you reckon Capello did wrong though? He had very limited options in too many areas. Getting rid of the manager is just papering over the cracks imo. I think he might walk anyway like.

 

i blame the players for being gutless but capello did get a lot wrong in this tournament. he was very disappointing after a good qualifying campaign.

 

playing players out of position, playing players that were half fit, not having the balls to drop or sub under-performing big name players. this is something i thought he would be good at - he wasn't afraid to drop beckham at real madrid but seemed to adopt the sven problem of being afraid to drop or sub the likes of lampard and rooney.

 

his faith in hesky was bonkers. bringing a guy on who doesn't score when you're chasing two goals left me speechless, especially when crouch, a guy with a good international scoring record, was hardly used.

 

i think we also saw a fairly stubborn coach at this world cup. his refusal to adjust his rigid 4-4-2 when it was clear that it wasn't working and the whole nation was crying out for 4-5-1 with gerrard just behind rooney. again, very sven-like. too rigid. i don't think flat banks of four work at the highest level anymore, especially when our holding palyer is unfit and the two centre halfs are slow and defend like amauters.

[Christmas Tree 4003]

There will be lots of hand wringing and investigations but at the end of the day we had a manager who froze at tournament level and as Alex says, a bunch of fannies on the field.

 

Basically, the manager has to carry the can......Its time for Harry.

What do you reckon Capello did wrong though? He had very limited options in too many areas. Getting rid of the manager is just papering over the cracks imo. I think he might walk anyway like.

 

A lot of pundits and the like are arguing that the system was wrong and that it would have been better playing gerrard off rooney. Even if Capello felt 442 was better, there should have been a plan B when it wasnt working. And why swap a striker for a striker when your chasing a game in knock out football.

 

I also dont buy this very stern authoritarian approach. Im sure with fannies like we have, a Keegan / Harry arm round the shoulder jovial bit of carry on might have helped.

[Guest alex]

There will be lots of hand wringing and investigations but at the end of the day we had a manager who froze at tournament level and as Alex says, a bunch of fannies on the field.

 

Basically, the manager has to carry the can......Its time for Harry.

What do you reckon Capello did wrong though? He had very limited options in too many areas. Getting rid of the manager is just papering over the cracks imo. I think he might walk anyway like.

 

A lot of pundits and the like are arguing that the system was wrong and that it would have been better playing gerrard off rooney. Even if Capello felt 442 was better, there should have been a plan B when it wasnt working. And why swap a striker for a striker when your chasing a game in knock out football.

 

I also dont buy this very stern authoritarian approach. Im sure with fannies like we have, a Keegan / Harry arm round the shoulder jovial bit of carry on might have helped.

Agree with the first bit being an argument but that may not have worked (should have been tried earlier perhaps). But he's undoubtedly one of the best managers in the world so I think it's a case of the players not being good enough in certain areas, bad luck with injuries and a lack of form from key players. Putting them 3 right and playing a different system and we still wouldn't have won it like. If the players go into the huff because of a bit of discipline though they don't deserve a thing.

[Park Life 71]

There will be lots of hand wringing and investigations but at the end of the day we had a manager who froze at tournament level and as Alex says, a bunch of fannies on the field.

 

Basically, the manager has to carry the can......Its time for Harry.

What do you reckon Capello did wrong though? He had very limited options in too many areas. Getting rid of the manager is just papering over the cracks imo. I think he might walk anyway like.

 

i blame the players for being gutless but capello did get a lot wrong in this tournament. he was very disappointing after a good qualifying campaign.

 

playing players out of position, playing players that were half fit, not having the balls to drop or sub under-performing big name players. this is something i thought he would be good at - he wasn't afraid to drop beckham at real madrid but seemed to adopt the sven problem of being afraid to drop or sub the likes of lampard and rooney.

 

his faith in hesky was bonkers. bringing a guy on who doesn't score when you're chasing two goals left me speechless, especially when crouch, a guy with a good international scoring record, was hardly used.

 

i think we also saw a fairly stubborn coach at this world cup. his refusal to adjust his rigid 4-4-2 when it was clear that it wasn't working and the whole nation was crying out for 4-5-1 with gerrard just behind rooney. again, very sven-like. too rigid. i don't think flat banks of four work at the highest level anymore, especially when our holding palyer is unfit and the two centre halfs are slow and defend like amauters.

 

Agree with most of that. The main thing is that you have to have a system where players coming in know what their role is - the whole German team I'd wager know where they should be on the pitch at any given moment and they've stuck with these two holding midfielders releasing attacks for god knows how long.

[Christmas Tree 4003]

There will be lots of hand wringing and investigations but at the end of the day we had a manager who froze at tournament level and as Alex says, a bunch of fannies on the field.

 

Basically, the manager has to carry the can......Its time for Harry.

What do you reckon Capello did wrong though? He had very limited options in too many areas. Getting rid of the manager is just papering over the cracks imo. I think he might walk anyway like.

 

A lot of pundits and the like are arguing that the system was wrong and that it would have been better playing gerrard off rooney. Even if Capello felt 442 was better, there should have been a plan B when it wasnt working. And why swap a striker for a striker when your chasing a game in knock out football.

 

I also dont buy this very stern authoritarian approach. Im sure with fannies like we have, a Keegan / Harry arm round the shoulder jovial bit of carry on might have helped.

Agree with the first bit being an argument but that may not have worked (should have been tried earlier perhaps). But he's undoubtedly one of the best managers in the world so I think it's a case of the players not being good enough in certain areas, bad luck with injuries and a lack of form from key players. Putting them 3 right and playing a different system and we still wouldn't have won it like. If the players go into the huff because of a bit of discipline though they don't deserve a thing.

 

 

I must confess being a tad older and having lived through the pain on many occasions, I didnt get carried away by the over hype this time and sort of new what was coming as the tournament stumbled on.

 

I agree a lot of those things have a bearing but cant help thinking Capello should have had more in his locker to change personell or tactics from half to half, never mind game to game.

 

He's gotta go for me.

[Guest alex]

There will be lots of hand wringing and investigations but at the end of the day we had a manager who froze at tournament level and as Alex says, a bunch of fannies on the field.

 

Basically, the manager has to carry the can......Its time for Harry.

What do you reckon Capello did wrong though? He had very limited options in too many areas. Getting rid of the manager is just papering over the cracks imo. I think he might walk anyway like.

 

i blame the players for being gutless but capello did get a lot wrong in this tournament. he was very disappointing after a good qualifying campaign.

 

playing players out of position, playing players that were half fit, not having the balls to drop or sub under-performing big name players. this is something i thought he would be good at - he wasn't afraid to drop beckham at real madrid but seemed to adopt the sven problem of being afraid to drop or sub the likes of lampard and rooney.

 

his faith in hesky was bonkers. bringing a guy on who doesn't score when you're chasing two goals left me speechless, especially when crouch, a guy with a good international scoring record, was hardly used.

 

i think we also saw a fairly stubborn coach at this world cup. his refusal to adjust his rigid 4-4-2 when it was clear that it wasn't working and the whole nation was crying out for 4-5-1 with gerrard just behind rooney. again, very sven-like. too rigid. i don't think flat banks of four work at the highest level anymore, especially when our holding palyer is unfit and the two centre halfs are slow and defend like amauters.

What would you have differently and who would you have played instead though? I think there are different options he could have used but not ones that would have made much different. That's my point really, he was pretty restricted. I don't think we can do much better either.

[Guest alex]

There will be lots of hand wringing and investigations but at the end of the day we had a manager who froze at tournament level and as Alex says, a bunch of fannies on the field.

 

Basically, the manager has to carry the can......Its time for Harry.

What do you reckon Capello did wrong though? He had very limited options in too many areas. Getting rid of the manager is just papering over the cracks imo. I think he might walk anyway like.

 

A lot of pundits and the like are arguing that the system was wrong and that it would have been better playing gerrard off rooney. Even if Capello felt 442 was better, there should have been a plan B when it wasnt working. And why swap a striker for a striker when your chasing a game in knock out football.

 

I also dont buy this very stern authoritarian approach. Im sure with fannies like we have, a Keegan / Harry arm round the shoulder jovial bit of carry on might have helped.

Agree with the first bit being an argument but that may not have worked (should have been tried earlier perhaps). But he's undoubtedly one of the best managers in the world so I think it's a case of the players not being good enough in certain areas, bad luck with injuries and a lack of form from key players. Putting them 3 right and playing a different system and we still wouldn't have won it like. If the players go into the huff because of a bit of discipline though they don't deserve a thing.

 

 

I must confess being a tad older and having lived through the pain on many occasions, I didnt get carried away by the over hype this time and sort of new what was coming as the tournament stumbled on.

 

I agree a lot of those things have a bearing but cant help thinking Capello should have had more in his locker to change personell or tactics from half to half, never mind game to game.

 

He's gotta go for me.

I think the last bit sort of contradicts the rest of what you say, i.e. England aren't that good but getting rid of the manager is the answer. Don't agree it'll change things for the better. Anyway, I think you'll probably get your wish.

[Dr Gloom 20134]

There will be lots of hand wringing and investigations but at the end of the day we had a manager who froze at tournament level and as Alex says, a bunch of fannies on the field.

 

Basically, the manager has to carry the can......Its time for Harry.

What do you reckon Capello did wrong though? He had very limited options in too many areas. Getting rid of the manager is just papering over the cracks imo. I think he might walk anyway like.

 

i blame the players for being gutless but capello did get a lot wrong in this tournament. he was very disappointing after a good qualifying campaign.

 

playing players out of position, playing players that were half fit, not having the balls to drop or sub under-performing big name players. this is something i thought he would be good at - he wasn't afraid to drop beckham at real madrid but seemed to adopt the sven problem of being afraid to drop or sub the likes of lampard and rooney.

 

his faith in hesky was bonkers. bringing a guy on who doesn't score when you're chasing two goals left me speechless, especially when crouch, a guy with a good international scoring record, was hardly used.

 

i think we also saw a fairly stubborn coach at this world cup. his refusal to adjust his rigid 4-4-2 when it was clear that it wasn't working and the whole nation was crying out for 4-5-1 with gerrard just behind rooney. again, very sven-like. too rigid. i don't think flat banks of four work at the highest level anymore, especially when our holding palyer is unfit and the two centre halfs are slow and defend like amauters.

What would you have differently and who would you have played instead though? I think there are different options he could have used but not ones that would have made much different. That's my point really, he was pretty restricted. I don't think we can do much better either.

 

he was restricted by the players being gutless and playing with fear but he didn't do himself any favours. i don't think capello has enhanced his reputation in anyway after this tournament. in fact, i think he should hang his head as low as the players. he got a lot wrong. obviously we can all talk a good game as armchair pundits but i think some of what he got wrong was basics. he was just too stubborn as a manager, too rigid and didn't seem to have a plan b. in terms of what i'd do differently , there's a list as long as my arm:

 

i probably would have played a 4-5-1 after it became clear 4-4-2 wasn't working.

 

i wouldn't have played gerrard and lampard in the middle togethe rlike he did for the usa game. the sven era proved all they do is get in each other's way.

 

i wouldn't have played gerrard out wide. it was a waste of our best central midfielder. he should have played instead of lampard in the middle, or just behind rooney at the expense of heskey.

 

i probably wouldn't have played heskey at all. this whole "he's a great team player" argument doesn't stack up at international level when you look at his lack of goals.

 

i wouldn't have taken half fit players like barry or perma crocks like king.

 

i would have used players like lennon and instructed them to stick to the wing and attack their fullback instead of cutting inside, like he does week in week out for spurs. lennon must be blamed for his poor performances - like most of them he played with fear - but it's the manager's job to tell him where he's going wrong and how to put it right. i was disappointed that capello droped our only player with genuine pace and he wasn't able to get the best out of him.

 

i would have brought wallcott too or adam johnson ahead of swp too. johnson did enough to be a wild card pick and probably would have got a game or two to be fair.