When Will The Media Realise Adam Johnson Is Not Ignored By Roberto Mancini?

It is clearly the done thing to knock Manchester City, it is impossible for some sections of the press to be entirely positive about the club.  Whilst things on the pitch are going pretty well at the moment, various people feel the need to find some dirt and they aren't shy in flinging it.


City crushed Wolves last night 5-2, defensively we were a bit shambolic at times but as an attacking unit things were pretty impressive, the personel may have been different but the offensive fluidity demonstrated on numerous occasions so far this season was still present.  Man of the match for me was Adam Johnson, a player that can thrill and frustrate in equal measure, last night he was good, I would go as far as to say very good, but rather than focus on this the Sky commentators and pitchline reporter felt the need to find drama and negativity, and to be honest I am getting pretty sick of it.

Johnson is a very good footballer, but he is not as great as the media make him out to be, he is certainly worthy of a place in the squad and he has a massive part to play, but this attitude that he is undroppable I do not understand.  I am a fan of the player perhaps a bigger fan than other fans of the club, but I can still recognise his weaknesses as can Roberto Mancini, pundits in the press however can not.  Commentators, football writers, former players and managers are wowed by his tricky feet, his excellent passing, his precision shooting, but they ignore his occasional lack of willingness to track back or the fact that sometimes he can be a touch too selfish, or that sometimes he overcomplicates situations as opposed to taking the simpler option.

Clearly in this day of modern football, not all players will be running the length of the pitch to attack and then defend, and some players do struggle tackling, but that isn't to say players can't try to improve that side of their game.  That is something that Roberto Mancini is trying to instill in the player, and for me there has definitely been improvements in that side of his game over the last 12 months, the player is working hard to learn but that is being ignored.


If you were to believe what you read in the papers however, you would be lead to believe that Johnson is not rated by Mancini and that the player is heading for the exit, this despite the Italian saying in numerous interviews that AJ is going nowhere and that he personally believes the winger has the potential to be one of the best players in the world in that position.  The general attitude coming from the media is that Johnson is ignored and underused, but the statistics tell an entirely different story.

This season Johnson has started 10 games in all competitions, hardly a bit part player, and last term he appeared in 43 games across all of the teams competitions, these are not the sort of figures being racked up by a player who is supposedly ignored by the manager.


The 24 year old is still learning about the game and he is still developing and this will continue to happen, many have compared him with Joe Cole at Chelsea who played far more games for the Stamford Bridge club than people realised.  Many said he was ignored by the hierarchy at the and that he should move on, he eventually did move, it didn't exactly pan out for him did it....


Johnson is at the right club, with the right manager, he is an important part of the team and will play a massive part this season, maybe someday soon journalists and football reporters will actually do some research and notice how often he appears for the club.