AJ is..

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

...shocking at crossing the ball and needs to learn from David Silva how to do it correctly.

Very true. Truly talented lad but just hasnt got the touch to get his crosses right. To be fair to him he does practice them a lot but even when he isn't on the move and there are no defenders around he is just very hit and miss with crosses/passes.

[highlight]What does it matter though?[/highlight]I mean, we haven't scored single Premier League goal from a header this season to my recollection. I don't think Mancini's brand of football ever was or will ever be about wingers running near the corner flag and crossing from there. That's why he has wingers on opposite sides to their "natural" flank. Because he wants them to cut in and have a crack at goal or deliver pass through ground to striker(s).

It matters because we'll play against many teams that will shut Johnson out completely from cutting inside and openly show him the by-line on the right wing onto his week foot and then into the corner. You are suggesting that it's not important he develops a crucial aspect of any wide player's game. Johnson's already had a few quiet games this season.

If he learns to cross or pass first time like David Silva does he would have not had a single quiet game and would be on the way to becoming an all time England Great. He's 23 years old and needs to develop this aspect of his game which should have being trained into him when he was under 20.

I'm only being overly critical of Johnson as I see it in him to become the best wide player in the country and learning how to cross and pass a ball into the penalty box is something that can be learned with some practice. The skills he shows beating men is something that cannot be naturally trained so he's onto a winner but lets develop him further to be the best.

Silva's had many more quiet games so far than AJ and he is one of the best in the world when in full flow. That's part of being winger. There will always be days when you can't beat your fullback consistently. Happens to every winger in the world including Tranaldo and Messi. Difference between good and great winger is that good winger will beat his man every other game and great winger two games out of three.

And I'm not saying he shouldn't train crossing. What I'm saying is that I'm more than delighted the way he already plays and I love the way Mancini is using him.

[Socrates]

...shocking at crossing the ball and needs to learn from David Silva how to do it correctly.

Very true. Truly talented lad but just hasnt got the touch to get his crosses right. To be fair to him he does practice them a lot but even when he isn't on the move and there are no defenders around he is just very hit and miss with crosses/passes.

[highlight]What does it matter though?[/highlight]I mean, we haven't scored single Premier League goal from a header this season to my recollection. I don't think Mancini's brand of football ever was or will ever be about wingers running near the corner flag and crossing from there. That's why he has wingers on opposite sides to their "natural" flank. Because he wants them to cut in and have a crack at goal or deliver pass through ground to striker(s).

It matters because we'll play against many teams that will shut Johnson out completely from cutting inside and openly show him the by-line on the right wing onto his weak foot and then into the corner. Sometimes you need to simply cross or pass the ball quickly into the box. You are suggesting that it's not important he develops a crucial aspect of any wide player's game. Johnson's already had a few quiet games this season.

If he learns to cross or pass first time like David Silva does he would have not had a single quiet game and would be on the way to becoming an all time England Great. He's 23 years old and needs to develop this aspect of his game which should have being trained into him when he was under 20.

I'm only being overly critical of Johnson as I see it in him to become the best wide player in the country and learning how to cross and pass a ball into the penalty box is something that can be learned with some practice. The skills he shows beating men is something that cannot be naturally trained so he's onto a winner but lets develop him further to be the best.

How many times do people have to see him either a) still beat he man who has shown him outside or b) get to the byline near the corner flag then dribble past the defender get into the penalty area and either square the ball or win a penalty before they click that crossing isn't his best option anyway? It's not as if we still have Niall Quinn platung for us anyway...

[Lees Alter Ego]

anyone heard he is becomming a bit of an "ego maniac". Someone mentioned this to me the other day and I had heard nothing of the sort

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

anyone heard he is becomming a bit of an "ego maniac". Someone mentioned this to me the other day and I had heard nothing of the sort

There were rumours of him hitting the town in some frequency and that some people were pissed off at him after Blackburn for not passing enough or something like that.

[Crossie]

We dont want a team off 10 david silva's though, no matter how class he is.

AJ brings another dimension to our game, the threat of a winger who can dribble and cut in, shoot and pass. It keeps the other team guessing, for 90 minutes.

Fucking awesome.

[Ted Hughes]

...shocking at crossing the ball and needs to learn from David Silva how to do it correctly.

Very true. Truly talented lad but just hasnt got the touch to get his crosses right. To be fair to him he does practice them a lot but even when he isn't on the move and there are no defenders around he is just very hit and miss with crosses/passes.

[highlight]What does it matter though?[/highlight]I mean, we haven't scored single Premier League goal from a header this season to my recollection. I don't think Mancini's brand of football ever was or will ever be about wingers running near the corner flag and crossing from there. That's why he has wingers on opposite sides to their "natural" flank. Because he wants them to cut in and have a crack at goal or deliver pass through ground to striker(s).

It matters because we'll play against many teams that will shut Johnson out completely from cutting inside and openly show him the by-line on the right wing onto his weak foot and then into the corner. Sometimes you need to simply cross or pass the ball quickly into the box. You are suggesting that it's not important he develops a crucial aspect of any wide player's game. Johnson's already had a few quiet games this season.

If he learns to cross or pass first time like David Silva does he would have not had a single quiet game and would be on the way to becoming an all time England Great. He's 23 years old and needs to develop this aspect of his game which should have being trained into him when he was under 20.

I'm only being overly critical of Johnson as I see it in him to become the best wide player in the country and learning how to cross and pass a ball into the penalty box is something that can be learned with some practice. The skills he shows beating men is something that cannot be naturally trained so he's onto a winner but lets develop him further to be the best.

How many times do people have to see him either a) still beat he man who has shown him outside or b) get to the byline near the corner flag then dribble past the defender get into the penalty area and either square the ball or win a penalty before they click that crossing isn't his best option anyway? It's not as if we still have Niall Quinn platung for us anyway...

Clearly not Mancini, as he's now starting to play him 50% on the left.

[Ted Hughes]

Can I explain what I, & I think some other people mean by 'crossing'? It doesn't have to be a ball in the air resulting in a header (like Silva did yesterday) It can be a ball threaded through from a wideish position (like Silva did yesterday) or even a ball delivered with pace to the near post (like Silva did to Tevez at Blackpool).

Johnson needs to do all of these things regularly to A) stay in City's team as a wide player B) Stay in the England team as a wide player. If you think he can survive purely by shooting & winning occasional penalties you are wrong. All of the best wide players have learned that. Those who haven't get replaced. If SWP put decent balls in consistently, AJ would mostly be on the bench until he did the same.

City as a team need to 'do' crosses at some point and are starting to. It's simply not true that Mancini doesn't want it; he does & it will eventually happen, like it has in the last few games. If AJ can't cross the ball accurately, he'll get replaced by someone who can. I'm sure he can do it & will start to do it; Mancini will make him do it. It's an essential part of football.

[brite blu sky]

Not sure what this discussion is all about. personally im sure i have seen him float good crosses in first time, cut in and pass into or across the box or short one twos, cut in shoot and score, run wide and right round the back and into the box and pass. All successfully at times. That seems to me to be a pretty good repertoire.

I think he is still getting used to the Prem and the players he is coming up against week in week out and his decision making could improve, but i think it will with Mancini's help and a bit of time.

No worries AJ, keep on going, keep on trying and keep on learning. Plenty of time.

[ashton287]

Better than Conaldo was, when he 1st signed for United..

Sure he's naive and he makes the wrong choice sometimes, but he is so exciting to watch and I can only see him getting better! His run and shot onto the bar tonight was awesome! He has a cockiness, that some would see as a flaw, but is apparent in all the top players.

I'm not saying he's world class, but that his potential is frightening! I also think, he is going to be underused.. We have Silva, who is looking like a class act and an important part of our team, balotelli to come.. can we fit them all in? I honestly think that AJ will go on to be world class and the fact that I'm thinking he'll not be used enough, is indicative of the squad we have.

Such good times ahead!

Don't wanna piss on your chips, but Ronaldo's greatest asset is his pace paired with brilliant technique. AJ doesn't have the same pace. Ronaldo was pretty pap his first years, until he learned how to control the ball in speed, which made him almost unstoppable. I hate the cunt, but so far AJ got nothing on him.

You're not pissing on my chips - you just have a different opinion! AJ is far from slow, granted not as quick as Ronaldo, but he ain't that far off.. Also he wasn't pap, just not world player of the year - which is what he went to become. My only comparison is one of potential, and I was just trying to say I'm excited as to what AJ can achieve.

The thing everyone ignores or just completely misses about ronaldo is his strength. He is tall and a fucking meat head as well as being fast and skillful. Basically he is a freak of nature. One of then natural athlete types. Kids like AJ can never be on the same level but AJ will still be world class because neither messi, kaka, eto or tevez or any others that you would call world class have that natural ability either. There just really good at football.

AJ will do his part in helping us win the league soon enough. He will be the best player in the england squad for a long time to come and probably the best wide player in the prem aswell. Hope he carries on doing what he is doing, grabs a few more goals while setting a few up and mancini realises that sometimes it helps to have him run at defenders and skin them a few times even if it doesnt come to nothing because it creates a fear in defenders that causes them to make mistakes.

[Mase]

AJ's still quite raw. He's an outstanding talent, but his decision making does come in to question at times. This is to be expect though with any twenty-two year old who's jumped from playing Championship football to being an England international within a year.

One thing is for sure and that is he's going to be one of the most exciting players we'll see for possibly up to the next ten years.

[Piccsnumberoneblue]

AJ has the basic raw material of the ability to beat not just one but two players at a time. That is a bloody good start