Andy Johnson

[rcgills]

From http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/foot...em/6188413.stm

Everton have called for Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho to retract his comments about striker Andrew Johnson.




Mourinho branded the England striker "untrustworthy" following a challenge with

Chelsea keeper Hilario in the champions' win at Goodison Park.
An Everton statement said: "To publicly question a player of Andrew's integrity and honesty is wholly unacceptable.

Love that last line - they're having a laugh there, surely

[all_funkt_up]

I know it is funny RC. But what pisses me off is the sheer hypocricy of the matter. Mourinho forgets that last week, Drogba was falling all over the shop and indeed, that exchange between he and Jens Lehman was nothing short of shambolic.

i hate to see managers who have players that dive, criticise other players/teams and managers.

All credit on this matter to Stuart Pearce as he did come out last week and lambast his own player for diving.

Has anyone heard about Torquay? Their Chairman has made players sign contracts that stats they will be sacked if they persistantly dive or fane injury. A very noble stance to take. Probably a very easy one when they are all shit as well.

[mrmuzeman]

I do think people getting on Johnsons case is unfair. If you look at any of his 'dives' you will see he is just making the most of a situation, im not blind enough to disagree that in some challenges he definitely makes the most of them, but there is always contact, and I think thats important. From what ive seen he never just outright dives in a no contact cheating way and many players do.

People forget as well thats hes a wee bugger, skinny and only 5"6 so hes gona be getting nudged off the ball by the big defenders an awful lot.

[GaNgStA kEeKs]

Mourinho is hardly one to comment when he has players like Drogba, Robben in his line up doing just as bad, infact worse as Johnson is getting clipped but over reactinga bit whereas the Chelsea two are making something out of no contact whatsoever.

I didnt think Johnson dived yesterday either. His balance was going already and the little push on the back made him go over. If he had been going mad demanding a penalty then fair enough but he didnt, he simply got up and got on with the game.

Mourinho feeling the pressure a bit i feel as he has been snapping a lot recently.

[Beanie]

At the time(and perhaps even still) I thought it was a decent shout for a penalty. Not only was there the slight shove in the back, but Hilario charges from his line, misses the ball and slides right into the path of Johnson. That means AJ then has to deliberatly avoid Hilario and in doing so give up any chance of getting back on the ball.

As Davie Moyes says what does Mourinho want Johnson to do? In that situation Drogba would have dragged his legs over the keeper, thrown himself to the deck, and probably got a penalty out of the situation.

[GETT1NLOTS]

All footballers are cheats. I honestly think that. I have said for YEARS that I love football but hate footballers.

[slick]

Mourinhio had to do it to leave a mark in case the same thing happens again, Fergie started it with Big sam coming in a close second.
It doesent matter what your own players do but just leave a doubt in a referee's mind so they think twice if a similar occurance happens against your team, it works wonders believe me.

[GETT1NLOTS]

Originally Posted by slick

Mourinhio had to do it to leave a mark in case the same thing happens again, Fergie started it with Big sam coming in a close second.
It doesent matter what your own players do but just leave a doubt in a referee's mind so they think twice if a similar occurance happens against your team, it works wonders believe me.

True but sad.

[mrmuzeman]

Johnson himself said: "I merely jumped out of the way of Chelsea's goalkeeper as he came out at my feet. I do not consider myself to be a diver."

Johnson, who joined Everton in the summer from Crystal Palace, added: "I was not trying to get a penalty. I have to say that I feel greatly disappointed that my integrity as a footballer has been unfairly questioned.

"I believe the incident highlighted by Mr Mourinho was badly misinterpreted by him. I hope that the Chelsea manager will retract his statement."

On Sunday, after the game, Mourinho had said: "He's dangerous for opponents because you cannot trust him, and I was not happy with that.

"But I think he was a bit embarrassed and he behaved very well after that."

The Chelsea boss stopped short of calling Johnson a cheat but stated: "In my country we call them 'intelligent' players. In other countries you can use different words and are critical.

"I've been in this country for three years now and I am influenced by your culture. It is a country I admire, I am proud to be part of it.

"For me when a player chases a penalty, he is no longer an intelligent player."

Everton boss David Moyes reacted furiously to Mourinho's accusations - clashing with him on the touchline after the Portuguese made a diving motion with his hands.

Moyes said after the game: "He (Mourinho) has got a big 15 stone striker up front who is quite partial to it (diving) himself.

"I saw the incident on television and I don't think it was a penalty but it certainly wasn't a dive either.

It has been claimed that Everton are considering taking legal action against Mourinho because they believe the reputations of the player and the club were damaged by his comments.

According to a report by the Press Association, Everton are aware that Mourinho gave several, slightly different, interviews after the game.

The one they will base their complaint on is the interview Mourinho gave to Sky Sports in which it is claimed he says: "I know he dives."

Everton reportedly have a full transcript of that interview.

[crowie]

Mourinho apologises.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...em/6196799.stm

[GETT1NLOTS]

I think Mourinho's honeymoon in England is well and truly over. Like SAF he's generally perceived as an arsehole nowadays. In fact, it seems to me that every person within football (bar Stuart Pearce who is a God) is a complete twat of magnificent proportions.

[slick]

He's apologised as he knows he's wrong and he knew he was wrong at the time but it won't stop him doing it again, he's sown a doubt in the refs mind as i mentioned earlier, thats all he wanted to do.

Its a kind of peer pressure and has been going on for yrs, its a game most managers play and as most refs are cowards in the Uk it stands them in good stead for the future.

[mrmuzeman]

Just thought I would post this....

Johnson should have had eight penalties, Hackett concedes

Keith Hackett says Everton's England striker Andrew Johnson may have been harshly treated in being denied several penalties by referees in recent weeks. The admission followed extensive talks with Everton's manager, David Moyes.

Johnson has endured incessant claims this season that he dives, a legacy of similar criticisms during his time with Crystal Palace, and Everton believe that reputation now precedes him. Their disquiet prompted the discussions with Hackett, and the head of the Professional Game Match Officials Board studied video evidence - supplied by the club - of 10 appeals before conceding that the striker seemed unfortunate in eight of them.

"It seems that with Andrew Johnson's pace and ability to go across defenders he has not been getting some of the penalties and free-kicks that he was due," Hackett said yesterday. "I want our referees to go on to the pitch with a blank slate and no preconceived ideas. Maybe it's been down to poor positioning or a lack of help from the assistant referees."

Moyes said: "We set out to clear Andy's name and I believe we have done that. We have had the correct people in here to see it and I have got to say that, of 10 incidents shown of possible penalties, we were told by the correct people that eight of those are definite penalties and the other two were very close. We wanted them to clear Andy Johnson from what has been said about him and the diving issue. Out of the 10 cases we put forward, eight were deemed penalties and the other two were dodgy. When you get that sort of run then things are not quite right."

Johnson pays for diving jibes

The England striker Andrew Johnson believes accusations he is a diver were partly to blame for the ankle injury he suffered last weekend. The Everton forward and his manager David Moyes have been forced to fend off regular jibes about apparent "simulation" in the penalty box and the 25-year-old has made a conscious effort to stay on his feet more recently.

But the former Crystal Palace striker has said the challenge with Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland, which has ruled him out for a month, could have been avoided.

"Usually I try to ride those sort of challenges and jump over the goalkeeper but I have been branded a diver for doing that," he said.

"My foot was planted and it was a sore one. It was a strange challenge because he came through two of us, myself and Dave Unsworth, to try and get the ball. It was a silly challenge and it took us both out but I'm sure he didn't mean it.

"I've gone in for a challenge and heard a crack. I looked down to check that my ankle was still in place. I was so scared that it would be pointing the wrong way but thankfully, I've got out of jail," Johnson added.

Johnson bears no grudge against Kirkland, and he acknowledges that the goalkeeper is not the kind of player to intentionally hurt opponents. "He sent me a text during the week to make sure I was OK and he said he hopes I am back playing soon. It was nice to hear from him."