[KN22]

Could we have a better keeper than him? Of course we could. But as others have said I do not see him as being to blame for the goal yesterday. Neither doI see Bond as Corberan that some do. That’s opinions for you. We all have em!

[tuamigos]

Says the man who suggested swapping Burke for Johnstone on the Burke thread. It's not criticism it's taking the urine.

I wasn't joking
 

[Atomic]

I don't blame Johnstone for yesterday's goal.

First one to blame is Bartley. The corner came from a Smith header that went wide. Bartley was actually in front of Smith who Bartley then allowed to out-strength him and get on his wrong side. Smith never should've got to that ball.

Next to blame is the referee. There was no touch by an Albion player, it should've been a goal kick.

The corner was not dealt with well enough we weren't organised enough. Bartley and Ferguson both go for the same header and both get caught underneath the ball. Ferguson then doesn't make enough effort to block the second cross and then what Robson-Kanu is doing at the far post I don't know.

[wodenson46]

I don't blame Johnstone for yesterday's goal.

First one to blame is Bartley. The corner came from a Smith header that went wide. Bartley was actually in front of Smith who Bartley then allowed to out-strength him and get on his wrong side. Smith never should've got to that ball.

Next to blame is the referee. There was no touch by an Albion player, it should've been a goal kick.

The corner was not dealt with well enough we weren't organised enough. Bartley and Ferguson both go for the same header and both get caught underneath the ball. Ferguson then doesn't make enough effort to block the second cross and then what Robson-Kanu is doing at the far post I don't know.

And in the midst of all this is a player allowed to use his hands, and who will get total protection from contact who did nothing to try to alleviate the situation. I do not believe from the evidence of last season and so far this season that our present goalkeeper is of the required standard for this team. Our other keeper, Bond deserves an opportunity to claim the position, and if he is no better we need to look elsewhere.

[Atomic]

And in the midst of all this is a player allowed to use his hands, and who will get total protection from contact who did nothing to try to alleviate the situation. I do not believe from the evidence of last season and so far this season that our present goalkeeper is of the required standard for this team. Our other keeper, Bond deserves an opportunity to claim the position, and if he is no better we need to look elsewhere.

I'm not  a big Johnstone fan either but I don't want any keeper coming for a ball he's not confident of getting. I'm not sure he'd have got either cross had he come for it. I'd expect my defenders to deal with it.

[lewisant]

I think it's harsh to blame him for yesterday's goal. I'd like to see us improve on him in January but i think yesterday was not his fault.

[baggie82]

Matt Wilson who is fairly level headed blamed him for not coming for the cross and pointed out he was poor at Forest as well and would be disappointed with his performances so far this season. Hard to argue. We did alright yesterday but when your GK and main striker are both poor it’s a big issue.

[zippyandbungle]

Matt Wilson who is fairly level headed blamed him for not coming for the cross and pointed out he was poor at Forest as well and would be disappointed with his performances so far this season. Hard to argue. We did alright yesterday but when your GK and main striker are both poor it’s a big issue.

Matt Wilson blamed him
Plenty fans blamed him
Crucially a seasoned professional "Gibbs" also blamed him

Somebody mentioned earlier (whilst supporting him) that they didn't want him coming for crosses he was not confident of getting......that's sort of the point
Someone also said that Bond is not Corberan......neither is my mom , but I'd be more confident of a clean sheet with either of them over SJ

People can choose to form their own opinions, but for me if he is in goal we won't go up

[boinging_along]

I'm not a fan but I honestly think it was harsh to blame him for yesterday's goal. 

On the whole, I think his agility is sorely lacking which is why he struggles to get to shots you could throw your cap on.  He's ok at reflex shot stopping and his distribution is pretty good but outside of that, we look like we'll concede if there's a decent effort straight at him.  There was one point yesterday where he dragged it back inside the forward when there was a really easy pass on.  Absolutely no need for him to do that.

[TheBrom]

I would have him out of the team immediately
I've seen posts where people are sticking up for him based on the odd match when he makes a couple of save....that's his job
In general I'm not sure anyone can actually say he breeds confidence, I also don't think we can blame the poor keeping on the flawed practice of playing from the back last season.....it wouldn't make you st Ck on your line when the ball/defence/crowd are desperate for an authorative claim

We can go around in circles daily, some will defend some will chastise

My view is that he is well below the standard required and almost anybody else would be an upgrade

Also want to add that the lack of confidence clearly rubs off on other players and breeds uncertainty. Sometimes it's good to switch it up, especially if Bond plays midweek and has a good game.

On top of that as well as losing confidence in the keeper, the players lose focus; for their goal, the move that led to the corner had Gibbs having an extremely heated discussion with Johnstone, who came rushing off his line (ironially) to go and respond to Gibbs. They had to both be pushed back to their positions as the corner was about to come in, and I can guarantee they were both still wound up as play continued and ultimately they scored. From what I say yesterday it seems like it's not just the fans that are getting annoyed with SJ not coming off his line.

[caravanc58]

it was highlighted during his time at the seals that he was reluctant to come off his line. obviously you expect your defenders to win aireal duals but they won't win them all so it's imperative that the goalkeeper at least commands the 6 yards box. not sure he's entirely to blame for Millwalls equaliser but if he doesn't improve this part of his game we will concede many more goals of this type. needs telling he's not an Ant and it's safe to cross the white line.

[Dan87uk]

Has been a liability since day one and I genuinley have anxiety anytime the ball comes near him.

When you combine him with calamity Kyle it makes for the absolute worst joke of a duo to have defending the goal.

Sooner we get shot of him the better IMO.

[zippyandbungle]

I'm not a fan but I honestly think it was harsh to blame him for yesterday's goal. 

On the whole, I think his agility is sorely lacking which is why he struggles to get to shots you could throw your cap on.  He's ok at reflex shot stopping and his distribution is pretty good but outside of that, we look like we'll concede if there's a decent effort straight at him.  There was one point yesterday where he dragged it back inside the forward when there was a really easy pass on.  Absolutely no need for him to do that.

The problem is when he is so static and prone to an error then it will end up with him getting the blame regardless
We paid money for him, we want to win this league ...do we think that backline are confident in Him?

[seteefeet]

The problem is when he is so static and prone to an error then it will end up with him getting the blame regardless
We paid money for him, we want to win this league ...do we think that backline are confident in Him?

Nail on head, we have no confidence in him, the defense have no confidence in him and he has no confidence in himself.
If Bond plays well Tuesday he deserves a chance.

[SmethDan]

While not his number one fan I have to say some of the comments regarding the goal on Saturday are very harsh. Never a corner in the build up but then I suppose that's Johnstone's fault. Bartley should head the ball clear, when he doesn't HRK should definitely be more aware of what was going on around him at the far post. I suppose Johnstone's at fault for their lapses of concentration too though.

Sarcasm aside one point I'd question him on is indecision. Despite some comments he did move for the ball. He then realised he wasn't going to get it (never his ball to go for in the first place for me as it was always beyond him) and stopped in no man's land. The irony being Smith hit the ball pretty much straight towards Johnstone's starting position.

Doesn't over commit and there's a good chance he'd have made the save even though it really should have been cleared by a static ball watching defence. I'm willing to put his indecision down to the swirling wind though. Calamity of questionable judgement rather than an individual goal keeping mistake brought about by slow/heavy footwork. This doesn't detract from previous attempts I've felt he could do much better with but I'll not be having a pop over this one.

[Mister AT]

Watching the replay of the goal, for me Johnstone isn't at fault for that goal, I don't think he can get to that cross. Granted his positioning probably could have been better but you cant place the blame on him.

The players back post should be dealing with things better, think it's HRK who switches off before reacting late to the danger.

I think Johnstone does get a lot of stick, most unjustified in all honesty. I think the way the team set up last year meant he was quite exposed, playing out from the back etc and a number of fans made their mind up that he wasn't good enough.

We need to remember we were spoilt by having Foster in goal for as long as we did. For me Johnstone is on of the best keepers in this league, I could probably only count on one hand the keepers in this league I would prefer in goal instead of him.

The constant criticism of him on twitter and instagram is unwarranted, and don't be surprised if that affects a players performance.

 

[SmethDan]

........I think Johnstone does get a lot of stick...........The constant criticism of him on twitter and instagram is unwarranted, and don't be surprised if that affects a players performance.

He does come in for a lot of stick, some justified and some not. The constant harping on social media becomes tiring though. Then again so did some of the howlers he made last season. At times we were porous because of how we set up and invited teams on, but there's absolutely no way we should have conceded 62 League goals. Yes he made some cracking saves but there were times when shots seemed to go through him. That said he wasn't entirely to blame for either goal this season. New season and a new style of play mean a 'clean sheet' for Sam from me.

[iwastherein68]

While not his number one fan I have to say some of the comments regarding the goal on Saturday are very harsh. Never a corner in the build up but then I suppose that's Johnstone's fault. Bartley should head the ball clear, when he doesn't HRK should definitely be more aware of what was going on around him at the far post. I suppose Johnstone's at fault for their lapses of concentration too though.

Sarcasm aside one point I'd question him on is indecision. Despite some comments he did move for the ball. He then realised he wasn't going to get it (never his ball to go for in the first place for me as it was always beyond him) and stopped in no man's land. The irony being Smith hit the ball pretty much straight towards Johnstone's starting position.

Doesn't over commit and there's a good chance he'd have made the save even though it really should have been cleared by a static ball watching defence. I'm willing to put his indecision down to the swirling wind though. Calamity of questionable judgement rather than an individual goal keeping mistake brought about by slow/heavy footwork. This doesn't detract from previous attempts I've felt he could do much better with but I'll not be having a pop over this one.

Very good point Dan.I must admit to having no idea how strong the wind was  from my seat in the East, until I left the ground at the end. Made me realise how difficult it was for both teams.   

[chipperclark]

Watching the replay of the goal, for me Johnstone isn't at fault for that goal, I don't think he can get to that cross. Granted his positioning probably could have been better but you cant place the blame on him.

The players back post should be dealing with things better, think it's HRK who switches off before reacting late to the danger.

I think Johnstone does get a lot of stick, most unjustified in all honesty. I think the way the team set up last year meant he was quite exposed, playing out from the back etc and a number of fans made their mind up that he wasn't good enough.

We need to remember we were spoilt by having Foster in goal for as long as we did. For me Johnstone is on of the best keepers in this league, I could probably only count on one hand the keepers in this league I would prefer in goal instead of him.

The constant criticism of him on twitter and instagram is unwarranted, and don't be surprised if that affects a players performance.

I 100% agree with this....the lads confidence will be affected ...and has he really done that much wrong?? None between his legs or dropped a cross over the line or missed a ball completely. There was a goalie called Gary Sprake (Leeds and Wales) who gaffed often but he was always seen as one of the best at that time. Have read his book "Careless Hands" a great read.

[tuamigos]

I 100% agree with this....the lads confidence will be affected ...and has he really done that much wrong?? None between his legs or dropped a cross over the line or missed a ball completely. There was a goalie called Gary Sprake (Leeds and Wales) who gaffed often but he was always seen as one of the best at that time. Have read his book "Careless Hands" a great read.

Gary Sprake - Sam Johnstone
Chalk- Cheese
I haven't seen anything in Johnstones game yet to suggest he'll be anywhere near as good as Sprake

[kris_boing]

Don't think he's a bad keeper. The thing is I think we've been spoilt having Foster for so long.

[sing on our own]

I think and others have said he’s just like Scott Carson, brilliant a lot of the time but never fully comfortable. A well know journalist who used to write for the Mail was/is convinced there might be something wrong with his eyesight as shots from distance are his Achilles heel. I don’t think he’ll get much better as he’s not young so either put up or replace.

[smethwickw]

Whilst we have Johnstone and/or Bartley in the side we will fail to keep clean sheets on a regular basis.

[boinging_along]

I think and others have said he’s just like Scott Carson, brilliant a lot of the time but never fully comfortable. A well know journalist who used to write for the Mail was/is convinced there might be something wrong with his eyesight as shots from distance are his Achilles heel. I don’t think he’ll get much better as he’s not young so either put up or replace.

You mean "like Scott Carson but not brilliant a lot of the time"?

[Mister AT]

He does come in for a lot of stick, some justified and some not. The constant harping on social media becomes tiring though. Then again so did some of the howlers he made last season. At times we were porous because of how we set up and invited teams on, but there's absolutely no way we should have conceded 62 League goals. Yes he made some cracking saves but there were times when shots seemed to go through him. That said he wasn't entirely to blame for either goal this season. New season and a new style of play mean a 'clean sheet' for Sam from me.

For what it's worth, Johnstone also made more saves than any other keeper in the league, for a team that finished where we did that's an unbelievable stat (when you would assume the keepers near the bottom would be worked harder than those at the top).

Of the 62 goals we conceded I could probably only count on one hand the ones which were 'his fault' as opposed to how we set up and the pressure that comes on us. The way we set up last year I would guess that Foster would have still conceded 50+ goals.

Let's also remember the penalties he saved last year to keep us in games.