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DJ

DJ

Liberation said:
Where have our present midfield incumbents got us?
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Nobody's saying he isn't a good player and can't be a part of the team. But assess the lad fairly- he's the best defensive midfielder we have by a mile. But as a creative or attacking force? He isn't one. The idea that he's somehow DJ and Browne combined? Codswallop. He can't carry DJ's jockstrap as a creative player.
 
HunterLionheart said:
Nobody's saying he isn't a good player and can't be a part of the team. But assess the lad fairly- he's the best defensive midfielder we have by a mile. But as a creative or attacking force? He isn't one. The idea that he's somehow DJ and Browne combined? Codswallop. He can't carry DJ's jockstrap as a creative player.
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He spends an awful lot of time piling forward for a " defensive midfielder" ... You should e mail him and tell him to stop it.... It's all about opinions but I know this... With our current midfield playing like " crabs " and hiding much of the time we'll be having this same conversation and league position again next year......... Unless RL pulls a rabbit out of the hat and is fully backed...
 
Liberation said:
He spends an awful lot of time piling forward for a " defensive midfielder" ... You should e mail him and tell him to stop it.... It's all about opinions but I know this... With our current midfield playing like " crabs " and hiding much of the time we'll be having this same conversation and league position again next year......... Unless RL pulls a rabbit out of the hat and is fully backed...
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He gets into good positions, but he's not good at turning that into actual chances yet. He is, however, excellent at winning tackles and recovering possession, has a fantastic engine and can play the simple passes well.

Or if you're just incredibly hung up on the terminology, then pretend I said 'best midfielder we have at the defensive side of the game'.

What we need is wingbacks, not getting hung up on which 3 midfielders to play when we have multiple good ones. Focus on fixing the shit parts of the team first.
 
Staffordwhite said:
Most talented and most creative player in the squad, without doubt.

Also the most influential. When DJ plays well, we play well. On his day, he is a superb footballer.

But he’s also one of our most inconsistent and frustrating IMHO.

When DJ plays slow, we play slow. If RL can snap him out of AN’s safety-first plodding football he’d be unstoppable.

The downsides are that he’s out muscled in a physical battle, lacks pace, zero aerial ability, one-footed and prone to going missing when the chips are down.

If you could merge Alan Browne’s workrate and attitude with DJ’s ability, it would be perfect for us.

Realistically, he’s got strengths and weaknesses like everyone else, but he stands out in this squad undoubtedly.

Would he stand out in other Championship midfields at the top end of the table? I’m not so sure.

As for club legend? Well just going back to 2000 I can think of several who would get into midfield ahead of him on that score.

If he signed a new deal, I’d be happy enough.

If he didn’t and he left this summer for a decent fee, I wouldn’t be heartbroken.

If we let him run down his contract and walk away for free, it would be classic North End. 🙄
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Marvellous, saves me the bother, pretty much my sentiments exactly.
 
My biggest issue with DJ is that he is one of our senior players and perhaps our most creative but at the same time he symbolises everything which is wrong about the club at the moment on the pitch. Without him the team would struggle even more in the final third and wouldn't improve on midtable in the Championship. However, his and our performances suggest over the past 7 seasons (average finish of 12th place) that he is very much a mid-table Championship player and at 29 he isn't going to improve the team alone but he might still fit in alongside better players. Him being one of, if not come the summer, our highest earners means that he effectively has to be in the squad every week as we don't have the budget for anyone better with him on the books. It really is Hobson's Choice with him because we would struggle to replace him but we're not going anywhere with him.

Personally I wouldn't extend his contract, or Alan Browne's, because for the number of appearances for the club (DJ 250+ Browne 300+) they have a single promotion (via the play-offs) and two top 10 finishes in the Championship to show for their longevity. Whilst other players from the modern era with a similar amount of appearances achieved far more.

Only once in 7 seasons has DJ scored goals at a rate of 1 in 3 (and that included penalties) and that is perhaps the minimal level we need each season from our senior attacking midfielder if we're to make the play-offs. We'll miss him when he's gone but he might be one of the steps backwards we have to take to move forward.

Paul McKenna (okay he played for us a few seasons longer) managed 5 play-off campaigns and a promotion as league winners in 11 seasons (average finish in Division 1/Championship of 8th place). He actually got another Championship club to treble his wages as he was a top end Championship player whereas DJ has remained at the club because other Championship teams seemingly don't rate him that highly to pay him any more than we can offer him.
 
The issue is are we possibly going to replace him with better for the same? Are we bollocks.

Let's work on getting a better team around him, not try and fail to replace him.

That 04/05 season, with McKenna and O'Neil in the midfield. We were good, but we weren't a complete team. We didn't fix that by kicking McKenna out, we fixed it by signing Chris Sedgwick to fill a gap on the right, Matt Hill to ensure we could cope with Callum Davidson's injuries and David Nugent to supplement Cresswell up front!
 
HunterLionheart said:
The issue is are we possibly going to replace him with better for the same? Are we bollocks.

Let's work on getting a better team around him, not try and fail to replace him.

That 04/05 season, with McKenna and O'Neil in the midfield. We were good, but we weren't a complete team. We didn't fix that by kicking McKenna out, we fixed it by signing Chris Sedgwick to fill a gap on the right, Matt Hill to ensure we could cope with Callum Davidson's injuries and David Nugent to supplement Cresswell up front!
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We're not going to replace him with better but we will also struggle to build a team around him when he's perhaps our joint highest earning player. Browne and DJ earn around £1 million a year at Deepdale yet we're potentially 6/7 players away from having a squad who can compete for the top 6. We might be able to plug the gaps with 3/4 loan players for loan fees of say £1 million next season but that will still leave us 3/4 top end Championship players short who will be looking for 3/4 year contracts worth £1.5 - £2 million per year. Due to 2 or 3 years of shocking recruitment we simply cannot afford to make this many signings at once and will instead by relying on young players with potential from the lower leagues who will rely on DJ to be the senior player and stand up and be counted when the going gets tough when quite often he's the first one to throw in the towel.
 
Oh Hughie Costello said:
We're not going to replace him with better but we will also struggle to build a team around him when he's perhaps our joint highest earning player. Browne and DJ earn around £1 million a year at Deepdale yet we're potentially 6/7 players away from having a squad who can compete for the top 6. We might be able to plug the gaps with 3/4 loan players for loan fees of say £1 million next season but that will still leave us 3/4 top end Championship players short who will be looking for 3/4 year contracts worth £1.5 - £2 million per year. Due to 2 or 3 years of shocking recruitment we simply cannot afford to make this many signings at once and will instead by relying on young players with potential from the lower leagues who will rely on DJ to be the senior player and stand up and be counted when the going gets tough when quite often he's the first one to throw in the towel.
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Haha throw in the towel?

Let me know when hes done that as v rovers for example only player we had who was visibly putting in any effort
 
Its been an interesting yet unsurprising thread to read full of the usual tired old opinions and tropes. Luxury player, inconsistent, throws in the towel, haha yeah right - take him out of this team and we'd have real problems indeed.

Hardly ever injured or suspend, only player in the team who can create and handle the ball in tight areas and causes the opposition problems, by far and away our best and one of our most important player in the squad. There's a lot more to moan about than Daniel Johnson that's for sure but it doesn't stop the nobbers who love a fucking clogger to cry about it.
 
I think that if Johnson gets the offer of a nice juicy signing on fee and an extra 50% on his pay packet he will be off like a shot.

He will then all of a sudden become shit and we can do better anyway, just like Ben Pearson. 🤷‍♂️
 
DJ is worth an extension due to his attributes, experience and match winning quality, he needs to show it on a more consistent basis and against the best in the division.

Having good players around him will hopefully elevate his game, you can't ask him to be scoring and creating goals whilst having players like Evans, Earl, Maguire, Cunningham and Potts at his disposal.
 
California_PNE said:
Haha throw in the towel?

Let me know when hes done that as v rovers for example only player we had who was visibly putting in any effort
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He did it 12 minutes into the game and it led to one of the worst performances seen at Deepdale for years.

Blackburn had just taken the lead and were clearly up for it. Preston NE are trying to bounce back quickly and DJ is supporting the front two in an advance midfield position but the move breaks down. Whiteman challenges for the ball but misses and Blackburn break forward but not at pace - DJ starts tracking back. So far so good. Sepp steps up from centre back and presses the ball twice, forcing Blackburn inside and into the direct line where DJ is tracking back but he's still behind the ball. After Sepp's second challenge the ball breaks to Buckley and DJ is now the closest Preston NE in a position to press. However, he's still jogging rather than sprinting and doesn't get within 5 yards of Buckley who has time to set himself and shoot. The shot takes a deflection and goes in. It's 0-2 and game over.
 
Oh Hughie Costello said:
He did it 12 minutes into the game and it led to one of the worst performances seen at Deepdale for years.

Blackburn had just taken the lead and were clearly up for it. Preston NE are trying to bounce back quickly and DJ is supporting the front two in an advance midfield position but the move breaks down. Whiteman challenges for the ball but misses and Blackburn break forward but not at pace - DJ starts tracking back. So far so good. Sepp steps up from centre back and presses the ball twice, forcing Blackburn inside and into the direct line where DJ is tracking back but he's still behind the ball. After Sepp's second challenge the ball breaks to Buckley and DJ is now the closest Preston NE in a position to press. However, he's still jogging rather than sprinting and doesn't get within 5 yards of Buckley who has time to set himself and shoot. The shot takes a deflection and goes in. It's 0-2 and game over.
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I don't see how this goal is in any way Johnson's fault:

 
Thracia said:
I don't see how this goal is in any way Johnson's fault:

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It isn't, unless he can run like Bolt. It was just a bit unlucky, VDB could easily have deflected the ball out in the first place, his slide tackle was lucky for them as it fell right into his path and the shot took a nick off Hughes which sent it spinning into the corner.

If anything he's more at fault for the 4th as he jogs forward which leaves a gap for the ball to be played into. But Archer had left his man and Hughes just didn't do anything.
 
California_PNE said:
Its been an interesting yet unsurprising thread to read full of the usual tired old opinions and tropes. Luxury player, inconsistent, throws in the towel, haha yeah right - take him out of this team and we'd have real problems indeed.

Hardly ever injured or suspend, only player in the team who can create and handle the ball in tight areas and causes the opposition problems, by far and away our best and one of our most important player in the squad. There's a lot more to moan about than Daniel Johnson that's for sure but it doesn't stop the nobbers who love a fucking clogger to cry about it.
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I think it’s been an interesting debate about an important senior player (and occasional captain).

I don’t think anyone has said he’s a bad player or they’d prefer ‘a clogger’ in there.

Just the opposite in fact - almost everyone acknowledges how good he is.

But, just to answer a couple of your points Cali:

‘Take him out of this team and we’d have real problems’

Last season and this, we’ve won more games (percentage wise) without DJ than with him. www.soccerbase.com

The previous two seasons the figures were better for wins with DJ in the team, but there was only five percent in it.

In the year we finished seventh under AN (17/18) we got 52 per cent of the wins without him and 31 per cent with him.

As for ‘rarely injured or suspended’, his League appearances over the past five seasons are 33, 35, 33, 33, 40 (so far).

So on average, he’s missed roughly a quarter of each season (before this one).

Never in his career has he cracked double figures for goals from open play (although he got 12 in 19/20 with a lot of penalties).

I’m not saying get rid, far from it, but comparatively his figures haven’t set the world - or this team - alight on a consistent basis over the past five years.

Yes, he stands out for us in a squad that has largely been built by AN/PR to be functional, and (as others have said) he’s had to carry the burden of being our only creative talent too many times.

But all things considered, there’s probably a good reason teams weren’t banging down his door when he was available for virtually nothing.

Being brutal, and I don’t mean this in a bad way, he’s a mid-table playmaker in a midtable team.

With so many other priorities this summer, I can’t see that changing.
 
Staffordwhite said:
Last season and this, we’ve won more games (percentage wise) without DJ than with him. www.soccerbase.com

As for ‘rarely injured or suspended’, his League appearances over the past five seasons are 33, 35, 33, 33, 40 (so far).
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In 2021/22 we have had 15 league wins (10 with DJ starting, 5 without DJ). The year before we had 9 wins with DJ starting, 9 wins without). So I don't understand your stats or their value. For context most of the wins last season without DJ were those end of season dead rubbers were the football was absolutely terrible and we sat with five deep at the back and just bashed the ball up top. Suggesting we can win more effectively without DJ, is the same kind of thinking that got Frankie a permanent role.

I also think DJ's appearance numbers over his PNE career are a strength not a weakness - 33, 35, 33, 33, 40 are solid numbers over the last five years, especially considering he's been away with Jamaica for a bunch of those games he missed.

DJ's goal scoring and assists stats may not have "set the world alight" but he's been largely operating for years in a team with a defensive mindset. Put DJ in a better team and he would create/score a lot more IMHO. Right now his 12 goal contributions are our biggest contributor to goals behind Riis with 19 league goal contributions (remarkably the other guy some on here seem keen to get rid off).

The mistake we've made throughout the last decade is selling our better players and replacing them with duds. DJ and Riis are two of our best assets whether people want to accept that or not. They are certainly good enough for a top half side with eyes on the playoffs. We need to focus our attention more on the actual wasters that we have stinking up the squad.
 
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